tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:/blogs/buzz-b411bfdc-d879-44e2-953c-28776faa3c0f?p=2
BUZZ
2020-01-23T17:57:48-05:00
Chris Mascara Music
false
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156424
2010-01-31T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:48:15-05:00
his power move - The Noise
<p>SILVER CIRCLE REVIEWS FEBRUARY 2010</p>
<p><strong>MASCARA</strong><br> Mr. Fibuli’s Records<br> <em>Fountain of Tears</em><br> 12-song CD</p>
<p>Well, many of us have been waiting a long time for Chris Mascara to make his power move, and this is it. Of course, being something of a mystic, he tells the truth, but tells it slant, right from the get-go. “Dragonflies” is a seesawing and powerful opening incantation. “Retarded” is a lovely, lost, mildly unsettling song. “B261” is a rocking, Bowie-variety anthem about Jackie Wilson, late of the Brunswick label, who tangled with mobsters and lived to meet a truly ghastly denouement. The coldly, brilliantly anthemic “Carry Me” is both majestic and inspired—the one song I keep coming back to again and again. Other selections offer a variegated soundscape. A few are more than mildly unsettling: the ghoulish “Lester”; the eerie and astonishing “Listerine”; the spooky “Deep in Palm Beach.” And at least two songs are full-blown disturbing: the angular “Ainadamar” and the scathing and scarifying “High School.” Perhaps not conciously, Chris Mascara’s compositional strategy seems to be to utilize dissonance to selectively defamiliarize the ordinary: wrenching it from its everyday context to make us question the foundations of what we ordinarily take for granted. In that way he is powerfully in the tradition of artists such as Captain Beefheart and Pere Ubu, but is, nonetheless, <em>sui generis</em>. This is a mixed bag of a song collection, but the first nine songs are compelling enough to hold us for a good long while. (Francis DiMenno)</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156423
2010-01-31T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T05:00:48-05:00
won't soon forget - Metronome
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>METRONOME MAGAZINE</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>FEBRUARY 2010</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Hearings: Top 5 for February 2010</strong></p>
<p><strong>MASCARA</strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline">FOUNTAIN OF TEARS</span> </strong><strong>12-SONG CD</strong></p>
<p>• DRAGONFLIES<br> • LESTER<br> • B261<br> • LISTERINE<br>• CARRY ME<br>• DEEP IN PALM BEACH<br> • AINADAMAR<br>• RETARDED<br>• HIGH SCHOOL<br>• BARS IN CAMBRIDGE<br>• TEXT2VOICE<br>• TULSAGIRL</p>
<p>Chris Mascara is nothing if not completely original and unpredictable. Growing up as a "child prodigy" on organ, in Florida, Mascara found his way to New England to study religion at Tufts University. Since then, his appearances in the Boston theater productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Aqualung, along with fronting his own band and more recently being hired by Harmonix [creators of Guitar Hero] to shoot motion capture of his image for animation of the frontman characters in their popular "Rock Band" game, have established him as a creative force in the Boston music community .</p>
<p>With new band members, Bo Barringer on bass & vocals and Matt Graber on drums, Chris Mascara unleashes his latest 12-song creation, <span style="text-decoration:underline">Fountain of Tears.</span> As you can well imagine, Mascara's songs are elaborate musical productions in a bold, operatic sense. Although there are only 3 musicians carrying out the proceedings (aside from the mandolin playing by Hendrick Gideonse on "Dragonflies") Mascara creates an orchestral vibe to the music that's stark, ethereal and electrifying. His voice is haunting yet revealing as he leads his trio in to uncharted rock & roll territories. Listen to <span style="text-decoration:underline">Fountain of Tears</span> with an open mind and enjoy an unusually, inventive album you won't soon forget. [D.S]</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156425
2010-01-28T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-03T16:22:11-04:00
closest thing Boston has to a supergroup - Playground Boston
<h2><a href="http://playgroundboston.com/2010/01/29/pgb-weekend-picks-january-29-31/" data-imported="1">PGB Weekend Picks: January 29 – 31</a></h2>
<p class="topmeta">Posted by <a title="Posts by Bryan" href="http://playgroundboston.com/author/admin22/" data-imported="1">Bryan</a> on Jan 29, 2010 »</p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline">Friday, January 29th @ Middle East Upstairs</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/b70012f1daae331197e8190e29739a3f58f613f8/original/drippy-photo-smaller.gif/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjUzeDIyNiJd.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Drippy_Photo_Smaller.gif" height="226" width="253" /><br></span></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://ats.mascaramusic.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Mascara</a> might be the closest thing Boston has to a local rock Supergroup (You know, now that the Holidad All-Stars are no more) Chris Mascara is the lead-singer avatar for the Rock Band games, and is doing work with Blue Man Group this year. He’s recruited two of the best and most recognizable musicians in town to help out on his original material, Bo Barringer of MEandJOANCOLLINS, and Matt Graber, one of Sarah Rabdau’s Self-Employed Assassins. Should be a great show, it’ll be the CD Release for the new album <em>Fountain of Tears</em>, as well as a tour kickoff. Also playing are <a href="http://www.ho-ag.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Ho-Ag</a>, <a href="http://www.super400.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Super 400</a>, and <a href="http://donotforsake.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling</a>.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156422
2010-01-21T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T03:52:27-05:00
fabulously bent garage prog - Boston Phoenix
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/757fdf38ba66c7164cddbdc8654e89d230c6f3cb/original/mp3-mascaraaeliz-linder.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjkxeDE5OSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="MP3_MASCARAaeLiz-Linder.jpg" height="199" width="291" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Boston Phoenix On The Download</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MP3 of the Week</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>MASCARA, "B261"</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Next Friday will see the release of <em>Fountain of Tears</em>, the latest full-length installment of fabulously bent garage prog from Boston's own <strong>MASCARA</strong>. Chris Mascara tells us that <em>Fountain</em> pays track-by-track tribute to a host of trailblazing iconoclasts and tragic heroes, from murdered poet Federico Garcia Lorca to undersung soul singer Jackie Wilson. The latter is honored here with "B261" (the number a reference to his anonymous grave marker), and it's no "Lonely Teardrops" - "B261" is a charging beast of trantrum-esque vocals, barreling drums, and temperamental guitars caught up in beastly tunings. Maybe it's just because it's Kramer on the boards, but the whole thing whisks us back to simpler times in indie rock, when all we craved was controlled confusion - of which there'll be plenty at Mascara's Middle East release party next Friday, January 29, with Ho-Ag, Super 400, and Do Not Fosake Me, Oh My Darling. If you can't make it, class up your iPod and grab "B261" at thephoenix.com/onthedownload. You can also hear it this week on <em>New England Product</em>, our local rock throwdown, Sunday nights from 11pm to midnight on WFNX 101.7 FM.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156421
2010-01-13T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T03:30:31-05:00
a special effect unto themselves - Boston Band Crush
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/cb774d6ade0fe8351e64ba788a1e6e02c108b823/original/album-cover-smaller.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjQ1eDIyMiJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Album_Cover_Smaller.jpg" height="222" width="245" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Feature Crush: C. D. on Songs, 01/14/10<br></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Mascara - "B261"</strong></p>
<p>Christopher Mascara (yes, that is is real, unchanged name - or at least that's what he told us) is, above all, a showman. He's such a showman that the Rock Band guys (yes, Rock Band again) had him don one of those spandex suits with ping-pong balls on it to motion-capture his moves. "B261" is the real deal, however, with no digital animation or special effects.</p>
<p>This really isn't a problem, Mascara is a special effect unto themselves. Each song - and this one is no different - is like its own little mini-show. Maybe that's what they're getting at with the title of this record (that comes out in five short days) - Mascara seems able to flip a switch and launch a fountain of tears, laughter, hysteria and every other extreme emotion with little effort. "B261" is no different, hitting like a series of explosions embodied not just in Mascara's vocal calisthenics but the entire ensemble's ability to ramp things up, explode, and then simmer for a while before the next trip up the ramp.</p>
<p>"B261" is like a repeated series of trips up and down, jumping off a ledge only to dust itself off and do so again, and bringing us along for the ride the whole way. We get the feeling that you'll want the full picture on this one, so you can catch Mascara on January 29 at the Middle East. It'll be hard to miss them.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156410
2009-12-31T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T05:01:41-05:00
what the Connoisseur staff is obsessing over - Boston Magazine
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong><strong>The Consumer Index: January 2010</strong></strong></h2>
<div id="pgs_middle_right_middle_top">What the Connoisseur staff is obsessing over this month. (Trust us. You'll like this stuff.)</div>
<div><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/07f1f14884bfc544643a247d319eb525e3eba7ce/original/bostonmagalbumcover-cropped.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjQ3eDIwMyJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="BostonMagAlbumCover_cropped.jpg" height="203" style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="247" /></div>
<div>3. THE BIG WEEP</div>
<div>Chris Mascara (the real-life model for <em>Rock Band's</em> lead-singer avatars) has a new album out. It's titled <strong>FOUNTAIN OF TEARS</strong>, but the crunching tunes make us fist-pump, not cry.</div>
<div><em>$9.99, <a href="http://ats.mascaramusic.com/" data-imported="1">mascaramusic.com</a>.</em></div>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156387
2009-12-30T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T05:05:09-05:00
spaced-out garage-prog band driving van with wolf mural - Boston Phoenix
<div style="float: left;">
<h1><a href="http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Music/94988-Winter-warmers/?page=2#TOPCONTENT" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Winter warmers</a></h1>
<p> </p>
<div class="teaser">Local rockers drop it like it's cold</div>
<p><span class="author">By <a href="http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Authors/MATT-PARISH/" data-imported="1"><strong>MATT PARISH</strong></a> | December 30, 2009</span></p>
<p><span class="bodyText">Here we are, finally — winter. This is where those New England training wheels come off and you decide whether you're truly a local. Sure, some bands take the easy route and have album releases through the summer, enticing you to shows with back-patio barbecues and all-night rooftop after-parties. In January? Not so much. These bands have nothing but their jams to draw you in, but take a listen — they are totally worth the wet socks.</span></p>
<p><span class="bodyText"><strong>MASCARA</strong> | Middle East upstairs | January 29 | Mascara's <em>Fountain of Tears</em> might be one of the year's weirdest local offerings. Not '80s Boredoms weird, but like Joni Mitchell's head-scratching jazz phase, as played by a spaced-out garage-prog band that drives a van with a wolf mural. CEO Chris Mascara leads the trio through this maze of left turns and campy echo-chamber melodrama. There's a seven-minute noise-drone monologue about high school insecurities, but that's nothing compared to the overall Gang of Four-meets-Andrew-Lloyd-Webber deal going on here. Bring your dreamcoats.<br></span><em><span class="bodyText">472 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 9 pm | $10 | 617.864.EAST or <a href="http://www.mideastclub.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">www.mideastclub.com</a></span></em></p>
</div>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156420
2009-12-07T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:07:34-05:00
wild style channels everything rock is about - Metro Spirit
<pre style="text-align: center;"><strong>Metro Spirit - Augusta's Independent Voice</strong></pre>
<pre style="text-align: center;"><strong>Issue #21.19 :: 12/02/2008 - 12/08/2009<br></strong></pre>
<div id="coverHeadline"><strong>Mascara</strong></div>
<div id="coverSubheadline"><strong>"Fountain of Tears"</strong></div>
<div>BY <span class="Blue_Text">DINO LULL</span>
</div>
<div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/cb774d6ade0fe8351e64ba788a1e6e02c108b823/original/album-cover-smaller.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjM0eDIxMSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Album_Cover_Smaller.jpg" height="211" width="234" /></p>
<p><strong>Mascara</strong><br> "Fountain of Tears"<br> Mr. Fibuli’s Records<br> <a href="http://ats.mascaramusic.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">mascaramusic.com</a></p>
<p>AUGUSTA, GA - Chris Mascara has led a tumultuous life and every bit of it shows through in his newest album "Fountain of Tears." Moody and dark with a sound that pushes forward with sweet steadiness, Mascara envelops college rock experimentalism with an emo-post- punk sensibility but throws in a heaping helpful of tortured garage rock. The resultant style of Mascara’s "Fountain of Tears" is a trip down introspective lo-fi rock complete with a soul-shattering reflective sadness yet not lacking in a kick-the-door-down pure rock sound. Chris Mascara, bassist Bo Barringer and drummer Matt Graber write straight from the heart.</p>
<p>Hailing from Boston, Chris Mascara spent some time in a psychiatric hospital after debating the path his life needed to take: religion or rock. Ultimately, he found a way to make both work and released his phenomenal album "Cellar Door" in 2000. Since then, Mascara has put together a band of seasoned Massachusetts rock veterans and notched a few more releases on his belt, in addition to being the person who Rock Band modeled their lead singer after on the video game and working with Blue Man Group. Now Mascara has released an album that channels everything rock is about and turned it into a wonderful mishmash of sound. That album is the eclectic rocker "Fountain of Tears."</p>
