Finding a groove: Fayetteville’s Marca preparing for a breakout year | Jeff’s Band Notes

Band Notes, Banner, Opinion — By Christopher Spencer on February 2, 2010 at 2:06 AM

Marca – AB Conversation

Marca – The Last of What Feels Like Hope

By Jeff Sistrunk

When Marca’s band members chose the title for their last EP, “Breathe: Pulse,” they wanted a name that would be open to interpretation, said guitarist Brady Cress.

For the band itself, the title became representative of progress and perseverance through adversity.

Like many bands, Fayetteville’s Marca has weathered multiple personnel changes and internal conflicts in its nearly five-year existence.

But they’ve survived it all, and guitarist Max Sallings says the band has found its groove.

Marca- Cress, Sallings, bassist/vocalist Layne Twist and drummer Eduardo Chew- is back on track and poised to have a big year in 2010.

Chew is the last founding member remaining from Marca’s original incarnation, which formed in spring 2005.

Cress and Twist, who were also former bandmates in local act Plea for Persephone, came onboard in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Twist found Sallings on MySpace in 2008 after the departure of founding guitarist Christopher Parker. Sallings’ brother Sean played bass for the band until leaving to pursue an opportunity in California last year. Shortly thereafter, Twist assumed bass duties along with his role as frontman.

The band, which plays atmospheric rock replete with dueling guitar lines and innovative rhythms, recently had the aforementioned four-track EP, “Breathe: Pulse,” mastered and is planning both a physical and digital release for early 2010.

In addition, Marca is hard at work crafting new tracks for the follow-up album and is looking to return to the stage in the spring.

I sat down with the band at the University of Arkansas student union last week to talk about the band’s journey and their future plans.

What are your primary musical influences?

Brady: We’re all over the board.

Max: A common point for all of us is Saosin. I liken a lot of our styles, drums and guitar mainly, as well as some of the vocal lines, to Saosin. It’s kind of in that same vein. Individually, my main influence is definitely Thrice. I think they’re incredible. Everything they do breaks down the boundaries of genre. I listen to a lot of Circa Survive as well.

Are you more into Circa Survive’s “Juturna” or “On Letting Go”?

Max: I like them both, but “Juturna” is probably my favorite. Pound for pound, I enjoy every single song.

Brady: I would say “Juturna” was a game-changer for all four of us. When we wrote the EP (“Breathe:Pulse”) that album was a huge influence.

Max: I’m so ready for their new album.

Layne: At the moment, I’m listening to a lot of indie and electronica stuff. An example would be National Skyline – they have a lot of electronic additions in their music, but they still maintain a poppy sound that can appeal to the basic listener. If I had to pick one band that’s had more influence on me than anything else, I would say Hopesfall. They’re the ones that got me started in hardcore. Then, at the end of their career they came out of it and took on a more mellow sound. Hopesfall kind of reminded me that bands don’t just have to stick to one sound. I like Thrice too; they’re very versatile. I’d say we’re like that – we’re not afraid of being different, and we don’t want to limit ourselves musically.

Brady (to Layne): I think it might be interesting for you to talk about the bands that shape your vocal melodies and writing. I know back when we used to listen to Name Taken all the time, that stuck out in the vocals. Do you think about that anymore?

Layne: There are a lot of different groups I listen to that give me inspiration about how I would like to sound vocally. I’ve taken all those influences and tried to sculpt them into something more personal.

Brady: Originally, when I started writing music, I was trying for a specific sound. Now my goal is to make what we’re doing sound the best it can. Layne and Max play guitar a lot differently than I do, so it’s cool to see the way they play. I try to play whatever fits with their styles the best. I listen to a lot of the bands Max and Layne have already mentioned. I might have the widest musical range. I probably listen to a lot of gayer pop (everyone laughs).

Layne: Fall Out Boy is probably his biggest influence!

Brady: It’s OK. I do like Fall Out Boy. But I can tell from (lead singer Patrick Stump’s) voice why people might think their music is annoying.

Max: I respect Brady for that. Being the kind of musician I am, I limit myself to what I think makes me feel good and what I like musically. I’m a bit more picky. One thing that I’ve taken from Brady is that, instead of shutting something out completely because there’s one part that turns me off of it, I should dissect it and listen to each individual part. There may be musical value there.

Brady: Eduardo’s favorite music is metal and rap! (everyone laughs)

Eduardo: They do have the best beats.

Where does the inspiration for the lyrics come from?

Max: Girls (laughs).

Layne: A lot of it does have to do with relationships and love. Some of the lyrics are subliminal, some are direct. I’m trying to go more subliminal now. I think it opens songs up to interpretations by different people, instead of just, “Oh. That’s got to be a love song.”

Max: “In Your Reflection” is a lot like that. It uses a lot of metaphors.

Layne: Yeah, everyone can take away a different meaning for their lives. When it comes to lyrics, I usually write down whatever I’m feeling at a given time, then it’s up to the listener to dissect the song and make it their own.

On your MySpace page, it says you sculpt chord progressions around vocal melodies. Does that mean your songwriting process always starts with vocal lines?

Layne: Pretty much. The basic, raw writing process consists of me coming up with a basic guitar part and vocals. The guitars and everything else can change anytime after that. I’m working with a bunch of really talented people, so the songs can always change and go in a different direction.

What does the title of the EP “Breathe: Pulse” mean?

Eduardo: About a year passed between the time we wrote the songs and when we named the EP. For awhile, we weren’t even sure we were going to continue doing this. After we got the artwork for the album back from (artist Sean Frangella), we needed a title and “Breathe: Pulse” kind of emerged.

Brady: We wanted a title that would be open to interpretation.

