Marah

The late 90s were a peak time for many things, including HBO and alt-country bands. Steve Earle had made a proper comeback, Whiskeytown’s live shows were consistently headline-worthy, Tony Soprano was gaining weight, Wilco were becoming the new Great American Band and The Jayhawks were suddenly a pop band to be reckoned with.

Others, too. Others, like the Ass Ponys, Carrie Bradshaw, Golden Smog, the Pernice Brothers, Nate Fisher and Marah, weren’t quite as big, but they were getting ink and ears. Just as the Drive-By Truckers were about to roll in and take over, Marah were following up their excellent debut, Let’s Cut the Crap and Hook Up Later on Tonight, with what became one of the most talked about records of 2000, Kids in Philly.

Kids, now considered a classic of the genre, made the band. Soon enough Marah were playing on “Conan,” touring the world, hanging with Bruce Springsteen and, eventually, working on a new sound. In between Marah’s third and fourth records I met local artist/musician/promoter Matt Kelley, who was then playing with Go Dog Go and running his One Lucky Guitar ad agency out of his kitchen. Some seven - or is it eight? - years later and Kelley is consistently booking some of the area’s best shows in celebration of OLG’s 10-year anniversary.

Recent OLG-sponsored Ike Reilly and Clem Snide shows were great - and great successes - but, from what I can tell, it’s the upcoming Marah show that means the most to Kelley.

“I bought their debut when I heard all of the Springsteen comparisons cropping up in the underground press. At that time, very few bands were inspired by Bruce,” Kelley told me when I asked him about his history with Philadelphia’s most rockin’ band. “It was an amazing album, and I've bought every subsequent record on day-of-release.”

On June 22, just two days after Marah make their Fort Wayne debut at the Brass Rail, they’ll release their seventh proper album, Life is a Problem, their first since the band restructured in 2008.

When I ask Kelley to describe Marah for readers, he perks: “Think latter-day Replacements mixed with 74-78-era Springsteen, plus the first Rocky movie.”

Another big Marah fan, novelist and music scholar Nick Hornby (“High Fidelity,” etc.), has written about the band often. As has Stephen King. These people, as well as Kelley and Springsteen, have all at one time or another called Marah the best live band in America.

“I've probably seen them seven or eight times. They change their lineup every few years, so you never know what you'll get. I've seen three lineups, and each were scorchers,” Kelley said. “The constant is always frontman Dave Bielanko, who performs every show like it might be his last. That's a cliche these days, but he's living, breathing, sweating it like the phrase has never been uttered. It's remarkable. I haven't seen this newest version of the band but odds are even that this will be the best set played in the Brass Rail - or Fort Wayne - this year.”

After first getting to know Kelley I didn’t see the man for years. He had a new band (The Legendary Trainhoppers) and was busy building OLG - and I wasn’t busy at all. When we reunited in 2005 he had one album on his mind, the just-released If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry, by, yep, Marah.

“When [the Trainhoppers] were talking about making a second album, I bought everyone in the band a copy of If You Didn’t Laugh and said, ‘If our album sounds something like this, then we'll finally be doing what I've been dreaming we're capable of,’” Kelley laughed. “That's a top-ten-of-all-time record for me.”

All these years later and Kelley is still in love. He almost booked the band a few years ago, but ended up having to go see them play to a small crowd in Detroit instead. When Philly’s most rocking sons finally do roll into Fort Wayne, they’ll not only have a new record, but also a new lineup on stage alongside Bielanko, who had always toured with his brother, Serge, until now. “I think the other brother is taking a year off for paternity leave. He's got a baby,” Kelley informs.

If you know anything about Marah, all this change is hardly a bad thing. New record plus new band, in this case at least, equals new energy. And Marah plus new energy equals, well, probably the best rock n’ roll show Fort Wayne will see this year. Not a bad way to celebrate 10 years of great work for Kelley and his OLG team.

Written by G. William Locke