Thursday, February 27, 2014

First/Last-Marcus Meston


"Marcus Meston is an eighteen year old singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer from Pittsburgh, PA. Influenced in his earlier youth by bands such as Nirvana and Weezer, Meston then became interested in "do-it-all" musicians and producers such as Matt Mahaffey and his band sElf, and other artists such as Jason Falkner, Brendan Benson, and Butch Walker. These influences have impacted Marcus Meston's music today, and the result is melodic, groove oriented, honest and concise power pop."

Check Marcus out on Facebook, ReverbNation, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube. The local 'teenager' is an all-around DIY musician/producer who just released the single 'Fading In and Out'. Keep an eye out on this kid and someday you can tell all your friends you discovered him here first on HughShows! I want to thank Marcus for taking the time to participate in this edition of First/Last.

The first album you ever bought?
The first album that I remember buying is the “Greatest Hits” album by the band Squeeze. I found Glen Tilbrook's songwriting and sense of melody amazing. It definitely inspired my taste of music and even to this day I love jamming ‘Is that Love’ and ‘Up the Junction’.

Your last album bought?
I bought the album “Shaky Dream” by the band Dinosaur Bones. They are a Canadian indie rock band, I love their unique melodies and interesting chord changes. I find it very refreshing. Check them out!

Favorite album of all time?
Wow, that's always a tough one. I have to go with the album “Subliminal Plastic Motives” by Self. Matt Mahaffey played all of the instruments, engineered, produced, and wrote it. I found it amazing that someone could do it all and SO DAMN WELL. When I do my own projects, I write, produce, record and perform all of it and he is my number one inspiration regarding all of those aspects, especially in the age of D.I.Y artists.

Least favorite/most disappointing album?
I personally thought James Blake's new album “Overgrown” was really boring and didn't really take any chances. It's not my least favorite but I definitely found it disappointing. I still think his live set up is awesome, and I'd love to see him do it live... but maybe he should stick to his older stuff mostly.

First concert attended?
The first one I can clearly recall was seeing Green Day when I was going into 8th grade, I was 13 years old. Even though I don't particularly care for them now, they put on one hell of a show. It was the first time I saw a band perform on such a big level. The lights, production, and performance were tight as hell and I don't think anyone can argue with that, even if you aren't a fan.

Last concert?
My dad and I took a road trip to New York City so we could see our favorite band Self. We got to see Matt Mahaffey and his band play my all-time favorite album “Subliminal Plastic Motives”. It's actually incredible to see it all come together in a live setting. The whole crowd was totally loving it and the venue was amazing. It was at the Gramercy Theater, which had a big floor and seats above in a classic theater type of seating. I couldn't believe how amazing it was, I was blabbering about it the whole way home.

Favorite concert ever?
Definitely the Self concert.

Least favorite concert?
Honestly, I have not been disappointed by any shows that I've paid money to go to. That being said, I'm not the most experience concert goer. But there isn't a concert that sticks out in a negative light to me. I hope that continues!


Favorite thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
I opened for Aaron Carter around this time last year. I had no idea what he'd do as a performer and what the crowd was going to be like. It ended up being jammed packed and I had an absolute blast opening for him. It seemed so ridiculous because I remember having his cassettes when I was so young, who would've thought that I'd be sharing the stage with him. I'm especially excited to open for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. because I have been a huge fan of them for awhile now. I always had them playing in my car. To have the opportunity to have my name alongside them is truly amazing.

Thanks, Marcus. I can't tell you how excited I am about the young people making music in this city. Looking forward to you doing great things here.

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