<p>Flying through different layers of experimentalism that infuses the mood rock of “Dragonflies” and then carries on into the garage-grunge of “Lester” and into the more guitar-driven glam of “B261,” Mascara demonstrates his sheer genius and musical versatility with each new song. Every track is completely different from the one before, making Mascara’s music almost impossible to define. In that ability, Mascara exceeds and surpasses many other musicians, showing him to be a gourmand of musical history. Fans of everything from moody post punk to sleazy garage rock to grunge to guitar rock will fall in love with Mascara’s wild style.</p>
</div>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156385
2009-11-30T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T03:55:18-05:00
part bluesman, part punk rocker, part madman - The Noise
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/268d8511fc4a4f28ca74e8327a6b244eeb1a59bf/original/noise-cover.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTU2eDIxMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Noise_Cover.jpg" height="210" width="156" /></p>
<div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color:#003300">MASCARA</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Rick Dumont</strong></p>
<p>Chris Mascara is a real man of genius when it comes to the arts. He’s a student of the psychology of music, a writer of deeply introspective themed rhythmic tapestries, an amazingly talented actor and, oh yeah, he’s also a very accomplished musician and singer.</p>
<p>It is that music, complied into a new album, <em>Fountain of Tears,</em> that will be released in January with a celebratory show at the Middle East upstairs on the 29<sup>th</sup>.</p>
<p>“It’s a nice combination of my back catalog and new,” Mascara said during a recent interview.</p>
<p>“But there’s no way to spot what’s old or new,” chimed in bassist Bo Barringer, who is also known throughout the scene for his creative mastery with the Me & Joan Collins band.</p>
<p>For the last three years the two, along with drummer Matt Graber, who also smashes the hi-hat as a Self-Employed Assassin in Sarah Rabdau’s talented backing gang, make up Mascara, are a power trio that immerses themselves into the very core of the human psyche while softening and tearing open the mind to enlighten and usher a whole new realm of thoughts into their listeners.</p>
<p><em>Fountain</em>, it should be noted, got its title thanks to Federico Garcia Lorca, a Spanish poet and playwright of provocative and risky poems and plays, and also closeted homosexual who was executed in 1936 in a place called Ainadamar, an Arabic word meaning fountain of tears. Ainadamar is also a song on the album.</p>
<p>“I’m deeply moved by iconoclastic, trailblazing tragic artists from the past,” Mascara said. The entire album is a series of vignettes and homages to many artists whose lives were tragically cut short and other stories that simply tell tales of disturbed humans. Like the tragic life of singer Jackie Wilson, known by many as “Mr. Excitement.” The song “B261” is so named for the number on the grave marker that was once Wilson’s only symbol noting where he was laid to rest after his death in 1984. Wilson had lingered in a coma for nine years after suffering a heart attack on stage performing in 1975. He died a relative pauper, thus the grave marker, but Mascara said in the years following his death a proper headstone was erected by fans and music people. Wilson was a pioneer and would call himself the “black Elvis Presley,” while Presley would refer to himself as the “white Jackie Wilson,” Mascara said.</p>
<p>In order to bring the messages and stories to life, Mascara needed some musicians to help. Three years ago he found them. They had been friends for nearly a decade having played together and shared stages along the way, including a stint where both Graber and Mascara sat in with Barringer’s Joan Collins band for a bit a few years back. But it was ostensibly Graber’s return from a two-year life excursion in Tel Aviv that brought him into the fold and completed the triangle.</p>
<p>“I am blessed to have both these guys playing with me,” Mascara said. “They’re my editorial board.”</p>
<p>Mascara writes his songs like others might keep a journal. They are expressions of his feelings, experiences and analysis of what it is to be human, a “daydream journal” if you will.</p>
<p>He brings the material to the guys and they “gang banged it,” arranged it into what ultimately wound up on the album. “There’s a great synergy between the three of us that is just beautiful,” Mascara said.</p>
<p>“We’ve definitely got a good thing going,” Graber said when it comes to playing off each other in the creation of the music.</p>
<p>Part sensitive deeply philosophical romantic, part bluesman, part punk rocker and part madman, Mascara’s writings depict an insight that comes out unlike many of his contemporaries like is heard on the album’s opener “Dragonflies.” In it Mascara pays homage to one of his dear friends, Mary Anne.</p>
<p>“I have tender feelings for this person,” Mascara said. “And I wanted to delve into a deeper plan” to fully explore and express those feelings for her.</p>
<p>Combined with that sensitivity is the backdrop of sound that is far larger, thicker, and more articulate than what might seem possible from a three-piece band.</p>
<p>Also on the album is a song that evolved from Mascara’s very deep and personal struggle with bipolarism several years ago. “Listerine” is a metaphor for what substances many who share in that battle use to try and take the edge off the madness that roils within the mind.</p>
<p>In the song he faces his scars, his demons peering deep into the abyss and exposing himself and the experience for all to sense. Anyone who has ever dealt with the illness will certainly hear the pain and anguish within the heartfelt confession.</p>
<p>Musically, the band added touches of dissonance to “create additional tension,” Mascara said. “It’s the appropriate backdrop.”</p>
<p>Mascara nearly lost it all when preparing for a role onstage as Christ in the Tuft’s University production of <em>Jesus Christ Superstar</em> in the mid ’90s. He described basically torturing himself by not eating or sleeping, among other things until he wound up at McLean Hospital for a month, which also happened to be the place where another of his heroes, Sylvia Plath received treatment.</p>
<p>“I really wanted to become Jesus Christ,” Mascara said. Instead of being able to perform the role, Mascara’s breakdown forced him to miss out, but he did face the demon and began treatment. But he the opportunity to “be” Christ resurrected itself in 2000 when Boston Rock Opera’s traditional Christ, Gary Cherone, decided he wanted to play Judas instead.</p>
<p>“An amazing dream realized,” Mascara said of the fortuitous occurrence.</p>
<p>Though he doesn’t want to be thought of as someone who suffers, that was so 15 years ago, Mascara doesn’t shy away from pouring out his feelings in song or on stage forcing the listener to feel and understand the mind.</p>
<p>“If you confuse people’s expectation it will trigger more synapses to pop in a listener’s head,” Mascara said.</p>
<p>Another of the songs, “High School” is based upon Mascara’s perceptions of his real father’s life growing up in Brooklyn. Mascara was adopted and wrote a song that is as powerful and dark as life on the streets of the Big Apple can be in reality, yet used a minimalist mindset and still paint a vivid word picture.</p>
<p>The song is short, or at least was until Barringer got hold of it. “He wanted to add a “Day in the Life” style of ending,” Mascara said. So what was once a two minute blast of the mind expanded and morphed into a seven minute gurgling primal scream for understanding, thanks to Barringer’s idea for a near never ending cacophony of reverb and Tesla-like static extending out into the blackness of space.</p>
<p>But unlike the Beatles’ coda to “Day in the Life,” the guys urged Mascara to free form over the manic sound. For effect, Mascara said he chugged a quart of milk to get that “guttural thing going on” and went off, improving a series of poetic and maddening bursts of mental anguish that the Effervescing Elephant Syd Barrett would have enjoyed. “Once we got started tracking it, it turned into molten lava,” Mascara said.</p>
<p>Creatively the guys are just getting started to truly tap the resources of Mascara’s mind and their own inner musical madness together. They will continue to play in their other incarnations, including Mascara’s appearances with Ad Frank & the Fast Easy Women, where he plays keys alongside Rabdau. </p>
<p>Will one day the three play a show bringing together the extended family of artists intertwined into one pulsating, sensuous, and ripping glory? Only time will tell.</p>
</div>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156388
2009-11-27T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-03T09:46:03-04:00
fountain of everything - AndMoreAgain
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color:#003333"><strong>Mascara, <em>Fountain of Tears</em>, Mr. Fibuli's Records</strong> [1/19/10]</span><br><br>Singer/guitarist Chris <strong><span style="color:#000099">Mascara</span></strong> and compatriots Matt Graber<br>and Bo Barringer lay down some driving rock on their second<br>full-length. If <em><strong><span style="color:#000099">Fountain of Tears</span></strong></em> isn't strictly indie, prog, or<br>metal, it resides somewhere in the margins between those gen-<br>res, though they manage to recall Firehose on title track "Ai-<br>nadamar," a tribute to Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.<br><br>A veteran of Rock Band and the Blue Man Group, Mascara comes<br>on like a theatrically trained performer—think <em>The Rocky Horror </em><br><em>Show</em>'s Riff Raff—which lends the album a '70s feel, i.e. Meatloaf,<br>Alice Cooper, etc., for which I have a high tolerance, though I<br>could do without the fright-night theatrics of "High School," on<br>which Mascara moans and groans through lines like, "The shit<br>I pulled out of my rectum/was red, was red, was red..." Ack.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156386
2009-11-22T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:08:01-05:00
5 stars! - Rock N Roll Experience
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>ROCK N ROLL EXPERIENCE - Nov / Dec 2009</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">REVIEWS:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/b70012f1daae331197e8190e29739a3f58f613f8/original/drippy-photo-smaller.gif/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NjczeDYwMCJd.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Drippy_Photo_Smaller.gif" height="600" width="673" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MASCARA</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Fountain of Tears</em></strong></p>
<p>Track Listing: Dragonflies, Lester, B261, listerine, Carry Me, Deep In Palm Beach, Ainadamar, Retarded, High School, Bars In Cambridge, Text2voice, Tulsa Girl</p>
<p><strong>Rating: 5 stars!</strong></p>
<p>Named after Chris Mascara, (Yes, that's his real last name!), Mascara is a unique, weird, special, strange hybrid of rock, art, passion & crazy emotions! This cd is not meant for the main stream, it's meant for the art crowd, the music lovers, the freaks, the people who enjoy strange, yet artistic sounds, vibrant tones, rich messages that are part indulgent, part self-less. Music wise, some tracks are rock oriented, some are just out there & odd, but regardless, as an artistic statement, "Fountain of Tears" is chock full of good music & I love the artwork for the cd packaging!</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156389
2008-01-31T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T03:48:06-05:00
digitized, hospitalized, crucified, resurrected - Northeast Performer
<p style="margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span class="style2"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/7aa3ecafc8de017abf1e8a4762cac31723756b8d/original/linderpix-1762bw-sm.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTY0eDI0OSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="249" width="164" /></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span class="style2">Chris Mascara</span><br><span class="style3">By C.D. Di Guardia</span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">Christopher Mascara has, in a way, spent his entire life in the spotlight. At 11, he was featured in the Del Ray New Journal in a story celebrating “the boy with the golden ear,” a local prodigy who played the organ hours on end. “I want to get on a Little League team,” reported young master Mascara, “But the organ comes first.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br> As a decade passed, the boy grew up and came to Boston from his native Florida to study religion at Tufts University. He mixed his interest in theology with a new interest — musical theater. The “boy with the golden ear” became the Savior, in the form of Jesus in the Tufts production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Around 10 years later, this person was banned from TT the Bear’s for dropping trou on stage.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0pt;"><br> Fast forward to this recent Christmas. Countless families welcomed him into their living rooms in the form of the dancing spritely video game character “Male Lead Vocalist” in the hit game Rock Band.</p>
<p>“They just liked my moves,” says Mascara, who spent two eight-hour workdays in a motion capture studio, clad in naught but a spandex motion-capture suit adorned with little golf ball-sized motion sensors.</p>
<p>While Mascara has gone through a series of line-ups, he admits that he prefers the trio format — currently including Bo Barringer (bass and vocals) and Matt Graber (drums) — above all others. “There are less places to hide,” he grins. All three members of the group are veritable veterans of the local rock scene — Barringer has been seen most lately fronting Me & Joan Collins, in which Mascara sits in on keyboards. Graber has taken the drum seat for early acts such as Zipper Girl and Gulliver Foyle. He is probably “the quiet one” of the group, although anyone would seem reserved sitting near the flamboyant Mascara.</p>
<p>“This is the best we’ve ever sounded,” says Mascara, who has been making music under his own name since the beginning. “I mean, we’ve got a good name,” he exclaims. “It kind of fits the style of the band, sort of a glammy prog,” he says, shaking off the initial revulsion that can come at the mention of either word. Mascara’s music is as exuberant as the man himself, full of well-practiced flourishes. Having been making noise in the local scene for over 10 years, Mascara has learned more than a few lessons along the way.</p>
