• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

CURRENT STREET EDITION

DIG 23.05 – 4/8/21

EMBRACE MARKSISM: YOUR EARS WILL CONTINUE RINGING LONG AFTER KAL MARKS’ LONELY FART LEAVES THE STAGE

Written by NINA CORCORAN Posted December 1, 2014 Filed Under: MUSIC

AES_KalMarksLouisRoe

Illustration by Louis Roe

 

“I’m just gonna put it on the line: we’re way fucking louder than Guerilla Toss.”

 

Carl Shane, singer and guitarist of Boston rock trio Kal Marks, puts his beer down on the table like a boozy gavel. “They might be a little more shrill, sure, and they’re definitely a quality band, but that’s not actual volume. We’re the band metalheads come up to after shows and just go, ‘Solid.’”

 

Kal Marks have long been one of the loudest acts in Boston. It’s hard to say otherwise. With Shane joined by bassist Mike Geacone and drummer Nick Egersheim, Kal Marks create an explosive wall of grim rock somewhere between Dinosaur Jr. and Modest Mouse. Huddled in the warm confines of Cambridge’s faux communist bar, The People’s Republik, they talk about the progress they’ve made—and how they’re only getting louder.

 

On December 2, Kal Marks will release the Just A Lonely Fart EP, their first new material since they dropped their full-length Life is Murder in 2013. The three-song release sees the volume, angst, and scowling fuzz cranked up, and the crackling growls have a hollowness thanks to being recorded straight to tape.

 

To get their signature sound, they try to perfect warmth by way of tonality, like Jesus Lizard and Harvey Milk. Geacone brings out higher frequencies while Shane focuses on the bass. Every pre-final mix playback they sat through was done with the ears of someone looking for complete satisfaction. “I think you’re afraid of being egotistical about your music,” Shane says of the listening practice. “But this time around, I listened to it a shitload just to make sure there wasn’t anything with it I wouldn’t be unhappy with.” Trust us, he tried everything. He’s listened to the EP through a big stereo, a car, a laptop, headphones, iPod speakers, a studio room, and tiny, foldable speakers. Everything. “If there’s no articulation, you can’t hear what the actual strings sound like,” Geacone says.

 

Perhaps the EP’s most notable sound is the organ on “It Was A Very Hard Year.” Shane and Geacone both saw the instrument in the corner of the studio and began goofing around, coming up with an eerie circus-like excerpt they kept to split up the otherwise stabbing bass and sludgy guitar. Given that the song recounts his near-death experience from a car crash, the nightmarish keys fit perfectly. “The moment before [the driver and I] hit the truck, I was 100 percent certain I wasn’t going to live. That’s how easy it is,” says Shane. “Life is hard. Death is easy.” The crash left him shaken up, for good reason, but he’s only recently been able to put it into words. “You know that Biggie line, ‘Birthdays are the worst days / now we drink champagne because we’re thirsty’? Everybody sings that like they fucking wrote it because they know what it’s like to have those shitty moments. Everyone’s had a time where they think, ‘Man, this year sucked.’ It’s awful.”

 

In that sense, much of the music is left open-ended so it can stay relatable. EP cut “Zimmerman” is an allegory, but it still stands as a song about the deteriorating state of humanity. It’s an amalgamation of both the events of George Zimmerman’s 2013 trial as well as the general abuse of power from the higher-ups. “There’s also a lot of guilt—not just as a white person, but as a human being,” explains Shane. “Knowing you’re the same species as these people is embarrassing. The last line, I say, ‘It will never end,’ and it’s true. This shit will never end.”

 

Kal Marks doesn’t revert to the melancholic state in which they wrote their songs while onstage, but their fans in the crowd often do. The band members mention times audience members have come over after a show to share personal experiences, oftentimes with death or depression, affected by the weight of their explosive, bent hopelessness live. Shane often flails around the stage (“I’ve mastered the art of playing with a broken guitar strap,” he later says), Geacone faces his amp to soak up the fuzz, and Egersheim accidentally moves his kit from the sheer force of his drumsticks. It’s alt-rock that takes over the room.

 

For Shane, being on stage is sonic catharsis. “I get to yell my head off about what I’m unhappy about,” says Shane. “If people don’t receive it, I’m still quoting my emotions. You don’t have to listen to the story to understand. You can feel the mood of the music.”

 

KAL MARKS. O’BRIEN’S PUB, 3 HARVARD AVE., ALLSTON. WED 12.3 8PM/18+/$8. KALMARKS.BANDCAMP.COM

NINA CORCORAN
More from author
  • NINA CORCORAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nina-corcoran/
    WHEEL OF TUNES: JULIA HOLTER
  • NINA CORCORAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nina-corcoran/
    WHEEL OF TUNES: PANDA BEAR
  • NINA CORCORAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nina-corcoran/
    WHEEL OF TUNES: HOP ALONG
  • NINA CORCORAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nina-corcoran/
    THE BEST LOCAL EPS OF 2018

Filed Under: MUSIC Tagged With: Allston, alt-rock, Carl Shane, Dinosaur Jr., Guerilla Toss, Harvey Milk, It Was A Very Hard Year, Jesus Lizard, Just A Lonely Fart, Kal Marks, Life is Murder, metalheads, Mike Geacone, Modest Mouse, Nick Egersheim, Nina Corcoran, O'Briens, The People’s Republik, Zimmerman

