Soundtracking: Ozma Releases New Album (Pasadena)

SOUNDTRACKING Soundtracking is a weekly column featuring indie and alternative music, published every Tuesday by Laura Cushing on Gather.com.  As an official Gather Music Correspondent, I'm pleased to bring my knowledge of indie and alternative music to the community. Soundtracking will feature some of the best up-and-coming bands in indie music today. Soundtracking will feature interviews, CD reviews, music playlists and mp3 downloads, and music discussions.

This Week on Soundtracking - Ozma's Pasadena

May 15th marks the release of Ozma's new album Pasadena. For a short time, you can preview the album in its entirety on the Ozma MySpace.

1. No One Needs To Know
2. Barriers
3. Eponine
4. Fight The Darkness
5. Heartache Vs Heartbreak
6. Incarnation Blues
7. Lunchbreak (Cobras Theme)
8. Motorology 3:39
9. I Wonder
10. Underneath My Tree
11. Straight Flush

Ozma provides a road map to the mysteries of time and reason; love, loss, and changeable fate. Let them be your guide through the magical town of Pasadena. From start to finish, this album delivers a sound that is consistantly powerful and tightly worked. Though it is hard to pick a favorite among so many gems, I find myself repeatedly drawn to Heartache vs Heartbreak. Star Wick's and Daniel Brummel's duet is haunting and ethereal, a moving tribute of love and loss. In addition to the five Ozmanauts, the album also features vocal contributions from  Rachel Haden (That Dog, the Rentals) and guitar contributions from Nada Surf's Matthew Caws.

Heartache Vs Heartbreak (Music by Brummel, lyrics by Brummel & Wick)

Heartache will get you down
but your body heals once your love has been found
Heartbreak is something else
when you just can't cure the pain that you've found

and we almost believed it was love
Yeah, we nearly perceived it as love
You know I would have sworn it was love

but my mind and body fail me now
and my shining armor's rusted now 
It could have been love
It should have been love

You are catastrophe
and I rode your wave, it was carrying me 
I am an island now, and it's nevermore
you're gonna be drifting up on to my shore

and we almost believed it was love
Yeah, we nearly perceived it as love
You know I would have sworn it was love
but my mind and body fail me now
(oh they fail me now)
and my shining armor's rusted now
(oh it's rusted now)
it could have been love
it should have been love

This transitions smoothly into the chanting whispered intro to Incarnation blues:

This one's for the puffers and the scribblers in the lot
save for whom the rose that blooms would be the flower time forgot
and the holy hell [they caught]

 Ozma on Tour:
Ozma is touring in support of their Pasadena release! Catch them on the following dates:  

Soundtracking Interviews Ozma
I conducted this interview with Daniel and Star in March, but I'm reprinting it now in case you missed it the first time around.

Ozma formed young, and put out three tremendous albums before breaking up in 2004. Now, having reformed with a new drummer (Kenn Shane, formerly of Addison), they're poised for a triumphant return to the music world. Ozma has opened for Weezer, played on the Warped Tour, covered the Tetris theme in a rock-out Russian cold fusion style - you never know what to expect next from this innovative band. Soundtracking recently talked to Daniel Brummel and Star Wick about their formation, reformation, new album, and plans for success.

ST: Daniel, what made you choose the name Ozma?

Daniel: When I was fifteen and we were about to put out our first four-track demo, we brainstormed trying to think of a name. The Oz books by L. Frank Baum were on the shelf and I took one down and flipped through it and wrote "Ozma" on the list. Somehow we agreed on it and it stuck. Later we found out "Project Ozma" was the name of the first search for extra-terrestrial intelligence by Frank Drake in 1960, which is neat. It's also the name of an awesome Melvins album.

ST: You had a lot of early successes (opening for Weezer, several US and outside the US tours, etc) at such a young age - was it ever overwhelming?

Daniel: Kind of, because we were always self-managed. Now we have fantastic management (Del Williams & Gary Spivack) which allows us to focus on songwriting and performing, which is what we do best.

 Star: Come to think of it, our parents must have been pretty worried. A bunch of teenagers driving across the US in a van for the first time could have been pretty eventful. I always felt safe and happy. I definitely had to get used to playing in front of huge audiences really quickly. My fondest memories are of the happy times on tour.

ST: Star, is it ever hard being the only girl in a band full of guys?

