After numerous projects, local musicians find a home in Mondo Deco

Sacramento is in the grips of another icy cold night in November. Twenty or so local musicians and music aficionados have escaped the cold, spread around the living room of an apartment talking over each other and wine.

This is a listening party, and these people are part of a tight-knit circle of friends who have been asked to be the first to hear local band Mondo Deco’s debut album, Pleasurefaith, a blend of ‘60s-esque pop rock combined with gritty rock ‘n’ roll. A friend of the band, I too stand in a circle of people as the album plays from the big speakers set up around the room.

“This is not a focus group,” vocalist Jeremy Greene and bassist Steve Robinson jokingly reassure us. They are, however, asking friends to listen for which song is their favorite.

Meanwhile, an ongoing slideshow of band photos plays on a TV screen. To hear the full sound of the album, I walk into the next room, passing the wall lined with electric guitars to one of four chairs where a pair of headphones awaits on a seat. This once average room has been transformed into a full-fledged recording studio. On the other side of the chairs is a former closet now functioning as a sound booth. To the right is a massive hand-built desk where the mixer and computer are set up.

This is where the mastered album we are now listening to was recorded, mixed and engineered by Robinson.

For the past several years, this apartment, Robinson’s apartment, has more or less become Mondo Deco’s headquarters. It’s where they rehearse, where they record and now where they have interviewed.

Only an hour before, I was sitting with three of the four guys in the group (minus drummer Billy Ewing) around the fireplace talking about the album and everything that has gotten them to this point.

It was two and a half years ago that Mondo Deco, named after the opening lyric from the one-hit wonder “Motorboat” by Jimmy Jukebox, became an official band, they tell me. That’s when “the magic happened.”

As Greene sees it, forming Mondo Deco came out of necessity. Up to this point, members have worked on their other local projects, including Matinee Idols, Wanchai Daggers, Electric Teenage Bedroom or GGM (formerly Goodness Gracious Me!).

But Mondo Deco is the band Greene and Ewing envisioned would get people moving and shaking again at local shows, engaging an audience to do something other than just stand around.

Reuniting long after high school when Ewing moved back to Sacramento from Monterey, Calif., the two began planning Mondo Deco. Greene found Robinson in his audio engineering class at Sacramento City College, and guitarist Kolton James would later be introduced through mutual friends.

The band was almost complete, except they knew they wanted a woman’s touch. They had go-go dancers and doo-wop girls in mind, or female-backed ‘70s funk bands like Sly & the Family Stone or Parliament.

Female counterparts would not only add another dimension to the songs and the live performances, but they would also provide a sexy element.

They discovered their girls soon enough. Keturah Gibson and Jessica Carter were added to the band as backing dancers and vocalists earlier this year. Gibson has more than 10 years of dance experience and Carter was recruited from a video shoot with local burlesque group the Sizzling Sirens.

As a six-piece, the band is now looking to shake up a local music scene that seems to have faded over the last three or so years.

“I think a lot of people would rather go to a DJ night, and we want to start to put on shows rather than just be the background music for people trying to get laid in bars,” Robinson says.

To sum it up, there is a widespread disinterest in live music these days, Greene adds.

This explains why Mondo Deco has had such a methodical approach to putting their music out into the Sacramento scene, whether it is in the form of an album or performance. Since their beginnings they have played a modest number of shows, perhaps 15 to 20. They have been selective of which shows to play around town and what nights of the week they fall on.

“Every single time we played, we wanted to reinvent the wheel with what we were doing live,” Robinson explains.

Along with the desire to be an attention-grabbing band, similar music taste is also a strong force in the group–throwback genres and what they agree are the greatest musical eras: the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. Names like Bowie, T.Rex, The Beatles or the Stones bear great weight.

Occasionally, newer music has been influential. For instance, James and Greene share an appreciation of The Raconteurs, which encouraged both of them to sing leads.

“I think that we all have an appreciation for what Jeremy adds as being a frontman, but we also do everything we can to bring him down from his pedestal,” Robinson says.

Keep in mind that while he maintains a straight face, half of what Robinson says is in jest.

He regains seriousness and continues, “There is a very deliberate effort for it to be a full band; everything should be a collaboration. There is an effort to make sure all of our egos are in check.”

“That’s why everyone sings in the group,” Greene adds.

Giving Pleasurefaith a listen, the vocals sound noticeably harmonized. This is because most of the vocals were recorded in the same room at the same time using a mid-side mic pair.

