MARCO THE ICEMEN

From left to right: Marco, Noah & Mackie

Here it is, our X-mas gift for you guys: An interview with none other than Marco, the founding member of one of the NY greatest bands ever, The Icemen. Enjoy! -Interview by Hugo

When did you meet Noah Evans? Did you guys grow up listening to music together?

Noah and I met when he was 8 years old, his family moved into the artist building I lived in. His father Gil Evans is a jazz legend and when we would hang at his house there were instruments all around us. Noah and I grew up listening to music together and of course started playing music together as well. In fact I've never played with another bass player and he also has always produced and engineered all our music, both for my first band The Icemen and for our later project Shadow.


What were your principal musical influences when you started playing music?

My father is an amazing guitarist, Flamenco and Classical and as a small boy I would sometimes sit with him late at night and just listen to him play. I learned music and played a few different instruments as a child but didn't start guitar until I was a teen. It was Led Zeppelin that blew me away and made it clear to me I had to rock. Other influences at the time I started guitar were Hendrix and The Who.


When did you get into punk-hardcore?

Not long after I started guitar we began jamming after school. Around that time I met H.R. of the Bad Brains and they became a big influence, other than that I never really listened to any hardcore. As for punk, I enjoyed the Sex Pistols, The Ramones and The Damned these were bands I listened to at that time. The Damned are one of my favorite bands ever, although the period I love them for is the three albums with Captain Sensible on guitar (Machine Gun Etiquette, The Black Album, Strawberries) and really don't consider that punk. As a band The Icemen were looking for opportunities to perform live and the most accessible venues were places like CBGB and mostly hardcore shows. We never aspired to be perceived as hardcore, we simply intended to rock out hard, let the music speak for itself. Of course it was inevitable that many people associated us with it due to the type of shows we were usually booked on.


What are some of the best shows you've ever seen in NY? Share some crazy stories...

My answer to this may not be what you hoped for. My favorite shows in NY were all large rock/metal events, exceptions to that would be plenty of Bad Brains and Motorhead shows. The shows I remember best of all were the few times I was fortunate enough to see The Damned in their prime in a couple of small clubs. I was right up at stage front and just reveling in it, fantastic.
Don't know what kind of crazy stories your looking for, if it's sex and violence (the usual crowd pleasers) yes there was enough.


How did The Icemen get together? Was Mackie the first Icemen drummer?

Noah and I renovated a basement room into a studio and we would jam after school. I met Mackie in high school and he was one of a few guys who would come over sometimes and play. Mackie was the first and only drummer with the Official Icemen.


Did you guys ever record any material before getting Carl Griffin as a singer?

Yes, we've recorded most of my songs both before, during and after Carl. This included "The Iceman" & "You Let It Go To Your Head" which we had hoped at the time to release as a 7" but never accomplished that. The only material we've ever released is the R.I.P. EP. Most of the other recordings are in various unfinished states, for example incomplete tracking/overdubs, no vocals, unmixed, etc.


What was your main inspiration when it came to writing the music & lyrics of The Icemen?

Influences I mentioned previously, Led Zeppelin, The Damned, Motorhead, Bad Brains were probably the biggest. AC/DC as well as some other rock & metal. I wanted our songs to be hard but tight and musical with a dark theme.


You also made all of Icemen's artwork. Have you ever done any graphic work beside that?

Yes, I went to school for art and my father is an artist so growing up art was all around me. By the time I was 17 I was working professionally as a free-lance illustrator. I continued to work on my own and even had a swords and sorcery strip I was developing for Marvel's Epic Magazine, although that never worked out.


Why did the band break up? Was there any tension between the group members?

The only tension was with Carl when we kicked him out of The Icemen. Those problems have never been resolved. Understand that I created The Icemen and was playing shows with my band years before ever meeting Carl. After we dismissed him he dedicated himself to the falsehood that he was "The Icemen" when in reality he was simply a "vocalist" (description being very generous) that I chose to join us. He was in fact the 3rd in a line filling that position with The Icemen, albeit the one who was with us during whatever limited success we may have experienced and the only one known to all but the most old school.

The Icemen had reached a point of frustration with lack musical growth and our biggest hindrance was Carl's lack of ability. He simply was not suited for what we wanted to do, play hard music yes, but MUSIC, melodic.
It was clear that in order for us to improve we needed to move on without him, a decision with which he was of course upset. He then proceeded to use my name (The Icemen), play my songs, use my designs and artwork, in essence steal my creation and drag it through the mud. Regardless of his feelings of rights and privilege from time served, these acts were reprehensible, inexcusable, and well within the domain of criminal.

Noah and I have felt compelled to speak on this. Prefer to be remembered as we were, not tarnished by some pathetic illegitimate afterbirth.


Why don't you consider "Buried Alive" & "Fire and Ice" to be legit Icemen songs? Do you personally like those songs?

Allow me to clear something up here. Unfortunately the only Official Icemen recordings ever released was the R.I.P. EP.

The illegitimate "Buried Alive" & "Fire and Ice" release is performed by impostors- Carl attempting to continue The Icemen on his own after being kicked out of the band. It's him singing with out the original members (Marco, Noah, Mackie). I know this because I founded The Icemen, wrote all the Music, Lyrics, Artwork, etc. I did not of course write that buried alive garbage nor do I appreciate it.


What are your top 5 albums ever?

Wow, that's a tough one!
Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin: Houses Of The Holy
The Damned: Machine Gun Etiquette
The Damned: The Black Album
U2: Joshua Tree
(Honorable mentions - Jimi Hendrix: Axis Bold As Love, AC/DC: Highway To Hell & Back In Black)


Thank you very much for your time. Any last words?

I would like to say thank you to all those who have supported us in the past. In addition thank you to all the new fans who have been contacting us to show continued support.

Check us out at www.myspace.com/theicemen
Peace,
Marco