BRAD MARINO

BRAD MARINO

Let's take it back to the beginning - how did you first come to understand that you had a love for music, and when did you begin playing music? What was your first instrument, and how did you learn to play? When did you begin writing songs, and how did you approach songwriting early on?

It seems funny now but I would say that MTV in the mid - late 90’s is what peaked my interest in music. I was really into some of the bands at the time, Green Day of course, The Offspring and some of the other contemporaries like Blink 182, Lit, Oasis or even Smash Mouth. It seemed like a big deal to be in a band back then and that was when they still played music videos and there was some good ones back then whatever you thought of the song at the time. That was probably the last period of time -sadly possibly ever-that it was cool to play guitar and sing and be in an actual band and some of the most popular bands were of the ‘punk’ variety too. 

My first instrument was an Ibanez Stratocaster knock off. No one in my family was musically inclined and I’m sure my parents would rather have had me stick with sports but my grandfather was a really cool guy and knew how bad I wanted a guitar. One day we were driving and he said “ Something is rattling around in the trunk” he pulled over and we looked and there it was my first guitar and my life was changed forever!

At first I took lessons, probably 3 or 4 but my grades kind of stunk. I was in middle school maybe 7th or 8th grade and my parents weren’t as cool as my grandfather was so I had to call the guitar teacher and say I couldn’t go anymore. Luckily a few months later I discovered a band that would ultimately change my life forever, The Ramones! 

As far as the early stages of writing for me that was a couple years later when I was about a sophomore in High School, I started tooling around with some ideas. Heavily influenced by The Queers , another band that blew my mind at the time. The sophomoric lyrics and catchy melodies really hit a nerve with me at that age (14 or so )and they seemed to love The Ramones as much as I did. I don’t think the songs were any good but I remember the guys in my band liking them at the time and getting random compliments from people around the school.

Were The Rydells your first band? What were the songwriting goals for that band, and how involved were you in that process? Denny seemed like an interesting character - I recall you saying that he "was Johnny Ramone" not just in looks but also in personality. What was that experience like? 

Actually my first band was called “No Remorse” the aforementioned high school band. Basically playing random punk covers and my handful of originals. I was the singer and guitarist. At the time I joined the Rydells in 2004, Way to Go!, my other old band was just starting out and I would always mess about with the drums at practices and realized I could play and pretty well for someone with zero experience. Denny asked Rich from WTG if he knew anybody and Rich said I could probably do it. Thats how I joined.  It was awkward at first. I knew nothing about drums as far as setting them up or any proper technique but I could do that Ramones sound quite well. When I joined the first album “Go Mental” had been written already so I don’t know much about the writing of that one. I believe Denny wrote the majority of it and also Chris Lamy who had played with GG Allin and The Jabbers also wrote 2 or 3 songs for that. The best song “M.I.A” was written by a bass player, Colin was his name. He played the first couple shows I did with the band and he bailed on the recording session and we never saw him again. The second album “RnR is the Answer” ( 2008) I was more involved in the writing process. Everyone wrote for that one. Andy the new bass player wrote a lot for that one, Denny wrote a couple, and I wrote a couple too, “Toledo” and “ Three Bullets” just kinda “Meh” Songs. Once again Lamy wrote a bunch for the record too. Denny was an interesting cat to be sure. I definitely admired him because he was older than me, he looked like Johnny Ramone, and he was extremely knowledgable about music. He turned me on to a lot of great bands. 

The band Way to Go! was a great one, but didn't seem to last long or get a chance to make the kind of impact I felt it deserved to make. Also the style of music was different - a more traditional pop punk style but still with Ramones roots. You also sang and played bass in that band? How was that different than being the drummer of The Rydells? What are some of your most memorable experiences with that band? Got any more of those cd's laying around you could send me?

