Vol. 1 No. 4 (Sept. 1, 2003) Page 6

Page 1
DVD Mania

Page 2
DVD Mania
(Cont'd)

Page 3
The Fan
Cams

Page 4
Rock in Rockingham

Page 5
Fan Profile
Global BTE

Page 6
In Step with Dave O' Connor of Martly

More Pics & Reviews
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14

Page 15
News &
Links

Page 16
Kristin: The Artist in Residence

HAVE YOU SEEN THE MAP OF EZRA?
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HAVE YOU SEEN THE TTOY HALL OF FAME?
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MISSED EARLIER EDITIONS OF THE SERENADE?
March 2003
May 2003
July 2003

The Rock Band Known as Martly

IN STEP WITH
DAVE O'CONNOR OF "MARTLY"

Who is Dave O’Connor and what’s his Ezra connection?

Dave is the bass player and lead singer of the Albany, New York based rock band Martly. I’d heard about the band for a long time, but until recently I’d never gotten a chance to see them. And they rock.

My interest in the band was piqued when I read an interview with Dave where he was asked what song he wished he had written. His reply?

"'Beautiful Mistake' by Better Than Ezra. I’m no sissy, but every now and again I need a good balls-out cry."

After that classic quote, how could I not check this band out?  Well, Mr. O’Connor has been kind enough to spend some time talking to the SERENADE. He tells us a little bit about himself, the band, and how BTE has influenced his work.

Dave O’Connor (Bass, Lead Vocals)
Chris Conti (Guitars)
John Delehanty (Guitars)
Paul Koelbel (Keyboards)
Danni O’Connor (Drums)

Hey Dave, what’s the band’s history and how long has Martly been together?
Martly was a college band that I joined up in Plattsburgh, NY, it was a cover band that morphed members and became an original band with the final core line up since 1997 (two drummers, two keyboardists and seven guitarists later). We have recently added Johnny on the guitar though, but he has been with us all along as a sound engineer and was really quite involved with the song-writing on our latest album "Fascination."

How many CDs has the band put out? Where are they available?
We have two CDs available, "Thirteen" and "Fascination." Both are available online at CDbaby and of course we sell them at shows as well.

I see the band does much of it’s own production and artwork. Does you and band members have formal training in these areas?
Sort of, but not really, I do the artwork and web stuff and am trained only by trial and error on my mac here at the house. The videos that we have (two on "Thirteen" and one on "Fascination") were edited by Chris and Johnny. Chris is a news editor and knows the ins and outs of final cut. Johnny is self-taught.

If you had to suggest one Martly song that best typifies the band’s sound what would it be?
That is a tough one, I guess I would have to say "Brandi" right now. It's so subjective, I think. Ask me tomorrow and I might say "Strange Fascination." Perhaps "Strange" is a better one, we are into loops and rhythm tracks, but not overcome by them. Right now our sound has a fair amount of guitars too, layers of stuff, and you should hear the tracks we leave out. We do some sampling too, the loop on Brandi is actually a pile driver we recorded to mini-disc in Portland, Maine while we were on the road.

I know you recently recorded a live show. How did that go and how can Ezralites check it out?
We have started to put our live stuff on the web recently. The show up there now is from the spring, recorded in Troy, NY at Revolution Hall. Most of these recordings are live to tape with a minimal bit of mastering, however, we did a show on the 2nd of August up in Lake George to multitrack in pro-tools and the boys tell me the sound is great. We videotaped this one too, for a full show release, I suspect this will happen in the fall.

I know you hold down a day job in addition to your music. What do you do?
I like to tell people that I pump gas for a living.

Has the band toured much? What are some of your more notable gigs and acts with whom you’ve shared a stage?
We like to get out on the road in the spring and the fall, but it's not usually for more than a couple of weeks. We are not signed and have no booking agent to shop us, so we do everything on our own. Getting the shows to line up is tough. You wind up playing a date in Miami and the next show you were able to successfully book is in Portland Oregon. This tends to put miles on the van and cut into the time we can be out since we all have to work to keep this going. We do like getting out there. We’ve played some dates with The Goo Goo Dolls (on the MP3 Music and Technology Tour), as well as shows with Rob Zombie, Francis Dunnery, The Smithereens, The Rosenbergs, and Bottlefly.

Touring Bosnia and Croatia must have been incredible. How did you get that gig and what did you gain from the experience?
We had a friend who decided to help out with bookings and called into the Department of Defense to see if they were hiring (I know, most people when trying a new job like booking a band would keep it national, but this guy is very unique) and they were looking so we jumped through the security hoops and found ourselves knee deep in the hoopla over there playing for the UN troops.