<p>He seems comfortable, but always looks for what’s next, and what’s next right now is the current lineup’s first studio album. Mascara, an old hand at the recording game, has an innovative production method that newer bands may not be able to fathom.</p>
<p>“I don’t listen to it outside of the studio before it’s done. No rough mixes, nothing,” he explains. “I’ve done the thing where you take it home and listen to it over and over,” he explains, with a hand motion of something spinning endlessly — yet tailing down. “It’s better to come at it fresh,” says Mascara, who says his most recent release Spell hints at the content of the new record, “But it’s going to be a little bit harder.”</p>
<p>Another thing this band is doing that is outside of the norm is playing out aggressively during their studio time. In an era where most bands shut down the live show and concentrate on the studio work, Mascara is seemingly onstage every weekend. “I like it,” says drummer Graber, “Otherwise I’m done recording in a few days, then I’d just have to sit around.”</p>
<p>“Just sitting around” are words that do not appear to be in Mascara the band’s vernacular. Christopher Mascara the man has been in the spotlight for almost thirty years now, and he does not seem at all ready to relinquish it just yet. He has been digitized, hospitalized, crucified and resurrected. “I’ve learned a lot, that’s for sure,” says the effervescent veteran. “Just keep on working. Bigger and better.”</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156390
2007-12-11T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:52:16-05:00
portrayal of iconic "Lead Vocalist" in hit game ROCK BAND - Boston Herald
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><a href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/dmascara/My%20Documents/MASCARA/Boston%20Herald%20121307.htm" data-imported="1">Hub rocker Mascara is headbanger of choice</a></h1>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/ee19f0bae70b6206165cd13cfea897f686ed200a/original/d97b0c0fb6-2007121220071212357132.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjQweDIxMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="d97b0c0fb6_2007121220071212357132.jpg" height="210" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="bold">By David Wildman </span> / Music<br> Wednesday, December 12, 2007</p>
<div class="articleFull" id="articleFull">
<p><span class="articleBegin">C</span>hris Mascara was once best known locally for playing the Son of God in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Now, thanks to Cambridge-based video-game developer Harmonix, millions the world over are enjoying his portrayal of another cultural icon: the lead singer in the “Rock Band” video game.</p>
<p>Mascara, along with another local rocker, guitarist Bryn Bennett of the band Bang Camaro, auditioned for the chance to do “motion capture” work for the groundbreaking game. They were flown to the gymnasium-sized New York soundstage of Curious Pictures, wore spandex suits covered with marble-sized silver balls and ran through every rock move known to man in front of an audience of motion-capture cameras. “It was really fascinating,” said Mascara, 39. “They would play music at a certain tempo and ask me to do any of three gradations of stage energy, either standing still or ambulatory. And we would do this to three different styles of music. It was a lot of fun, but it was a marathon.”</p>
<p>A longtime fixture on the local rock scene, Mascara was urged to try out for the role by fellow “Superstar” alum Peter Moore, who has done work for Harmonix and sings with both Count Zero and Blue Man Group. The game developers were looking for performers to portray styles from punk to heavy metal. Mascara was able to ace them all.</p>
<div id="AdMiddle">“At our auditions, Chris had a grab bag of props,” said Ryan Lesser, Harmonix art director. “As we ripped through all of the tryout songs (by Metallica, AC/DC, Queen, Bowie), he would take 10 seconds to do a quick outfit change and come back as a totally different persona. It was pretty impressive.”</div>
<p>Bang Camaro’s Bennett, a Harmonix employee whose band’s music is featured in the video game, auditioned to play one of the guitarist characters. He was decidedly a little less comfortable in the situation than Mascara.</p>
<p>“It’s two guys in a room playing AC/DC and they’re saying, ‘Head-bang more! Do this! Do that!,’ ” said Bennett. “I never get stage fright, but that was terrifying.”</p>
<p>But Bennett enjoyed himself at the shoot, dancing around with a cheap guitar and gamely trying to move like Angus Young when called upon. But ultimately, he said it felt “horribly un-rock ’n’ roll.”</p>
<p>For Mascara, the chance to strut his stuff for an audience of thousands - and eventually millions - of gamers, was nothing less than a dream come true.</p>
<p>“Maybe I’ve spent too much of my adolescence practicing my moves in front of a mirror,” he said, “but for me it was a treat being able to use my performance skills that I’ve honed since I was a kid - and get paid as a professional for it. This is the most rad thing I could hope to do, short of striking a chord with my own music.”</p>
</div>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156391
2006-05-31T20:00:00-04:00
2016-11-11T21:10:14-05:00
rock out! - Bay Area Reporter CA & Chicago Free Press
<p><strong>June 2006</strong></p>
<p><strong class="pressheadline">Rock out!</strong><br> <strong>by Gregg Shapiro</strong></p>
<p><strong>Appeared in:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Bay Area Reporter</strong><br> <strong>San Francisco</strong><strong>, CA</strong></p>
<p><strong>Outlook Weekly Online</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chicago</strong><strong> Free Press</strong><br> <strong>Chicago</strong><strong>, IL</strong></p>
<p><strong>Baltimore</strong><strong> OUTloud</strong><br> <strong>Baltimore</strong><strong>, MD</strong></p>
<p>That's transgender drummer Rikki Bates you hear keeping time on the six songs of Mascara's new EP <em>Spell </em>(Mr. Fibuli). It's at turns heavy ("Great Divide," "Percy's Revenge") and heavenly ("Frostbite," "Time Is a Lie"). If you're concerned about your mascara running, don't play this disc at full volume.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156392
2006-04-19T20:00:00-04:00
2016-11-03T16:16:26-04:00
under his spell - Medford Transcript
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="pressheadline">Medford Transcript, <strong>April 20, 2006</strong></span><br><em class="presssubhead">Under his ’Spell’ </em>By Joe Viglione</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/190fc973297bdf89b8f30b02dbbae9cc38e6a2c4/original/spell-cover.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjAweDIwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="200" width="200" /> <br></strong></p>
<p>Medford recording artist Chris Mascara has come up with an intriguing and innovative six-track, five-song CD, "Spell," on Mr. Fibuli’s Records. It’s a smart and highly polished sophomore disc from the singer who played the lead role in a 2000 production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" opposite another former Medford resident, Extreme’s Gary Cherone (as Judas). <br> <br> The music on "Spell" leans toward the dark side, the semi-autobiographical "Percy’s Revenge" an easy fit inside the repertoire of, say, Marilyn Manson. Think early Alice Cooper circa the "Love It To Death" and "Ballad Of Dwight Frye" phase. <br> <br> Born in Long Island, N.Y, Mascara grew up in South Florida and "came up to the Boston, specifically Medford/Somerville, to go to Tufts University" in the 1980s. He met his wife, Deb, at Tufts in the early 2000s. <br> <br> "We have made the neighborhood around Tufts our home ever since, buying an adorable updated 1920’s bungalow in Medford Hillside," he said. <br> <br> Mascara and his wife appeared on the Food Network show "The Secret Life of...Pastries" when they filmed a sequence at the newly opened Danish Pastry House, located at 330 Boston Ave. <br> <br> "I like Medford because its neighborhood-feel is reminiscent of the Long Island area where my extended family lives," Mascara said. "In fact, we’ve been ‘adopted’ by our 88-year-old Sicilian neighbor, Frank Amato. We share family recipes and dishes, go food shopping together and discuss gardening tips. I even helped him trim back his grape vines." <br> <br> But do the neighbors know the singer’s music was dubbed "Sinister Pop" by students who write for the Tufts Daily? <br> <br> The current members of Mascara’s group come from other parts of New England to play in the band. Chris Girard, the bassist, lives in Manchester, N.H. with his wife and family. Rikki Bates, the drummer, hails from Cape Cod and the group rehearses together in Woburn. <br> <br> <strong>Musical loves </strong><br> <br> Mascara discovered his love for music very early. <br> <br> "I learned how to play a Bach piece on the organ entirely by ear when I was 8 years old, having never learned a note of music previously," he said. "Music was always part of family life, but not until this discovery of my innate ability did I receive formal classical music training on the organ. By my early teens, I was a professional substitute organist, playing church services, weddings, etc., and also, on the radio. I have press dating back to the late ’70s chronicling my early artistic accomplishments." <br> <br> Fast-forward to his years in the Boston area. <br> <br> "After transitioning from classical organ as my primary vehicle to rock guitar in my late teens, I was in a Tufts psyche band, The Void before I came into my own as a lead singer/songwriter," Mascara said. "A harbinger of things to come, my real introduction to <br> Boston’s music fans was when I played the sitar on the George Harrison song ’Within You Without You’ in Boston Rock Opera’s "SGT. PEPPER’S..." productions in ’95 & ’96." <br> <br> Listeners can hear those Beatles influences in "Time Is A Lie," the third track on "Spell," a short CD that is well paced and gathering a good amount of local area press. <br> <br> The singer/songwriter is industrious, to say the least. <br> <br> "After reconstituting the Mascara trio and allowing the new line-up to gel, in 2003 I designed an eclectic variety show entitled Scara’s Night Out and showcased it at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge," Mascara said. " It’s a sell-out bi-weekly series and included local rock stalwarts, Celtic dulcimer performances, Portuguese/English hip-hop, burlesque dancers, Charlie Chaplin-esque skits, acoustic and multimedia comedy, reproduced old-time radio acts, poetry, belly dancing, electrified spoken-word blues; and even drew The Wu Tang Clan out of hiding and into the audience for the theatrical madness. <br> <br> "In addition, I always continue to immerse myself in various musical endeavors: performing ragas and original compositions with my wife Deb in our project Sitar Tabla Power, creating new material for MASCARA, singing in a Sinatra lounge combo at cabaret nights and Mardi Gras/Bastille Day Balls as well as contributing lead vocals to a Paula Kelley song and to a track on the non-profit Project: Think Different compilation album," he continued. <br> <br> Three of the tunes on "Spell" come in under three minutes, the driving "No Afterlife," like the rest of the album, recorded at the Indecent Music studio in Medford, owned by engineer Hendrik David Gideonse. <br> <br> "My creative process involves three alternate guitar tunings besides standard tuning that help give my songs a distinctive flavor," Mascara said. "My early years as a child prodigy on the classical organ continue to inform or torque my rock compositional instincts. Another important factor is my bandmates’ ability to ’rock’ my expansive, sometime angular tunes, that in turn shapes the songs I bring to them.</p>
<p>"They match my headiness and bring the muscle and urgency that the music craves," he added. "This line-up has proven to be more edgy, raw, concise, and intuitive when it comes to interpreting my songs." <br> <br> The new band is already working on a new full-length CD and plan to tour in 2006. They also plan to license the music out to movies and TV. <br> <br> "I think, for instance, that the folks that produce the program, ’Charmed’ would just love Mascara ’Spell,’ especially since the show is about three modern-day witches, one of whom owns a fictional rock club," Mascara said with a laugh. "Somebody get my agent on the phone!"</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156393
2006-02-28T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T03:49:54-05:00
throws self into record with reckless abandon - Northeast Performer
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="pressheadline">Northeast Performer</span><br> March 2006<br> Reviews Recorded</strong></p>
<p class="presssubhead"><strong>MASCARA – <em>Spell</em></strong></p>
<p>Recorded by Hendrik Gideonse at Indecent Music, Medford, MA<br> Mastered by Matthew Azevedo at M Works<strong><br> <br> </strong>At first blush, one might think Christopher Mascara has gone completely sideways. <em>Spell</em> is the sound of a musical free-fall, but somehow he always lands on his feet on each of the six tracks, no matter how weird things get. Mascara, in his open-collared shirt and <em>Charlie’s Angels</em> shades, throws himself into this record with reckless abandon through every aspect of his performance. Mascara’s expressive voice serves as a vehicle for this record, alternating talking, whispering, singing, and screaming. <em>Spell</em> also demonstrates his talent for composition and production. While some artists readily grasp any opportunity to spew out every idea they have ever had at once, each of the extra touches on <em>Spell</em> fits in seamlessly as a part of the song. Whether it’s the Aerosmithy horns/piano break in “No Afterlife” or the telephoned-in voice that pops up in the right speaker like a pop-eyed dormouse in standout track “Frostbite,” each flourish fits its surroundings.</p>
<p> The soft-show styling of “Frostbite” glosses over the accusatory tone of the lyrics, but by the time he’s worked the song up into a lather, Mascara turns his attentions to challenging issues of quantum physics on the churning “Time is a Lie.” After he puts time in its place, Mascara begins looking into metaphysics with the aforementioned “No Afterlife.” In a final stab at anachronism, the protagonist finally introduces himself in “Percy’s Revenge,” a musical feat of self-flagellation in which Mascara defiantly spits out each letter in his name (with the exception of a few Rs, probably removed for rhythmic license). <em>Spell</em> has a slightly out of control vibe, comparable to the feeling of taking a sharp turn while driving a little too fast down Route Mascara, but still arriving intact and fulfilled. (Mr. Fibuli’s Records)</p>
<p>--C.D. Di Guardia</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156394
2006-02-07T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:08:40-05:00
shakes things up - Up & Coming Weekly/Zwire!