Way to Go! Was a mess of a band. Rich Masta was the songwriter for that band, he really could crank em out. Funny, witty, interesting take on ‘pop punk’. I really liked his songs. Denny hated that I had another band, there is that “Johnny” coming out again. I felt more comfortable in WTG because I was singing again and I really didn’t like being behind the kit as much. I liked being front and center and interacting with the crowd and most of all singing. Like the drums I wasn’t really a bassist but picked up and rolled with it. The big problem for WTG was Rich. Great songwriter but I think he almost enjoyed ruining things and not getting the band to a larger audience. It was frustrating to be sure. When we did the one real “official” release “1,2,3 Bored!” We were really tight. I loved the songs and the production of that album. The label wanted to do a vinyl pressing and Rich said “no”. I also think some labels were interested besides the one we ended up on and Rich probably blew em off or something. “Bored” came out after we broke up, I think Rich wanted it that way for some reason. It was stupid but what could I do? I also was sick of pop punk at that point. I really hadn’t been listening to it for years by this point  in 2009. 

How did The Connection first form, and what were the goals from the outset? Obviously this was a musical departure for all involved, taking it back to the pure rock n' roll roots of punk. How did you guys develop that sound? Was there some analysis or songwriting study involved? How did you manage to create such an authentic vibe without sounding cliche or unoriginal?

So in 2010 I moved to Portsmouth, NH and really through Geoff’s girlfriend, Jackie, I started hanging out with Geoff. We were both really into the same kind of music. We’d hang out, pass around a guitar, drink some beers and just listen to all kinds of records and music. Geoff also turned me on to a lot of cool stuff but it was our interest in ROCK N ROLL that bonded us. Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Stones, Beatles, Chesterfield Kings, all kinds of random Power Pop. It was a lot of fun. I really wasn’t a songwriter until The Connection. I don’t know where it came from but I think when I started digging into rock/pop music more it opened me up to a different approach to writing. I started writing “All you Gotta Do” and “I want you” just trying to do a 63 Beatles thing and one day I was at Geoff’s and he was working on songs with Drew Brown from his current band, Geoff Useless Band. Geoff went to relieve himself and handed me the guitar and I just started playing what I had for those couple tunes. Geoff returned and was like “What’s That!?” He really dug the ideas. Drew left, I stayed and the rest is history- he helped me finish those and we took off writing more. It wasn’t for a couple weeks after we had “Stop Talking” and one or two more that we decided we had to start a band. Geoff was already a well established songwriter so I think that helped push me to continue to write and just try different ideas like I’d never done before. It was definitely different for Geoff and I. We went from playing punk to playing more of a garage rock/power pop thing, We wore the old Beatles suites and skinny ties for the first 6 months or so of the band. The original purpose was to be like a garage lo fi power pop type band but we ditched that eventually and just started playing a mix of everything. I think that’s what it keeps it from being cliché. We mix elements of all kinds of music into The Connection, and I think the best thing we did was allow that punk rock background to start seeping in.

When you joined The Connection, did you already feel pretty capable as a guitarist? How was the experience of singing and playing guitar in the beginning? It seems that you've change roles significantly with each band leading up to the current era where you're stepping out as more of a songwriter who just happens to play everything.

I had sort of stopped honing my craft as a guitarist because what I knew was enough to get by in a punk rock band. Plus I hadn’t been a guitarist in a band in  years and years. I was a drummer and a bass player even though I always fancied myself a guitarist first I really wasn’t. So it was like re learning the guitar.I really put a focus on learning and practicing and it’s paid off. I’ve gotten considerably better than I was back in the early days of The Connection. I was sort of thrown into being the lead singer of The Connection, I thought at first maybe we’d both sing or Geoff would sing but he wanted me too. I think he saw that I could be a good frontman but it took a while to loosen up a bit and really fall into the role and embrace it. My singing has improved greatly as well. The Connection has definitely made me a much better musician than ever before and I think that’s why I’m able to play everything or do a solo thing here and there. I think I wasn’t passionate about being a ‘musician’ until The Connection. 

When did you begin to notice The Connection was making an impact? How did it feel to step away from the pop punk scene and be welcomed into a new scene with some heavy hitters like Little Steven? Did you and the rest of the guys feel that you had evolved beyond pop punk as a musical style and scene? How do you feel about pop punk now compared to the earlier days?

