Spirited Philly band Marah boasts new lineup at Hi-Tone
For years, punk legends the Ramones were revered as the band "too tough to die." These days it's a moniker that fits fellow East Coast roots-rockers Marah perfectly.
"For one reason or another we were just unsuccessful enough that the music didn't get spoiled and had a bit of staying power to it," says Marah singer/guitarist Dave Bielanko of the group's continuing 15-year run. "At this point in my life, I think maybe we gotta follow through with the band and keep the story going."
Hannah Toresson
Philly roots-rock band Marah plays the Hi-Tone on Tuesday.
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Despite enjoying only minor commercial success, Marah developed a high profile after being loudly championed by respected musicians like Steve Earle (who signed the group to his label) and Bruce Springsteen (who's guested live and on record with them) as well as authors like Nick Hornby (who collaborated on several reading tours with the band).
A scrappy, spirited Philadelphia combo -- led by Bielanko and his brother Serge -- that first emerged in the mid-'90s, Marah's career has been marked by as much chaos as great music. The band's reputation is replete with tales of enraged producers holding master tapes hostage, battles between the Bielankos, and a seemingly endless stream of musicians coming in and out of the band.
Boasting yet another new lineup, the group returns to Memphis, for the first time in four years, for an acoustic show at the Hi-Tone Café on Tuesday night.
As Marah works on a new record -- adding to an impressive discography including minor classics like 1999's Kids in Philly and 2005's If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry -- frontman Dave Bielanko will have to take on that creative challenge without his longtime collaborator and sibling Serge, who's stepped away from the band to raise his young daughter, and made intimations that he might not rejoin.
"Perhaps he'll never play music again, but I wouldn't bet on it. Stranger things have happened," says Bielanko. "I'm a little bit more stubborn, and I believe I've been the captain of this band and the reason we've kept going. It was always like me dragging Serge through stuff, but that was our dynamic.
"I was incredibly depressed about the idea of not having him around. But, I think it changes thing in a good way, or an interesting way, for me. Our competition as songwriters has always been inspiring, but I want to see what I can do, independent of that brotherhood thing."
Challenges are nothing new for Marah -- a group that's seen at least 30 different members pass through its ranks over the years.
Unfortunately, the last lineup change took place at an inopportune time: just as the band's 2008 album Angels of Destruction was being released. Internal band strife led to a mass defection of the entire group (save the Bielankos and pianist Christine Smith) after an appearance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", killing the record's momentum.
"For a long time I thought there was some sort of curse on the band," admits Bielanko.
Despite so many ups and downs for Marah, a core of loyal fans has stuck it out with them. "We've got a super intense and cultish audience now. Christ, I can't do nothing without pissing somebody off," says Bielanko, laughing. "We might end up playing a gig in Omaha, Neb., and there'll be a handful of people there that expect everything that they've ever read about you to happen and unfold in the club that night. And you just hope you can deliver on their expectations."
For much of this year Bielanko and the band have been working on a new album, recording both at a studio in Nashville and in a home setup in the woods in Pennsylvania.
They hope to have the record done and released by the fall. "It's been a little bit of a process, dealing with some technical things and just figuring out the direction. But, the bottom line is, if the songs are good, you could record it on a boom box and it'll be great. All we're trying to do is make a record that has a purpose."
"I've got high standards, I guess," he adds. "We've made a couple records I think are really cool and we want to live up to that. But if we finish this record and it doesn't feel like Marah, then I might make a new band."
Despite that, Marah fans shouldn't expect Bielanko to give up just yet. "The truth is the music business is a sick and stupid thing," he says, with a chuckle. "But I'm playing shows with people that I love, and I feel like on a good night our music and the sense of place and sense of community that we deliver is really cool. And that is worth keeping alive."
-- Bob Mehr: 529-2517
Marah, The Bulletproof Vests
Tuesday, 9 p.m. at the Hi-Tone Café, 1913 Poplar Avenue. Doors open at 9 p.m. Cover is $10.
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