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="pressheadline">Up & Coming Weekly / Zwire! </span>Fayetteville, NC<strong> February 08, 2006</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="presssubhead">Music Scene</span><br> By: Brian Dukes<br><br></strong></p>
<p><strong>Mascara</strong> <strong>Spell</strong> (EP)</p>
<p>I can't remember the last time I wrote a review of a Boston band. Heck, I can't remember the last time I wrote anything about Boston ... at all.</p>
<p>Well, that's about to change.</p>
<p>It's with a salute to the best gender-bending traditions of Franz Ferdinand and Freddie Mercury that you'll find the music of Mascara. Their latest release, a six-track EP entitled Spell, is out to generate buzz about their next upcoming full-length. And if the desired effect is to produce curiosity, then the Mascara has run its proper course.</p>
<p>Some will listen to Spell and hear "weird;" some will listen and hear "avant garde genius." The truth probably lies somewhere between those two points; but make no mistake - Mascara is unique and exactly the kind of music that shakes things up every so often. And that's a good thing. Think Radiohead in drag or what would happen if Frank Zappa had a love child with Robert Plant.</p>
<p>Lead vocalist and frontman Chris Mascara (yes, that's his real name) has great pipes and a great sense of showmanship as a singer (and, yes, you can hear that on a CD). Mascara the man, as well as the band, is unafraid to try different, off-kilter rhythms or to experiment with musical elements. Spell is not your straightforward release. It's musical and theatrical insanity.</p>
<p>And while that may not be everyone's cup of tea, it's a necessary counterpoint to the musical "norm."</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156396
2006-01-19T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:00:31-05:00
mascara on the run - Boston Globe
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="pressheadline">Boston Globe </span>January 20, 2006</strong></p>
<p class="presssubhead" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Cover Story, Boston Globe Sidekick</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/3f11e49e9b67ce3e1c5a66a06914cfcd49463d5c/original/chris-mascara.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTc4eDI3OSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="279" width="178" /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Mascara On The Run<br> By Meridith Goldstein</strong></p>
<p>Chris Mascara has a cool name and musical talent, which is just about all you need to start a band. Labeled a musical prodigy, Mascara grew up playing the organ and eventually started in stage productions including “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which costarred Gary Cherone of Extreme. Now, with his band Mascara, he performs high-energy theatrical rock, sometimes reminiscent of Queen. Tonight Mascara celebrates his band’s new album, “Spell,” with a CD-release party at the Lizard Lounge at 9. The show also features Ramona Silver, Binary System and Reverend Glasseye. Tickets: $8. <em>Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759. <a href="http://www.lizardloungeclub.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">www.lizardloungeclub.com</a></em></p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156395
2006-01-19T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:02:09-05:00
if Jesus had a rock band - Stuff @ Night
<p class="pressheadline" style="text-align: center;"><strong>STUFF @ NIGHT</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MUSIC: Live Shows and Bands</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="presssubhead">OUR PICKS</span><br> By Henley Vazquez</strong></p>
<p>FRIDAY, JANUARY 20<br> If Jesus had a rock band, he’d call it <strong>Mascara</strong>. Think we’re being flip? We’re not: Chris Mascara was hailed for his portrayal of Jesus in the Boston Rock Opera’s production of <em>Jesus Christ Superstar</em>. He and his trio perform tonight at the <strong>Lizard Lounge</strong> (1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.547.0759) to celebrate the release of <em>Spell</em>, their second album. To catch a preview of the bohemian rockers’ follow-up to the critically acclaimed <em>Cellar Door</em>, purchase tickets early – and at a discount – at <a href="http://www.virtuous.com/" data-imported="1">www.virtuous.com</a>, or but directly at the club ($9 in advance; $10 at the door). Although Mascara’s set doesn’t begin until 10:45 p.m., be sure to arrive early and see opening acts Ramona Silver at 9 and the Binary System at 9:45.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156398
2006-01-18T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-03T17:03:10-04:00
a busy lad - Patriot Ledger
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>THE PATRIOT LEDGER <br> January 19, 2006</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MUSIC PREVIEW </strong></p>
<p><span class="pressheadline"> <strong>Mascara puts on CD release party in Cambridge</strong></span></p>
<p>By CHAD BERNDTSON | <a href="http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/01/19/life/life04.txt" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Read the article at The Patriot Ledger</a></p>
<p>Chris Mascara's been a busy lad since his 1999 debut album ‘‘Cellar Door'' emerged as a raw, bohemian shake-up of Velvet Underground stylistics, Pere Ubu-style punch and glistening instrumentation.</p>
<p>Since then, he's been a man about the local scene, playing Jesus in Boston Rock Opera's 2000 production of ‘‘Jesus Christ Superstar'' (alongside Gary Cherone, no less), and masterminding 2003's memorable run of Lizard Lounge collaboration shows, Scara's Night Out. He also maintains an Indian music duet, Sitar Tabla Power, with his wife, Deb, keeps his classical organ chops alive at a 140-year-old church on the Tufts University campus, and even finds time to sing Sinatra, advise scholars on sustainable development and environmental law, and make plans to build a soundproofed studio in his home garage.</p>
<p>But Mascara the band - which in addition to Mascara on guitar and vocals also features Rikki Bates on drums and Chris Girard on bass - is of renewed interest these days, and after a six-year break from new material, the trio has a brand new EP, ‘‘Spell,'' to fete. Brainy and intense, Mascara joined us for an e-mail chat on the new recordings and his recent activities, prior to tomorrow night's CD release bash at the Lizard Lounge. He reports that a broader tour is in the works, and a full-length follow up to ‘‘Spell'' is also on the horizon.</p>
<p><strong> Q: </strong>With all the things you've done over the past few years, why a new EP now?</p>
<p><strong> CM: </strong> It's an understatement to say I've been eager to release new material; (‘‘Cellar Door'') came out in November 1999. In the intervening time, I've been developing new material and redefining my creative process. By January 2002, I reconstituted the band, and (Scara's Night Out) granted us regular exposure and a live setting in which to hone the new tunes. Shortly after, we went to Indecent Music and recorded basics for ‘‘Spell'' with engineer Hendrik Gideonse.</p>
<p>Life events for each of us took precedent over the project's speedy completion. However, as a result, the end product stands up and is stronger for the amount of time devoted to it.</p>
<p>In early 2005, we reconvened, finished the mixes, and by mid-year, mastered ‘‘Spell'' at M Works. We scheduled the release for January 2006 because we wanted to start the new year off with a bang, as well as allow for enough lead time for design and promotions. We chose the EP format for starters because we are reintroducing our music with the new and improved lineup to our public and are offering a new calling card to potential fans.</p>
<p><strong>Q: </strong>How has your songwriting evolved in the past few years?</p>
<p><strong>CM: </strong> Performing with a steady lineup for a few years now has shaped the songs I bring in. I write with the players' individual sounds and strengths in mind. So, naturally, Rikki and Chris translate the message and intent of my expansive, angular songs, matching my headiness and bringing rock muscle and urgency.</p>
<p>At the outset of writing a tune, a particular mood may strike, triggered by a lyrical or musical phrase that, in turn, dictates the flow, identity, and even what guitar tuning to employ. I use three alternate guitar tunings as well as standard tuning, which lends a distinctiveness to my sound.</p>
<p>Inspiration, to me, is like the alleged art of ‘‘psychometrics'' where past events and emotional circumstances can be divined through touching a person or an object. ‘‘Cellar Door'' takes us down into an old, dank, dark basement strewn about with the abandoned effects of a forgotten person, sifting through an old trunk, studying patina-ed photos, questing for ‘‘Rosebud,'' the humanity beneath the artifacts. These things all tell stories, some melancholy, some creepy, some angry, some mysterious.</p>
<p>‘‘Spell'' takes a journey also, but this time via an old wooden school desk, to childhood memories of grammar school: growing up, losing innocence, tackling hurtful events, fully appreciating formative moments seemingly inconsequential at the time.</p>
<p><strong>Q: </strong> What else is different about the ‘‘Spell'' material than your previous musical efforts?</p>
<p><strong>CM: </strong> Generally, ‘‘Spell'' is more fully realized, concise and primal than its predecessor. ‘‘Cellar Door'' focuses on musicianship and accuracy, where ‘‘Spell'' emphasizes a raw, more live-performance sound. On ‘‘Spell,'' we exploit each song's character by tailoring its backdrop. ‘‘Cellar Door's'' more exotic instrumentation included sitar, bowed double-bass, dobro and lap steel. ‘‘Spell'' brings out the organ, piano, samples, and vintage studio effects.</p>
<p><strong>MASCARA </strong><br> CD release party with Binary System, Ramona Silver and Reverend Glasseye. At the Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 8 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets $10 at the door or $8 in advance through <a href="http://www.virtuous.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">virtuous.com</a>. Show is 21-plus. Mascara also plays the Middle East Upstairs with Voodoo Screw Machine on March 2.</p>
<p>Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger <br> Transmitted Thursday, January 19, 2006</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156397
2006-01-18T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:14:12-05:00
back from the brink - Boston Phoenix
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>THE BOSTON PHOENIX January 19, 2006</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MUSIC | FEATURE STORIES </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong><span class="pressheadline"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/15deab9f8bbfde09ed84399a6ba502821a466d88/original/chrismascara-9649davidson.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTYyeDI0MyJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="243" style="vertical-align: baseline;" width="162" /></span></strong><strong><span class="pressheadline">Playing w</span></strong><strong><span class="pressheadline">it</span></strong><strong><span class="pressheadline">h poetry</span></strong><strong><br><span class="presssubhead">M</span></strong><strong><span class="presssubhead">ascara</span></strong><strong><span class="presssubhead"> find inspiration in the classics </span></strong></p>
<p><strong>By TED DROZDOWSKI</strong> | <a href="http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid1602.aspx" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Read the article at The Boston Phoenix</a></p>
<p>Mascara's debut album, Cellar Door , was a psychic time bomb, meticulously assembled and tightly wound, at its most harrowing and sonically edgy drawing inspiration from singer/guitarist Chris Mascara's own personality meltdown and recovery. Five year later, the group's new Spell is an outright explosion: short at five songs, but full of terse, rippling energy and still wrapped, in part, by Mascara's need to explore who he is both in words and in sound. It's a loud, quick jolt — but more playful than Cellar Door as well, with its recording of a creaking gas-meter dial providing a coda for “Time Is a Lie” and the tune “Percy's Revenge” poking at issues of identity with a schoolboy's rhyme and a guitar chiming dark as the bells of Purgatory.</p>
<p>There's also a sense of theatricality spiking out of the mix's bold vocal melodies, pounding rhythms, and braying guitar flourishes. Which isn't surprising given Mascara's background in musical theater, which includes playing the lead role in Boston Rock Opera's 2000 production of Jesus Christ Superstar . But his now-supercharged singing is foremost among the new disc's broader gestures, which announce that when Mascara the band take the stage this Friday at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, after an extended break, there will be new turns in the works.</p>
<p>“ Jesus Christ Superstar was a big boost to me — a learning experience as a vocalist,” Mascara says when we meet at his Medford home. “I was singing next to [Extreme's] Gary Cherone, who played Judas, and that was pretty intimidating. But it was inspiring, too. You have to have your shit together when you're working with someone of that caliber.</p>
<p>“Also, when we were working on Cellar Door , everybody involved in the studio band was present while I was recording, and there was a lot of nit-picking. A lot of guitar overdubs I had in mind got nixed, and dirtier tones, and vocally there might have been a little erring on the side of accuracy rather than feeling. People were on top of me about pitch and pronunciation, and that can wring the spirit out of it.</p>
<p>“With Spell, we spent months just working on the vocal sound: different microphones, different compressors, different settings. After working on the songs with just the rough vocal tracks, I went home and wrote out the vocal melodies and made sure they were nailed, so by the time I recorded the final performances I was just interpreting and emoting. If the song called for a more intimate kind of performance, I sat on the floor and relaxed. So on Spell there may be a couple of vocal parts that are a little hairy, but what they give in pitch they take in spirit and conviction. It's a matter of singing my tail off in front of the band for years before our break, doing my vocal exercises every morning, and listening to a lot of soul like Jackie Wilson and Chris Cornell for inspiration.”</p>
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<p>Numbers like “Frostbite” and “Time Is a Lie” chew on issues of personality and place, but none so much as the disc's closer, “Percy's Revenge,” with its oddball chorus of “This is how I spell my name out/C-H-R-I-S-T-O-P-H-E M-A-S-C-A.” That misspelling of Mascara's name appeared in a school yearbook when he was a kid, but the song's bloodlines of heritage and emotion run a lot deeper.</p>
<p>“I enjoy reading biographies of artists, filmmakers, poets. I read a book about Lord Byron and the legacy of his friend and fellow poet Percy Shelley. There was that night when they all got together on laudanum and Mary Shelley invented the story Frankenstein , so there are those elements of their literary legacy in the book. But I was fascinated by the idea that Shelley was so crazy one night he took a skiff out into a raging storm at sea and that's how he died. They had a burial and pyre for him on the beach, and legend has it one of his friends took his heart and saved it in a box, saying, ‘This is the purest thing.' So there's a line in ‘Percy's Revenge' where I sing, ‘Take my heart/May it stand for something other than what I am.'</p>
<p>“It's asking what's the purity of my heart and soul versus the identity I've been given, which I am a little hung up on because I was adopted. I don't take heritage and identity and family for granted. For me, that's really a raw song.”</p>