Star: The only time it's hard is on the long drives when I have to keep asking them to make a pit stop so I can use the bathroom, but that's not even hard and usually they're fine with it. Unless of course we're late; then sometimes I have to hold it. For the most part, I absolutely love being in a band with four boys that are there for me like big brothers. They are hilarious and I always know it's going to be a fun time. It would probably be a lot worse being the only boy in a band full of girls.

ST: Daniel, during Ozma's breakup, you lived in New York City and recorded a solo album. What was it like living there? Did it influence the making of your solo album?

Daniel: Absolutely, New York is an international capital and spending time there was very influential on me and my music. I performed a lot and saw some amazing shows -- Richard Buckner, Trick and the Heartstrings, Elvis Costello with the Charles Mingus Orchestra, and Bonnie Prince Billy. I worked as manager of an indie record store (Kim's Mediapolis) which turned me on to underground stuff like Sun City Girls, Kaki King, Sparks, and Sharon Jones. In New York you're forced to be around the rest of humanity all day, every day, and I had lots of strange synchronistic experiences with people in Manhattan so I started investigating phenomena like that. My interest in esoteric mysticism started to get intense when I lived in Harlem, which definitely colored my solo record. A lot of "Speak Easy" was recorded while staring out my window at the intersection of 151st & Amsterdam, and a couple of songs were recorded for the play "Misadventures in Being" that showed on St. Mark's Place. But I had already begun recording that album in early 2004 while living out by CalArts in Valencia, CA and the whole Santa Clarita art scene was also a huge influence.

ST: How did Ozma decide to get back together again?

Daniel: After we broke the band up and I'd been in New York for a year and a half, I decided I was going to move back to LA to finish my degree at UCLA. Ryen called sometime in July 2005, I let him know I would be moving back, and we started talking about doing Ozma again with a new drummer. It seemed like the right thing to do with our lives since we all love writing, recording, and touring together.

ST: What was it like playing your reunion shows after being apart for so long?

  Star: The reunion shows were probably some of the funnest shows ever. I think fans were super excited because they hadn't seen us play in forever, so the energy at the shows was super high. It was really fun playing a long set with lots of old songs and also showing off some of the new stuff we'd been working on. The best part was that it seemed really familiar and welcoming. I was nervous the whole time leading up to the shows because I felt like I had gotten out of the swing of things, but once the show started and I forgot about all of that and just wanted to have fun.

Daniel: The reunion shows were among the most memorable experiences of my life. We did two sellout nights at the Knitting Factory Hollywood and the kids were just so stoked to have us back. They sang all the words to every song, so loud. Plus we had two of our favorite bands opening, Satisfaction, and the Mae Shi -- who were totally bizarre and freaked out all our fans which was interesting. Those turned out to be two of their last shows with Ezra Buchla and Corey Fogel as members. Our first show in San Francisco after reforming was also totally epic, as was our entire "Return Tour" with the Rentals.

ST: Your band reformed with a new drummer, Kenn Shane. Tell us about Kenn. Where did he play before Ozma? What is his style like?

Star: Kenn played in Addison before Ozma. He is a great songwriter, guitarist, singer, pianist and drummer. Basically, a musical jack of all trades.

Daniel: He's a well-rounded musician, excellent songwriter, vocalist, pianist, and ukelele player as well as being one of the best drummers I've ever heard. His style is crisp and kind of aggro which brings a ton of energy to all our songs.

ST: When can we expect the new record?

Daniel: It'll be out May 15 on About A Girl Records, distributed by Sony/BMG.

ST: How are your recording sessions going?

Star: Recording is taking a little longer than anticipated, but that's just because we are taking extra time to make sure everything is exactly how we want it. It'll pay off in the end when we listen to the album years later and not have anything we wish we would have done differently.

Daniel: Our sessions for this album have been the most productive and comfortable sessions ever. We are working with two great producers, Billy Burke and Greg Doyle, and the album is being mixed by Matt Hyde, a total badass. To pass the time while we're tuning and stuff, we watch lots of Spanish-language television -- our favorite show is "Asi Es La Vida." It's golden.

ST: Do you have a favorite of the new songs you're working on? A favorite of the songs you've already done?

Star: I'm excited about a song Daniel and I have been working on called Heartache Versus Heartbreak just because it's exciting to see an idea realized from conception to finish. The song is powerful, yet cheesy at the same time... that's the appeal if you know what I mean.

Daniel: Favorites change but usually we're most excited about whatever's newest.

ST: Are you planning to tour in support of your new album? How far reaching will that tour be?

Daniel: After this record is out I want to tour until we drop dead from exhaustion. How far we'll go depends on how well the record is received.

