by Traci Nubalo
reprinted from Rez Magazine - November, 2011
So there I was - minding my own business.
Well, I was actually at a large gathering helping to celebrate the rez day for my friend and stellar SL musician Pilgrim75 Swashbuckler (Pete Mroz). But I was minding my own business (MMOB).
Well, except that as I stood near the stage watching Pete’s set I kept noticing that there was a not-fully-rezzed avatar standing to my left. He was a cloud is the best way I can say it.
So there I was, back to MMOB and enjoying the music. Then the cloud IMs me.
Cloud: hello
Me (MMOB): ummm hello
Cloud: enjoying the music?
Me (still trying to MMOB, but being forced now to look at the cloud’s profile which tells me he‘s a SL musician): yes, I love Pete’s music.
Cloud: I’ve heard him twice before. I really like his vocals.
Me (thinking, “Oh god…he wants me to write an article about him”): yes, I like his vocals too.
We chat amiably for a little while until I realize that he actually doesn’t know that I’m a SL music journalist. Now I’m thinking: “Oh, god…he’s hitting on me.”
Me: ummm dude…you’re a cloud.
Cloud: yeah I know.
Me: just checking
Cloud: I tried rezzing twice.
And on it went - maybe the sweetest conversation I have had with a stranger in SL in like, forever.
To make a long story not so long, I found out that the cloud’s name is Marc Ezra and that he is managed by my friend Alexxis Lefavre (who also co-manages Pete Mroz). Marc had a SL gig the following day and I headed over there, really not expecting much musically from the cloud-dude.
Was I ever surprised!
Marc Ezra is the real deal. Let’s just put that on the table right away. He can sing; he’s a very accomplished guitarist; he writes excellent original songs; and he understands how all of this goes together to create a live music experience that’s both exhilarating and entertaining. I’ll go on record now as saying that the 27-year-old Southern California resident is one of my current favorites and one of the brightest new SL musicians to come onto the scene in quite some time.
I was so impressed that we quickly made plans for me to attend a Halloweenish live show at Paisley Park, a killer SL music venue owned by Alexxis. Rez Magazine sent me to the concert on my first assignment for this great publication. I took with me the amazing SL photographer Jami Mills, who has shot most of the concerts I have covered in recent months. She and her awesome and lovely assistant Friday Blaisdale also attended the interview with Marc at Paisley Park a couple of nights later.
* * * * *
T
Traci Nubalo: Marc, many of my readers are into tech stuff. Are you up for some tech talk first?Marc Ezra: SureTN: What guitar(s) do you play in SL?ME: I play a Taylor 814CE
TN: Acoustic-electric?
ME: Yes.TN: Do you mic it? Or go straight into the board? Or both?
ME: Everything goes into a mixer, then is fed into a 2-channel USB interface.
TN: Do you use any effects?
ME: Currently I use only reverb, but I plan on using more and broaden out.
TN: Awesome. What vocal mic are you using?
ME: The Audix OM2. It's a dynamic mic.
TN: Marc, your sound is clear and direct. Can you tell us how you broadcast to SL? Take me and my readers into your studio.
ME: I broadcast from my Butt.
TN: Uh huh.
ME: From my Butt broadcaster that is. My mix is sent through a mixer, through an interface, and into the Butt broadcaster which connects my stream to SL. I have no idea why they named it that.
TN: I see. Let's talk about your writing process a little.
ME: Sure.TN: Words? Music? Which comes first?
ME: Definitely the music. I speak through my music. Words simply allow me to let you understand what I'm feeling.
TN: Gotcha. Marc, you have some stunning guitar work on some of your originals. Do you begin with a riff?
ME: Usually. I try to be as open-minded as possible in the creation process. It's all about the inspiration. Everything starts there. You find inspiration in whatever it is at the moment and you channel and refine it into something that captures yourself.
* * * * *
At the Paisley Park gig, Marc opened his set with an awesome original song entitled “Gone”. It features a complex, almost-baroque opening segment on guitar, then segues into a very comfortable extended passage (think Mason Williams’ “Classical Gas”). Ezra claims no formal, classical training whatsoever, which makes his guitar work all the more appealing to his exuberant group of fans. He’s basically self-taught, but it’s obvious that he grew up with that Taylor living in his hands. There’s an ease and comfort in his playing, whether stating a backing theme or performing complex and blazing-fast double-picked lead passages.
The room was rapidly filling with Ezra fans and special guests who were invited to see him in one of his first SL performances. It was obvious that Marc held the crowd in his hand from the start, as he followed up “Gone” with another guitar-based original called “Tarantula”. This quick-step piece triggered a barrage of “Tarantula” gestures from the audience, a pleasant surprise for an artist so new and fresh on the scene. It made me appreciate even more the depth of support work that Marc’s management team - the gorgeous Alexxis Lefavre (who is the owner of Paisley Park, one of SL’s super new music venues) and the equally-awesome Lizzy Nightfire. (By the way, this dynamic duo also handles business and bookings for one of SL’s premiere artists, Pilgrim75 Swashbuckler aka Pete Mroz, who was mentioned at the top of this article). By providing a new audience with a simple thing such as a gesture with a spider image in it, the management team created a solidarity between artist and audience on the second song of the set. Great work, ladies!
The artist adroitly moved into yet another solid original that he calls “Goodbye”. It opens with a very dark, minor-key delivery that Ezra very much seems comfortable with. Lyrically, the track asks the important questions of self-reference that we all seem to share: Who am I? Why am I here? What’s the point of this existence? The tale rolls out in two distinct voices until the very effective galloping fast triplet bridge.
