Detroit Music Scene's Murder Mystery band sends e.p., photos, and love - By N.L. Belardes

I love when a band out of who-knows-where reaches out and takes the time to send a CD and a nice letter. I don’t always write bands up as they deserve. I’m forgetful, dumb, and sometimes even lose music; like Idle Revolution’s CD that I’ve lost twice(buried on my desk) and I still haven’t made one of their shows. One day I’ll be confronted by Chase in a dark alley. He’ll have a gun and say, “N.L., we’ve given you enough chances to support our cause. The revolution is no longer idle. It’s time for you to die…”

And then it will all be over. I’ll be laying in a gutter, bleeding out, thinking, Why did I lose their CD? Why didn’t I see them at World Records? No one ever performs at World Records… that’s historic for Bakersfield… cough… sputter…

I’m behind in my music reviews. It’s time to get back on track, before I’m on another hit list.



Yet, I’m daring to be different here. I’m not going to start with a Bakersfield band.

Let’s take a tour to the old land of Motown, near to Detroit, in the land of Michigan—Madison Heights to be exact. I think it’s about 4-5 miles northwest of Detroit.

I’ve been writing to Murder Mystery vocalist/guitarist Adam for some time now. I asked him these questions about the band.

You’re a writer and you go to school? Tell me more?

Well, I just finished up my master's degree last year. I'm now a Special Education teacher at this charter school, where I teach language arts and math to learning disabled students. I was lucky enough to get married last August to this really cool girl named Miranda.

Like I said, she's really cool...but it's also important to know that she's nice and helps out with the songs, too. She wrote the lyrics for a song on the EP called “Bears”. She's funny and she's going to school to become a teacher, too. We have two cats Steve and Paca.

Describe everyone in your band using fruity adjectives all in one-liners.

Sara: Consummate, perspicacious, decorous

Phil: Hirsute, sportive, industrious

Greg: Glabrous, equitable, convivial

Adam:

Where did Murder Mystery spawn from?

The band started in 1999 but it was a completely different line up. We kind of played weird psychedelic music mostly inspired by Pink Floyd. This was in college so as people graduated new people would come into the fold. Eventually, we all graduated and the band finally became myself on guitar and vocals, Sara on vocals and lead guitar, Greg on drums, and Phil on bass.

We'll definitely start recording a proper full-length in November and release that sometime in the Spring. We'll also tour behind that record; hitting all the college towns...sending it out to college radio, and all that kind of stuff. Hopefully, we'll get on to a larger indie label with greater distribution. We've been fortunate because the music we play is generally well received and because we function so well as a unit. Everyone writes songs, so we never get stuck in a funk playing the same songs or a certain type of music. Everyone brings their own influences and ideas. Plus, we're very laidback and fun. I'd say we're the best band at hanging out. Well, we're the best band in general (I normally would edit out such a line, but Murder Mystery is a sarcastic and fun group of peeps)



How did you hook up with a Frisco filmmaker?

Donald Harrison, the filmmaker from San Fran, is out in the Detroit-area making a film on this boogie woogie piano player from Detroit named Bob Seeley. He sent us an e-mail through the website asking us if we would cameo in the film and record a song for it as well. We of course jumped at the opportunity. I guess he found us just by searching the web. He liked our songs and our influences and thought we kind of represented classic Detroit rock. Plus, our shows are very high energy and that makes for good film.

Part of the film will focus on how boogie-woogie transitioned to rock 'n roll and that's the part where Murder Mystery will leap from the screen! The film is going to be in different festivals and there may be a premiere here in Detroit. Donald is a really cool guy and he does really neat projects, his website is http://www.primaryplusgreen.com

Adam also sent me their self-titled e.p., Murder Mystery.

How do I describe an Indie band who sounds punk, but isn’t, but kind of is. They remind me of the B-52s with a dose of Violent Femmes, and some Frank Black smashing it all together if he tore into their underground sound universe with arms flailing, saying, “No! Insanity should be spelled this way!” And yet, vocalist Adam sounds so sarcastically punk, almost as if he’s a purposely disinterested punk lead singer.

“We’re as fine as we can be,” Adam sings in “K”. They’re A OK, yes, and lay their OK-ness on the line with instrumental grooves and stripped down guitar sounds followed by funky bass lines just pulling enough to keep you wondering where the song is headed.

“Halatosis” reminds me of the 80s, in a near early REM guitar riff style. “Gotta get my groove on, my groove on, alright!” he sings and talks about everything that’s alright in a simple life, which includes self-flatulence in a classroom. It’s the simple things in life.

Murder Mystery is just plain fun… a 6-song CD with a zebra on the cover. You know it’s not serious… yet it is… though the lyrics and singing is playful.

“Fuzzhause” gets a bit darker, distorted… “I can’t get no sleep. My mind is ringing like a bell. Every thought is a pail…” Adam doesn’t have that disinterested ring in his voice in this song. Here he drives his voice along with the distortion of his guitar… it’s got some attitude, it’s got distortion and a driving tempo, with Adam’s guitar shrieking throughout the song. Fuzzhause, baby.

Every post-modern Indie rock band should have a song titled, “I’m going to the store.” Here Adam takes a walk to the store where he’s going to buy himself. The music is a straight-up Indie Detroit music scene jam… You’d want this band playing in your record store while surfing the aisles for the latest underground Indie music fusion…



One of my favorite lines from the Murder Mystery CD is from the song, “Okie Dokie.”Dripping with Indie-punk sarcasm, Adam sings, “Rock and roll to the banks of delusion.“ You don’t need any more explanation. Okie dokie?

“Bears” is a silly cowpunk sung about getting hurt by a bear at a cabin while wearing super absorbent shirts that can soak up blood. If this song isn’t a Detroit music scene rallying cry, I don’t know what is. Because everything out there is a bear when you’re an Indie band just trying to survive.

I am wondering why the heck a circus bear on a bicycle wasn’t on the CD cover? Oh well, the zebra is fun.

Seriously, I enjoyed taking a trip through Murder Mystery’s e.p. Makes you wonder why there aren’t more sarcastic Indie bands in Bakersfield. We all need to rally around the silly and delusional. Especially in music where so many bands take themselves too seriously.

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Monday, October 09, 2006. You can leave your response.