“We set up a couple of mics and really tried to feed off of the chemistry between us, rather than just tracking the vocals individually and placing them on top of everything,” Robinson says.

This pertains not only to the vocals, Greene points out. Most of the rhythm and beats were recorded live as well, in an attempt to keep the album as organic as possible.

Then they would incorporate effects. For instance, the tremolo effect or “wah wah” of the guitar is used in both “Lost Her Number” and “Young Man.” They recorded the guitar, sent it to another amp and upped the tremolo to give it a more “lush” sound.

On the first few listens, the lyrics on the album aren’t easily comprehensible. To write the songs, vocals are used more as instruments to match the musical arrangement of the songs.

“For the longest time I’ll just be throwing in garbage for lyrics that don’t really pertain to anything, they are just about the feeling,” Greene explains. “Cadence and melody and all that come first, and then you can piece in something that’s worth hearing, worth reading.”

Wordless melodies are then crafted into something meaningful. In “Far to Fall,” Greene and James describe an ominous telling of the apocalyptic ways in which the human race is doomed, either by the nuclear war, global warming or crashing economies.

“A fun aspect for writing lyrics with this particular group is bringing in a sense of fable or storytelling in general…things that slightly hint toward Snow White or alchemy,” Greene explains. “All of these things are greater stories that are out there and have been for thousands of years. Why not write more about them?”

Like most newer bands, the band is still in the works of defining their sound. Despite the influence of the great musical eras, they strive to keep theirs unique.

“There’s way too much era rock going on these days. People have a hard time finding their own voice,” Greene adds. “But if you can pick and choose from what you really appreciate, different genres or different eras, you can kind of put your own twist on it.”

Now the band is in the mindset of releasing another EP within the next six months. Robinson suggests that while Pleasurefaith songs bear a more classic, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll feel, some of the post-Pleasurefaith songs they have written in the past few months may be evolving into less predictable prog-rock territory, alluding to unconventional time signatures and tempos.

Now that they are a record deep, the clock is ticking to figure out a musical direction and birth the next record, Robinson says.

Aware of this clock, the group continues to methodically consider all options–putting out singles versus EPs or full-length albums.

“As much as the Sacramento music scene might be slightly dormant right now, I think there are people out there that want new music to constantly be coming on the horizon,” Robinson speculates.

“We want there to be an effort to actually captivate and get Sacramento bands to put some kind of conscious effort into putting on the kind of show that people want to pay to see.”

Pleasurefaith is a reference to this very idea. The album is named after a phrase from the Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked that encourages hedonism and indulgence as the greatest good.

Robinson brings the conversation full circle.

“I think that idea that the most important thing, like the Holy Grail, is the pursuit of that enjoyment [is] an analogy of why we formed as a band,” he explains. “Music is something that we enjoy doing, but it’s also something that we want to be enjoyable to go see. We want to be a show that assaults the senses.”

Reggie Ginn’s third album puts her passion in perspective

Back in high school, Reggie Ginn decided she wanted to learn how to play the piano. But unlike most students she tossed the Basics of Piano book behind her and ditched the formal instructor that would watch her every move. All she needed was a little help from Tori Amos.

“Since I knew her songs so well, I would just sit down and learn every note. It’s like she was my teacher. I learned from an actual artist,” Ginn said. “I already knew the songs and then [I would] make them my own way. I saw how I would position my hands. It just made sense.” Since she knew all of Amos’ songs by heart, learning the keys just came naturally to Ginn. After she became comfortable behind the piano, her next goal in high school was to complete her senior year project. She decided to put her skills to the test and organize a concert for her friends and family, where she sang her original songs in front of an audience for the first time. And she managed to put it together “pretty darn well.”

“My dad said, ‘When you told me you wanted to do that for your project, I honestly didn’t think you could do it. But you really surprised me,’” Ginn said with a smile. “So that’s when I knew, alright I think I should do this.”

Since then Ginn has claimed herself as an indie alternative rocker, released two albums, performed on Good Day Sacramento, won a Modesto Area Music Award for best unplugged artist, and was nominated for a 2011 Sammie award for best singer/songwriter. Now at the age of 27, she is ready to kick off her third album, Passion in Perspective, with powerful vocals, moving lyrics and soft piano keys. Unlike her first two albums, she will be rocking live with a full band including guitarist Brandon Dickinson, bassist Ian Maclachlan, drummer Mikey Koons and cellist Alison Sharkey.