<p>He's equally inquisitive about the nature of guitar sounds and their emotional effect. To that end, the four gleaming hollow-bodied six-strings waiting on stands nearby like obedient servants as we speak are all in different tunings: standard for the ripping leads, and then Mascara's own tunings constructed around open strings that hit various unisons, fifths, and octaves when plucked together. They produce combinations of notes that grind, create uneasiness, or soothe — all at the whim of a player who developed his extensive grasp of harmony, rhythm, and melody as a child organ prodigy. Two — a Gretsch and a Gibson — are recent acquisitions that have already inspired Mascara to write a batch of songs for the full-length he plans to start recording in spring.</p>
<p>“The combination of my unique tunings with the open, breathy sound of the archtop guitars is my signature as a player. I love the feeling of discovery, and that's part of my effort to sound like nobody else. Eddie Van Halen sounds like himself; same with Jorma Kaukonen. If you're gonna be a lead guitar player, you've got to do something that really expresses what you're about.</p>
<p>“Each of my tunings have a specific body of songs they go with, and they've inspired me to write, so I really love and value them. But that doesn't mean I won't twist a peg on a headstock tomorrow and find another tuning — and maybe, then, another group of songs that I've just gotta write.”</p>
<p>MASCARA + BINARY SYSTEM + RAMONA SILVER + ADAM GLASSEYE | Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge | Jan 20 | 617.547.EAST</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156400
2005-11-30T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:16:39-05:00
one of Boston's most talented songwriters - The Noise
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>THE NOISE Magazine Boston, MA, December 2005 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/190fc973297bdf89b8f30b02dbbae9cc38e6a2c4/original/spell-cover.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjAweDIwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="200" width="200" /></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">MASCARA</span><br><span class="presssubhead">Mr Fibulis Records<br> Spell </span><br> 6 Songs</strong></p>
<p>Chris Mascara is one of Boston's most talented songwriters, and on Spell he seems to engage in what one critic has called "genre clowning." Elvis's Sun sessions; XTC's first two albums; The Turtles, The Beatles, and The Minutemen: all indulged. Some genre spoofery is minimalist; Mascara's is baroque: here, production values reinforce the element of play. The approach works best on the newer songs: on the spooky, lovely, and almost McCartneyesque elegiac "Time Is a Lie," and on the soaring lyric pronunciato "Great Divide." "No Afterlife," perhaps Mascara's best song, has, by contrast, been made less a performer's showcase than an ensemble effort, and I think this variant version suffers in the translation. The outrageously arpeggiated guitar runs and synthesized keyboard horn sections strike me as a foolish attempt at sweetening a rather brave and uncompromising message. However, the dense production on "Percy's Revenge" renders the otherwise jarring and angular composition not only listenable but entertaining. In some respects Spell is a fallback; in others, a brave new direction. Yet the four songs named are compelling simply as straightforward explorations of the writer's labyrinthine emotions, for few artists are better at translating complexity of feeling into music expression.</p>
<p>(Francis DiMenno) *****</p>
<p>>>>DUAL REVIEW<<<</p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">MASCARA </span><span class="presssubhead">Spell </span><br></strong></p>
<p>After what seems like an eternity since their last release, Mascara comes out kicking and screaming with a rocking new release that covers more musical ground in the first ten minutes than most Boston bands cover in their entire career. Always theatrical and flamboyant, only Mascara can do a heavy rock tune followed by a campy romp and then head into heady psychedelic territory while still maintaining a unique identity. Chris Mascara does some interesting vocal acrobatics throughout this recording evoking the spirits Lennon, Mercury, and Buckley. Having seen this lineup perform a few times, I must say this is probably the most concise line-up Mascara has had, which includes Chris Gerard on bass and Rikki Bates on drums. Sadly, this album is way too short. I hope we'll get to hear more soon. </p>
<p>(Joel Simches) *****</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156399
2005-11-30T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:19:57-05:00
one of the area's most dynamic performers - MusicDish
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MusicDish<br> December 2005 </strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">Best Of The Batch: Mascara, Spell </span><br></strong> <span class="presssubhead"><strong>Mr Fibulis Records<br> Spell </strong><br> By: <a href="http://www.musicdish.com/mag/bio.php3?author=106" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Matthew S. Robinson (Associate Writer) </a> </span></p>
<p>Chris Mascara is one of the area's most dynamic performers. From Boston Rock Opera to his own variety shows at venues all over the Boston area, he is constantly exploring and flexing his creative capabilities. On his latest EP, <em><strong>Spell </strong></em>, <strong>Mascara </strong> combines flavors of The Beatles, David Bowie, Queen, and OhMyGod with his own musical and spiritual proclivities, sharp production sense, and plain and simple great rock.</p>
<p>Opening with the heavy sweeps of “Great Divide,” Mascara invites listeners to join him and his band mates (bassist Chris Girard and drummer Rikki Bates) in a leap of faith. Tumbling through the torqued fun house bounce of “Frostbite,” Mascara then hooks into the temporal bonds of existence in the plaintive ballad “Time is a Lie.”</p>
<p>After a brief “pressure conversion,” the band lets loose, thankfully secure in the driving knowledge that there is “No Afterlife.” Before signing off, Mascara signs his musical name on the heavily dotted lines of “Percy's Revenge,” a violent exploration of self that puts a poetic period on the album's multifaceted mystical message.</p>
<p>Mascara will release “Spell” at the Lizard Lounge (1667 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge) on January 20, 2006.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.musicdish.com/mag/index.php3?id=10667" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Visti the above review on MusicDish</a></p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156401
2005-11-17T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:23:53-05:00
Secret Life of Pastries - Boston Phoenix
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>THE BOSTON PHOENIX <br> Boston, MA <br> November 18-24, 2005</strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">CHRIS MASCARA ON THE FOOD NETWORK </span></strong></p>
<p>Chris and Deb Mascara of eclectic hard-rockers <strong>MASCARA </strong> discovered that the quickest path to a television guest spot could be moving to Medford. They just "happened" to be at their favorite neighborhood haunt, Medford's Danish Pastry House, when the Food Network filmed <em>The Secret Life of ... Pastries </em>, which next airs November 27 at 6 pm. The band also have a new song, "Frostbite," available at <a href="http://ats.mascaramusic.com/" data-imported="1">www.mascaramusic.com</a>. Described by Chris as "Queen goes to an old-timy horror flick," it's a sneak peek from a new self-produced five-song EP, <em>Spell </em>, recorded with <a href="http://www.indecentmusic.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Hendrik Gideonse at Indecent Music</a>. Look for a <a href="http://ats.mascaramusic.com/press/gigs.htm" data-imported="1">January 20 release party at the Lizard Lounge</a> ...</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/music/local/notes/documents/05091780.asp" target="_blank" data-imported="1">http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/music/local/notes/documents/05091780.asp </a></p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156402
2003-12-31T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:25:20-05:00
CD captures energy, drive - Whats Up
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>WHATS UP Magazine<br> Boston, MA<br> January 2004 Volume 6 Issue 1<br><span class="pressheadline"><br> </span><span class="presssubhead">CD Reviews </span><span class="pressheadline"><br> MASCARA - Cellar Door</span></strong></p>
<p>Chris Mascara was one of the first people I met in the Boston music scene. A genuine guy with a hell of a lot of talent, he could produce the kind of rock that would make a whole room start moving. This cd captures that energy and drive. I haven't seen him in a few years but when I pulled out this cd, it made me think I was glad he was still rockin'.</p>
<p><a title=".. pick up Cellar Door online .." href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mascara" target="_blank" data-imported="1">www.cdbaby.com/cd/mascara</a></p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156404
2003-05-20T20:00:00-04:00
2016-11-07T04:32:15-05:00
what the world needs now - Boston Globe
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>BOSTON GLOBE </em><br> May 21, 2003 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/47b295aef4cce9cf019c1eff872f63dc48386a42/original/scarasnightout.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTY1eDE2MSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="161" width="165" /> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>GO! Wednesday <br> Arts/Lifestyle <br> </strong><br> By Christopher Muther, Globe Staff</p>
<p><strong class="pressheadline">Quick Hits <br> Song and Dance. </strong> <br> What would "The Ed Sullivan Show" have looked like if Eddie had a fondness for barbiturates and fast women? Probably similar to the variety show called Scara's Night Out. The series wraps at the Lizard Lounge tonight with musical performances from Chandler Travis, Sukey Tawdry, John Surette and Mascara. There's also belly dancing from the Al Jawary Al Hessan troupe and poetry from Paul Angelosanto. The musical goulash starts at 9; $7. 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>BOSTON GLOBE </em><br> April 23, 2003 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>GO! Wednesday <br> Arts/Lifestyle <br> </strong><br> By Christopher Muther, Globe Staff</p>
<p><span class="pressheadline"><strong>Quick Hits <br> Multimedia. </strong></span><strong><br> </strong>The wacky cast of Radio Pu is reunited tonight at the Lizard Lounge, and — with apologies to Peaches and Herb — it feels so good. Beginning at 9, come thrill to the old-fashioned radio goodness of Pu. Well, old-fashioned in a twisted, Barney-despising way. The bill also includes performances from rock sparrow Ramona Silver, va-va-voom dancing from the Through the Keyhole Burlesque dance troupe, and a multimedia performance from funny guy Evan O'Television. Tickets for this feel-good night of music and mayhem are just $7. 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>STUFF @ NIGHT <br> </em></strong><strong>April 15, 2003 </strong></p>
<p class="pressheadline" style="text-align: center;"><strong>AFTER 5 — Where to Go, What to Do, and Why </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">By Darcy Scanlon</p>
<p><strong>WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23 </strong>: The Lizard Lounge (1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge) has hosted many a kooky character, avant-garde artist, and eccentric performer, but local rockers Mascara's bimonthly variety show Scara's Night Out brings it all home with a more-motley crew than Cambridge has seen in quite a while. Tonight's all-star cast features indie-pop local heroine Ramona Silver, former Through the Keyhole Burlesque dancers, multimedia comedian Evan O'Television, and Tenacious D-esque acoustic-comedy duo Damned Dirty Ape. Not to mention the bent radio-comedy band Radio Pu — a quintet that reproduces old-time radio acts. The doors are at 8, and there's a $7 cover. For more information, check www.mascaramusic.com/scarasnightout, or call the Lounge at (617) 547-0759.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>BOSTON GLOBE </em><br> March 12, 2003 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>GO! Wednesday <br> Arts/Lifestyle <br> </strong><br> By Christopher Muther, Globe Staff</p>
<p><strong class="pressheadline">Scaring up some fun. </strong> <br> As Jackie DeShannon once sang, what the world needs now is Mascara, sweet Mascara. OK, she didn't sing exactly those words, but should have. Amid all the turmoil in the world, Go! has unearthed an event so solid, even the United Nations Security Council could agree upon it. We speak of Scara's Night Out This evening's lineup includes Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer, the electronic combo Enuma Elish, and reunion of the always bizarre Radio Pu. The musical goulash is anchored by local faves Mascara. Your attendance tells Tom Ridge you're on high alert for a good time. Doors are at 8, the music starts at 9 at the Lizard Lounge. The whole shebang will set you back $7. 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>BOSTON HERALD </em></strong><br> <strong>March 7, 2003 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Calendar <br> <span class="pressheadline">Residencies, a record release and more will have the Hub rockin' </span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">By Sarah Rodman</p>
<p>The bitter chill has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of local musicians eager to display their wares in clubs around town. We usually discuss bands with national profiles in this space, but next week's embarrassment of local riches demands attention. The slate includes a couple of disparate residencies, a record release worth celebrating, a stab at a classic album by a great new band, a wild variety show and some good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll. Rodman recommends: Local picks this week include top-of- the-heap Boston Rock Opera alum Chris Mascara (Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar") who has been hosting the variety show " 'Scara's Night Out" at the Lizard Lounge the past few months. Wednesdays March 12th and 26th, the show will feature everything from cabaret punk, electronica, glam rock, improv-avant jazz, comedy and the "absurdist musings" of emcee Sinus Brady.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>BOSTON GLOBE </em><br> January 29, 2003 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>GO! Wednesday <br> Arts/Lifestyle <br> </strong><br> By Christopher Muther, Globe Staff</p>
<p><span class="pressheadline"><strong>Quick Hits </strong><br> <strong>The last stripper show</strong>.</span> <br> We've been through a lot with the Burlesque Revival Association over the years: strategically placed flower buds, lacy unmentionables, and oodles of flesh. But we've received word that the ladies of the BRA are hanging up their gloves and pasties. Their performance tonight at the Lizard Lounge is being billed as their "farewell" show. Naturally, you're not going to want to miss the hugs, the tears, and the G-strings when the BRA performs tonight as part of Scara's Night Out, a new series of eclectic music and performance art. Tonight starting at 9, you can also see the 10-piece Calypso Invaders, performance artist Todd Lee, Auddity, the Ethan Mackler Solo Bass Orchestra, and Mascara. 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>BOSTON GLOBE </em><br> January 15, 2003 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>GO! Wednesday <br> Arts/Lifestyle <br> </strong><br> By Christopher Muther, Globe Staff</p>
