photo by Anna Melcon If I could sum up Band Marino in two words it would be these: Band Marino. The phrase first implies ridiculousness, leading you into the same skeptical laugh you gave "Gnarls Barkley." But sooner or later, you'll realize the name (or at least the namesake) is something of sheer brilliance. Similarly, the must-watch Orlando band rocks with other layers of duplicitous brilliance: carousing gypsy melodies hooking into a swirling folksy bent, energetic dance-alongs crashing over simple, subtle ballads... And while their album The Sea and The Beast unleashes with a recklessness comparable only to Ahab himself, the treasure beneath the tunes is perhaps some of the most careful storytelling and songwriting of our time.
Preparing for a month-long tour and the national release of their debut full-length, Nathan Bond of Band Marino talks to The Overcast.
The Overcast: Can you please state your name and your role in the band?
Nathan Bond: Nathan Bond. I sing, play guitar, write, and do whatever else is necessary
First of all, how did Band Marino start off?
Nathan: Well, it kind of started on a whim. I was constantly writing songs in high school. When I was seventeen-ish, somebody asked me to play a show kind of last minute, and I called up my best friend Jonathan and asked him if he wanted to put something together for that night. He and I had written stuff before--mostly just comical stuff though, just for fun. So we grabbed an old keyboard from the attic and I taught him a few keyboard lines and we played as a two-piece (he didn't play any instruments yet really at this time). People seemed to really love it (which even to this day is beyond me). I think it was just charismatic and fun, even though the music wasn't anything to call home about. It was more about the vibe and the character to it I think. I think it was just something that made people feel good. Anyhow, we kept going with it and eventually found new band members and started writing more kinds of stuff and experimenting. Eventually it just kind of took over and evolved and changed.
Would you say that stuff from the first night sounded anything like what Band Marino sounds like now?
Nathan: No, absolutely not. We're not really the same band at all. Jonathan doesn't even play with us anymore, and our original drummer was replaced years ago.
When was that?
Nathan: We haven't played with Jonathan in about six months. He kind of moved on with his life in a way; it was a healthy thing for him and for us. It was never his passion the way it was for the rest of us. He was committed and loved it I think, but he's ready to have a family and I think that takes precedence for him. And he was a great part of building it to what it now is, but I feel like that stage of his life came to an end.
How exactly did everyone else come in?
Nathan: Well, Abe and Jesse actually were in one of the other bands we played with that first night at that first show. Abe joined shortly after, Jesse didn't join for a while. Dylon was the drummer in my old band, so when our old drummer quit, Dylon took his place--that was close to three or four years ago, I have trouble remembering! It's been a long journey already and we're just getting started!
And yet in these past few years, you've done a lot of tours, SXSW...
Nathan: That's true. And our album is finally getting it's nationwide release on March 4th! It took forever to make that happen. But even though we feel like it might not represent us as well as if we were to do something new right now, we're still excited about it as our first ever effort in the studio.
Will it be exactly the same as the original release?
Nathan: Yes, this one will be. It's only gonna be in indie stores, and you can go to thinkindie.com and check out where they all are. We're excited about being in those stores specifically, because we believe in those stores, those are the places we shop. So it's exciting to be a part of it.
And aren't you recording an EP now?
Nathan: Well it's drastically different. It's very folk-centric, much sparser. I think it's more mature in a lot of ways. It's kind of a snapshot into another side of what we do, I suppose. The next full-length probably won't be much like the EP, but we're really excited about it.
So when can we expect to hear the new songs?
Nathan: I'm not sure about that. We were hoping extremely soon, but we've been busier than expected getting ready for our upcoming release and tours, so it kind of had to take a back seat. We probably won't have time to really focus in on it until we get back in April. I think we'll have it ready by the time we do a wide release of the Sea & The Beast, and it'll probably be more appropriate then anyhow. Maybe we'll add one of the EP tracks to the album or put it on iTunes or something, you never know!
One thing I do really like about your sound and your album is that mélange of different sides to your music. The folksier aspect, more of the indie rock sound, etc. Where do you draw all of that from?
Nathan: Well, I guess we listen to all sorts of music and we just kind of write what comes out. I feel like the album does have a lot of range, but I still don't think anyone realizes how much. The new stuff we're writing is growing in really exciting ways. And it's not that it's all over the place, it's just growing into a lot of neat territories and we're excited about exploring those landscapes some more. Even though I'm proud of The Sea & The Beast for what it is--our first real accomplishment as a band that's grown from its infancy--I see it as our first steps into a much larger world.
Not to be vague, but how do you go about the songwriting? Is it something sort of everyone weighs in on, and what really spurs it?
Nathan: Well, it's always changing. Even though we've been a band for three to four years, I feel like we're still discovering new ways to do things, but on The Sea & The Beast usually I wrote the songs. I wrote the songs and brought them to the band and then we all kind of jammed them out and wrote different parts and changed things around and made them into what they are. Lately it's been more of a group process which I really enjoy. Everyone is contributing so much that the songs are really evolving into unexpected ways.
I assume that's kind of how you're expanding into different sounds.
Nathan: That's part of it. We're also all just listening to a lot of different things and each trying to learn different playing styles and that has a big influence. Like, Jesse is constantly sitting in the back of the van when we're on tour playing along to Django songs and other gypsy jazz stuff.
As for The Sea and The Beast, it's easy to pass that off as sort of a rowdy, fun, shallow album, but when you really look at the lyrics it can be anything but that.
Nathan: Yeah, I'd say the lyrics are far from shallow, but of course I'm biased. But people do love to get their groove going to those songs. I never really expected that when we wrote those songs, to be honest, but it's been fun to see what our audience has made them into. I do love how that works, how your audience will actually change a song, and the way they respond to it makes you go "Whoa, I never thought of it that way." That's something I love about music: the listener is almost just as important a contributor as the artist...although I'm sure there are people that disagree with that.
So how much of those lyrics are the real you, catharsis, and how much is sort of just imagination?
Nathan: They're all me, I suppose, in some way. I like to often tell stories that are more fantastic ideas of things I experience, such as dramatizing, and creating a narrative for something that at its heart is truly about something I've been through or am going through, but is told through fictional characters and events.
Have you always done that on purpose or does it just kind of happen that way?
Nathan: It doesn't always happen that way. Some songs I like to write in a more straightforward manner, but that's probably my favorite thing to do, and sometimes it's intentional, sometimes it's not. I definitely enjoy dramatizing things. It's more fun that way.
So you've got the tour coming up, the national release of The Sea and The Beast, an EP you're working on. Do you think there's anything else we should know?
Nathan: Yep, the release is March 4th. Thinkindie.com lists all the stores the album can be found. You can search by your state. It's that easy. And check us out at myspace.com/bandmarino.