<p>June 16<sup>th</sup>, it’s a Saturday night at Junctions, and local band Marceno are set to take the stage to perform their newly-released debut “A Good Day Waits”. After a set by Palaver, there’s a break before the lights kick in, along with some soundchecking before singer Melanie Benson appears out of nowhere and they burst into the energetic single “Smack Happy”. To get an idea of the sound, think those songs from the Silent Hill soundtracks with the female vox, some Finch, and a good dose of originality. The end result is some of the best local music available.</p>
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<p>The band, as they are currently known, consists of Brad Wells on drums, Curtis Perrin on bass, Vince Neville and Chris Hibbs on guitars and Mel on vocals. They’ve gone through a few lineup changes over time, but Hibbs, the founder, says they’ve finally reached high ground: “Marceno doesn’t just stand for a simple band name anymore but a reflection of hard work and passion that came together; that’s what creates a successful band relationship and friendships as well!”</p>
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<p>Things all began in the winter of 2005 with Mel and Hibbs, when they met downtown one night and got into one of those endless conversations. They talked about everything, and Hibbs convinced her into meeting him for a jam.</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">“At the time I was listening to a lot of The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In,” she recalls. “Just by chance he was really into that as well. When I heard his music, it was the music I had heard in my mind; it was what I always wanted as far as being in a rock band goes. Then Vince, Curtis and Brad joined and they figured out what we were up to pretty quickly. And the rest, as they say, is history.”</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">Melanie’s musical background is intriguing; clearly very qualified in the vocal department, but smart enough to know not to compensate for emotion with constant high-pitched wailing, she has a healthy mix of classical vocal training and self-learned talents.</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">“For the most part I had to be dragged to recitals and singing lessons,” she says. “It taught me a lot but it’s too much of a cozy and confining environment to grow in any meaningful way as an artist. They tell you how to sing and you sing that way. It was both incredibly challenging and incredibly boring at the same time if that makes sense. It’s good but it warps you as well.”</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">“In reality everyone sucks until they learn to put a bit of soul into the song. I believe that takes maturity, which didn’t come to me until after I quit lessons. I really learned how to sing when I quit singing lessons at 14 and picked up acoustic guitar and found my voice along with my ability to play guitar. I basically stayed in my room for 4-5 hour stretches for two years, playing and singing. I tried to master my craft, which a lot of ‘musicians’ neglect these days.”</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">The show Saturday displayed this kind of hard work well; the crowd was obviously very enthusiastic and excited about the band, especially with it being filmed for a possible future DVD release. The bassist informs me they’re working with the footage now, and will see if it turns into a DVD outing, or something promotional.</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">Aside from that, the next step for Marceno is made clear: make music a primary means of living.</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">“We set out from the beginning to make something big out of this band,” Benson says. “We want to do a tour, maybe start with the Atlantic Provinces. We just need some financial support of some people or businesses that believe in us.”</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">The results on the album certainly back this determination up, already showing potential for the music as infectious. Regarding the recording process, guitarist and producer Vince Neville cites some perhaps unexpected influences:</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">“Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ was a major structural influence for this album, at least from my perspective as producer. I have always admired albums that had a sense of unity – such as Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and OK Computer – and I’d like to think we achieved that unity, as opposed to the standard collection of singles.”</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">In a sense, the way they have their eyes set on the horizon could be viewed as admirable, especially being incredibly wise to the ways of the industry for a new band.</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“</span>As far as [things like] Hollywood go, they can go fuck themselves, all of them,” says Benson. “Record execs are wondering why no one is buying into their cheap lies anymore about what’s cool because they’ve dropped the ball way too many times, signing celebutants to huge contracts when their lack of talent was undeniable. We write, we play, we love the process.”</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">(<em>Note: For anyone not familiar with the term “celebutants”, try putting it in a search engine online and seeing the first thing that comes up. You’ll get it.)</em></p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;">“We’re all in the same boat as all the other musicians in our local scene, just trying to be heard and get our name out there,” Curtis, the bassist adds. “I guess we differ from some bands in that we don’t want to be a Newfoundland cover band. We want to prove that a band can get recognized in this province for being creative and bringing something new to our province’s rich musical culture.”</p>
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<p style="margin: 5pt 0cm;"><em>For more info head to <a href="http://myspace.com/marceno">myspace.com/marceno</a>.</em></p>
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