<p><strong class="pressheadline">Hiss and make-up. </strong><br> 'Twas a steamy night in July many years ago, and Go! was crammed into the Lizard Lounge with a bunch of sketchy characters — the kind of rough-hewn folks our mother once warned us to stay far away from. There was a man pacing the floor in a wolf suit, a drag queen decked out in none-too-flattering Spandex, and a woman playing Edith Piaf songs on an accordion. We spent the night suppressing an urge to yell "La vie boheme!" out of fear that a scantily clad vixen dressed as Marlene Deitrich would take us over her knee and administer a delicious spanking for the outburst. This impressive party was the short-lived, sexually charged series known as Marlene Loses It at the Lizard _ a night when comedians, jugglers, and brass quartets alike partied like it was 1999. Wait a minute, it was 1999. Tonight, this brand of musical fruit salad stages a glorious return to the Lizard Lounge (finally!) with Scara's Night Out, a new Wednesday night series hosted by the band Mascara. Starting at 9, you can hear Larry Meyerhoff pound his traditional Celtic dulcimer, Sandro G get jiggy with a felicitous blend of Portuguese and English hip-hop, Roger Miller (of Mission of Burma fame) buzz with his avant noisemakers Binary System, and Ted Drozdowski perform a spoken-word slide guitar thingy. Comedy dude Sinus Brady is master of ceremonies. A mere $7 buys you all this, plus a boatload of priceless memories. 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759.</p>
<p><a name="savior"></a> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>BOSTON PHOENIX </em><br> January 9, 2003 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="pressheadline"><strong>8 Days a Week </strong></span><strong><br> Editor's Picks of the Week</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">edited by Carly Carioli, Phoenix Staff</p>
<p>WEDS. JAN. 15 <br> <strong>ROCK. </strong> There aren't too many people who can list "Savior" on their musical résumé, but Chris Mascara -- who's perhaps best known around town as the guy who followed Gary Cherone into the role of Boston Rock Opera's production of Jesus Christ Superstar -- is one of them. These days, Mascara is fronting a power trio named, in trademark self-adoration, Mascara. And he's put together a freakshow-like cavalcade for a new bi-weekly "avant-variety" series at the Lizard Lounge. Tonight's debut of <strong>"Scara's Night Out" </strong> includes a performance from Mobius "comedian" Sinus Brady, traditional Celtic music by Larry Meyerhoff, some electrified talking blues by Phoenix critic and Devil Gods frontman Ted Drozdowski, a bilingual (Portuguese/English) hip-hop dude named Sandro G, a solo set by Think Tree/Count Zero frontman Peter Moore, and the first appearance by Roger Miller's avant-jazz outfit Binary System since Mission of Burma got back together. Showtime is 8:30 p.m., and admission is $7. The Lizard is at 1667 Mass Ave in Cambridge; call (617) 547-0759.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156403
2003-04-14T20:00:00-04:00
2016-11-07T04:27:59-05:00
brings it all home - Stuff @ Night, Boston Herald
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/47b295aef4cce9cf019c1eff872f63dc48386a42/original/scarasnightout.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MzExeDMzNyJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="SCARAsNightOut.jpg" height="337" width="311" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>STUFF @ NIGHT <br> </em></strong><strong>April 15, 2003 </strong></p>
<p class="pressheadline"><strong>AFTER 5 — Where to Go, What to Do, and Why </strong></p>
<p>By Darcy Scanlon</p>
<p><strong>WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23 </strong>: The Lizard Lounge (1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge) has hosted many a kooky character, avant-garde artist, and eccentric performer, but local rockers Mascara's bimonthly variety show Scara's Night Out brings it all home with a more-motley crew than Cambridge has seen in quite a while. Tonight's all-star cast features indie-pop local heroine Ramona Silver, former Through the Keyhole Burlesque dancers, multimedia comedian Evan O'Television, and Tenacious D-esque acoustic-comedy duo Damned Dirty Ape. Not to mention the bent radio-comedy band Radio Pu — a quintet that reproduces old-time radio acts. The doors are at 8, and there's a $7 cover. For more information, check www.mascaramusic.com/scarasnightout, or call the Lounge at (617) 547-0759.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>BOSTON HERALD </em></strong><br> <strong>March 7, 2003 </strong></p>
<p><strong>Calendar <br> <span class="pressheadline">Residencies, a record release and more will have the Hub rockin' </span></strong></p>
<p>By Sarah Rodman</p>
<p>The bitter chill has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of local musicians eager to display their wares in clubs around town. We usually discuss bands with national profiles in this space, but next week's embarrassment of local riches demands attention. The slate includes a couple of disparate residencies, a record release worth celebrating, a stab at a classic album by a great new band, a wild variety show and some good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll. Rodman recommends: Local picks this week include top-of- the-heap Boston Rock Opera alum Chris Mascara (Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar") who has been hosting the variety show " 'Scara's Night Out" at the Lizard Lounge the past few months. Wednesdays March 12th and 26th, the show will feature everything from cabaret punk, electronica, glam rock, improv-avant jazz, comedy and the "absurdist musings" of emcee Sinus Brady.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156405
2003-01-08T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T05:07:35-05:00
not too many people can list "Savior" on résumé - Boston Phoenix
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>BOSTON PHOENIX </em><br> January 9, 2003 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="pressheadline"><strong>8 Days a Week </strong></span><strong><br> Editor's Picks of the Week</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">edited by Carly Carioli, Phoenix Staff</p>
<p>WEDS. JAN. 15 <br> <strong>ROCK. </strong> There aren't too many people who can list "Savior" on their musical résumé, but Chris Mascara -- who's perhaps best known around town as the guy who followed Gary Cherone into the role of Boston Rock Opera's production of Jesus Christ Superstar -- is one of them. These days, Mascara is fronting a power trio named, in trademark self-adoration, Mascara. And he's put together a freakshow-like cavalcade for a new bi-weekly "avant-variety" series at the Lizard Lounge. Tonight's debut of <strong>"Scara's Night Out" </strong> includes a performance from Mobius "comedian" Sinus Brady, traditional Celtic music by Larry Meyerhoff, some electrified talking blues by Phoenix critic and Devil Gods frontman Ted Drozdowski, a bilingual (Portuguese/English) hip-hop dude named Sandro G, a solo set by Think Tree/Count Zero frontman Peter Moore, and the first appearance by Roger Miller's avant-jazz outfit Binary System since Mission of Burma got back together. Showtime is 8:30 p.m., and admission is $7. The Lizard is at 1667 Mass Ave in Cambridge; call (617) 547-0759.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156406
2002-12-24T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-03T17:10:26-04:00
raising the bar on experimental work - Cambridge Chronicle
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/444ccbc913173757c4cff20004295c90e82dc596/original/scara-smaller.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6Mjc1eDE5NCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="194" width="275" /></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Chris Mascara is raising the bar on experimental work at the Lizard Lounge <br> </em><em>with his new series of shows called 'Scara's Night Out.' </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Cambridge Chronicle and Cambridge TAB</strong><br> Wednesday, December 25, 2002<br> <span class="pressheadline"><br> <strong>Making it up: Chris Mascara brings variety back to Lizard</strong></span></p>
<p>By Matthew S. Robinson / Correspondent</p>
<p>From theatrical sax man Jeff Robinson and the professorial trio known as The Fringe to comedy, poetry slams and whatever else you can legally do in a basement, The Lizard Lounge has built a solid reputation for one of the most diverse and all-encompassing entertainment venues around.</p>
<p>Local superstar Chris Mascara is going to take that reputation to the next level with the launch of a new series of ridiculously random revues called "Scara's Night Out" on Jan. 15.</p>
<p>"I want to get my music out and also to get people to come out and experience new things," Mascara explained. "That is where the title comes from."</p>
<p>Known as the dramatic front man of his eponymous Rock trio and also as the titular star of Boston Rock Opera's outstanding staging of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and other BRO shows, Mascara came to Boston from the "cultural wasteland" of southern Florida in 1986 to study religion at Tufts.</p>
<p>"That plays interestingly into my having played Jesus," Mascara said, "because, hey, what better role is there?"</p>
<p>A child prodigy at the classical organ (which he continues to play at the Tufts chapel and other venues), Mascara picked up his father's guitar as a teenager and has been rocking out ever since.</p>
<p>"It's such a power trip to play the organ," he said. "The only thing that comes close is loud Rock guitar."</p>
<p>Despite the exclusiveness of this "power" duo, Mascara has picked up other instruments along the way. Joining the BRO as a sitar player for the 1995 production of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," Mascara has been with the group ever since. Through them, he has come to know a wide variety of musical and theatrical performers.</p>
<p>"There is such a rich performing arts scene here," he said, "and hopefully this new series will pull them all together and catch even the people who fall between the genre cracks." "Scara's Night Out" will not only introduce new acts to the Lizard, but it will also offer combinations never before attempted, even at the liberal Lounge.</p>
<p>"I was first thinking of a different kind of band residency," Mascara explained, "something that would frame the eclectic and theatrical elements of my band¹s show just right."</p>
<p>Calling the new series "the alternative to the alternative" (no cliché intended), Mascara listed an opening night roster that includes comedic emcee Sinus Brady, hammered dulcimer virtuoso Larry Meyerhoff, blues maven Ted Drozdowski in rare solo gig without his talented band The Devil Gods, Count Zero's Peter Moore, the trailblazing duo Binary System, and Portuguese/English hip hop artist Sandro G.</p>
<p>"I have been a fan of Roger Miller and Binary for a long time so I am thrilled to have them," Mascara said. "The rest of the set is all over the place, but they are all friends of mine and all great performers with something to share, so this opening night will definitely exemplify the adventurous theme these nights will have."</p>
<p>When asked where he first came up with the idea, Mascara recalled soirees that he and his theatrically-minded wife used to host which would follow a similar arc.</p>
<p>"We used to have these get-togethers for birthdays and things where we would have a singer, then a poetry reading and then something else," he said. "So this is our way of taking our private parties public."</p>
<p>In so doing, Mascara hopes to help the various performers meet and mingle while sharing performance ideas and audience members.</p>
<p>"I want to give them a place to show their stuff," he said. "It's a crossover scene between music and art genres and styles and hopefully it will appeal to everybody."</p>
<p>As many of the artists who are scheduled to perform in Night Out are on the esoteric side, Mascara is hoping that his series will help them grow their audiences.</p>
<p>"I have no manifesto, per se, but I believe that people expressing themselves with integrity will reach their audience," he said. "So I hope that this series brings people out and mixes a wide array of audiences."</p>
<p>As Night Out is all about variety, when it came time to choose a venue for the new series, Mascara says that the Lizard was a natural.</p>
<p>"The Lizard is known for its diverse and radical performing arts underground," he said. "The series will try to capitalize on the atmosphere down there and appeal to those with a taste for the eclectic."</p>
<p>Though Mascara admits to taking a few tips from his musical friend Rick Berlin, who had a successful run at the Lounge with a variety show called "Marlena Loses it at The Lizard," he also points out some key distinctions.</p>
<p>"Rick would perform, but he was not with his band at the time," Mascara said, alluding to Berlin's current outfit, The Shelley Winters Project. "I am in a band and we are performing as the anchor of each show. The idea is to have an opener, Mascara and then some off-the-wall closer to give the night a nice contour and a punchy finale."</p>
<p>Sounds ambitious, and also a bit confusing.</p>
<p>"Think of it as Zeitgeist Gallery smooching with The Abbey Lounge on the fire escape at Mobius Arts Center," Mascara explained. "That's the vibe I am going for."</p>
<p>******* <br> <strong><em>A Night Out </em></strong></p>
<p>"Scara's Night Out" launches on January 15 at The Lizard Lounge (1667 Massachusetts Avenue). For more information, call the Lizard Lounge at 617-499-6992 or go to www.mascaramusic.com.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156407
2000-11-30T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T05:10:19-05:00
well-honed, convincing portrayal - Soundcheck Magazine
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/2a3448f427172bf2064441e30f44f7bcb0cb9b12/original/jcspress.gif/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjUweDMyNSJd.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="JCSpress.gif" height="325" width="250" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>SOUNDCHECK MAGAZINE</strong><br> December, 2000<br> <span class="pressheadline"><br> Boston Rock Opera Presents "Jesus Christ Superstar"</span></p>
<p>11-9-2000 at Mass. College of Art <br> Live Music Review by Matt Robinson</p>
<p>Amid spare, industrial staging, an undulating mob of varied musical and theatrical talent tells the story of Christ's last week on earth. Led by the powerful performance of resurrected Jesus, Chris Mascara (Mascara), the honeyed urgings of Valerie Forgione (Mistle Thrush) as Mary Magdalene and the predictably bravura-ed bombast of Gary Cherone (Extreme, Van Halen, Tribe of Judah) who had taken the role of Judas after handling the titular martyr for a number of years, the performance was occasionally tortured by feedback and a well-arranged, but at times overpowering, backing band which pushed some of the vocalists to their extremes.</p>
<p>Though some of the trippier lines of the libretto tripped over the mix, the story moved well and remained clear, despite double and even triple roles which had some of the disciples adding to the sacrilegious mob. Other standout performances included Peter Moore (Count Zero) as a Floyd-ian reluctant judge named Pilate and Karin Parker as a hot souled siren named Simon. While Brian Gottesman (Chucklehead, Rype) was a bit overly dramatic as The Priest, Boston Rock Opera faithful T. Max was pure rock and roll clergy as Annas, a shrill counterpart to the towering presence of BRO Co-Founder Mick Maldonado's High Priest Caiaphas. The band mixed Casiod horns with plucky, Van Halened solos and though some of the vocals failed (especially in the second half), the dramatic tension was heightened by the surging music and even more by Mascara's well-honed and convincing performance. Portraying Christ as an overwhelmed man of God instead of an overwhelmingly godly man, Mascara showed what a presence he can be even without his own guitar. Perhaps he is wasting his talents in a rock band. He certainly did not here.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156408
2000-11-14T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-03T18:47:08-04:00
losing his religion / "Superstar" is gripping - Boston Globe
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>THE BOSTON GLOBE </strong>November 15, 2000</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/2a3448f427172bf2064441e30f44f7bcb0cb9b12/original/jcspress.gif/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjUweDMyNSJd.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="JCSpress.gif" height="325" width="250" /></p>
<p><strong><em>LIVING/ARTS </em>Names & Faces </strong><br> By Michael Saunders and Jim Sullivan</p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">Losing his religion</span></strong></p>
