"SWEET ON THE VINE" by Mark DeCerbo & Four Eyes
Nominated for Best Pop Album-San Diego Music Awards 2006
The San Diego Music Awards will be held Monday, September 18th at Viejas Concerts in the Park.
Come support local music and know that all the proceeds will go to benefit Taylor Guitars for Schools.
The Reviews are In!!!
ICE Magazine
[Greg Camphire, New Release Editor]
As you may have noticed, we here at ICE
occasionally like to turn the spotlight away from the usual
well-publicized fare and onto some interesting music that may
have fallen through the industry’s cracks. Much deserving
of this attention is San Diego-based artists Mark DeCerbo &
Four Eyes. Their latest, Sweet on the Vine, ripens and drops
into stores on August 9 courtesy of Zip Records, and offers
listeners a lesson in finely-tuned, modern pop crafted with
DIY appeal and wide-eyed, crystal-clear production
While the Beatles are the first and most
obvious touchstone, the DeCerbo-fronted band also references
the sounds of such ultra-catchy acts as XTC, Squeeze and Soundtrack
of Our Lives. The smart and sunny SoCal hooks of tunes like
"Green Grass Girl" and "Artless, Heartless"
combine lush vocal harmonies, intricately intertwined guitars
and rock-solid rhythm section performances for a sound that
leans toward classic rock but sparkles with a contemporary edge.
The enhanced CD’s 12 basic tracks
are also bolstered by three bonus tunes: "Emily" and
"Cool with Me," which were recorded with assistance
from fellow artists Popgem, plus a live video performance of
the non-album track "I Need to Have My Baby," as directed
by David Peck.
Mark DeCerbo &
Four Eyes :: Sweet On The Vine
2005/Zip Records
GREAT!!!! $11
Talk about a long time releasing the
followup to your debut! How about 14 years! But the best news
of all about Mark's jangly, hook-filled, Zip debut is that it's
as chock full of Beatles/Crowded House/Squeeze-isms (as in McCartney/Neil
Finn/Tilbrook) as his stellar debut! His excellent, out-of-print,
1991 Bizarre/Straight Records' "Baby's Not In The Mood"
is well worth seeking out (we do get used copies in from time
to time) - you won't be disappointed! All we can say is welcome
back Mark! Please don't make us wait as long for your next release!
If you're a fan of the aforementioned greats you're gonna love
this! - Bart Mendoza
About Mark De Cerbo & Four Eyes - Sweet On The Vine
Not
Lame Recording Co. - www.notlame.com
Mark De Cerbo has been around the
San Diego music scene for decades. He`s got a story to tell
and there`s going to be a compilation here soon from Wizzard
In Vinyl that will tell the story of Four Eye`s skinny tie power
pop days of the late 70`s/early 80`s. But "Sweet On The
Vine" is new material from De Cerbo and band and it`s,
thankfully, there`s not a lot different than what the older
material sounds like. This is classic, pitch perfect power pop,
the kind that we love, goes down smooth with a smile and points
us to want to share with others. It`s not just that the music
is bright and catchy, the sound of a top pop tunesmith working
at full strength; it`s that the songs themselves are often lark.
"He has been described as being part of that elite fraternity
of popmeisters whose ranks include Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard,
Eric Carmen, Nick Lowe and Glenn Tilbrook. They dont just write
songs, they craft them; they mold them into neat little packages
that find their way into your ear and take up permanent residence.
San Diego Magazine. Yes, indeed, there`s plenty of Squeeze here(more
Glen than Chris) and the writer is on the right path but you
can add lots of Michael Penn, too. Also, he reminds us of Idle
Jets/Pat Buchanan in that these are sophisticated, carefully
crafted, extremely well produced songs that have had a lot of
thought put into them to yield the delights here. There`s an
intimate feel to all this gorgeous material and it`s never in
a rush to get to that catchy chorus. This one that will reward
and grow extreme pleasure, rest assured.
Big Time Extremely Highly Recommended!
Spring Ahead!!
The new album by Mark DeCerbo & Four
Eyes, "Sweet On The Vine," on Zip Records will be
released on 8/9. Also, a retrospective compilation album by
Four Eyes featuring Mark DeCerbo on Wizzard In Vinyl Records
will be released later this summer.
Happy 2005!!
Four Eyes is currently recording the McCartney
penned "Six O'Clock" for a Ringo Starr tribute album
at Knight-Time Studio. We were invited to contribute our version
of the song which was originally released on the "Ringo"
album in November of 1973 in the US. We've done quite a bit
of reworking of the song to make it a more Four Eyes sounding
tune. Fans of the original may not recognize it right off the
bat, but we tried to keep the integral parts of the song while
making it our own. It was fun recording it and we hope it sounds
that way when you hear it. The tribute album, due out in spring
2005, will be on Jealousy Records.
Our own rockin’ version of “You
Got To Me” will be released in February 2005 on the new
Neil Diamond tribute album Diamond Forever: A Tribute to the
Music of Neil Diamond (Delirium Records) 2005. It features John
riffing out ala Jeff Beck, Lee thumping cool fuzzed-out bass,
Larry on blistering, popping drums, Marks’ best Elvis-cum-Neil
vocals and the powerfully monotoned performance of the often
imitated but never equaled Marine Corps-Good Ol’ Boys-Locker
Room Vocal Ensemble.
We're also recording a brand new Four Eyes
album which will feature new versions of old FE songs as well
as new songs and a cover or two. Basic tracking has already
begun at bassist Lee Knight's, Knight-Time Studio. The album
will hopefully be done and released this summer, 2005.
The Four Eyes compilation album which was
due out in fall of 2004 on SNAP! Records has obviously been
delayed due to internal problems with that record company. We
are currently negotiating with the Japanese label Wizzard In
Vinyl to release it some time in 2005. The compilation will
feature 24 re-mastered original recordings of songs from the
bands' extensive catalog of pure pop gems spanning their 13
years of recorded output. A CD release party, featuring all
Four Eyes alumni, is being planned.
The long-awaited and long-titled "Mark
DeCerbo with Four Eyes and Friends..." album will finally
see the light of day soon. After lengthy digitizing, recording,
rerecording, writing, engineering, mixing and picking it to
death, Mark and Lee Knight are more than ready to say, "it's
done." Mark is, also, most ready to say to Lee,"Dude,
it would never have gotten done without you" and "
I am totally not worthy." That is not to say, that it's
completely finished. There is talk of Earle Mankey (Beach Boys,
20/20, Sparks, and Concrete Blonde) doing a re-mix or two before
it goes to mastering and finally, pressing. Speaking of pressing,
negotiations are going on with Zip Records to release and distribute
the album, as well.
Stay tuned for more news.....
