Marc With a C

What’s that you say? You’ve never seen Marc With a C perform? What the hell is wrong with you? Luckily for you, the legend of lo-fi has a show at Stardust Coffee and Video (all ages; 9 p.m. Saturday, April 19). The evening marks the return of Marc’s marathon audience-request shows, so expect at least a solid two-and-a-half-hours’ worth of two-and-a-half-minute pop-song salvation. I met Marc a number of years ago when he started playing the special-occasion preshows for the Rich Weirdoes’ Rocky Horror Picture Show performances, and he’s the only person I know who loves both the Who and the Shock Treatment soundtrack as much as I do. His witty odes to nerdy girls in glasses and That ’70s Show siren Laura Prepon made him the go-to guy for geek rock, but it’s his infectious choruses that will have you singing for more. - Orlando Weekly

“It’s Not Normal Bias To Love Marc With a C”
By Megan Morgan:

In fourth grade, Orlando-based musician Marc with a C, also known as Marc Sirdoreus, wrote his first song lyrics and discovered it wasn’t as easy as it looked. But since that young age, Sirdoreus has learned a lot about songwriting. Now, at 29 years old, he delivers quirky humor wrapped up in catchy, acoustic melodies and owes it all to seeing The Who’s Pete Townshend back in 1982.

“I was only about five or six, but it completely blew me out of the water,” Sirdoreus said. “By the time I was 10 years old, I probably owned every Who and Pink Floyd album.”

These early influences motivated Sirdoreus to make music. After being involved in some “spotty” music projects growing up, Sirdoreus first played on his own before a live crowd when a local band he had been working for was running late. He was asked to fill some time, and so Sirdoreus played a cover of the Laverne and Shirley theme song as well as some of his own material to a crowd that seemed to enjoy it.

In 2002, Sirdoreus released his first Marc with a C record, Human Slushy. He described the music he makes as “really sarcastic, lo-fi indie pop.” This sarcasm can clearly be heard in songs like “Life’s So Hard,” where Sirdoreus pokes a little fun at the emo scene by singing, “I’m so sad, I’ve gotta write it in my LiveJournal, and then you’ll know my pain.” Lo-fi refers to indie music that is recorded with some flaws, such as distortions, giving it a genuine feel instead of an over-produced sound.

Since the first release, Marc has made numerous records including Bubblegum Romance, This World is Scary as Fuck and the 2007 release, Normal Bias, but making records is not just a job to Marc, it’s a passion.

“I’m addicted to making records,” Marc said and added with a laugh, “I make records because there’s a void in my record collection.”

According to Sirdoreus, Normal Bias is a very personal album, and includes songs about family like “Already Dead” and “Dear Son.” But instead of feeling anxious about the release of these songs, Marc feels relieved.

“It’s personal, but having it out there is like a great weight is lifted,” he explained. “I feel like a million bucks.”

Sirdoreus’ recording process is unique and extremely do-it-yourself. It only took him three days of nonstop work to record Normal Bias. He also recorded the songs in the order that you hear them on the album, giving it a very “real” feel. From the opener “Classic Country Wasn’t Multitracked in ‘61,” to the closing “Happy to be Alive,” his voice gets more and more ragged throughout the album.

“It’s my favorite record I’ve ever made, and I know artists say that. I really mean it,” he said. “If something happened to me tomorrow, and Normal Bias was the last thing I made, I’d be fine with that.”

In addition to Marc with a C, Sirdoreus is also a drummer in the experimental space-rock band called Lo-Fi Is Sci-Fi. Sirdoreus’ best friend Chris Zabriskie acts as front man of the group and occasionally plays drums for Marc with a C. Sirdoreus describes Zabriskie as a phenomenal, realistic person who is “totally [his] muse.” “Marc calls me almost every day and talks to me for hours,” Zabriskie said. “Literally hours on end.” Frequent phone calls between the two friends allow them to bounce ideas off one another, and Sirdoreus plays Zabriskie many of his newly written songs over the phone.

“[Sirdoreus’] a serious songwriter, but his personality is just so bubbly and infectious that most people don’t really realize it,” Zabriskie said. “They’re drawn to him before they realize the real music being made here is just out of this world. Nobody is doing what Marc’s doing, [and] I’m honored to be a part of it.”

But outside of his Marc with a C persona, Sirdoreus is a busy guy. He works at Park Ave. Records, is a writer and editor for the blog RetroLoFi, hosts a pop culture podcast and, in his spare time, listens to records and plays board games. Spending time with his family, including daughter Juliana, is also very important to Sirdoreus. So much so that he doesn’t like going out on tour.

“I can’t stand being away from my family for two weeks for silly pop songs,” Marc said. “I mean, they’re important, but not that important.”

So whether Sirdoreus is playing Apples to Apples with his fiancée, enlarging his huge record collection, or playing “sweaty, fun pop shows,” it can be said that Marc with a C is marked with a colorful personality.
- Independent Clauses