<p>Chris Mascara has the title role in Boston Rock Opera's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar," running tonight through Saturday at the Mass. College of Art's Tower Auditorium. But it's not the first time Mascara, 32, has attempted the role. In 1989, when he was a comparative religion major at Tufts University, Mascara was tapped to play Jesus in a college production of the show and freaked, ending up in McLean Hospital for three weeks.</p>
<p>"I had my rock 'n' roll band at the time, the Void," Mascara says, "but had yet to make a foray onto stage in college. I was thrilled [to get the role] but at the same time, I had to make this some kind of spiritual quest, an opportunity to delve into the mystical side of the religious experience. I thought I had to purify, cleanse, and purge." He fasted and lost 20 pounds, meditated, did yoga, put himself through sleep deprivation, and finally was over taken by paranoia. "It was a psychotic breakdown," he says. He had become "not Christ-like, but weird. I wigged out." He withdrew from the play.</p>
<p>Approached by BRO to play Jesus this year, Mascara says, "I didn't know if I wanted to open that door. But once I did, I said I'm going to conquer this dragon once and for all. Now, I feel great on stage. When I'm home, I do have moments of fear, but not that I'm going to lose my mind. I'm an adult now."</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">>>>and REVIEW OF SUPERSTAR<<<</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>BOSTON GLOBE </strong>November 13, 2000</p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">Boston Rock Opera's 'Superstar' is gripping - again</span></strong></p>
<p>By Jim Sullivan, Globe Staff</p>
<p>How can a musical that is so unspeakably awful in the hands of a professional touring company become so gripping and gut-wrenching in the hands of a local group of musicians and actors? Maybe because it's not a job, but an adventure. Maybe, it's because the actor-musicians grew up with the work and find it a thrill to inhabit the roles. Maybe it's because of the rock 'n' roll backbone. At any rate, such is the case with ''Jesus Christ Superstar,'' the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera, once again kicked up by Boston Rock Opera, the company formed on a shoestring budget seven years ago by producer Eleanor Ramsay and musical director Mick Maldonado. (They actually started doing ''Superstar'' in 1991 before the company took shape.)</p>
<p>''Jesus Christ Superstar,'' starring Chris Mascara in the title role and former Jesus -- Gary Cherone (ex-Extreme and Van Halen singer) as Judas Iscariot, is being staged at Massachusetts College of Art's Tower Auditorium under the direction of John Whiteside. It's the first time this production is being performed at a theater and not a rock club. Over time, this ''Superstar'' has grown from likably amateurish--the apostles drank real wine and got a bit tipsy during the first Last Supper--to something striking and professional.</p>
<p>The staging is simple and stark: a large metal grid at the rear of the stage, with a translucent scrim behind (shielding the band), and three platforms in front. Near the end, Cherone's Judas climbs the grid, anguished by his betrayal of Christ, and dramatically hangs himself. Then, of course, Christ's cross is put up against the grid, and Mascara's Jesus goes through his death throes.</p>
<p>The gender-and-race-blind cast--a mix of newcomers and old faves including Peter Moore (Pontius Pilate), Pat McGrath (King Herod), and Maldonado (Caiaphas)--dresses in a mix of period and modern costumes. A tag team of annoying reporters (Deborah Emmons, Lisa McColgan, and Mike Bidwell) stick microphones and cameras in the faces of the players. The big burly Gestapo-like cops (Stan LeRoy and George Bonin) whack Jesus with batons during ''The 39 Lashes.'' McGrath's boozy, smarmy, and highly debauched Herod is, as always, a hoot, and surrounded by scantily clad ensemble members of both genders. McGrath, in fabulous gold lame, goes off-script for a few comments about Christ's raising folks from the dead (''how Goth!''), cracks a sacrilegious double-entendre or two, and a few other goodies.</p>
<p>The crux of it all, of course, is the Jesus/Judas conflict, and in many, this is as much about Judas as Jesus. (Rice and Lloyd-Webber's original working title was ''The Last Five Days of Judas Iscariot.'') The limber, brooding, dyed-blond Cherone is superb--in Mascara's face about Jesus's supposed miscalcuations and singing the best songs of the show, ''Heaven on Their Minds,'' ''Damned for All Time/Blood Money,'' a posthumous, rousing ''Superstar,'' among them. Mascara plays Jesus as more human than Godlike, and experiences a full range of emotion from acceptance of his fate to rage against the merchants in the temple. Valerie Forgione, as Mary Magdalene, shines during her featured songs, ''Everything's Alright,'' ''Can We Start Again Please?'' and ''I Don't Know How to Love Him,'' belting out these cathartic songs in a manner far from her work with her ethereal rock band Mistle Thrush.</p>
<p>There were a few glitches at the show we caught, Wednesday's preview--some popping mikes, some dropped vocals (especially Karin Parker's Simon Zealotes), a slight stumble at the start of ''What's the Buzz?'' a lighting miscue that caused Rachel Morales, one of three dancers playing The Fates, to stumble and break her foot as she exited a scene.</p>
<p>But overall this a production of passion, pathos, and, yes, a little kitsch. It's respectful of the book, but has fun with it, too. The band, led by keyboardist/flutist Suzi Lee, shifts gears from hook-laden rockers to dissonant mood pieces expertly. It's an ambitious production of primo Lloyd Webber, before his descent into super-schmaltz.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156409
2000-11-10T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T05:12:20-05:00
vocal powerhouse as Jesus - Boston Herald
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>THE BOSTON HERALD</strong><br> Saturday November 11, 2000<br> <span class="pressheadline"><br> <strong>Boston Rock Opera's resurrected "Superstar" is mostly a heavenly delight</strong></span></p>
<p>By SARAH RODMAN</p>
<p>In cream-colored crewneck-sweater and khakis, the title character in the Boston Rock Opera production of <em> Jesus Christ Superstar </em> merits a note in the playbill reading, "deity's clothes provided by the Gap." (Can't you see the ad campaign: "Everyone in a crown of thorns!")</p>
<p>Yet it's just that homogeneity of appearance in this modern dress production that drives home the theme of an ordinary man rising to extraordinary heights in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 30-year-old rock opera.</p>
<p>A vocal powerhouse as Jesus, Chris Mascara is, like many of the BRO players, a true rock musician, and he brought a sparkly charisma to his role Thursday night at the Tower Auditorium. That charm is essential to the occasionally hokey show's format, the inevitable result of mashing together two disparate genres and mandating that all dialogue be sung.</p>
<p><em>Jesus Christ Superstar </em> chronicles the last seven days of Jesus' life. The show's big story and even bigger music lends itself to a style of overacting from which director John Whiteside kept the BRO players from succumbing. While some in the scrappy cast were clearly more accomplished than others—with varying degrees of rigidity—hamminess never exceeded a level inescapable in a Lloyd Webber world.</p>
<p>Mascara was the picture of stillness and economy of movement early on, making his eventual explosion at God during "Gethsemane" much more dramatic.</p>
<p>Former Extreme/Van Halen lead singer Gary Cherone's Judas was as jittery as Jesus was calm. It's easy to see why Cherone, after playing the title role in two previous BRO productions, would want to switch parts. With his conflicting emotions, melodramatic songs and spectral reemergence—in silver leather pants, fronting a choir of angels clad in negligees and platform shoes—Judas is a much more fun part. And Cherone imbued his relationship with Jesus with an interesting undercurrent of romantic tension. The same can be said for Valerie Forgione's graceful Mary Magdalene.</p>
<p>On a spare stage outfitted with scaffolding--behind which an excellent seven-piece band played—the ensemble was likewise strong with several players deserving of kudos, notably Peter Moore's excellent Floyd-ian portrayal of Pilate and Pat McGrath's hilariously hedonistic King Herod.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156411
2000-04-30T20:00:00-04:00
2016-11-07T05:19:21-05:00
I was addicted - ballbusterhardmusic
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color:#000000"><strong>Mascara</strong></span><span style="color:#000000"> </span><span style="color:#000000"><em>"Cellar Door"</em></span><br></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline"><em>By Jym Harris</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#33cc00"> </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000">OK, this one really had to grow on me. At first, I wasn’t sure about it, but by the end of the CD I was addicted. Mascara (Brainchild of Boston’s Chris Mascara) is one of those bands that are difficult to categorize. At times I hear a little Primus, and other times I’m reminded of The Presidents Of The United States Of America. This three peice learned the dynamics theory many bands never do; holes are as important as fills. The songs breathe. Granted, Mascara is not for everyone. Some could even call this ‘artsy-fartsy’, claimimg the band is deliberately being weird to draw attention. Maybe so, but I would rather listen to this than most of the derivative bullshit out there. The open-minded should give this album a good listen. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000">© 2000, BBHrdRpt</span></p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156413
2000-04-05T20:00:00-04:00
2016-11-07T04:39:59-05:00
one of God's gifts to rock and roll - JAM Magazine
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>JAM Magazine </strong>Sarasota Springs, FL <br> April 6, 2000</p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/f23eca43b7cff0af1d9098c1dc499c7407aab0ec/original/cellardoor-cover.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTk1eDIwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="200" width="195" /></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">Mascara - Cellar Door </span></strong><br> <span class="presssubhead">(Mascara Records) </span></p>
<p>Chris Mascara, (yes, it's his real name) is one of God's gifts to rock & roll. His musical genius first surfaced when he was 8, when he taught himself classical organ and performed professionally at churches and on the radio. From there, his resume includes at least three Boston-area bands and credits in the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar, where he was also the understudy for the role of Jesus. So he can sing and play and has a popular stage presence.</p>
<p>He can also write incredibly creepy and insightful rock songs; songs that are literate and reflect the poetry and fiction he reads. "A is for Apple, B is Brainstem, C is Cranium, D is Dead..." he writes in "Electrode" a song for poet Sylvia Plath. Plath received electroshock therapy at the same hospital where Mascara later recovered from a nervous breakdown, a period that he draws on for "Carnival." His music and lyrics are dark, disturbing. Ned Smith loans his drums to the album, as well as an occasional voice. Tim Kelly's lapsteel and lute give Cellar Door an exotic thrill, as do Mascara's own occasional sitar. Nate McBride completes the talented ensemble with his bass (electric and acoustic) and, again, vocals where necessary. Mascara is a talented band, creating refreshingly original songwriting.</p>
<p>Nathaniel Wallace</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156412
2000-03-31T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-03T18:49:19-04:00
a sound uniquely their own - Instant Magazine
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>INSTANT Magazine</strong> <br> Boston, MA <br> April/May 2000 Issue 27</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>High Octane CD Reviews </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">Mascara Cellar Door </span></strong><br> <span class="presssubhead">(Mascara Records) </span></p>
<p>"Eclecticism" is the first word that comes to my mind a when I think of this album. It contains a collage of a sounds that would not normally blend, but given the tweaked demeanor of the arrangements, seem to work together just fine. Mascara has successfully compounded rock with jazz undertones and the twisted knolls of death we have grown to enjoy, although some more than others. I particularly relished the integration of the child's melody "Fr'ere Jacques" with a guitar composition in the minor key on track #2, "Sweet Anne." Truly, this album survives on the element of surprise, taking the listener from almost experimental, impressionistic bits to very rich and full rhythm drives, and then to virginal sounding guitar solos. The subject material is heavy, and the arrangements are rather aggressive, yet Chris Mascara's voice remains light and youthful. Mascara has also managed to flirt with many fun and provocative topics during the course of "Cellar Door." They cover incest, the incongruities of love and faith, the atrophy of personality as a consequence of over-prescribed mood drugs, and lastly, my favorite manic, Sylvia Plath. (Track #3, "Electrode," is dedicated to her and gives a nod to her regular experiences with shock therapy.) For such integrated and varied material, the band is fairly tight, and produces a sound that is uniquely their own. Those who seek out that which is unfamiliar, and take pleasure in things that have not quite matured to political correctness will find substantial enjoyment in "Cellar Door."</p>
<p>Sebastienne Grey</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156414
2000-01-05T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:41:19-05:00
compelling CD fueled by hell-fire guitar - Boston Phoenix
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color:#000000"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline">The Boston Phoenix</span></strong></span> <span style="color:#000000"><br></span> <span style="color:#000000"><strong>January 6 - 13, 2000</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Great guitar players don't need fingerprints. They can be identified by their tone -- the distinctive qualities of the sounds they pick, pluck, pull, and push from their instruments. The most dedicated players spend their musical lives looking for a tone, a voice within their guitar that's truly their own. Some find it and stop searching; others never do.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/music/00/01/06/image/Mascara.gif" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="Mascara" height="203" width="225" /></p>
<h3>MASCARA ON MASCARA</h3>
<p>Another compelling local CD fueled by hell-fire guitar is Mascara's debut, <em>Cellar Door</em> (Mascara Records). This four-piece are led by guitarist/singer Chris Mascara. And by Chris's gut emotions. From the opening scream of Tim Kelly's lap steel guitar on "Carnival" to the menacing tritone chords that hang beneath the verses of "Sweet Anne" to the droning deadpan string strikes and prickly leads that emerge everywhere, guitars touch the raw nerves of Mascara songs. Which are very raw. The sanatorium chaos of "Carnival" is based on Chris Mascara's own post-breakdown stay at McLean Hospital. The mix of melody and fury in "Electrode" plumbs the numbing effect of shock therapy. "JesusSatan" picks at the scabby edges of human nature and the conflicts of religious dogma and morality. And all the time the guitars of Mascara and Kelly do their thing, covering turf that ranges from the grinding distortion of the Velvet Underground to the angular wailing of Pere Ubu and Gang of Four.</p>
<p>"I came up through the ranks as a supporting player, a lead guitar in somebody else's band," says Mascara, whose credits include Nineteen, Box Car Betty, his own Rootlock, and the pit band for Boston Rock Opera (where in addition he understudied Gary Cherone as the lead in <em>Jesus Christ Superstar</em>). "Also, when I was a young kid, I studied classical organ, so I play chords that only a classical organist would love. A lot of the weirdness in question comes from the altered tunings I use. I enjoy making up a song where I'm relying on my ears and not muscle memory or rock formula."</p>
