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Instrumental rock music which appeals to a wide audience is rare to come by anymore. Usually this kind of music falls into one of two camps: it’s either too cerebral or there isn’t enough meaningful content to keep it interesting. Whatever the combination of musical elements that make this occur is not easy to define. Yet, Choose to Find has seemed to find a unique sound that draws in fans of both pop music and art music. "My songwriting is greatly influenced by film music, so most of the songs are like a soundtrack for my life," says Todd Marston, pianist/songwriter for the group. "Everyone appreciates a good story and all of Choose to Find’s songs are based on stories."
Growing up in Connecticut, Marston started composing music early in his life, writing his first song when he was six years old. "It was an instrumental melody that sounded kind of like ‘Hey Ya!’ by Outkast combined with an Elvis tune." The use of songwriting as a creative outlet while growing up led to him exploring many styles of music. He even dabbled with electric guitar during his teenage years, playing primarily punk music. "What I loved about punk music was the energy that I felt while playing it. It cleared my mind of any negativity that I was dwelling in. It was a pure form of release from the confusion of adolescence." That energy and passion became a constant driving force in his life and music. As his musicianship progressed, his list of influences grew. "When I got to high school in 1995, Rage Against The Machine, Nine Inch Nails, and 7 Seconds were always in my CD player." The following summer, he attended a two-week music program at Hartwick College. While there, the 15 year-old Marston got his first glimpse of jazz musicians performing live, as well as his first taste of improvising on piano while attending a jazz improvisation class. "I was shown Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, and Maceo Parker’s Life On Planet Groove and I was hooked. The piano went from boring: something my parents made me do, to exciting: something I wanted to do."
From that moment on, jazz piano steadily became Marston’s life. He immediately sought out a teacher and began learning the fundamental musical skills that would lay the groundwork for his musicianship down the road. As he gained knowledge and confidence in the jazz idiom, Marston started playing weekly sessions in a trio setting, which evolved into gigs performing at restaurants. However, playing jazz wasn’t the same as playing in the punk bands in which he played guitar. "You could never play that loud, and the energy never got that intense. Also, the gigs were at least two to three hours long, making it really hard work." Even so, he started devoting all of his time to jazz and the few punk bands that he played in soon died out. By the end of his junior year of high school, Marston was spending all of his free time playing jazz piano.
After high school, Marston continued his musical journey by moving to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. It didn’t take him long to realize that pursuing a degree in music composition wasn’t right for him. "When I got to Berklee, I went to a jazz composition faculty concert at the Berklee Performance Center, and it was awful. I didn’t really like any of the players or compositions. It was light and cheesy. I didn’t want anything to do with it, so I moved towards the performance degree instead." This path enabled him to study with a "Who’s Who" of piano greats, namely Dave Frank, David Hazeltine, Laszlo Gardony, Joanne Brackeen, Stephany Tiernan and Ed Bedner. But the most important thing that Marston got out of his time at Berklee was the connections that he made there. "I met [guitarist] Colin Sapp during my first week at school. We didn’t end up playing music together until our junior year. I was more of a ‘Jazz Nazi’ by the time I got to Berklee, so I didn’t try to play music with anyone who I thought wasn’t a jazzer." Sapp and Marston stayed close after Berklee, playing together in Sapp’s group, Infinite Out. "I was gigging quite a bit with various jazz groups that I formed at Berklee. But in Colin’s group, we played a sort of electric improv that allowed the rocking side of my playing to come out, the side that was being held back by my ‘Jazz Nazism’." Marston’s first original project after Berklee would be a world/jazz quartet called Bajuco, in which he opted to play melodica and accordion over piano. Marston used Bajuco as a vehicle to rekindle the flame of composition that had lied mostly dormant while at Berklee. However, as time went on, his compositions began to stray from the group’s sound. "I couldn’t imagine Bajuco playing any of these new songs. They were much less worldy-sounding than previous melodies that I had developed, and the new stuff was much more passionate and meaningful to me." It was in Bajuco that he met drummer Michael Daillak. After the group disbanded, Marston continued playing with Daillak, eventually using him as the rhythmic backbone of Choose to Find. "I’ve always been obsessed with drums since I listen to a lot of hip-hop and other drum-heavy music. Mike is amazing at learning the crazy rhythms I write and his groove is heavy and tight."
The first incarnation of Choose to Find didn’t include guitar. It consisted of trumpet, alto sax, piano, bass and drums. After their first performance, Marston felt that he was over-extending his writing abilities and using the horns was too much for him to handle. He called upon Sapp to come aboard to take the place of the horns. "In Bajuco, the accordion acted as a horn instrument, but in Choose to Find, I needed to find something to fill that role. I found Colin’s sound to be perfect for the group, performing multiple musical functions in the songs. He can play melody, harmony and add sonic color through the use of effects pedals." The bass player from Infinite Out, Dmitry Ishenko, was the final addition to the group, filling out the quartet, and the group gelled instantly. "Dmitry shares the same jazz and rock roots as the rest of us and he became a big part of the band’s chemistry right away."
For the most part, Choose to Find’s music is melody-driven. It draws on far-ranging influences including classical music like Henryk Gorecki and Steve Reich, afro pop and world music like Thomas Mapfumo and Balkan music, rock/pop like Beck, Bjork, Radiohead and Mogwai, and drum n’bass and electronica like Squarepusher and Aphex Twin. A lot of the songs are in odd meters, but not intentionally says Marston. "They just happen to come out that way because that’s the way I hear the melodies." Their songs keep listeners on their toes, but they don’t go over their heads with endless amounts of meaningless notes or musical academia. The melodies have more of a pop-like catchiness while the rhythms gain momentum in one’s subconscious, sticking with the listener long after the song is over. The resulting sound is electrified, emotive, and powerful. "I love to rock out, and I feel that this music is bringing me back closer to my roots as a punk rock musician."
Conceptually, the name Choose to Find is about making conscious decisions to seek knowledge, truth and to act on improving one’s awareness; another aspect conveyed in the music that listeners easily latch onto. Marston says, "It’s about not being complacent, but instead, choosing to move forward in life and do what you’ve wanted to do for a long time." Even without lyrics, the message is clear and resonant on a deep level. Choose to Find’s sound inspires optimism and hope in musical form to each person that comes within earshot of them. |
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Name:Colin Sapp
Hometown: Flint, MI
DOB:
Instrument: guitar
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Name:Todd Marston
Hometown: Brooklyn, CT
DOB:
Instrument: piano, keys
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Name:Dmitry Ishenko
Hometown: Odessa, Ukraine
DOB:
Instrument: bass
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Name:Michael Daillak
Hometown: Morrow Bay, CA
DOB:
Instrument: drums
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