Ezra seems deeply rooted in mysterious, even dark minor key signatures and lyrics which are insightful and which at times can seem like escapees from a Poe volume.
* * * * *
TN: You define yourself as a storyteller.
ME: Yes, very much so.
TN: Your stories tend toward a dark mode. Is that a fair observation?
ME: Mos def. More than fair.
TN: Can you expand on that for the readers?
ME: It's input/output. It’s the dark eras of my life that have been channeled into my fingers.
I write about some very specific, and at once tragic stories. But all tragedy requires hope and redemption. So it allows me to share more emotions and how people convene on the journey.
TN: Can you share one or two themes with us?
ME: Sure thing. The theme to SerehNIty And Peice dialogues a girl raped by tragedy, and the voices in her head are telling her something quite specific, while the angel in her heart is pulling for her redemption.Another of my pieces “The Haunting” has a trio of voices, where as a man and a woman find themselves entangled in a terrible situation, while the third voice sort of narrates on the first two characters.
TN: Marc, can you identify what it is that draws you to such themes of tragedy?
ME: Wow. That's a powerful question.
TN: *smiles*
ME: It would have to be my life experiences. Watching my step dad die. Having my best friend die at a young age. I practically withered my personal life away a few years ago. I've written songs for these experiences, and more.
TN: Thank you for sharing that. Is it helpful to address such life experiences through your writing?
ME: It is. It doesn't make it hurt any less, but I feel I get my chance to speak my mind. It's not so much therapeutic, but more medicinal.
TN: Do you experience any kind of catharsis from writing?
ME: Absolutely. I feel at ease.
* * * * *
Back at the venue, the crowd was heating up as Marc burst into “Everlong” from Foo Fighters. His vocal clarity and super-clear enunciation wooed the audience's attention away from a ridiculous griefer who seemingly came to the gig determined to suck all the fun out of the event. Fortunately, Lexi was up to the challenge and the fool was quickly dispatched. Too bad that brass knuckles are frowned upon in SL.
Next came an amazing version of his original entitled “Don’t Have To Say Your Sorry.” This one featured more super-clear audio, in which the bright top end of the guitar shimmered and glistened, shining up an otherwise-sinister lyrical content. Of note was Marc’s very fast flamenco-style pivot note guitar break.
He quickly morphed “Sorry” into a piece called “SarehNIty And Peice” which contains a well-delivered hammer-on/pull-off solo and some intricate arpeggiated chord structures. It was a superb almost-classical segment during which I began to note with a deep certainty that this young artist is, indeed, one of the more talented instrumentalists on the SL scene. His ability to fluidly insert a monster guitar break without breaking a sweat is a testimonial to those hours (weeks and months!) spent carrying the instrument 24/7.
* * * * *
TN: Lets shift gears a bit. Your guitar work is stunning at some points in the concert act.
ME: Thank you.
TN: What's your guitar background?
ME: Well my musical background is that I played piano from age six to eleven. At that point I pretty much dropped piano like a hot rock to go to guitar. I was just the nerdy kid who couldn't afford lessons, and at a certain point just too proud to take them, so I would play and study hours every day.
TN: Did you work in RL bands?
ME: Yes. I've been in a few, but nothing that ever went anywhere. I don't thing I've played in a band yet that I truly believe in. That's why my music means so much to me. I can say what I want.
TN: How did you discover SL music?
ME: My manager Alexxis Lefavre is my RL friend, so she told me about it. I've never done something like this, so she thought it would be a good fit.
TN: Well, for playing such a short time in SL you are taking your concert audiences by storm. How does it feel compared to RL music gigs?
ME: Why, thank you. Truly, I owe it all to Alexxis who has all the keys to all the doors. Thanks Lex! It's amazing. You definitely lose crowd interaction because of the delay, but in all honesty people interact differently here. They pass out at shows, Make funny gestures, etc. Or maybe I'm just tired of moving amps in RL. That's why I like it so much here. LOL
TN: Marc, this is your opportunity to speak directly to your SL fans via the pages of Rez Magazine. What would you like to say to them?
ME: Thank you so much for sharing this journey. I might take you up, I might take you down, but I'll never take you to the same place.
TN: We at Rez are behind you 110% on this journey Marc. Thank you for a great interview.
ME: Aww. I feel so loved! Thank you!!!
TN: You are loved.
* * * * *
Paisley Park was past the point of no return; a great Saturday-night crowd had appeared, most of them new fans of both Marc Ezra and the venue. It was a lively bunch with lots of vibrant noise and conversation in the Open Chat windows. All night long i had been trying to come up with a point of reference for Marc's sound, depite Lao Tse's admonition, "Comparisons are odious." Then it hit me - the great Elvis Costello! I hear Costello in Ezra's vocal work, and i hear a bit of his unique, flowing arrangement in Marc's originals.
Marc closed down Paisley Park with a stunning version of Eddie Vedder's "Society". It was spot on, both capturing the original feel of the song while also adding his own musical taste to the mix. The audience went home happily-satisfied, a sign that i always look for, especially when previewing a new SL artist.
My prediction: Marc Ezra will become a mainstay on the SL live music scene. He will grow in originality, and he will make many, many music lovers very happy with his craft. Get out and see this kid before the venues get too crowded for his gigs!
Copyright (c) 2011 Traci Nubalo/Rez Magazine. All rights reserved.
