Tongue Master Records

MARK EITZEL TALKS TO US ABOUT HIS TRIP TO GREECE AND THE SPIRIT BEHIND THE "UGLY AMERICAN"

There was obviously plenty of rumour " mischief " concerning the ace recording of the " Ugly American " that took place in Greece. Loyal fans were apprehensive to say the least and probably expecting some kind of " Greek tragedy " - Eitzel style. The neutrals dismissed this album - without even having heard it (naturally) - by claiming that nothing great (musically) has come out of Greece for aeons. Well it is time to calm down because " The Ugly American " not only presents MARK EITZEL in a great vocal form but it is also an album that is a glorious testament to his amazing songwriting past. People that have started to hear this album respond by saying something in the line of " ...it is so much different to what I expected " and claim their allegiance to this beautiful recording. Thanks to MANOLIS FAMELLOS the Greek instrumentation tugs at us in just the right places giving a warm glowing feel to the listening experience. And after devouring this album younger Eitzel fans will be scurrying with some urgency to find those indispensable old AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB albums. We will let MARK EITZEL himself put the record straight with an interview below together with a MANOLIS FAMELLOS questionnaire as well.

TM-YOU ARE INVITED TO GO TO A COUNTRY TO WORK WITH A MAN YOU HAVE NEVER MET, NOT KNOWING MUCH ABOUT GREEK MUSIC, TO EMBARK ON A PROJECT WHICH INVOLVES YOUR PAST. IT SEEMS YOU LIKE TO TAKE RISKS! IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU AS A MUSICIAN TO TAKE RISKS OR TRIPS INTO THE UNKNOWN?

MARK EITZEL- Well sure - you never know what good things will happen unless you take a chance.

TM -YOU WERE IN GREECE FOR THE RECORDING OF THE " UGLY AMERICAN " IN NOVEMBER 2001, WITH THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11 STILL LOOMING LARGE. WAS IT A RELIEF / HAVEN TO BE IN GREECE FAR REMOVED FROM THE AMERICAN REPRISALS OR WAS IT AN UNSETTLING EXPERIENCE BEING IN AN ALIEN ENVIRONMENT FOR A MONTH?

ME - Well it was a relief perhaps - but you really never can escape where you come from. Greek people have a rather jaundiced view of the US and most of the people I met all said that somehow it America brought it on themselves - with the agony the US goverment has caused since the Cold War. I found that I had to agree with everything - except that I feel uncomfortable with judging relative evils. I had to point out occasionally that the Greeks would be just as angry as the Americans if terrorists from Turkey has used an Olympic Airlines jet to destroy the Acropolis. However now that America is on the brink of becoming a dictatorship I think all of us in the world will lose.

TM - AFTER WORKING WITH MANOLIS FAMELLOS & EXPERIENCING A POSITIVE CREATIVE CHEMISTRY IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT & NEW ENVIRONMENT, WOULD YOU URGE OTHER MUSICIANS TO ABANDON THE " LEASH " WHICH ARE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE US / UK MUSIC INDUSTRY?

ME - Absolutely. Manolis, his band and the engineer that mixed and recorded the record are world class - and Athens is a dynamic and cool place.

TM- AS YOU RECENTLY EXPERIENCED IN BELGRADE, MELANCHOLIC SINGER SONGWRITERS ARE VERY POPULAR IN THE BALKANS. DESPITE LANGUAGE OBVIOUSLY BEING A BARRIER IN GREECE DID YOU FIND PEOPLE IDENTIFYING WITH YOU AND YOUR MUSIC?

ME - I think that it is because my eyebrows meet in the middle that they identify with the most. No - they seem to and I don't know why.

TM - WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO THE PEOPLE THAT BECOME VERY " PURIST " ABOUT YOUR PAST MATERIAL? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT EITZEL GEMS SUCH AS " LAST HARBOR " OR " JENNY " SHOULD HAVE THE LUXURY OF BEING RE-RECORDED OR RE-EXAMINED AS TIME GOES BY?

ME - Well I wrote the damn things so I should be able to do anything I want with them. Songs are either alive and transmutable - or they are dead.

TM - WHAT KIND OF A REACTION DO YOU EXPECT TO GET FOR THE " UGLY AMERICAN " IN AMERICA?

ME - No idea.

TM - DO YOU THINK YOU & FAMELLOS'S BAND COULD BE A GOOD LIVE TEAM?

ME - Absolutely!

MANOLIS FAMELLOS THE GREEK CONNECTION BEHIND MARK EITZEL'S " THE UGLY AMERICAN "

TONGUE MASTER caught up with arranger and composer MANOLIS FAMELLOS who was the man behind the scenes. FAMELLOS had the huge responsibility in preparing his motley crew of Greek musicians, ensuring that they familiarised themselves with an alien (to them) material and orchestrating a project fit for a world renowned cult singer songwriter. So without ever having met MARK EITZEL, it must have been a daunting undertaking for a musician far removed from the UK/US alternative music scene. To expand things further we asked him all about the recording of the " Ugly American " (which has already been - lazily - dubbed as the " Greek Album " by the industry hacks) and the chemistry between him and MARK EITZEL.

TM-HOW WAS IT WORKING WITH MARK EITZEL? WAS THERE A MAJOR CULTURAL / LINGUISTIC BARRIER?

MANOLIS FAMELLOS - Our English (my band-mates and myself) might not be so great, but in the end we got along fine! Mark is unpredictable but also hilarious and from an early stage he got the central gist of things. Our aesthetic approach to the material - I could say - was quite close to what he had in his mind…

TM-HOW HARD WAS IT SITTING DOWN AND SELECTING TRACKS FROM 13 OR SO ALBUMS? DID YOU AND EITZEL HAVE A MUTUAL AGREEMENT FOR WHAT TO DO OR WAS THERE A BEHIND THE SCENES TUG OF WAR?

