The Peachfuzz Interview July 2007

It's late July 2007 and Bill Cashen sits down with Mark Scheer in his Zen garden. Inevitably when visiting Mark, drinks are poured and a McCartney album blares in the background…so much for achieving Zen, right?
It has been a while since we chatted with the man who founded the now defunct Discount Stars. Scheer is relaxed and in a good mood.
We talk of his new band Five Star Dive, his new CD, "All The Time In The World" and his beloved Pittsburgh Pirates.

PF: Mark, this is a wonderful garden.
MS: Thanks, Bill. My lovely wife, Mary Lou, takes care of it. It is her vision and passion. It is our Zen Garden.
PF: So how has the summer been treating you?
MS: Well, to me, summer means baseball. I love to go to games and watch the Bucs play. They haven't been very good for quite a few years now. But the past few have been rather comical. It seems this organization makes every possible wrong move under the sun. They just traded for an over the hill pitcher, (Matt Morris) and are taking on his whole contract worth $18,000,000 over the next two years. That money could've been better spent on some crack and a couple of whores. They should actually make a reality show about this organization…the best hour of comedy on TV. It's like they go out of their way to derail themselves.
PF: Ah, Derail Yourself, eh? Nice segue, Mark. (There is a song on "All The Time in The World" called "Derail Yourself").
MS: It is something some people do whether on purpose or not. They tend to always do what is absolutely wrong for themselves.
PF: That song has a real Stones feel to it.
MS: Well, I think a lot of those songs came out that way due to who was playing them.
PF: Five Star Dive?
MS: Yeah, those guys just naturally play that way. It was the right bunch of songs for the right bunch of guys.
PF: It seems to be a real departure from "Discount Stars" & "Roller Coaster Falls".
MS: Yeah, it is. Many of these songs were written long ago…as far back as 1992. They were never recorded properly back then and I always liked the songs. I felt they deserved to be heard. I sifted through a lot of old cassettes and even VCR tapes to find the right mix of tunes. I also wrote a couple of new ones for the project as well.
PF: Which ones are new?
MS: "Harvest Time" was actually the only new one we included. There were a couple of others but for one reason or another they didn't make the CD.
PF: Let's start with "Harvest Time". It's the closing track on the disc.
MS: Might as well start at the end. It's an acoustic number…rather rustic sounding. I heard it in my head as something workers in the field could sing as they were plucking their berries or greens or buds. Or even after work, at a pub swinging their mugs of ale. It's just appreciating what God has given you on this earth and giving thanks.
PF: There is a variety of different instruments on there.
MS: Yeah, that was a fun one to do. I had some friends over to lay down some different sounds. Tim Menees of Mon Gumbo played accordion on that one. And Bob Crafton stopped over to do the dobro. Bob is a great pedal steel player as well. He put pedal steel on "Garage Sale" and "Last Train" as well.
PF: Tell me about "Last Train". It's a nice sentiment.
MS: Thanks. I'm just full of hope these days (please note sarcasm, folks). That was done long ago when we were going to do the WDVE Coffeehouse show. It was Thursday night and we had to play Friday morning. We needed a new song. Vinnie Q, Paul Shook and myself took it upon ourselves to come up with something new that evening. Paul came up with some really nice slide for it. Vinnie came up with the chords and I just wrote some lyrics. Finished it in about an hour. The whole song is about moving on with things…getting the last train outta here!!!
PF: I see you dedicated it to Paul Shook.
MS: Paul passed away recently. A heart attack. He was only 51. It stunned me for sure. He was always a fun guy to be in a band with. He had loads of stories that would keep you in stitches. I felt it apropos that "Last Train" was dedicated to him. He has moved on.
PF: There is a real rocker on the album called "Be Home Late". I love the distorted vocal. It's another song that sounds as if it should've been on "Beggar's Banquet".
MS: Yeah, that's a fun one to do live.
PF: Speaking of live, how is the new drummer, Mike Oncea, working out?
MS: Mike is a godsend. He provides the discipline we desperately need. He really wants to be spot on which is a major plus. He notates all the songs, knows the exact tempo we play the songs and suggests really good ideas. I think he is enjoying himself.
PF: Is he on the disc?
MS: No. I did the drumming on this stuff. Mike came along at the end of the sessions. He will, however, be on the newer stuff. We plan on cutting a raw sounding EP this fall. We have a bunch of new songs. We are all looking forward to it.
PF: Darryl Thumm, the former Discount Star, is on this project well, isn't he?
MS: Yes. Darryl is a mainstay. He is a great guy to have in the band. Darryl's a very tasteful and melodic player. He is the yin to Vinnie Q's yang. Q is a very aggressive guitarist. They compliment each other quite well.
PF: And Rocky Lamonde is playing bass?
MS: And quite well. Rocky is "Mr. Onetake". He just nails things the first time through. I've never really played drums with him on bass. And I thought it worked quite well. He helped me enormously.
PF: Let's talk about my favorite song, "Betrayed". I love the horns on that.
MS: Yeah, that was done by Todd Bushmeyer. He came up with the arrangement and played it as well. He was very quick and well rehearsed. He was a real pleasure to work with. I hope to do more in with him in the future.

PF: Is there any significance to the title, "All The Time In The World"?
MS: Well, originally we were going to call it "More Tales of Woe & Despair". I mentioned this title once to Ken Bittel (who played keys in the Discount Stars) and he just looked at me and said, 'Sounds snappy, yeah, you'll get a lot of people running for that one". So I thought for a bit and this project has just been in the works for what seems like an eternity. So that is where the title came from, plus I realized after I thought of it, that exact line is in the chorus of Derail Yourself. So it works on a few levels.
PF: Will this album be available thought Not Lame Records?
MS: Yes, that's a great site for independent artists. www.notlamerecords.com
It will also be available through www.koolktmusik.com which is another fabulous site. And don't forget folks, you can also order one through www.fivestardive.com
Plus it will be available at our live shows as well.
PF: I must say, Mark, this is probably your strongest effort yet. I admit, at first I was surprised by the musical departure. It is almost, and I hate labels, but it's almost Alt. Country. Would you agree?
MS: Sure, I can see where you would get that. I feel it is in the same vain as Wilco's first release, "AM".
PF: Exactly. Yet you've retained the pop sense in the songs.
MS: Well, I think that is something that will just come through no matter what kind of songs I'd come up with. I will take that as a compliment. And on that note, my drink is gone…and so am I. Thanks for stopping over, Bill.
PF: Likewise, Mark. Good luck with the new album and please keep us posted on the CD release party.
MS: Will do, and it's always a pleasure getting into some Peachfuzz!

PF: I must say, Mark, this is probably your strongest effort yet. I admit, at first I was surprised by the musical departure. It is almost, and I hate labels, but it's almost Alt. Country. Would you agree?
MS: Sure, I can see where you would get that. I feel it is in the same vain as Wilco's first release, "AM".
PF: Exactly. Yet you've retained the pop sense in the songs.
MS: Well, I think that is something that will just come through no matter what kind of songs I'd come up with. I will take that as a compliment. And on that note, my drink is gone…and so am I. Thanks for stopping over, Bill.
PF: Likewise, Mark. Good luck with the new album and please keep us posted on the CD release party.
MS: Will do, and it's always a pleasure getting into some Peachfuzz!



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