Tommy Marz Is Set To Release A New EP To Finish Off Summer!
Tommy Marz will be releasing his first solo album (EP) ‘Chasing Light’ in nearly 6 years this September 23, 2020. Marz is a talented musician that has been writing, playing and producing music for well over 20 years and has made a name for himself over the years. ‘Chasing Light’, due out in September, is an album born out of a combination of quarantine and a love of summer.
The album opens with a cover of ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ written by Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan. Marz brings new meaning to this classic with his interpretation of the song from his experiences in COVID-19 quarantine.
“It was at a time when I was spending much more time on social media and I was disappointed and in some cases appalled at the way people were treating each other. Many people are passionate about the issues they believe in and they absolutely should be. But to wish death upon others or people’s loved ones crosses the line and some point, checking our morality may need to become a priority before it’s too late to turn back. So I observed from afar and truly felt stuck in the middle of what was occurring online, seeing both sides of the political spectrum attempt to destroy one another. I’ve always been a fan of the song but it seemed to speak to me in a different way this time around and I decided to put my own passion into this wonderful song.” -Tommy Marz
Marzs’ version of ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ is fun, upbeat and when paired with the release of the video accompanying the song’s release, you will have a great idea of what quarantine has done with Tommy. The video features him playing each and every single instrument in the song, clapping as well as covering the vocals. That is not far fetched since Marz did in fact play every piece recorded on the EP! It is highly impressive to think of one musician covering each necessary piece so expertly!
The 5 songs following ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ are easily the best collection of Marzs’ songs so far in his career. The lyrics, vocals, instrumentation and production of this album are on point and show how far Marz went into each of these songs. In his own words on the EP, ‘Chasing Light’, Tommy says, “I didn’t want to worry about a standard verse, chorus, verse, chorus type of flow – I just wanted to write what was on my mind and maybe try to push out of my comfort zone a bit both lyrically and vocally.”
The next song, ‘Lullaby to Summer (Intro)’ leads us into the rest of the album with a quick 1:31 acoustic and intimate melody that seems to teleport us into a dreamland hence, I am guessing the meaning behind the title. The song progresses and before you know it, the listener is pushed into a surge of energy building to an abrupt end keeping the listener ready and primed for the next track.
‘Summer Bummer’ is a love song about how loneliness can lead to bad relationships. In this particular song, the end of summer led to the realization that the feelings were not real. With lyrics like, “Summer is over, with it took the sweetness out of the air” brings this sad song to life. The song opens with piano and drums that is nostalgic and comforting. Marz is flexing his vocals in this song adding in some falsetto.
Chasing Light, the EP’s title track takes a hard turn and leaves the previous melodic rich songs in it’s dust. This song starts with a whisper leading into a deep bass guitar that explodes into a lively rock song telling the story of a red eye flight and a trip to Vegas and watching the sun fading away. This song rocks and shows how Marz can blow it up too! With lyrics such as,
“Walked to my seat 1A. Bought the other one just in case. Don’t need no one all up in my personal space.” we can relate more than ever in the current times!
At first listen, I thought “Stray” was a love song examining the loss of love but, I have learned Tommy wrote this song after the passing of his father about the search for his own happiness. When Marz sings, “I fall down reaching for you”, you can really feel the sadness surrounding his search. Even though it is a sad song, it is still a rock song. It’s almost acoustic and electric guitar is almost at competition with one another until each are given their fair shake and placed within the song highlighting the abilities of Marz as an all around musician.
The EP closes with “Lady Magic” beginning with a strong piano intro and warm lyrics. This song is perfectly placed on the EP as the last you hear until you revisit the music next time. “Lady Magic” is the rock pop song that you listen to on a long warm summer day when you are driving with the windows down. The use of drums and varying percussion with the smooth vocals creates a song you will want to groove to.
The EP, ‘Chasing Light’ is a surrender to the talent he possesses allowing himself to fully show what he can do and where the future of Tommy Marz is heading. I’m going to take another listen and I hope you enjoy the EP as much as I did!