Layne: For me, the title represents all the difficulties we’ve overcome. We’ve gone through a lot of member changes and ups and down. Sometimes, we have to take it easy, and remember what we’re doing this for. You know, take a few minutes to breathe…

Max: …check our pulses…

Layne: Yeah, check our vital signs and all that.

Max: The impression I got of that title is that it’s very symbolic our progress as a band.

What are your plans for recording, writing, and playing live in 2010?

Eduardo: Today, we just got the masters of the four songs for “Breathe: Pulse” back. That was first on our checklist for this year. Once we get the funds, we’re going to print up CDs. We’re also planning on registering so we can get the songs on iTunes.

Brady: As far as 2010 goes, we want to make sure we take care of old business first. Then we’re going to record our new stuff and start playing shows again. We have- I think – five new songs? I’ve got the equipment right now to record at my house. We’ve recorded demos that sound surprisingly good, but we don’t have enough equipment there to record drums. So we’re going to track drums for these five songs, then record vocals and other instruments in our spare time. Hopefully, by that time, (“Breathe: Pulse”) will be printed, and then we can send the new EP off to be printed as well.

Tell me a little bit about some of the songs you’re working on right now.

Brady: I think these songs are more in the same vein together than the “Breathe: Pulse” material. All these songs have started with a Layne idea, and then evolved. The first song we wrote was the heaviest and fastest. Since then, the rest of the new songs have been more open, not necessarily “spacey” because they’re still focused…

(Max cues up a new song, “In Your Reflection,” on his iPod)

Max: This one has more of the surface Brady was talking about. My favorite song, though, is one that we’re calling “ASDFG” for now, after the keystrokes. There’s not as much going on in that song, so I feel like I can sit back and focus on what the meaning of that song is rather than what I’m doing as a guitar player. I think that, right after we started working on the new material, we found our groove. I didn’t want to go in circles anymore – I really wanted our creativity to come through, instead of us pushing out individual parts. We’ve all gotten to that point where we’re looking at the big picture of each song as a whole. It’s been a blessing to go to practice lately, knowing you’re going to have a fun time.

Eduardo: When the four of us were all living together, I think we wrote maybe a song and a half.

Max: (laughs) Yeah, we could have taken advantage and practiced every single day. When we did practice, we would be there ‘til one in the morning.

Eduardo: We would butt heads so much. We had to take a break from that. Towards the end of us living together, I think that’s when we found our groove. There’s so many things that we’ve had to work through as a band. Sometimes you have to put aside deep musical passions to focus on the band as a whole. I think the fact that we’ve gotten past that is really important.

What are some of the best gig experiences you’ve had?

Layne: Probably when we went out of state to Nashville and played at 12th and Porter. It was one of the first times as a band that we traveled out-of-state.

Eduardo: That was one of our first out-of-town shows with the current lineup. It was quite a drive, but it was awesome.

Brady: I thought the response we got from the crowd was cool, because most of them were there to see a jazz/fusion band. They probably thought we were kind of funny because they weren’t expecting how we would sound. We had so much fun; the sound and lights were great. Then we played a scene show in Hot Springs on the way back. The crowd really let loose for that one. As far as experiences in a show that would mean the most, occasionally we’ll see people singing along. When you see someone who’s in the moment and singing along to something you’ve put your heart and soul into, that’s probably the coolest feeling. I also remember when we played before Sick Puppies. That show was huge. Nobody knew who we were, but we played great and got a strong response from the crowd.

Eduardo: Nu-metal fans love us (everyone laughs). I threw my drumsticks out in the crowd for that show. Those fans bought tons of our merch, too.

Max: That’s something that’s really fulfilling, when kids are there who you know are there for a certain genre, and they’re getting into your music.

What bands would be on your dream tour?

Max: Resurrect Layne Staley and bring back Alice in Chains!

Layne: I think we have our own personal fantasies.

Eduardo: I don’t know… Circa Survive is one common denominator.

Layne: Nine Inch Nails.

Eduardo: Notorious B.I.G.! (laughs)

Max: I would definitely go with Thrice. I’ve seen them several times live, and I’ve yet to see a band I enjoy as much. I’m obviously biased towards them, but at the same time their shows are amazing. I think if we could bring back Receiving End of Sirens…

Brady: Yes!

Eduardo: Yeah, I was about to say, if we’re resurrecting bands, the Receiving End of Sirens would be at the top of the list for all of us!

---

I also got the opportunity to listen to some rough demos of a few of Marca’s new songs. Here are my first impressions:

“End of July”: The heaviest of the new songs, “End of July” features kinetic, almost drum n’ bass-esque rhythms alongside a sterling melody.

“Sailing on Skies”: True to its name, “Sailing” is a euphoric ballad with airy guitar leads.

“In Your Reflection”: This trippy, echo-heavy song boasts delicately interwoven guitars and a huge chorus.

“Untitled/ASDFG”: Probably my personal favorite of the demos I heard, the early version of this dance rock-style song is loaded with multiple vocal and instrumental hooks.

Overall, I was really impressed by the sonic scope of the material. The final studio recordings of these songs should make for one heck of an EP!

SIMILAR POSTS

• A song a week: Elise Davis’ star rising | Jeff’s Band Notes at 5:41 PM on February 5, 2010
• Apartment 5 Ready to Break Down its Walls | Band Notes at 5:50 PM on September 16, 2009
• Hard work, not luck, key to Black Leaf Clover’s success | Jeff’s Band Notes at 2:57 PM on November 24, 2009
• Megan’s Songbook – “She’s Lost Control” by Joy Division at 10:39 AM on October 4, 2009
• Greg’s Songbook – “Tick Tick Boom” by The Hives at 11:43 PM on June 24, 2009