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Interviews
Go-Go Marc, Cary On! An Indigenous Person Tells his Story
Phil DiPietro
Phil wishes he was a musician (well, he is one, but he wishes he were a good one) but he's not frustrated by it. He's frustrated with a lot of other aspects of the so-called biz. Therefore, he's excited by independently released jazz.I don't consider myself a political person or an activist in any way, although I grew up steeped in it The songs relate to how I wish things would really be or see thing as being . I did this record not to feature Marc Cary, but to feature composition and the overall story. Native Go-Go Rhythms, Please or NGGR Please , is a dual statement. The reason why I did that is that it's kind of a spin on my own people. People are complaining about this and that and they're not taking any initiative to activate themselves or motivate themselves to do what they have to do. Our environment is a little, to say the least, oppressive and depressive. That doesn't mean the individuals in our society have to be depressed and oppressed. We have a certain freedom here where we can transcend that. Maybe things will happen like getting pulled over by the police and getting harassed or other things that may be inevitable in this environment, but as spiritual and human beings, we can transcend that by letting it go. Get your foot off the clutch and go. Stop complaining and thinking you're going to get a change from somewhere else. The change comes from within. That's what the essence of the record is about. That's why I said , "NGGR, please." But the rhythms- I'm saying I want this Go-Go rhythm to be identified, realized and uplifting. You don't have to go to Cuba to find something that has a clave that's steeped in African tradition, and that's what Latin music is steeped in, the African tradition. If you go to Senegal, you hear the same music you hear in Cuba, it's just a different language-they have the same tradition. The clave-the two:three and the three:two. Also with the perspective of doing it from within, "Activate Yourself" is another one of the titles. "No More War"- of course, that's big picture now but it's also meant regarding the war within my people. The model is already set up and we're killing each other. Outside forces have to do nothing. All they have to do is come in and try to look like they're trying to keep the peace. "Got it" says respect thyself , love thyself and "you got it" because you do. The intention of the music is to definitely project those thoughts. "No More War" uses guitar specifically for the sound of shit goin' down -the moog and horns on top of that- the sound without the lyric brings that forward. This was a very conscious record from the making of it to what the lyrics and the music are actually saying.
AAJ: So, tell us about this new Stefon record and project, Blackout .
MC: Well, he pulled it off. That's an incredible musician.
AAJ: Again, I love what you do with the Rhodes and how it mixes with the vibes so I'm listening for that.
MC: I told him I should play Rhodes on this record. Don't get me wrong. Piano is beautiful. I love the piano. I'd like to think I play the piano better than I play the Rhodes, but the piano I play in a certain way because of the sound of it. While I said the Rhodes is an acoustic instrument, it's also electric, so the sustain quality and so many other effects you can achieve with it — the bell tones and the overtones of the tines— differentiate what you can do with it.
AAJ: I think it's a killer record and band. What have you got planned?
MC: So far, we have this east coast tour and then a June leg on the West Coast. That's all for right now.
AAJ: Really? You guys have got to go out longer than that.
MC: We're number 12 on Billboard as of last week. This guy is a phenomenal musician and a scholar, so we'll see. Sometimes it seems like the timing of when I do my stuff and release it has never been timely for the industry. I hope this breaks that cycle.
AAJ: Let's switch gears a bit. A lot of what's written about you talks about the rhythmic aspects of your playing.
MC: That's drums, man. I'm very rhythmic because I understand time. Music is metric and if you understand the metric part you can be creative with it. I understand how to break down a beat because I understand what the instrument is- it's a percussive instrument. A lot of people look at it as some syrupy instrument.
AAJ: But it's harmony too.
MC: Of course it's harmony but it's percussion. It's attacking. It's a hammer hitting a string.
AAJ: Well, you and Stefon are both playing percussive instruments in this band, but you have a lot of other harmony happening.
MC: Well, yeah. It's a harmonic, melodic, percussive instrument. Even though you can tune a drum, and it can be considered melodic, one can only go so far with that.
AAJ: So in terms of the harmonic, who are your influences?
