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Dark's Corner
music to dine by
Listening to Marc Zouhar's music is like taking a trip on some 1940's art deco train, one that choo-choo's ever so smugly and offers up starry -eyed memories of a time when luxury was a way of life. "Space-jazz", his compositions have been dubbed. And what about that soft as Ivory Soap voice that half-whispers, half croons originals like they were Gershwin standards? When it comes to the caricature of lounge pianists as mousy, cheesy, dainty little men with sweet voices and a romantic notion about candlelight and wine, well--Zouhar is the lounge poster child, but he takes it to a different level of weirdness that is downright chilling in its subtlety. Playing left handed bass, he runs through walking bass lines aided subliminally by swinging cymbals and sparkly synth patches that burble like the stuff that Lawrence Welk used to love so much. Soft ballads of incurable romance are mixed with a mellow stage presence that is almost ghostly. Zouhar's mastery of the keyboard is stellar, his improvisations and instrumental noodlings are the work of a studied and trained musician. "When I was fourteen....well it's funny, we always had a piano and my mom played a little--this black piano," recalls Zouhar. "I never really took much interest, it wasn't until my father bought me a Wal-Mart Casio keyboard, that's what got me started initially." The little organ had only 12 sounds, but they were what the young composer would start with, using his brother's boom box to record demos. The built-in microphone and double cassette features made it easy to lay down songs and then give them to friends and family. He found great joy in doing this and in his senior year of high school, he released a tape called "The Exit" which he placed in stores on consignment. That was 1990.
Since then, he took four semesters of musical theory training at Manatee Community College between '92 and '93 and about that time, broke into his first paying musical job. "The first solo gig was playing piano at a restaurant at the Holiday Inn in Bradenton, the HI Riverfront," he says. After scores of talent shows and small garage bands, nothing had prepared Zouhar for the world of restaurant gigs. "Never did I sit down at a piano wearing a tie, and have people hear me on a continuous basis. Playing at a restaurant is one of the hardest gigs I think, cause they're just sitting there and they're gonna be there for 45 minutes, even longer. They're ten feet away from the piano, it's one of the most demanding jobs."
Following his first gig, he began to book weddings, receptions, parties and any other situations that would call for him to play for hours, improvise and provide a casual atmosphere; it's the kind of gig that he prefers. Band situations always provided too many sandpaper personalities. "I've never had a really good relationship with anybody, musically, never. It doesn't mean that I don't want it to happen, I haven't tried very hard, but I've definitely never had a great relationship with anyone else, I can say the same thing about my personal life, about girls too." The composer, who also creates income by teaching piano lessons, is magnetic on stage, but comes off as quiet and withdrawn in person. During this particular interview, he is a bit sullen and introspective. His major problem seems to be: himself.
"Sometimes I think that I'd like to have a big band, brass section, but right now, I've been searching for a new sound, I've hit a plateau and I really am searching--right at this moment, I don't really want," he pauses and starts again with a resigned sigh. "I need to do some soul searching, to be cliche." When asked if he's jaded, he perks up unexpectedly. "Definitely jaded, that's a good adjective--I've never gone through something like this, it's always come very easily--never in my life have I felt this way about music, it's sort of frightening." The main conflict within Zouhar is his increasingly scientific nature, a logician of sorts who loves to discuss anti-matter and calculus, he feels that the man of science is quashing the little kid who enjoyed simply rolling around in the music. "I used to think that every note I played, every note I recorded was a masterpiece, I guess I was very egocentric, I mean everybody is, but now, I don't think anything I do is good, just the opposite. I don't know what that means, if I'm holding myself to a higher standard or just changing permanently."
While Zouhar struggles to redefine his identity, both off the stage and on, he continues to gig around Orlando at gauche eateries and fine wine establishments where his soothing strains wafts into the air like the cigarette smoke it was made to dance with. With plenty of songs and improv skills under his belt, Zouhar has no lack of style or repertoire- -but the musician lost within the music is seeking redemption and release as he seeks his muse once again.
"Channeling music, it happened easily--whoever was giving it to me has left."
A native of Los Angeles, Bing Futch moved to central Florida in 1993 and immediately began performing. Since then, he's been actively involved in the local scene both as an artist and as a member of the media. Currently, he can be seen and heard playing Appalachian mountain dulcimer around the state with the band Mohave. Send flames and fondles to www.darkstudios.com or bing@ink19.com and you can also subscribe to The Dark's Corner Mailing List which is the official mailing list for this column. Send press kits, music and legal drugs to: J.O.B. Entertainment Inc. P.O. Box 560727 Orlando, Florida 32856
