Light FM
Alternative / Indie / Pop
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"Black Magic Marker!!!!!"
Los Angeles, California
United States
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73614
Last Login:
11/18/2008
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| Light FM: General Info
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| Member Since | 7/7/2004 | | Band Website | lightfmrockband.com | | Band Members | Josiah Mazzaschi, Brian Barbier, Harry Trumfio, Kim Haden | | Influences | Cars, Grandaddy, Wire, Colin Newman, Missing Persons, Zombies, Arcade Fire, Eli Miller, Olivia Tremor Control, Cocteau Twins, Wolfgang Press, TV on the Radio, Neil Young, Jesus and Mary Chain, Earlimart, Clan of Xymox, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks, Uriah Heep, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Felt, ELO, Queen, Bee Gees, ABBA, Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips, PJ Harvey, Gary Numan, Psychedelic Furs, The Cure, Weezer, Rentals, Postal Service, Pulsars, etc | | Sounds Like | All of our reviews have compared us to The Cars, The Cure, Grandaddy, and The Flaming Lips | | Record Label | Devil in the Woods | | Type of Label | Indie |
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| About Light FM |
Light FM is trying to play a trick on you. In fact, there is absolutely nothing light about this band. Buried underneath the hooks that refuse to leave your head and singer Josiah Mazzaschi’s perfect pop songwriting lurks a monster—a dark, amplified, fuzzed out monster who can sing just as easily about depression, suicide, being orphaned, beaten, and left for dead as he can about love and California sunshine. But what sets Light FM’s music apart is that there’s none of that hipster sarcasm in Mazzaschi’s voice when he sings about death and body bags while surf rock guitar riffs shimmer over three part Beach Boys harmonies. In fact, if you’re paying attention, it’s so earnest that it’s downright disturbing. And that’s Light FM’s secret weapon, the trick they’re going to play on you. In an era awash with brain-numbing irony and I-don’t-give-a-fuck music personas, here comes a band who is unafraid of sincere emotion, even if it swings back and forth from a chemically imbalanced preoccupation with death to a fragile romantic idealism so tender it makes your heart hurt. Light FM is a band devoid of hipster self-awareness, either by nature or by design, a band that proudly wears their hearts on their sleeves. It’s a credit to Mazzaschi’s talent that his combination of dark humor and tenderness blends so effortlessly and in ways that evoke bands like the Pixies, the Kinks, and the Cars—bands who wrote pop songs but who never shied away from noise or unconventional instrumentation.
Aside from this four piece being talented and experienced musicians who love playing music with each other, these guys also share a love for experimentation which informs Light FM’s music, giving them a sound that is quite all their own, a sound that incorporates elements of arena rock, punk, 60’s pop and old-school electronic. This is the kind of band that collects thrift store gadgets, vintage keyboards, and anything capable of making a sound they’ve never heard before. In fact, most of Light FM’s new EP entitled “Save the Drama” was written on a 15 year old TalkBoy variable speed cassette recorder while Mazzaschi was driving around in his van, surely prompting some odd looks from the cars around him. But at the heart of it all, Mazzaschi insists, is a quest “to strive to make music that gives you goose bumps—music that is meaningful but playful, music that has a sense of humor even if the subject matter is dark.”
Light FM has been playing in and around Los Angeles for the past two years, sharing bills with The Spinto Band, Great Northern, Parsons Redheads, Division Day, Aaron Espinoza (Earlimart), and Jason Lytle (Grandaddy).
Light FM’s sophomore CD titled, “Black Magic Marker” is due to be released on San Francisco’s Devil in the Woods records October 14th, 2008. It is 10 songs of pure pop bliss. It was produced by Mazzaschi and blends everything from quirky Devo inspired riffs, “Trick” to fuzzy distorted power chords, “The High” and melotron filled ballads, “Loneliest People” and “IJWUTBM”. The Los Angeles CD release party is set for Tuesday, October 21st at Boardner’s in Hollywood as part of Radiofreesilverlake.com’s, “Let’s Independent” and Wednesday, October 29th in San Francisco at the Knockout.
A good hook can be so deceptive. It disarms your senses, leaving you vulnerable to an avalanche of unpleasant emotions. Light FM writes hooks that get you dancing before you realize they're spearing you with cynicism.
"Loneliness is next to godliness," sings Josiah Mazzaschi on the title track, before launching into the chorus, "My heart has fallen apart!" The entire album sounds like an excitingly dysfunctional marriage between the Cure and the Cars, merging manic music with depressing lyrics in a way that makes heartbreak seem like the most ecstatic experience a young man could go through.
There's a refreshing lack of irony throughout the album, and the band plays all the pathos with a straight face. Regardless what experimental side trips they take, they always return to a tightly written hook and cheerful chorus. On "The High" a peppy back beat pushes the song into a frenetic ode to the effects of a chemical imbalance. Anxiety has never sounded like so much fun and Black Magic Marker reminds us that sometimes the best emotional remedies are hyperactive melodies that make you want to dance through your depression.