<p>To that end, Chris has developed his own variations on open tunings, and he douses his sound with effects like vintage phase shifters and an Electric Mistress. "A lot of the songs on <em>Cellar Door</em> were among the first bunch of songs I wrote about eight years ago, but when it came time to record, of the 100 or so I've got in my repertoire we felt like those really hung together nicely because of their confessional nature."</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156416
1999-11-30T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-07T04:42:39-05:00
colorful, completely disturbing - Metronome
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>METRONOME </strong><br> Boston, MA <br> December 1999</p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">MASCARA "CELLAR DOOR" </span></strong><br> 13-Song CD</p>
<p>The band's name alone conjures up images of raw curiosity and sexual suspense. So what happens after giving Cellar Door a spin... a compelling sound permeates the aurasphere fueled by illicit rhythms and confounding vocal fantasies.</p>
<p>Front man Chris Mascara, drummer Ned Smith, guitarist Tim Kelly and bassist Nate McBride create menacing songs that haunt you to the very core... just like an alarming day in the news room??colorful and completely disturbing.</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156415
1999-11-30T19:00:00-05:00
2016-11-03T18:34:45-04:00
#2 Performer of the 90s - The Noise
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>THE NOISE </em> Magazine </strong>Boston, MA December 1999</p>
<p><strong>Top-Twenty Outstanding Performers of the '90s: </strong></p>
<p><strong><em>2 </em>. THE VOID/FODDER MINTS/ROOTLOCK/MASCARA </strong>: The Void was this psychedelic hippie-manque combo circa 1989-91 with about five really good songs: "Land of the Free," "Soul Exterminator," "Social Suicide," "Inside the Eggshell," and their masterpiece, "Roadside." Fodder Mints was the short-lived transitional band, and Rootlock would be worth remembering even if 1996's chilling "No Afterlife" was the only classic song they ever produced. But this was far from the case. After "Chromosome,' "Cellar Door," "Electricity," and "Carnival," the heart-wrenching "Frigerator Door," and many many more outstanding tunes were yet to follow. Whether as a solo act or as part of a group, the brilliantly talented Chris Mascara exemplifies the active-positive quadrant of local avant-pop.</p>
<p>>>>AND <strong><em>SILVER CIRCLE REVIEWS<<< </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">MASCARA CELLAR DOOR </span></strong><br> 13 Song CD</p>
<p>Cellar Door can only be described as stunning. This music is thick, rich, glorious, and most of all, theatrical. Chris Mascara can sing, he can sing, he can sing.</p>
<p>The album opener, "Carnival," bangs from start to finish. The lyrics are a bit strange. "Nothing could sedate her, they had to tie her down/they couldn't stop her from fingering herself." Interesting image. Most of the songs do create unusual images. It is probably the best studio record I've heard in quite some time. My favorite is "Fridgerator Door." Gritty, bow driven, upright bass makes this one a must. "She is lonely which I know means horny but the prozac just keeps her down." There's just something dirty about this band.</p>
<p>I have the highest respect for what it took to make this album. Cellar Door is perfect. However, I feel myself wanting to warn you rather than recommend this record.</p>
<p>(William Marbles)</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156417
1999-10-23T20:00:00-04:00
2016-11-07T04:44:31-05:00
not like other kids on the block - Boston Sunday Globe
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE <br> </strong>October 24, 1999</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong> <strong><em>On The Rise </em></strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="pressheadline">Not like other kids on the block</span></strong></p>
<p>Chris Mascara has a strange name (and yes, it is real), but the name doesn't even scratch the surface of how unusual this 31 year old guitarist/singer/songwriter really is.</p>
<p>At age 8, he taught himself to play classical organ and began performing at churches and on the radio. By his mid-teens, he was teaching himself Kiss songs on the guitar. In 1995, he played sitar in the Boston Rock Opera production of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"; the following year he was a cast member in that company's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and, was understudy to Gary Cherone (now the lead singer of Van Halen) as Jesus.</p>
<p>His true weirdness, however, comes out in the dark, twisted words and expansive avant-pop of songs like "Electrode," "Carnival," and "Cellar Door" on his band Mascara's debut CD.</p>
<p>"I was taking a course called the Literature of Chaos at Tufts, and I had a nervous breakdown and ended up at McLean Mental Hospital," says Mascara. "l wrote 'Carnival' about the way the other patients there helped me cope more than the staff did."</p>
<p>He also wrote "Electrode" about shock therapy and dedicated it to the poet Sylvia Plath, who had once been incarcerated at McLean, although Mascara, who was in the hospital for about a month, was not himself subjected to such treatments.</p>
<p>Singing in a dramatic style and creating opuses that veer from heavy Led Zeppelin riffing to spaced-out Frank Zappa-esque experimentation within a four-bar phrase, Mascara has a musical style that doesn't fit into any comfortable niche.</p>
<p>"I'm not like the kids that grew up around here and were into the Ramones when they were in their teens," says Mascara "But I'm not, ashamed that I grew up on classic rock, either."</p>
<p>His wildcat howls can bring to mind the randiness of Robert Plant, and occasionally echo the bombast of "Jesus Christ Superstar." And Iyrics such as "He takes bong hits too long with Victor the Wild Boy, but nouns do not represent reality' (from the song "Cellar Door" off the CD of the same name) show a literary bent not usually found in rock music. He even quotes Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges in one song.</p>
<p>Live, the heady lyrical concepts tend to dissolve into the clatter and bluster of the music. In a recent show at Kirkland Cafe, the audience was sparse, but Mascara nevertheless flung his guitar dramatically around the stage and cut loose with confident singing while a sturdy bassist and equally sturdy drummer, both of whom Mascara pays as his backing band, kept the spirited and complex arrangements moving along smoothly.</p>
<p>"Sometimes we'll be playing at some club on a Wednesday night and on the surface it can seem like such a drag, like we're cursed, but I think we're blessed," he says. "How many people get to experience being on a stage in front of people, and on top of that performing something you've gotten really good at, and maybe even speaking your mind or your heart about something? That's a blessing."</p>
<p>Mascara plays with Ad Frank and Precious Few (a group with which Mascara also plays bass) and Ross Phaser on Nov. 11 at The Linwood, 69 Kilmarnock St., Boston. Call 267-8644.</p>
<p>DAVID WILDMAN</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156418
1998-05-31T20:00:00-04:00
2016-11-07T04:46:10-05:00
one of Boston's musical treasures - The Noise
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>THE NOISE Magazine <br> </strong>Boston, MA <br> June 1998</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong> <strong> <strong><em>AUDIODODAHDAY </em></strong> by Butch and Brenda </strong> </strong></p>
<p class="pressheadline"><strong>MASCARA 4 songs</strong></p>
<p>Chris Mascara's voice has gotten progressively stronger in the ten years we've followed him, from The Void to The Fodder Mints, Bushmaster and Rootlock. His compositional skills have improved immensely. He still likes to wallow in ugliness and makes you want to rap him on the knuckles and say "Life is real, life is earnest" — especially when he starts in on that "this is the year of the motherfucker" refrain and follows it up with a jalopy-breaking-down middle eight and fades to avant prog rock, as on the song "Chromosome," with its otherwise astonishing and chilling opening section. Parts of this tape-large patches of certain songs in particular-hit high notes which, if not sustained, are nevertheless inimitable. One of Boston's musical treasures, Chris seems intent, like Bob Dylan on "It's Alright Ma," on fitting everything into one song before the world blows itself into smithereens. Nowhere is this more evident than on "What Now," his most sophisticated composition to date and a worthy companion to "Carnival," though falling short of what bids to be the song o' the decade, "No Afterlife." Into one song he pours enough material for three or four. Although you can still hear traces of other esoterica-friendly composers Iike Beetheart, Kottke, and Peter Laughner, Mascara seems to be coming into his own as a writer of original compositions in a league with some local demi-god like Frank Black. The sedate melodicism of "Thread" and the mordent balladry of "Jesus/Satan" seem to serve to balance the strenuous rigor of "Chromosome" and the regnant call and response nursery rhyme-cum-juddering, shiver-inducing otherworldly pomp of "What Now," his most thoughtfully ambitious composition to date, of such a high order of achievement that we have no alternative but to jointly designate this as our Tape of the Month for June. *****</p>
Chris Mascara Music
tag:mascaramusic.com,2005:Post/6156419
1979-06-20T20:00:00-04:00
2016-11-07T05:37:55-05:00
boy with the ‘golden ear' - Delray News
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Delray News Journal </strong><br> Thursday, June 21, 1979 <br> <span class="pressheadline"><br> <strong>Young organist keeps fingers on the future</strong></span> <strong><br><span class="presssubhead">The boy with the 'golden ear'</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393080/c181224bdb31e20a96eb0da9449bc68b240f1577/original/nj79photo.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6Mjk5eDIzOCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="238" width="299" /></p>
<p><em>Chris Mascara is an accomplished organist at age 11. At a recent recital at his alma mater, Delray Elementary School, he received a five-minute standing ovation for his solo performance. A student of local organists Dick Blackwell and Peter Heilman, Chris has big plans for his future. </em></p>
<p>By NANCY MILLER <br> Women's Editor</p>
<p>Christopher Mascara, 11, has an ear for music and an eye on the future.</p>
<p>In a year and a half he has become an accomplished organist, earning a five-minute standing ovation for a recent solo performance at the Delray Beach Elementary School.</p>
<p>He has graduated to Carver Middle School and after high school he hopes for a scholarship so he can work toward a doctorate in music.</p>
<p>His 84-year-old grandfather, Frank Mascara, has promised him a white tuxedo for his first paid, professional performance; he's determined not to disappoint him.</p>
<p>"The organ's my best friend," says the smiling, brown-haired youngster. "When I'm angry it's there and when I'm happy it's there. I get carried away, I guess. I could sit and play on that organ from breakfast until dinner."</p>
<p>His father, Gene Mascara, timed his longest stint at four hours and 10 minutes, and at a Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce barbecue he played for two hours without stopping.</p>
<p>In the Mascara home, the organ is the center of attention instead of the television set.</p>
<p>"When Chris starts to play, everything stops," Mrs. Mascara says. "Listening is the family's major form of entertainment."</p>
<p>With a sensitive touch and confident manner, Chris fills the house with a repertoire ranging from bluegrass and popular tunes to classical and sacred music. His friends like to listen and parents sometimes ask if they can bring their children to hear him.</p>
<p>He memorizes every piece he plays, first reading the music and then improvising, his feet as busy on the pedals as his fingers are on the keys.</p>
<p>"The hardest part is sticking to the written music, as I want to improvise," he admits. "If I hear something once, I'll play it by ear."</p>
<p>At age 10 he wrote his first composition, "Jesus Wept," reflecting his family's strong religious faith. He also has made an original arrangement of "Mood Indigo."</p>
<p>He practices four to five hours a day but to him it's not work but what he likes to do most.</p>
<p>Talented and eager to learn, he's the only student taught by Dick Blackwell, noted area organist, and classical organist Peter Heilman.</p>
<p>"He's an exceptionally talented youngster with a keen ear and rhythmic sense," Heilman says. "He puts all these things to use in the course of his daily practicing and this makes for a thoroughly rounded musician. Credit for his accomplishment in such a short time goes to him for his ability to tackle a problem and stick with it until he conquers it. At this point he has two paths he can take - as a classical musician or a popular musician, and in either case as a vocation or avocation.</p>
<p>"He has more God-given talent than other youngsters at his age but what's important is that he works at it. The future is bright for him if he continues to work."</p>
<p>Heilman gives Chris classical instruction and Blackwell teaches him popular music.</p>
<p>"Chris uses good pedal technique and manual fingering from classical training and transfers that knowledge to his popular playing," Heilman adds.</p>
<p>The Mascaras came to the area in 1974 from Freeport, Long Island, N.Y., when Gene Mascara retired as a Brooklyn police officer. Chris attended first grade at Plumosa Elementary in Delray and grades two through five at Delray Elementary. He became interested in music when he heard Dick Blackwell play the organ at Expo '77 in August, 1977, at the Boca Raton Hotel and Club. After taping Blackwell's rendition of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," and practicing it on a home organ his mother had received but never used, he played it at Blackwell's music store.</p>
<p>"He just flipped," Chris recalls. "He took me into a music room and out of 37 keys, I got 35 right. When school was over in June, he said he wanted to teach me. He said I had a golden ear."</p>
<p>Since June 1978, Chris has been a dedicated student, and he describes Blackwell as "my idol and my inspiration."</p>
<p>Chris is the only child in the Boca Raton Organ Club. He has performed at the Delray Elementary School twice, the Boca Raton Community Hospital, the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce barbecue, twice at the South Florida Fair, the First Presbyterian Church of Boca Raton and for two radio stations.</p>
<p>In addition to accumulating stacks of music, he's a collector of keys (1,000), stamps, rocks, coins, beer bottle caps, bicycle parts and baseball bats.</p>
<p>He's an above average student and was the recipient of many honors at Delray Elementary's end-of-the-school assembly. These included a safety patrol merit award and good behavior award for the trip to Washington, D.C.; an award for scholarship; a good citizenship award, and a library service award for his work as a library aide.</p>
<p>He's also an architect of sorts, having designed a "dream home" containing six organs - one for his bedroom, living room, family room, game room, a 32-pedal model "for practicing in the study" and another for his acoustical and control room where he'll make his tapes.</p>
<p>Of his outgoing personality, his mother comments, "The more people he has to play for, the happier he is. He has no stagefright at all."</p>
<p>He's a willing performer for the elderly and others wherever there's an organ, explaining, "I'm happiest when I play."</p>
<p>His many interests include baseball and other outdoor sports.</p>
<p>"I want to get on a Little League team as I really like baseball," he says. "But the organ comes first."</p>
Chris Mascara Music