WHAT’S NEW

PARENTS RELEASE AN ANALYSIS OF BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDRAISING INEQUITIES

PARENTS RELEASE AN ANALYSIS OF BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDRAISING INEQUITIES

IF YOU’RE SURPRISED THE BPD CODDLED AN ACCUSED MOLESTER COP, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION

IF YOU’RE SURPRISED THE BPD CODDLED AN ACCUSED MOLESTER COP, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION

PICS & RECAP: COMMUNITY CANDLE VIGIL HONORING VICTIMS OF ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE

PICS & RECAP: COMMUNITY CANDLE VIGIL HONORING VICTIMS OF ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE

CAMBRIDGE CHURCH MINISTER SPEAKS ABOUT RECENT VANDALISM OF SIGN

CAMBRIDGE CHURCH MINISTER SPEAKS ABOUT RECENT VANDALISM OF SIGN

PRESSLEY MEETS WITH LOCAL 26 WORKERS

PRESSLEY MEETS WITH LOCAL 26 WORKERS

THE HOUR THAT THE SHIP COMES IN

THE HOUR THAT THE SHIP COMES IN

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • VACCINE EQUITY NOW! COALITION ASKS BAKER TO ALLOCATE 20% OF NEW DOSES TO HARD HIT COMMUNITIES by SHIRA LAUCHAROEN
  • A NEW PLACE FOR MORE PEOPLE TO CALL HOME IN TOUGH TIMES by MARK EMMONS
  • rally to protest discrimination and crimes against Asian and Pacific islanders during Stop Asian Hate rally on Boston Common in Boston PICS & RECAP: “STOP ASIAN HATE BOSTON” RALLY ON THE COMMON by KEIKO HIROMI
  • IF YOU’RE SURPRISED THE BPD CODDLED AN ACCUSED MOLESTER COP, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION by CHRIS FARAONE
  • A FAREWELL TRIBUTE (OF SORTS) TO MARTY WALSH by DIG STAFF

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 2.1 – March 2021

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG 23.05 – 4/8/21

Footer

digbos

digbos
“We’re not going to survive for 20 more years “We’re not going to survive for 20 more years if we don’t do this [move to a bigger space].” https://digboston.com/how-juliet-hit-a-100k-kickstarter-goal-in-4-days/ #restaurant #business #food #crowdfund #SomervilleMA #coronavirus #COVID19
EDITORIAL: DIGBOSTON SEEKS CLIMATE IDEAS FOR MAYOR EDITORIAL: DIGBOSTON SEEKS CLIMATE IDEAS FOR MAYOR KIM JANEY. Environmental organizations and individual activists invited to submit opinion articles for publication. https://digboston.com/editorial-digboston-seeks-climate-ideas-for-mayor-kim-janey/ #politics @boston_mayor #environment #globalwarming #climate #activist #callforsubmissions #policy #Boston #Massachusetts
“Most are some of my favorite bars or local clas “Most are some of my favorite bars or local classics that I’ve learned to love in my time living in the city. Others just have a great facade that I know would make a great drawing.” https://digboston.com/drawn-but-not-forgotten-local-artist-sketches-beloved-boston-restaurants/ #art #artist #sketch #drawing #Boston #Massachusetts #bar #restaurant
Despite #pandemic hurdles, Mass #music instructors Despite #pandemic hurdles, Mass #music instructors hit new high notes. “My #teaching has gone to another level.” https://digboston.com/the-medium-is-the-maestro/ #education #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
From the podcast to the book, Wayne Federman chron From the podcast to the book, Wayne Federman chronicles the business of joke-telling. https://digboston.com/the-history-of-stand-up-from-mark-twain-to-dave-chappelle/ #comedy #history #book #interview #Boston #Massachusetts
“I’m calling on some of you to drop by a local “I’m calling on some of you to drop by a local field office and hear what people have to say.” https://digboston.com/dear-reader-the-political-season-is-upon-us-embrace-it/ #politics #commentary #election #Massachusetts
“I think most people agree that we want our publ “I think most people agree that we want our public dollars to go to those companies that are not cutting corners.” https://digboston.com/bill-seeks-to-penalize-contractors-for-unsafe-conditions/ #politics #legislation #construction #safety #labor #Massachusetts
“It’s just shocking to me for Massachusetts, t “It’s just shocking to me for Massachusetts, the state that puts itself forward as this paragon of democracy. Those are just fundamental building blocks of a democratic society.” https://digboston.com/researchers-show-extent-of-lobbying-against-climate-bills-in-ma/ #environment #globalwarming #climate #crisis #politics #lobby #Massachusetts
I was lucky enough to get an extra #vaccine. Here’s how it went down. https://digboston.com/young-healthy-and-inoculated/ #young #youth #student #college #vaccination #publichealth #health #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
The MBTA confirmed that it will “fully fund its The MBTA confirmed that it will “fully fund its operating budget in the coming fiscal year and begin to restore cut service.” https://digboston.com/public-transit-public-good-responds-to-restoring-mbta-service/ #transportation #politics #Massachusetts
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]