The impact was almost immediate actually. It was a very exciting time. It was definitely refreshing to join a scene that was much more inclusive than maybe the pop punk thing. I think I first noticed when we released “New Englands Newest Hitmakers” our first album it got great reviews and a bunch of blogs and review sites were giving it a lot of praise. We pressed up 100 Copies on White Vinyl and they sold out within a couple weeks. Then we had offers to press it from labels in Spain and Japan so it got off to a fast start almost from the beginning. I think a lot of that was due to Geoff’s connections (no pun intended) through fans and friends he had met touring with The Guts and Kurt Baker in Europe. Like any genre there is a scene out there for Rock n Roll/Power Pop and there are a lot of great bands doing it. Frankly most of them also came from a punk rock background, its sort of a natural progression I think in a way. Especially when you realize all the punk bands were influenced by early Rock n Roll. At least the good ones. I honestly was never big into keeping up with the “pop punk scene” I just sort of played in bands and we weren’t really big enough to get involved in it. I do think around the turn of the decade it took a turn for the worse. Musically and attitude wise. Pop Punk just became a bunch of snobs in their mom’s basement  talking shit and the music was just awful frankly, it lost the fun and pop sensibilities and became something that was totally different than I was into when I was younger. 

You've established yourself now as a connoisseur of classic rock music - but was this always the case? When did you start to become well-versed in bands such as The Rolling Stones, for example? Was there a moment when you realized, "Wow, this old stuff is actually great!"?

Not long after I started really digging into the Ramones I’d say. It started out as just liking bands that sounded like The Ramones but that quickly got tired and so I started digging into the music the Ramones listened to and were influenced by. And that is all the “classic” stuff. Classic Rock sounds dirty to me, I don’t like that term as much. Some of it is per se but I’m not really into The Who or Led Zeppelin that stuff is “dad/classic rock” to me. The Stones as you mention, they are the greatest rock n roll band to ever exist. Sure, they have “classic songs” but it’s easy to forget with how long they’ve been around that they were truly a dangerous band in the 60’s and most of the 70’s. In my opinion they were the first punk rock band and also were a bigger influence than the Beatles to a lot of the 60’s garage punk. The Ramones were just 50’s and early 60’s music sped up and stripped down a bit. The NY Dolls, The Stooges, MC5, they were just copying a lot of what The Stones were doing. It’s all relative and once you realize that you realize the greatness of the early stuff 50/60/70’s stuff. The album that got me into the Stones fanatic I am now was “Aftermath” the lyrics were totally relatable, it came out in 66 they were all 22 year old punks living in a shitty flat in England writing songs about girls, and being poor and on your own. Very relatable stuff, a lot different than the billionaires they’ve become but that doesn’t change the greatness of their first 2 decades.

When you made the "switch" from playing in punk rock bands to a band like The Connection which has cross-generational appeal, did you notice any significant age difference in the fans or show-goers? Does your family relate more to what you're doing now compared to the punk stuff? How supportive are they of your music in general?

The audience definitely trends older which at first is sort of weird but they were all 22 in 1978 when all the great music was happening, they got to see The original Ramones or Cheap Trick or Dead Boys, Johnny Thunders. I mean you name it and they got to experience it when it was happening. We have some younger fans but mostly in other countries. Id say a lot of our audience is people in their 50’s or so. Once in a while you get some young punks who get it but unfortunately a lot of punks are dumb and don’t get Rock n Roll. My parent’s like The Connection a lot more than Way to Go! haha.. they’re definitely happy with the success I’ve had but they aren’t really the hippest of the hip. Sadly like I said most of our fans are my parents age but if they dig it and buy stuff and enjoy it then whatever. 

You've recently stepped out along with some of your comrades in The Connection as a confident and capable solo artist/songwriter. What inspired this decision? Do you record all of the parts on the singles you've released so far under your name? What has been the process? Has your songwriting been significantly different this time around?

It was something I’d thought of for a while. I’ve really been writing a lot of songs over the past couple years and they were/are starting to build up. There are 6 of mine on the new Connection and I felt that with some of the others it would be a good time to just release them on my own as a solo thing. I played all the instruments and did all the vocals, its a 100% solo effort which was challenging and fun to do and makes it a little unique. My buddy, Michael Chaney, who is a big RnR fan and lives in Los Angeles kind of helped facilitate it and he contributed 2 songs to the project. He wrote all the songs for The New Trocaderos which was a band with Geoff, Me and Kurt Baker and also for Tommy and the Rockets a great project I played drums on as well. It’s very exciting to have solo stuff on the side now, The Connection is still number 1 priority but releasing new music more often is fun. A cool label in Sweden, Beluga Records, is pressing it up on vinyl which I’m excited about, you can get it at bradmarino.bandcamp.com

Now that you have a more versatile rock n' roll background, has your process for composing melodies and song structures evolved significantly, and if so in what ways? You still seem to prefer concise songs as opposed to long ones - is this a nod back to your punk roots? Have you spent much time developing your guitar soloing skills - and is this something that's important to you as a songwriter?

