Statictick presents ... Mark Eitzel Day

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I first found myself fascinated with Mark Eitzel and his band, American Music Club, around 1992. I was in a great Detroit music shop, Car City Classics, where you would sit on the floor and dump out boxes of records and CDs and just dig. Somehow, I picked up an album called 'Mercury.' It had a beauty that I can barely describe. Eitzel's voice and lyrical establishment were nothing that I'd heard the likes of before. I played it over and over. Friends thought I was nuts. Eitzel is sad, grating, and nothing like him or his music exists elsewhere.

Years later, after seeing him perform several times, I found I was watching a genius, no matter what anyone else thought.

A couple of concerts later, I could sit with the man, buy him a beer, and just talk. He's the nicest, ugliest musician I'd ever met. The only other true fan I found was my bud Hal, who used to run a theater called Planet Ant. Hal was over one night, and I was playing 'What Holds The World Together.' He flipped. 'You like Eitzel?' 'I love Eitzel.' Hal's not in Detroit anymore, but the connection remains, based on the music and some other things.

A defining moment came when my fave Detroit band, American Mars, opened for Eitzel at a dive bar. I asked Trimble, lead for American Mars, if he was going to hang around for Eitzel. He looked at me like I was crazy. 'Yeah, of course, I love the dude.' I ended up with a poster signed 'Love to you, Nicholas.' I have not framed it yet.

Eitzel didn't really like the bar, and is not a fan of Detroit, but still sat at the bar and had a few drinks and played a short set. I have it on video, but I feel that what I can find on the web will be more representative than me drunk in a bar trying to hold a camera.

A book called 'Wish the World Away' by Sean Body is dense with info about Eitzel and bandmates. I'm not going to repeat any of that. YouTube should work. If you're into it, you are, and you can forage. If not, your loss. As for what Body's book describes, here's a little summary: alcohol, self-hatred, balladeer, trooper.

On to vid clips.



'Jonny Mathis' Feet'


'Robbie Williams' Feet'


'One Step Ahead'


bad video of 'You know who you are'


'Jenny'


'Who You Are' AMC Fan vid clip.


'Western Sky' AMC


'Rise' AMC


'Electric Light' AMC


end of 'Jesus' Hands'


Eitzel and American Music Club will be something you either love or hate. He's extremely important to me, for a number of reasons. He can sing like a bird or like a ferret, and he taught me how to tune my guitar in several ways. Hope you guys like him.

love, Nicholas


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Eitzel

http://www.markeitzel.com/

http://www.myspace.com/markeitzel
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