How long have you been a BTE fan? Have you been to many shows?
I became a fan of BTE at the 1995 Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans (love that town, but I think the novelty of walking around with a hurricane is started to wear off.....maybe not). They were on one of the tiny side stages and my friend who lived there had to DRAG me over to see them. On my return home I began hearing this band on the radio and have been hooked ever since. I have seen them every time they have played during Jazzfest in New Orleans, as well as the few times they have made it to Albany. Now that I live in NYC, I never miss them when they come here either. Oh yeah, I saw them in San Francisco last year too, at the Fillmore, very cool.

What’s your most memorable BTE concert experience?
Definitely when they played at Tipitina's uptown during NOLA’s Jazzfest two years ago. They had this Australian guy (Pauly) come up to do the guitar part on one of their tunes and he rocked the place. They went into a FULL version of "Sweet Child O' Mine." I’ve seen them do "TTOY" with someone out of the audience to play along, but it’s never stolen the show like this time.

As a repeat BTE concertgoer, what impresses you most about BTE shows?
I think the most important thing a band can do is to keep it fresh, look like you are having fun and stay in touch with the crowd, who needs shoe gazers? BTE are definitely not shoe-gazers. They are all fun to watch and look like they are having a blast, that is impressive especially when you are playing on the road so much. Things can become mildly tiresome, especially after a bad Indian meal.

After listening to the Fascination CD, I sense a real Ezra influence, am I right?
You are right, I listened to "How Does Your Garden Grow" and "Closer" quite a bit while we were doing that CD. They are great songwriters. I think the melodies and loops they use are irresistible and hope to have that kind of thing going on as well. But really, there are four other guys in the band who all have various influences from – dare I say – Rush to Quicksand. So our stuff is the product of many influences as I am sure BTE’s music is too.

Has BTE influenced your music in other ways? How so?
I think that being in a band trying so hard to make it work and getting signed and let go by a label is a real hard thing to have happen. Perhaps it's perseverance, they have a drive and I know they have a following that supports them – a very devoted following – but I still think you have to be strong to keep it going. Martly has never been signed but we do have some devoted people behind us and we love playing together. I think I see that devotion in BTE and it has motivated me to keep at it. We aren't trying to become a huge arena filler, but it sure would be nice to quit the gas job.

Have you ever met the BTE guys or interacted with them?
We’ve met them several times over the years. One time in particular, after seeing BTE in front of 80,000 people at the festival in NOLA, we went to see The Afghan Whigs at Tipitina's (they were recording "1965"). Anyway, standing there by the soundboard is KG. Dani and I went up to him and I was blabbering on about how cool it was that here he was, a guy who just did this amazing show a few hours earlier and could have been backstage or on the sideline up there with the Afghan Whigs. He was very down to earth going to see a show like the rest of us and he just said, "Hey man, it's the Whigs."

What makes "Beautiful Mistake" so special and why does it make you cry?
I am very likely reading into the words, but I had a Dad who went away when I was very young never to return. This one really hit me close and those rhythm tracks are freakin’ great.

Are the other guys in the band also Ezra fans? Have they ever physically threatened you for playing too much BTE on road trips?
Dani is as much a fan if not more than I am. He stuck around one night when they played Tramps here in NYC to hang with them after the show (John the manager gave us passes). I bailed as I had to be up early to work the gas pumps. The other guys listen. I think Paul kind of likes them, but Chris and Johnny are into other stuff. We strike a happy medium when we’re on the road. We just put the mp3 player on shuffle and pray for the best. At some point we usually wind up watching old Ben Stiller show tapes, we all dig that.

Martly, Rock Out at a Recent Outdoor Show

What do you like most about the Ezra sound? What’s your favorite CD?
I can't really pick out any one thing, unless you want me to bring up the loops and and rhythm tracks again, but I think I will spare you! I am quite enjoying "Closer" these days, but "HDYGG" comes a close second. However, if you put "Friction Baby" or "Deluxe" in the CD player I wouldn't threaten your life...

As a fellow bass player, what do you notice about Tom Drummond’s bass playing?
He is solid. A great sound and somewhat melodic in his parts. I have told him so. He’s truly doing his part with Travis as the backbone of BTE.

What’s next for Martly?
Putting some dates together for the Fall and hoping some recent connections and recordings that we did in Nashville will pan out. We are always writing new tunes, so I would imagine that we will be in the studio before too long.

You guys have a very cool website. What’s the address again?
Thanks for saying so, it’s www.martly.com

Great chatting with you Dave.