“I’m excited for everyone to hear this. I hope people come out to the shows and get to see what my band can do. It’s going to be a beautiful thing,” Ginn said.

This solo, “do it yourself artist,” decided to start a campaign on Kickstarter, a website that funds creative projects through donations, to gain money for printing and studio costs for the new CD and succeeded in raising over $1,000. “I’m ever grateful that all these people are so generous enough to give anything. It’s really awesome,” she said.

When I caught up with the grateful musician on an early but sunny Saturday, her outgoing personality made it seem like we had already knew one another and were just catching up on each other’s lives. As we sat on a table outside of the Sacramento Comedy Spot, we chatted about her new music, learning piano and the importance of human connections.

What’s the title of your new album, Passion in Perspective, mean?
It’s one of those names that can be read in its own way. When I decided to call it that I asked different people, “What does that mean to you?” and a lot of people had different answers. I thought, that’s perfect because that’s exactly what I want to get out of this album, to get different responses and for people to take songs in different ways. When somebody listens to this album I want them to take themselves out of the shoes they are in and see the songs and the world in a different way, that’s the perspective point. For instance, one of the songs, called “Bathsheba,” is written from the point of view from King David. Two of the songs are written through animals’ eyes. So it’s just the art of having a song evolve either through the way you are listening to it, when you’re listening to it, or who you are. So I hope that everybody takes something different from each song.

On your website it says that you want the audience to “not feel alone” through your music. How do you try to do that?
My last album was Sing for the Voiceless, that’s what I like to say, because it’s kind of the vagueness of the song and how everyone can relate to it in their own way. Even though I wrote it from my own point of view and own experience. When you relate with anyone it causes some comfort because you know you are not alone in whatever you are going through. Multiple times I have had people come up to me and say, “Your music means so much to me. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to say but have never been able to say it before.” I find it a very big gift to be able to put into words what other people are feeling and it helps them release.

Was it difficult not to have a formal teacher when you were learning piano?
No, it was easier, I think. I tried several times with several different teachers when I was younger. I just didn’t have the attention span. It’s something your parents say, “Oh, go do this.” You don’t really want to, so I didn’t. When I was a junior in high school, I knew I wanted to be a singer. I was writing poetry, and I wanted to express myself in some way. I couldn’t depend on someone playing guitar or accompanying me. So I said, “I’ve got to do this by myself.” Piano just really spoke to me, and like the title of the CD, it was the “passion” that drove it. That’s why I got it. It really just came to me naturally. It’s really amazing because I know a lot of people struggle [to learn piano]. It’s not an easy instrument. But for some reason I think it comes naturally to me.

Who are your musical inspirations?
Tori Amos is really one of the artists that spoke to me most… She really taught me how to express my feelings and how to learn play. I love [an] artist that can be different in a way that’s raw. For instance, PJ Harvey is one of my favorites, because she doesn’t censor herself or worry about how she’s sounding. She doesn’t have to be perfectly on key or just beautiful all the time. She just wants it to be raw, empowering and in your face.

What do you think of the Sacramento music scene?
I really love it here, actually. I went to Los Angeles for a year, to try out things. I wasn’t ready for it, but I did it anyway. It was so cutthroat. I came running back to Sacramento and realized I really needed to establish myself and needed my own town first before going off to somewhere big. Everybody is just so tight-knit here. Once you are in, you’re in. It’s great and there are some super talented musicians that I’m honored to be in the same town as.

What do you do before a show to get yourself pumped?
What I usually do is I talk to the people. I like for people to feel comfortable when they are going to see me perform. People who don’t even necessarily know who I am or they’re there for someone else, I like to bring them in, so they have a reason to stay. Like, “Oh, this girl was nice to me, she’s also a performer? Alright I’ll stay for her set, even though I was going to leave.” Because it’s really important to draw in your audience, whether it’s when you’re on stage or off stage. It’s important to have a connection and let them know they are appreciated because that’s why I’m doing my music, is to have people hear it.

The release of Passion in Perspective will be celebrated at Luigi’s Fungarden in Sacramento on Nov. 12, 2011. The show will start at 8 p.m. and will also feature The Kelps and Fierce Creatures in support. The all-ages show will cost just $5 to attend. For more info to Reggieginn.com.