MF- We started with the intention to record an EP, the idea of album materialised during the proceedings. I want to believe we had a " smooth operation " and a good interpretation with the 5 first tracks we tackled before we met Mark Eitzel. When the final results started to emerge during the rehearsals we decided to proceed towards an album status, just because there were numerous ideas for many more songs and it would have been a shame not to try them out.

TM-OBVIOUSLY MOST PEOPLE IDENTIFY THE BOUZOUKI INSTRUMENT WITH GREEK MUSIC. HOWEVER YOU HAVE DELVED FAR DEEPER INTO THE GREEK MUSICAL TRADITION BY INTRODUCING AN ARRAY OF DIVERSE " ROOTSY " INSTRUMENTATION. HOW HARD WAS IT FOR YOU TO PLAN WHAT TYPE OF " GREEK STYLE " TO PAINT YOUR CHOSEN TRACKS?

MF- I think that each song in its own way dictates which instrument is suited as long as you provide the freedom for it to " talk to you ". We were lucky because we worked with some musicians who had an abundant knowledge of different instruments and the construction.

TM-THERE WAS A RUMOUR THAT THE ALBUM WOULD LEAN TOWARDS A REMBETICO [Heavy Blues 1930's] STYLE ADAPTATION, BUT IN THE END YOU ADOPTED A FAR MORE TRADITIONAL AND LYRICAL APPROACH. HOW DO COME TO THIS DECISION?

MF- Look, for me traditional or revolutionary music does not exist, neither as a conventional or anti conventional approach. All kind of music constitutes these concepts but they also refute and overtake them. Each music style is revolutionary as long as it reflects its inner beauty and is traditional in the sense that it doesn't root at zero level but at its chosen time. So we did what we felt like - and that is as simple as that.

TM- YOU HAVE RE-RECORDED " JENNY " & " LAST HARBOUR ", WHICH TO MANY EITZEL FANS ARE SONGS THAT HAVE A - ONE & ONLY ONE - ULTIMATE ORIGINAL VERSION. ("THE HOLY GRAIL OF AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB SONGS"). AREN'T YOU WORRIED ABOUT PEOPLE CRYING " SACRILEDGE "?

MF- Oh, thankfully I am oblivious to this, otherwise I would have rethought everything…. Haha! Now I think it is too late for things to change.

TM-HOW DO YOU THINK FANS WILL REACT TO THIS ALBUM? AN UNNECESSARY EXCURSION OR AN EXOTIC DELIGHT?

MF-What can I say… I have not met Eitzel fans abroad apart from the ones in Greece. Nevertheless any excursion - even in the worst case scenario - isn't unnecessary. I believe that for all great artists, even their " mistakes " are interesting!

TM-YOU HAVE A CAREER OF YOUR OWN IN GREECE HAVING RECENTLY WORKED WITH RESPECTED COMPOSERS GEORGE DALARAS & MIKIS THEODORAKIS. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GREEK PUBLIC - WHO ISN'T FAMILIAR WITH MARK EITZEL - RECIEVE THIS COLLABORATION?

MF- The Greek public, it seems, greets with a cautionary attitude anything that is new and anything that cannot be pigeonholed at a first listen. Like every public it believes it has the need to feel secure in what it has dished out to them. I from my side do the best I can to maintain the element of surprise but time is always essential for new musical efforts. Thankfully time is with our side.

TM-YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY AN AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB / MARK EITZEL FAN. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS HIS MOST UNDERRATED ALBUM?

MF- I do not know what level of success each of his albums has had in the past apart from what Mark Eitzel himself has told me. Here in Greece, the known " few & blessed " fans, always eagerly followed his progress, but thankfully they only focused on its content and not on what critical or commercial appeal it had abroad. From the 1980's when I first bought American Music Club until today, Eitzel for me, is still a secretive, well loved and undoubtedly an influential artist keeping his loyal public entranced. I do not really pay much attention to reviews. I believe most reviewers love the reviews more than the music. I prefer the music!

TM-DO YOU THINK YOUR BAND COULD PERFORM THESE SONGS - WITH EITZEL - AS A LIVE PERFORMANCE? ANY PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?

MF-Yes, it is undoubtedly an interesting challenge. I would like to expand on other compositions and different versions as much as we already have, I hope.

TM- UNFORTUNATELY MANY PEOPLE THINK OF GREEK MUSIC & THINK OF THE AWFUL DAYS OF " CHEESY " MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD DEMIS ROUSSOS & NANA MOUSKOURI. THIS HAS STIGMATISED ANY POSSIBLE CREDIBLE IMAGE OF GREEK MUSIC. DO YOU BELIEVE THERE IS A HEALTHY MUSIC SCENE TODAY IN GREECE THAT COULD INTEREST AN OVERSEAS AUDIENCE?

MF- There is definitely a scene. In a certain way I believe that somebody has to be national to be international. As long as there is agony, soul searching, and an open mind. And that we don't keep re-hashing a sterile and uninspired " tradition ", but we always search for ways to bring this a step further to our current day, to our daily life, open to all sorts of influences. That is how - I believe - music essentially survives.

TM- APART FROM MARK EITZEL, WHAT OTHER MUSICIANS FROM THE UK OR US ARE AN INSPIRATION TO YOU?

MF- There are too many! As I stated before in the Anglo-Saxon world it is so simple and natural to extend your history within the boundaries of the current frame and happens so many times with spectacular maturity without any self doubt or hesitation - like i.e. Beck. Here (in Greece), the music (and not only) our history is full of gaps, turbulence and divisions which makes the game a much more difficult affair. Sometimes it can be interesting challenge for us but without any doubt a much more difficult task…