AM Magic
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AM Magic

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"In their own words: AM Magic"

Well everyone, I'm back from hiatus, and ready to indulge your cravings for more music from the bay area music scene. First off, we have an "in their own words" from the very talented group "AM Magic." Mike Alexis was kind enough to sit down and give us all in in depth look at their musical world. Enjoy!

What are your musical goals or aspirations?

There are no grand aspirations, just the desire to remain inspired and progress musically. We’re proud of what we do and definitely would love to reach a wider audience, but even if this band continues to exist in relative obscurity with only pockets of recognition, we’ll keep doing it. We have two records and a few hundred shows under our belt and maybe after five records and one thousand shows we can safely call it a day.

What is your musical history?

It’s been long, slow and steady. Karma Tsocheff, Doug Saeanz, Nik Freitas and I started playing together way back in 1997. Doug Poore joined the band in 2005 after Nik left to pursue a solo career (he’s currently on Team Love Records and plays guitar in Conor Oberst’s Mystic Valley Band) and it’s been the four of us ever since.

Along with AM Magic, three of us commit to other projects. I played bass in the Decoration for years and currently play in Sons of Eden. Doug Saenz also plays drums in Upstairs Downstairs and Doug Poore is always working on some mysterious project. Karma is a veteran professional skateboarder and travels in pursuit of new terrain to skate, so AM Magic is his one musical commitment.

Who or what are your influences and inspirations?

Karma and I share songwriting, guitar and vocal duties and we both have very similar sensibilities. We listened to a lot of lo-fi indie rock (Sebadoh, Pavement, Guided By Voices, the Grifters) during our formative years, and the whole amateurish, anything-goes attitude of that scene definitely made the idea of forming a band appealing and attainable.

We’re all self-taught musicians and we were pretty green at the
outset. We didn’t learn by covering other bands or playing along to records, so our musical influences aren’t all that tangible. As corny as it sounds, we’re inspired by each other—we try to look inward when creating music instead of going after a specific style of music. Lyrically our songs mine a lot of personal territory: family, friends, growing up, skateboarding and navigating city life are all recurring themes.

Where have you played?

We’ve played all over: Make-Out Room, Hotel Utah, The Knockout, 12 Galaxies (RIP), Kimo’s, Thee Parkside, Bottom of the Hill, Café Du Nord, 111 Minna, Ireland’s 32, Ghost Town Gallery, Wish, Milk, Elbo
Room…

When and where are upcoming shows?

Our next show is August 6 at the Bollyhood Café and then September 3 at Kimo’s for our record release.

...Anything else you want the reader to know?

Our second record, Magique Concrète, was released in July. We caught up with our old friend Nik Freitas at his home studio in LA, where he recorded and mixed it all. It’s an eclectic indie rock record, full of heartfelt lyrics and thoughtful melodies—our definitive statement so far. Only three more records to go. - Examiner.com


"Monthly Mix July 2009"

AM Magic (”Aeroplane”) are an indie rock quartet whose second album came out last week, titled Magique Concrète. Their next show is Thursday, September 3rd at Kimo’s.

http://www.thebaybridged.com/2009/07/28/monthly-mix-july-2009-podcast-174/ - The Bay Bridged


Discography

Floats, LP, 2006
Magique Concrète, LP, 2009
3 songs EP, 2003

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Bio

San Francisco’s AM Magic offers record number two, the oddly titled yet gratifying and approachable, Magique Concrète. The complexities of city life, love, family, friends, musical exploration, skateboarding and growing up are culminated into nine songs of wide-reaching, pop-centric indie rock. The words “concrete magic” sum it up nicely.

Magique Concrète was recorded and mixed by Nik Freitas, an old friend and former bandmate who went on to find much success as both a solo artist and guitarist in Conor Oberst’s Mystic Valley Band. Between gaps in Nik’s hectic touring schedule, AM Magic made the trek from San Francisco down the I-5 a handful of times to capture some LA magic to tape at his studio, Poppy Peak. Besides manning the boards, Nik lent his stellar pop-craftsmanship to the sessions, adding synths, organ, mellotron and piano to make the songs shine brighter.

To be sure, AM Magic is a “songs band,” where Karma Tsocheff and Mike Alexis mine more than a few musical and lyrical territories. With the dexterous rhythmic chops of Doug Saenz and Doug Poore, Karma and Mike are given a solid foundation to explore. The record opens with “Russell Draws a Sunset,” a horns-driven stomper about a friend’s escape from the law to Mexico. “Open Up Your Heart” follows with guitar hooks wrapped around metaphysical nudges to do what the title says. Elsewhere, babies are born, close-ones die and songbirds sing.

During the band’s existence the music has steadily grown more expansive while still retaining a tight grip on solid song-craft. Their debut, Floats, is a satisfying slice of rough-hewn indie-garage-pop. Magique Concrète, however, is AM Magic in full stride, showcasing the band’s hard-fought confidence with psych, power-pop and shoegaze intertwining seamlessly. The palette is bigger; the band has broken out of its shell.

SONG LIST:
1. Russell Draws a Sunset
2. Open Up Your Heart
3. Plastic Skyscrapers
4. Enabling
5. Blue Timbre
6. Statuesque
7. Make It Right
8. Aeroplane
9. Songbird

Contact:
Mike Alexis
mike.alexis@gmail.com
415-246-6680
www.myspace.com/ammagic
www.ammagicmusic.com

Digital distribution by IODA
www.iodalliance.com