New Noise Magazine is pretty stoked to have Marquis of Vaudeville on our radar. Recently, the group released their full length The Tragic Valentine. The record is a hypnotic swirl of genres, with a gothic, avant-garde styled appeal, like a circus act in the realm of exotic punk music. Their video of “We’re All Mad Here” is a great, artistic snapshot of their antics, and can be viewed below. Marquis of Vaudeville gave New Noise Magazine an exclusive look into how they came to discover their sound, and where the band finds inspiration to create such eerie yet dazzling music.
Purchase The Tragic Valentine here
Marquis of Vaudeville began writing music with the inkling that imagination and fantastical escape for the listener would be the overall inspiration behind its composition, and we continue to strive for that imaginative essence in all that we do. We’re known for our theatrical, carnival-esque, punk-cabaret stylings as we tend to fuse timeworn elements of the old world with newfangled rock innovation – a sound we’ve affectionately dubbed ‘melodic mischief’.
We tend to find influence in all sorts of eldritch sources: dreams, art, literature, film, theatre; typically, indie, cult, fantasy/sci-fi, classic works, the bizarre, the out-of-the-ordinary, as well as the cosmos, love, liberty, mythology, mysticism, mystery, & magic. A great many of our influences can be dark, yet playful because that’s a bit of who we are.
With this in mind, clearly, musical artists such as David Bowie, The Cure, Pink Floyd, or Danny Elfman would appeal to us – writers like Neil Gaiman, Edgar Allan Poe, and J.R.R. Tolkien – or artists such as Tim Burton, Edward Gorey, and James O’Barr who create in other mediums. All of these have had some beautiful impact on us – a driving force behind them that we love and wholeheartedly believe in, and they all have a commonality that we find utterly enthralling – they all tell incredible stories.
We also like to tell stories, and music affords us a way to tell them. We want to give people something to daydream about, give them hope, open their eyes, hearts, & minds, and we’ve found that messages can be more profound and persuasive when woven secretly within the melodies of music.
That’s why our songs are quite often wrapped up within, & somewhat veiled behind, an imagined story dealing with some sort of chimerical idea such as discovering other worlds & alternate universes, The Sandman, star-crossed vampire lovers, vengeful stage magicians, mysterious whimsical circuses, plundering gentleman highwaymen, intriguing labyrinthine understreets, mad scientist toymakers, or the anthropomorphic personification of death. As we said: dark, yet playful.
While touching on themes that revolve around dreams, rebellion, love, loss, hope, understanding, discovery, oppression, outcasts, isolation, mental illness, the internal struggle, perseverance, self-destruction, death, loneliness, and the acceptance of one’s self as well as others, our new album ‘The Tragic Valentine’ is no exception. An alternative rock opera full of anthems, ballads, and waltzes, essentially, it’s a tragic love story told through 13 pieces of music. Flecked with elements of mystery, intrigue, and revolution, the album’s story is somewhat our own lovelorn fantasy akin to ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Although the songs, as a whole, have an underlying theme which lays the framework for the overall story, the lyrics were written in a precise way to create duality and also instill each song with its own identity & individual meaning.
Behind this love story, the songs deliver the subtle message that we want all of our listeners to take with them and to always remember – ‘You are not alone. You have a voice. You matter. Don’t let anything hold you back or anyone keep you down. Be who and what you want to be. Don’t give up/Don’t give in. Dream until you never die’
Photo Credit: Dennis Gatz Photography