-Jessica Frey
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Chasing Light
Lyrics
All songs written by Tommy Marz except Stuck In The Middle With You – Gerry Rafferty, Joe Egan
Stuck In The Middle With You
Well I don’t know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain’t right,
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you
Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you,
And I’m wondering what it is I should do,
It’s so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, yeah, I’m all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you
Well you started out with nothing,
And you’re proud that you’re a self made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please, please
Trying to make some sense of it all,
But I can see that it makes no sense at all,
Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor,
‘Cause I don’t think that I can take anymore
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you
Well you started out with nothing,
And you’re proud that you’re a self made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please, please
Well I don’t know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain’t right,
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you,
Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you,
Stuck in the middle with you, here I am stuck in the middle with you
Lullaby To Summer
Yeah, yeah look at that
Here’s your chance to belong
Better learn how to fake it
It’s the only way
You’re gonna fill that hole in your heart
But you know
It’s not the only thing missing
You’d better learn how listen
You act so in love
You don’t know what the meaning of the word is
The meaning of
You just use it for
You use it for
You use it for yourself
Summer Bummer
You sit by the fire
Knees to your chest when no one’s home
Another swipe at your phone
No messages you feel all alone
You’re so tired
You can’t sleep
You made your bed so climb in and fall deep
Drift away
I know what you’re looking for
Baby it ain’t that
Sometimes the love we seek
Ain’t the giving back kind
At all
Can’t tell you what you want
Can’t tell you what you need
To point you in the right direction
Tell me what you feel
Tell me who you see
Tell me what your heart believes
What it believes
The summer is over
With it took the sweetness out of the air
Chasing Light
Running with my red shoes on
Listen to my favorite song
The terminal is packed with people tonight
Feeling like a rat in a cage
Navigate through a concrete maze
Scans my ticket she says have a good flight
I’m looking through the window
There is a sliver of light
Walked to my seat 1A
Bought the other one just in case
Don’t need no one all up in my personal space
Later on I’m sitting third base
Pit boss is on my case
Sometimes cards just seem to fall that way
Chips spin at a rapid pace
Put a smile on the dealers face
Slide her blacks chips and head to the cage
I look past all the people
I only see artificial light
She asked if I want them big
Gave a wink ’cause you know I did
Just give me paper and I’ll be on my way
Not bad for a summer night
Went to Vegas chasing light
Coming home flush I’m only sleep deprived
Eyelids nearing closed on the jet way
I’m sleeping on the red eye home
Stray
In and out you leave like the day does the night
And I’m left here all alone
Insufficient dreams that make it seem alright
But I can’t make it on my own
I fall down reaching out for you
You turn and you run away
The more I chase you
The further you stray
Looks like the southern sky’s about to open up
Think I’ll go outside
Warm breeze with the summer rain supposed to cheer me up
But I can’t get you off my mind
Seems like I should resolve myself
Oh you might think
I fall down reaching out for you
You turn and you run away
The more I chase you
The further you stray
Seems like I’m almost wondering why
But what’s the use of harboring things I can’t control so why even try
Looks like they’re moving and stored away with the others before
I fall down reaching out for you
Lady Magic
Never fear
The summer is upon us
Another chance to come out from the cold
Think I’ll plant a little garden
And sit outside to watch the new life grow
We grow
We go for a midnight drive with no one around
The moon lights our path cicada the only sound
The sound
Take me away my lady magic
I’ve been waiting for you I’m under your spell
Surrender the day to your love fantastic
My body heals inside your warm embrace
I’m in no hurry to lose what we’re on
We’re here and we’re steady when I’m playing along
Now I know it’s certain to watch colors fade
Just remember this moment when the light starts to fade
Take me away my lady magic
I’ve been waiting for you I’m under your spell
Surrender the day to your love fantastic
My body heals inside your warm embrace