ST: What are your favorite cities to play in? Do you have a favorite on-the-road food?

Star: I like playing in Salt Lake City because the kids there are awesome! I also like New York City of course, Boston, anywhere in Florida, New Orleans, Chicago, Lawrence... basically I like every city. My favorite food on the road is when we stop at Whole Foods. Also, Apple Holler on the drive from Milwaukee to Chicago is a band favorite. I'm going to get a big basket of blueberries the next time I'm there.

Daniel: Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Vancouver, Montreal, Austin, Berkeley, Seattle. For some reason we always have totally epic shows in Salt Lake City. My favorite on-the-road food is beer.

ST: Star, I understand you majored in Biology and Art. How did you go from a biology/art major to music?

Star: I've always been involved with music, even before I went to school. I used to play in orchestras and enter piano and flute competitions with pieces I worked on. I joined Ozma when I was a senior in high school and continued with the band all throughout college. I used to want to be a doctor, but then I had too much fun rocking out.

ST: And you also worked for Marc Jacobs? Do you still do any fashion work?

Star: Working for Marc Jacobs was a dream, I was like a little girl in a candy shop. I got to dress up every day in amazing clothes and work with fun people. I miss it sometimes. I have all these cute dresses with no place to wear them. I sometimes assist styling shoots for Vogue. I haven't done it in a couple months, but it's the kind of thing where I receive a call and I can turn down the job if I'm busy.

ST: If you could give Ozma a fashion makeover, what would you dress your bandmates in?

Star: Oh goodness, this topic has swayed in and out of conversation for some time. We had an idea to all wear jumpsuits of different colors, focusing around primary colors, but Kenn & Dan were the only ones that actually got their jumpsuits. Kenn's was red and he wore it in Japan, it was awesome! I think everyone in the band has their own unique style, so in order for me to do a fashion makeover it would either have to be something completely drastic... or perhaps something that was a mixture of everyone's styles. It would be fun to see everyone dress like we did when we were babies in the '80s.

ST: Daniel, what is the ultimate goal of Ozma? What's your wildest ambition for the band?

 Daniel: Tyrannical rule of the world, for its own good, through complete arena rock domination, while retaining absolute artistic integrity. Sharing peace and harmony with everyone. Staying dedicated to the great work.

For more Ozma:

• Official website/myspace
• Ozma fansite and forum
• Ozma on YouTube
• Sound Guide to Ozma
• Ozma's free mp3 downloads
• Daniel Brummel solo MySpace
• Pasadena on iTunes
• Pasadena on Amazon
  

We now have 487 members in our Soundtracking group! Wow! Come and join us in the Soundtracking group and help us hit the 500 mark.

Catch up on Soundtracking, read about upcoming pariticipation opportunities, or post your own music related articles.

Some recent articles posted to the group are about Elevation, a 2Tribute band, animated music videos, and blues legend Buddy Guy .

There's always someting interesting and music-related to read in the Soundtracking group. We're moderated to keep on the topic of music, but I approve content as long as it has something to do with music in some way - so please join and share your musical posts.

What's My Name?
How many of these performer's names did you know?

Robert Zimmerman /Bob Dylan
first guessed by Elisha B.

Reginald Dwight /Elton John
first guessed by Elisha B.

Paul Hewson / Bono
first guessed by Michael W.

Gordon Summner / Sting
first guessed by Rob Appell

Richard Starkey / Ringo Starr
first guessed by Michael W.

David Hayward-Jones / David Bowie
first guessed by Elisha B.

This week's questions all have to do with musicians and music in movies

1. What movie musical introuced us to "The Time Warp"?

2. In the movie version of the rock opera "Tommy", who played The Acid Queen?

3. In which of his movies did Elvis play the part of twins?

4.What soul singer was the bad guy in the movie "Escape from New York"?

5. Which of his famous songs did Cab Calloway perform in "The Blues Brothers"?

CDs and promotional materials, interview and/or review requests can be sent to:

Soundtracking
PO Box 141  Newtonville, NJ 08346-0141

Email: Soundtracking@labarc.com   / AIM: Lab Arc Designs

		Laura Cushing, Music Correspondent  - Soundtracking
	Laura's column, 'Soundtracking' is published every Tuesday in Gather Essentials:Music. Soundtracking is your guide to indie and alternative music -- featuring musician interviews, CD reviews, MP3 mixes, and discussions. Laura Cushing is a 36 year old writer from the New Jersey Pines. In addition to music journalism, she writes fiction and poetry. Keep up with Laura's music series by joining her network, or subscribing to her content.