Russian vodka is an experience like no other. Smooth, biting and distinct with a full-bodied burn, it tempers the salty richness of caviar and holds its own against the thickest black bread.
Listening to Murzik's blend of Russian/dark folk music is also an experience like no other. The music, beautiful and disturbing (in a good way) all at once, conjures a sullen, visual atmosphere rife with metaphor and religious imagery, drawn out and brought to life by Bryan Steenerson's cool vocal delivery.
Murzik is Bryan Steenerson (vocals, acoustic guitar), his brother Darin Steenerson (bass, saxophone), Nathan Simar (accordion), Jeremy Grace (mandolin, glockenspiel) and Toby Smith (drums, percussion).
"We've all had rock band experience, but there comes a point when all the bands start to sound the same. Also, we didn't want the usual setup of two guitars, bass, drums and maybe keyboards," Bryan Steenerson said. "We thought it would be nice to do something different."
Different is an understatement. The band describes their sound as "European-influenced American music" and with their typical instruments being a glockenspiel, accordion and mandolin, odds are you won't hear anything else like them in the Twin Cities.
The band wears suits when performing and while they complement their sound, Simar says they add to their respectability.
"When we wear them, the bartender is less likely to cut us off," he said.
"Not to mention they look pretty good in the dark. And with our sound, we really can't do the Hawaiian shirt," Grace added.
Bryan Steenerson, Simar and Grace know each other from attending bible college together several years earlier. Steenerson does most of the band's songwriting and admits religion is a staple of their lyrics.
"Having a religious background kind of gives you that guilt and eternal damnation complex which is pretty essential for writing good songs," he said. "Take 'Ol' Big Jim,' for example, it's a song in story form. Jim kills a slave owner who tries to have sex with a slave girl. A posse sets out to kill Jim, but before they catch up with him, Jim sits down and talks to God saying if you give me another chance, I'd probably do it again. The posse catches up with Jim and intends to kill him, but the gun pointed at him jams. The song's about what's right, what's wrong and what's justified."
Murzik released their self-titled EP in 2005; it was completed in just two days. The band is taking their time on the second CD, which they expect to release later this year.
Prior to forming Murzik, Bryan Steenerson wrote and recorded a solo album. The last track included Simar's accordion work.
"After he finished his album, Bryan and I started playing a few shows together in coffee shops for the hell of it and I thought we should take the sound a little darker," Simar said.
Darin Steenerson and Grace joined the duo soon after. Their first show was at the Columbia Grounds; Smith caught one of their performances at the coffee shop.
"It was actually pretty cool, probably because I wasn't expecting much," Smith said. "I thought their sound just had that hook, it was just such a different sound, I wanted to hear more of it. I enjoyed it then and I really enjoy it as I play it today."
"We played for a long time without live percussion, then we added Toby in the last year," Simar said. "Now that our lineup's solidified, we're doing more shows."
And some of those shows have been at atypical music venues. One was the Whole Foods Market, where they played to patrons during the Christmas holiday. Another was the Weisman Art Museum.
"We played at the Weisman during a show called the Mir Iskusstva. It was an exhibit from St. Petersburg and the first time it'd been seen in the United States," Bryan Steenerson said.
"We were very well received there, in fact, the Weisman sold all of our CDs within 45 minutes of us playing," he continued. "Playing at the Weisman definitely showed us that our niche needs to be playing to a theatre audience."
While they have no specific goals, Bryan Steenerson admits they're looking at Murzik long term.
"Well, we do have a plan, kinda. A lot of bands have this short term plan where they play a lot, then they either make it or burn out," he said. "We can play our style of music as long as we want, even for the next 60 years – and I'm looking at doing this a long time."
"We are trying to get Bryan to write a Broadway play, with us as the band," Simar said.
"I did have this idea of playing off the Catholic Stations of the Cross ... maybe I could work on that," Bryan Steenerson said, smiling.
www.murzikmusic.com
www.myspace.com/murzikmusic |
