Doc Zeller

Doc Zeller's Viceral "Bliss"
By: Tracy Snow
Email: snow_tracy@hotmail.com
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There is nothing about pyramid-scheme technology, the 1-10 scale of mass appeal or the promise of sleazy promoters flashing color Xeroxed hundreds across a conference room table that can topple or cow or devalue a truly sublime group of words sung soulfully over simple, catchy guitar chords. That would be Doc Zeller's “Bliss”. There is no linear storytelling here, like there is with most MAN and GUITAR combos. What we get instead is a compelling glimpse into the inner life of a playful wordsmith. Not everyone could pull this off, but Doc Zeller surely does.


Doc Zeller is doctor, a REAL doctor and do you know what that means? That means that even if his practice is presently all Band-Aids and Lollypops (which I doubt), at some point in his life he’s dissected human cadavers, mastered conversions, had his gloved hand shoved inside bloody guts, comforted strangers in times of tragedy. Have you? Is your life experience slightly quirky? Are you open to clock radio-fi epiphany? Have you analyzed the role music plays in the human mystery any deeper than its superficial job as a commodity after the industrial revolution? Well then, you might just ‘get’ Doc’s music.


Jean Genet wrote a 300 page homoerotic novel on pilfered brown paper with pencil stubs while serving time in a French prison in the forties. Guards confiscated it and he had to start over, twice. Today “Our Lady of the Flowers” it is a literary classic. Had he had himself a guitar and a four-track, radio, as we know it, wouldn’t exist. Tesla detested the top 40 driven music economy and of course he was assassinated. Thomas Edison did not believe in socks, underwear or target market playlists. John Lydon had his own show on VH1 for about five seconds. It was 100 times more “Seinfield (‘I can’t believe I just saw that on TV!’) than “Seinfield”. What the fuck were they thinking?


When a culture’s pool of music is censored by the imposed standards of and evolves from the life experience of ONLY people in the music industry, it is time to start THROWING BOMBS or maybe for ALL smart, cool people to jump off a bridge or maybe time to just post crazy, heartfelt, redemptive music on the internet and DEMAND respect. Amen. - Tracy Snow

Doc Zeller, Likely Stories
(self-released / MP3.com)
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The band Doc Zeller is the alter ego of Mark Dreskin, a forty-something physician in southern California. Although it's unlikely for such a character to create an album that resonates with the indie music crowd, the band's latest CD, Likely Stories, is a stand out, lo-fi, semi-electric adventure that is a welcome change in both sound and style from anything currently on the airwaves.
The disc's first single and strongest cut, "Like a Rolltop," syncopates a bouncy acoustic guitar rhythm with a basic beat and a slinky ragtime-esque piano part. But the real magic here is in the good doctor's voice. Whiny and wound up, the frustration and tension squirm and sweat like a teenager with an advanced perspective and an above average vocabulary.
Another hot spot on the album is a dizzying tune called "...mesmerizing." Besides the funky groove and a sexy little sax part, the doctor touches on a perfect lyric midway through the track. "Your life is reckless with the favors and the sex/ You've got a husband and a lover and you're living with your ex."
On a few of these songs the band drops out and lets Doc Z have his way with the acoustic guitar. "Harmony in Chase," "Take Your Place," and "Bliss" all strip down to six strings and the voice.
Dreskin and the guys in the band— Irvin Kramer and Devin Thomas— stick mostly with their clever blend of electric and acoustic guitars, piano, organ and drums. But sometimes the guitars are sweaty and bluesy, sometimes fat and folky, and sometimes crisp and funky. It probably has something to do with the fact that the boys like to switch up instruments on various tracks.
After spinning through this disc a few times you'd probably call Doc Zeller's sound lo-fi, semi-electric rock. Or maybe acoustic half-punk. Or maybe it would just fall into the general category of some kind of hip form of musical therapy. Whatever the genre, Doc Zeller operates way better than the health care system in this country. Neurotic, articulate and overflowing with hooks, Likely Stories rumbles with a contagious brand of sophisticated tunes that are guaranteed to keep you out of the hospital - Editorial Board

First Impressions:
 
A happy go lucky feel good song…. Hey, I like this guy’s voice!
 
Doc Zeller is truly a doctor, however he doesn’t tell us of what. From what I can tell Zeller is the guitarist and singer of this threesome from South Pasadena California.
 
The other two are Devin Thomas and Irvin Kramer. They list their influences as Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen and refer to their style as “acoustic rock, some pop, some jazz. Oh, for heaven's sake, even the occasional fennel and other garnishings.”
 
“Teaze” is a catchy 3:32 little diddy that energizes the ions in the air and plants the urge to sing along deep within you.
 
This is not radio material by any means, but it has commercial qualities to it that allow you to enjoy hooky progressions and a wonderful melody. This is the type of song that you would want to put on your stereo while you straighten up your house on a wonderful 70 degree summer day.
 
I am fairly confident that the drums are synthetic, and if they are, they are well programmed and have an excellent sound…except for the crash cymbal. If Doc is using acoustic drums, I would recommend buying a new cymbal! Otherwise, the drums sound great! The bass and guitars have great tone and are well mixed. The vocals are clear, and again I have to say this loudly… I LOVE THIS GUYS VOICE!
 
There are singers and there are people who sing. Most of the people who sing can carry a tune, hit their pitches, and pretty much go through the motions… some of them can even write really well, but overall, such people shouldn’t be the front-person of a musical group.
 
Doc is a singer! He doesn’t have a textbook quality to him, but neither does Rod Stewart, Macy Gray or Peter Gabriel. In my personal opinion, I don’t want to hear the “professors of music.” This is a label that I give to musicians who are the epitome of “how to” sing, play etc…Whitney Houston, Kenny G, and Eric Johnson are PERFECT at what they do. You cannot cite better examples of their craft… but in my opinion they lack soul. Doc has a good deal of soul in this tune!
 
Imagine Zappa and Reznor singing a folky pop feel-good song. Now, Doc doesn’t necessarily sound like Zappa or Reznor… you’ll have to listen for yourself. Rather, Doc has the performance quality of the aforementioned with quite a bit more melodic talent!
 
The timing is great, and the guitar solo is pretty tasty. My only criticism of this tune would be that I don’t really hear a chorus that I could remember at a later time. Now this is my opinion only, but I am partial to the commercialism within music that leads us to short songs, common structures and sing-along choruses. “Teaze” satisfies all of my desires except for the chorus. In fact there is a good amount of time after the second verse where a great chorus could still be constructed! This section is just a jam section and would benefit greatly from a hooky chorus! Doc, if you ever take me up on this suggestion, let me know, because I would love to hear this song with a bit more to it.
 
“Teaze” is a fun song, so listen to it!
 
John E. Tate IV
 
Gods of Music.com - John Everett Tate IV