I think I’ve developed because I’m not forcing myself to be in a box. With The Connection Geoff and I write all types of songs. Some are flat out punk songs, like “Don’t Come Back” thats one of mine, Dan Vapid even does the call and response vocals. We do 60’s sounding stuff, hard rocking NY Dolls/Stones stuff, country, power pop we just WRITE and if it’s good it’s good. I still adhere to the 2:30-3:00 minute song mark. That’s a good solid song right there, “Don’t Bore us get to the Chorus”. As for solo’s I’m not virturoso or anything but I can hold my own. My solo style is just Chuck Berry, Johnny Thunders, Keith Richards style. No one likes a show off.

How would you describe your daily life now that you've settled in to a rock n' roll lifestyle that enables you to tour and record often? Do you have a 9-to-5 job? How do you meet the financial challenges involved in releasing high quality recordings? What's the hardest part about being in a touring band in today's musical climate?

I feel I have a lot of balance in my life. I’m happy where I am at. Rock n’ Roll is a big part of my life but unfortunately it alone can’t pay the mortgage. I have a great job that allows me to work at home, and offers a lot of vacation and flex time so there isn’t much I can’t do music wise due to the 9-5 thing. Recording is definitely not cheap. The Connection is lucky to make some money and be able to fund our recording sessions without dipping into our own pockets. We’ve also been fortunate to work with some great labels who help when needed. As for touring, we try to tour smart. Getting in a van and driving around the US playing to 4 people a night isn’t worth it on a lot of levels. We are lucky that we live close to Boston and New York City so that is 2 good markets we can play on the regular. We’ve done several European tours and those are a blast and totally different than anything in America. Touring is a lot of fun especially over there, everything’s paid for, you have a driver, really can be care free. And the audiences are super enthusiastic about the music and show up any night of the week. They also buy stuff so really in my opinion touring in 2018 keep it short and sweet, a week or two in Europe and maybe weekend runs in other spots.

What are you future goals as a musician and songwriter? Do you foresee yourself releasing new material on a regular basis for a long time? Do you have any specific songwriting goals in terms of technique or impact? Any bucket list items for tours or collaborations?

I definitely think I will continue writing and recording for a long time. Probably forever. I think if your a songwriter or whatever you are always cooking up new ideas even if you aren’t sure at the time what band or project it may be for. It’s very satisfying to write a good song and I really enjoy being in the studio. It’s like a playground, and hearing the whole thing come together is very exciting. It’s fun to add different production ideas and such to songs. My goal as far as songwriting is to keep getting better, just keep writing which I always do. You never know when a great idea may pop into your head randomly. I think one goal would be to write song’s for other people. I think that would be cool for sure and a fun challenge.  Tour wise I’d love to go to Japan. I know the fans over there are huge into RnR so that would be something for sure. Collaborations are also fun- I’d work with anyone who wants to work with me.

Finally, which Rolling Stones record could you point me to as a starting place to overcome the sour taste I've always associated with that band as a result of having an asshole stepdad who loved them? I feel I'm finally ready to give them a fair listen, but I need some guidance!

Ok I’ll give you 1 from each era’. The original 60’s Brian Jones era I’d go Aftermath, like I said great songs, instrumentation, Mick and Keith’s vocals are great. Awesome record. From the Mick Taylor era I would go Exile on Main Street. Lots of different styles of music but a lot of great straight up rockers on this one. And a more modern album, Some Girls. This one was their answer to punk rock and it’s one of the best albums of the late 70’s. Ignore the disco song “Miss You” and start on track 2. “Lies” is a great punk rock tune, “Respectable” is an awesome punk rock Chuck Berry style song. You won’t be disappointed!