Interview with Marquee Grand: ‘The idea was that everyone is obsessed with social media, so what about showing the toxic side of that?’

Buffalo, New York-based indie band, Marquee Grand, which released its latest EP, Just Like You, earlier this month, has taken on the toxicity of social media in one of its latest tracks, ‘Just Like You’, according to its guitarist and vocalist Josh Owczarzak.

‘It’s totally unlike anything the band has done before,’ Owczarzak said. ‘We actually wrote the song around the idea for the music video. The idea was that everyone is obsessed with social media, so what about showing the toxic side of that? For some people it can enhance their lives but for others it ruins their lives. It can be detrimental to your personal life because you’re not living in the moment.’

In the video, the female character is seeking attention from people online and ignoring her significant other in the process, according to Owczarzak. During the course of the video, she breaks up with her boyfriend and gravitates towards her ‘fake’ influencer friends. With lyrics such as ‘give them what they want before they find another who will say just what they like and pass it off as someone just you’, the song acts as a warning.

‘We haven’t seen that kind of message projected out there before,’ he said. ‘I think the song does a decent job of getting it out there! [laughs]’

Frontman John Richter and drummer Matt Lawniczak have been playing music together since they were ten years old. They started taking their music more seriously in November 2015 when the first incarnation of Marquee Grand came together as they aligned with Owczarzak. The trio went on to release a music video for ‘Just Like You’ in mid-2019 and were joined by TJ Luckman on bass.

‘It was one of those things when you wonder if you’re wasting your time with what you’re doing’

Marquee Grand sounds a lot like a more upbeat Snow Patrol, with big singalong choruses and catchy lyrics. ‘Lost Cause’ on their Just Like You EP was written by Richter when he was starting to question everything he was doing, according to Owczarzak: ‘When John was writing it, it was one of those things when you wonder if you’re wasting your time with what you’re doing. Are we a ‘lost cause’ as an independent band, will we get lost in all the noise? The message also works for a relationship.’

Next EP, We’ll Be Fine, due in October

October will see the release of their next EP, We’ll Be Fine. The first track from that album, ‘Drop Dead’, will be released next month. ‘It’s actually a singalong, fun vibe that was born out of a cool guitar riff,’ Owczarzak laughed. He describes the song as being ‘2.45 minutes of raw power with a party-type vibe’: ‘It’s mostly about two people who are toxic for each other but they keep going back to each other, even though they know they shoudn’t. It’s about what they’ve done to each other, there’s a teenage angst feel to it.’

As the song says: ‘Before I leave, before I go, there’s one more thing that you need to know…’

In addition to ‘Drop Dead’, We’ll Be Fine will comprise a song by the same name, ‘Calling Me’ and ‘I Choose You’. ‘We’ll Be Fine’ is my favourite,’ Owczarzak said. ‘It’s got a great groove and vibe to it. It’s like a homage to rock ‘n’ roll because it references some of our favourite bands, like The 1975 and Third Eye Blind.’

The group has both ‘similar and extremely different’ taste in music, according to Owczarzak. ‘We all like Third Eye Blind (US rock band), indie rock and classic rock such as The Who, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. I personally love country music and now it’s basically pop music, which I love. My favourite is Old Dominion, which for me is more indie-country, you know, they just happen to live in Nashville! I would love to collaborate with them, so would John. If we were talking alternatives, then Matty Healey (frontman of The 1975) or the Arkells (Canadian rock band). They’re really good dudes. Their songs are very lyrically complex but also simple with nice, underlying themes.’

The band got to meet the Arkells when they were doing an engagement party in Buffalo and someone in their management team contacted Marquee Grand. ‘They wanted to borrow our gear so that they didn’t have to bring theirs across the border,’ Owczarzak said, laughing. ‘They’re recognised everywhere they go in Canada but in Buffalo, if you don’t know who they are, they just seem like normal guys. They let us go to that party, they’re super down to earth. That’s who I want to be like: they’re famous enough to make a good living out of it – they sell out 20,000 seats in Canada – but they’re not recognised everywhere they go. They’re just the right level of famous.’

(Photo left to right: John, Matt and Josh)