blurt-online.comEqual parts The Cars, Weezer, and MGMT, Los Angeles popsters Light FM roll together all the guilty pleasures of New Wave and SoCal pop into tight, concise compositions seemingly stuffed with sunshine and exhilerating booty-shaking rhythms. Don't let that fool you though. With distortion drenched guitars, blistering solos, and lyrics that address self-loathing, isolation and California warmth, there's definitely a dark edge buried beneath the soft surface. Contained within packages of great pop songwriting and an eclectic mix of sounds and influences, the group's music is simultaneously accessible and intriguing. With vocals that delightfully recall The Cars and the Cure, fuzzy explosions of guitar distortion, buzzing synths, video game electronics and beachy falsetto backing vocals, the music takes the power-pop of early Weezer and colors it with the pulsing bass and synths of late Eighties pop. The occasional psychedelic interlude, Arcade Fire-style anthematic buildups, and abrupt texture changes augment the band's pop formula and keep the listener on edge. A residency last summer at the Silverlake Lounge and a year of heavy rotation on the local scene have transformed the group into a tight and polished unit surrounded by plenty of buzz. At least on the surface, Light FM makes exhilarating feel-good music that's equally great on a summertime convertible joyride or on the dance floor. The dark undercurrent manifests itself later through repeated listens, and makes for music that's more than what it initially seems to be. In the meantime, better grab your sunglasses for this. Upcoming gigs include July 19th at Glendale's The Scene and July 24th at Copper Rhino in Modesto. - Hannis Brown
-thedelimagazine.com/la
Light FM sounded really solid. The crowd vocalized a lot of appreciation, which took me aback a little. The synthpop fourpiece have always seemed under-appreciated to me and it was nice to see them get some support. I think part of it is the newer songs which are simply better than their older material. Later in the evening frontman Josiah Mazzaschi told me that they've been practicing a lot. It's paying off.
-review of 10/06 show at The Echo w/ Rademacher, Radars to the Sky and Broken Remotes -classicalgeektheatre.blogspot.com
Light FM is a huff of cosmic dust from a planet far, far away. Lead by Josiah Mazzaschi, the crackpot mastermind behind the legendary Chicago unit Motorhome, this hypnotic array of perky zingers are fueled by maddening keyboards and gooey electro-pop that combines for a sizzling salvo like The Cars crashing a surprise party for Devo. Light FM's sparkly new EP Save The Drama is the quintessential fuse of 80's synth-pop, disassembled and rearranged in the 2007 digital age with all of the glamour and celebrity of the smoking hot stars in Los Angeles as its supernatural backdrop. Mazzaschi's handsome vocals reach an altitude of heavenly falsettos that only a Sherpa in the Himalayan Mountains could ascend to. With a tackle box of audio accessories ranging from the bleeps of vintage Atari 2600 games, TalkBoys or any eclectro gizmo dug up from grandpa's dusty attic, sonically enhance this "buzz band" according to the LA Times, who are desperately in search of landing their rocket ship on the roof of an intelligent label to breed a new species of machine-pop tarts for future millenniums.
-thetripwire.com
First impressions are always tough, especially with a name like Light FM. Thankfully, the visions of soft rock balladry stop with the band’s name. It’s a risk though – the modifier “light” has ushered in the death of many an otherwise vibrant genre (see light jazz, light rock, light beer). But Light FM doesn’t seem concerned with either subverting or supporting those expectations. They don’t want to kill pop-rock; they want to perfect it. Light FM’s synth-driven sound will immediately appeal to fans of The Rentals and The Cars (comparisons already pointed out by their Myspace), and I would add a bit of Smashing Pumpkins as well. There’s a band you don’t see referenced enough, and singer Josiah Mazzaschi is nothing if not Corgan-eque. Both the band’s sound and lyrics embrace the many-sided California myth – sunshine, girls, synthesizers, and superstardom, all while teetering dangerously close to the edge (the edge of what I still haven’t figured out). Their career path exemplifies the current state of the “indie” scene: after putting out a basically self-released EP last fall, the band has already had a song featured on MTV’s The Hills. Light FM is playing a free show Monday, February 4 at Spaceland with Monday night residents The Pity Party.
-thedelimagazine.com/la/
Light FM came out throwing punches. "16 Below" immediately grabs your attention with its propulsive bass line and siren like guitars. Josiah Mazzaschi (Guitars/Vocals) had a perfect blend of distortion and overdrive coming out of his Gibson SG. Josiah's use of octaves and occasional use of the Wah pedal reminded me a tad bit of Ned's Atomic Dustbin. "Save The Drama" played like a cross between the Rentals and Weezer with its swirling synth action and crunchy guitars pinned with a tight song structure. "Switchboard Control" was a showcase for Kim Haden (Synths) an she dialed up some synthesizer goodness on her Korg MS2000. Light FM plays with the Pity Party on February 4th for a super stacked line up with The Happy Hollows and Rademacher at Spaceland. It looks like February residencies will be bustling.
review of 1/14 show at Spaceland -littleradio.com
Don't let the name fool you (I will admit it threw me off a bit too) there is nothing LIGHT about Light FM . Their debut album - This is the Beginning of My Golden Age is loaded with enough catchy hooks to sink a battleship. Indie 103.1 have already caught on and have been playing Light FM in regular rotation.
-rockinsider.com
Chicago transplants Light FM could easily have their own residency after experiencing their tight brand of melodic rock, reminiscent of Pinkerton-era Weezer, Unrest, and Grandaddy. Singer/guitarist Josiah Mazzaschi nails it vocally while churning out big guitar melodies and distorted bliss. The rhythm section of bassist Brian Barbier and Drummer Harry Trumfio hold down the fort with a feel that matches Josiah's delivery perfectly. The songs are so catchy and clever you could almost imagine them getting major airplay.
-autopiamusic.com
A blend of Tommy Keene style melodies and Cars keyboards, this is the best local release in years, and one of the years best anywhere. - Time-Out
Mazzaschi has long been a talent worth watching - a sharp songwriter with memorable melodies and a distinctive guitarist -Chicago Sun Times
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