By: Hagy
6.2.08

The Skinny: Mark Zander is a band that doesn’t feature any band members by the name of Mark or Zander. The band, however, does include such characters as: Josh Peebles on guitar, Jon Hughes on bass, Kate Michel on vocals, Vojtech Gall on guitar, and Matt Joyce on drums. They’re based out of Blacksburg, VA and, apparently, this was their first gig ever.

The Date and Place: 4-22-2008 at the Nuthouse in Blacksburg, VA.

The Review: I love basement shows; I really do. Just the environment alone is so much more social and intimate with the music than what you get at bigger venues, especially those with rails, bouncers, and stages. I knew that this particular gig had all of the makings of a great basement show as soon as I had arrived. There was a bonfire in the back yard, drunken people stammering about, and a large glowing peanut in the window. The stage itself had no stage, but rather a spacious little corner of a basement, lit up solely by Christmas lights hanging above and a lamp behind a sheet serving as back lighting for the bands.

Now, just to preface this: I was a lazy bum. If I had gotten my shit together immediately after work then I would have been there for the first band’s (by the name of Man Portal) entire set, but since I didn’t, I don’t feel qualified to write on them at this time. However, I got there in time to see Mark Zander play, and for that I’m exceedingly grateful.

Although their set was short, these guys (and gal) packed a ton into their time in the spotlight. Their first song, “Groundskeep,” I was already familiar with as it’s featured on a comp CD I had bought recently. It’s a nice little jam that is a great song to lead off your set with. It’s catchy, accessible, and features some good hooks, nice drum work, and a nifty little pause that all works together. They went from that to a nice little ditty, simply referenced as “Another Song.” This featured a slick little twangy guitar riff over some layered, almost abrasive, rhythm work, which was offset greatly by Kate’s smooth vocals. This was a very textured song for just two guitars, a bass, and drums in a basement, but I really enjoyed how everything simply fell together. The rolling drumbeats during the verses were also especially well done.

Next up, Mark Zander pulled a fast one on us all, covering Rilo Kiley’s “It’s a Hit.” They pulled this off very well, not only sound-wise but injecting quite a bit of energy at the end of the song. The band ended their set with an infectious little song called “Shame Lines.” Or it could have been “Same Limes.” Or even “Shamed Lyme’s Disease.” This song featured a catchy guitar cadence wrapped around a couple of really, really good build-ups culminating in a catchy-as-fuck song. I haven’t a clue what the lyrics to this song were, but I was humming them (or what I thought was them) long after they left the stage. I don’t think I was the only one in this regard: as I saw plenty of smiles, headbopping, and even a couple of people dancing around during the last tune.

Overall, I really liked this band. Out of the entire night, Mark Zander showed the most promise and potential to be a really damned good outfit. Don’t lump these guys into the Paramoreesque-Rock-Chick group, nor any kind of Riot Grrl groupings either. Mark Zander showed a lot of diversity in their short set, and I’m really looking forward to seeing this band progress.

On a related note: The band was pimping out a compilation called 54Woah! that they’ve contributed their song “Groundskeep” (which apparently, is their only non-instrumental recording thus far.) This comp is a 20-track recording which features some of the best bands that Southwest VA has to offer. It’s extremely diverse, as it features genres such as: experimental, indie, thrash metal, dark growling metal, female fronted rock, riot grrl, and punk rock just to name a few. You can get it here, for a meager $5.00. It’s easily the best $5.00 I’ve spent since I went in thirds on the Alvin and the Chipmunks Soundtrack.