Mark Bacino

"Happy is the new sad" is written on Mark Bacino's website. And by listening to "the Million Dollar Milkshake" you cannot but agree that Mark's music is the farthest thing from "sad" that you can imagine. Four years after the surprisingly good "Pop Job.. the long Player", his sunny power-pop has grown more complex and cheerful than ever, making M$M a record that will stay with us all summer long. We reached Mark by email and talk a while about the album and his music about the album, also discovering a curious case of lost italian relatives...

Nearly four years have gone since Pop Job was released. What have you been up to in this time?

Well, I was doing a lot of things, musical and non-musical. My band and I played a bunch of shows to promote "Pop Job" after it's release then I did a lot of writing/demoing for the new record. After that my wife and I bought a home, I built my own studio (The Queens English) all while recording "The Million Dollar Milkshake" at my producer's studio. I've kept myself pretty busy. Also, since "The M$M" turned out to be pretty complex arrangement wise, it took a good amount of time to put together.

We are always in search of popstars of Italian origins, and your name seems definitely Italian. What's the story? Any relatives in Italy?

I'm definitely all Italian, I can tell you that. Both of my parents are 100% Italian although they were born in raised in the US. One of my Grandmothers and both of my Grandfathers were born in Italy. I must still have relatives there but sadly I don't know them, the family's just too far removed at this point I guess. Someone once told me I was a distant relative of the Baci candy family, which actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it :-)

To me, M$M's greatest quality is that it's instantly compulsive yet it grows on every listen. Did you made a particolar effort to make the songs deeper, so that everything would last more than the average pop records?

I can't honestly say I consciously tried to do what you described in the making of the record but I'm glad you feel that way about it, thanks. I do try and write songs that I hope are instantly likeable and I did try to make the production and the arrangements on this album a little more ornate than "Pop Job" so I guess in a round about way I ultimately came to the end result you so kindly speak of.

Melody and hooks play a great part in your sound. Why do you feel attracted to pop music? Is it the fact that you like people to sing along to your songs?

I've always been drawn to melodic, hook driven music even before I new what that was. I like to listen to all different musical styles but I suppose the melodic pop genre is my favorite. When I sit down to write I find pop music is what comes out of me naturally so I don't fight it, it's just become what I do. If people sing along, I'm flattered. I believe if you've written a pop song and the listener can't sing at least a part of the tune after the first or second listen then the tune, as a true 'pop' song, is probably a failure.

Is "Bubblegum factory" a manifesto for the album? Do you percevive M$M as a bubblegum factory?

Yeah, I guess you could say the "Bubblegum Factory" intro is a little stylistic manifesto for the album, a quick musical mission statement. It's funny, I originally wrote the tune as a theme song to a night of live music that I put together some years back where I invited all my favorite indie pop bands from around NYC to play a show with me, we called the gig "A Night at the Bubblegum Factory". The show was great fun and a lot of people liked the song, they told me I should include it on my next record so I did.
I don't know if I perceive "The M$M" as a bubblegum factory but I wouldn't mind if people view it like that from a musical standpoint. Lyrically though, I would hope that people take the album a little more seriously; bubblegum, although sweet can also have a slightly disposable connotation. I worked hard on the lyrical content of the songs to document a couple's relationship. I don't talk about it much and I think it has largely gone unnoticed, but the song sequence of the record purposely takes you through the genesis of a couple's relationship, from meeting and falling in love ("Want You Around", etc) to a decision of commitment ("How About Always") through marriage ("Take Our Time"), the honeymoon :-) ("Milkshake Bossanova") and beyond. Beyond being how the couple manages to remain in love while having fun and staying true to their commitment no matter what life throws at them. To me, that's the real M$M.

"All I want" is my favourite track on the album. You seem to borrow something from sir McCartney there? Rocky Racoon or something?

I'm really happy you like that one, thanks. Actually, I think that's my favorite cut on the record as well. It definitely has a McCartney flavor to it but I didn't set out to write a "Paul song", it just came out that way. Honestly, The Beatles are such a tremendous influence on this genre of music, one can't help encountering similarities while working in the style. If people think it sounds like something macca could have written, well, I take that as a high compliment. He's one of the greatest writers of all time. As I said before The Beatles were a tremendous influence on the pop genre and that's probably an understatement, we can all safely say they pretty much defined the style.

How does it feel being the last pop guy in new york?

That's a pretty funny thought. I like that! Sometimes I honestly feel like I'm the last pop guy in NYC but that's not true. Musically New York is very eclectic but there are still many great bands mining the pop territory. I've gotten to know a lot of them and call most my friends. We have to stick together, you know? :-)

You have definitely broadened your sound with M$M: lots of new instruments and more complex arrangements. Did you want to push your music further than your previous work?

Yes, definitely. My previous record "Pop Job...the long player!" was pretty much a guitar pop record. When setting out to do the follow-up I didn't want to do "PJ II", I wanted to make something that used "PJ" as a starting point but moved on from there. I decided to make the arrangements more lush by bringing in a wide variety of instrumentation. Everything from strings to horns to banjos make an appearance at one time or another. Some might say I went a bit overboard with the process but I don't think so, I had fun with it although it was a lot of work. Hopefully I made a record that fans of "PJ" and new fans alike will appreciate.

For M$M I've read (and made) comparisons to a lot of power-pop heroes: from Nick Lowe to Jack Lee. But do you have any power-pop heroes of your own?

Thanks for the kind comparisons, I'm flattered. Pop wise, I like all you mention along with the usual suspects, The Beatles, Beach Boys, etc... and the not so usual suspects like, say, Hall & Oates, The Cars, The Police, Harry Nilsson. I have so many musical heroes, from established artists to virtually undiscovered indie artists, it's impossible to come up with a list.

I suppose you do like milkshakes. What's your favourite flavour? And why the album's title?

The title was just something fun that was bouncing around in my head shortly after "Pop Job" was completed. I just liked the sound of it and thought it had a nice connotation. I think it says that pop music can be fun and easy on the ears but it doesn't have to be disposable, it can also have a depth and a value. Like a great relationship.
My favorite flavor? I can't tell you that, I've told you too much already, I have to keep something a secret!

Salvatore

Links:

Mark Bacino: www.popjob.com
Mark Bacino@indiepop.it: www.indiepop.it/bands/bacino.htm