Ozma - Rock and Roll Part Three

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In late 1995, Daniel Brummel, bought a Macintosh Classic II from his uncle, plugged it into his phone jack, and connected to the internet for the first time. Around the same time, Jose Galvez was a mere mile away, in the same town, searching for "bass player, Pasadena" in the AOL member directory. Daniel's e-mail address came up in a search, and Jose made the first move, writing to Daniel about a recently disbanded rock band ("Paper Or Plastic" broke up in early 1995) that was looking to form again with a new bass player and a new sound. He spoke of their lead guitarist by the name of Ryen Slegr and a rock steady drummer - Patrick Edwards - with a bedroom converted to a practice space. Daniel, previously a guitarist, happened to have a bass and an amp lying around from his previous band. Jose and Daniel arranged a day for the four kids to convene, and just like that Ozma was formed. The band released its debut album Songs of Inaudible Trucks and Cars in Jan. of 1999 and released Rock and Roll Part Three on January of 2000. The band then toured all over America in early 2001 with The Get Up Kids and the kings of geek rock Weezer. Rock and Roll Part Three was then picked up by Kung-Fu Records and re-released this summer.

Rock and Roll Part Three begins with the bouncy piano playing of Star Wick and Brummel’s rumbling bass line of "Domino Effect." The rest of the band joins in and rockets the track along to pure power pop glory. The ending bassline of "Domino Effect" turns into the intro to "Apple Trees." The track, like most songs on the disc, find Brummel recalling his past relationships and going over the good and the bad.

Crisp distorted guitars and some extensive soloing, doubled by Wicks keyboards, introduces "Shooting Stars." The track details the story of a soldier who has come back from war and finds that his lover has left him. The chorus "every night I see a shooting star/and wonder if it's landing where you are" shows the character longing for his girlfriend and daydreaming about his return. However when he returns he finds things very different than when he left "lean into the bell and press /you're in a brand new dress/I've never seen before /and then you say you gave your heart away (gave you heart away) /and then you say I shouldn't have returned (shouldn't have returned) /so I turn my face... and go." While the lyrics paint a pretty bleak picture the way they are delivered and the backing music is anything but, with it’s punkish guitars raging along with an energetic bassline, skillfully complimented by bubbly keyboards.

The morose and sensitive "Natalie Portman" shows off the bands love for the loud/soft contrast. The songs starts with a low hum of a keyboard as Brummel wonders out loud "maybe she's alone/maybe she's alone/what can I do?/what can I do?" the songs then erupts into a fury of guitars as Brummel realizes "There’s nothing I can do." The punky track "The Ups and Downs" musically could very easily pass as a Weezer song, as it details someone getting over a break up "I've been cheating on you ever since we broke up /I've been dreaming about you ever since I woke up."

"Baseball" is a slower paced track that looks back at fond memories of childhood and yet at the same time manages to turn itself into a love song. "Rocks" is a fast paced catchy as hell straight ahead punk pop tune. How can you not love a song with a chorus that consists of just the word "whoa"? The song careens along and comes in at under two minutes in perfect contrast to the eight minute "Battlescars" which it proceeds. One of the standouts on the disc, "Battlescars," is an ode to lead vocalist and guitarist Ryan Slegr's heavily abused electric instrument, while at the same time he cleverly pairs the marred surface of his Fender Telecaster to that of his heart which has been injured in a similar fashion by an unrepentant lover. The song again milks the soft/loud dynamic to perfection.

"In Search of 1988" reminisces of a simpler time of playing Mario Brothers and cheating so the ouija board spells out the name of the girl that you want. For the most part the track is quick moving and up tempo before slowing down half way through with an extended breakdown by way of the line "I want to make a motion to stop the commotion" which reminds everyone the need to just slow down and remember how to have fun. The funky mid tempo "Last Dance" fittingly closes the cd with it’s tale of the nervousness and apprehension that goes along with just going up to that person that you love but yet for some reason or the other can’t bring yourself to talk to.

A pretty good portion of the cd deals with looking back at the past or longing for the unattainable, however in no way is it disheartening. The band is unrelenting in its amazing musicianship, catchy lyrics, passionate vocals, and original arrangements and it‘s only a matter of time before Ozma breaks through.


	Steamer Trunk \| home stuff about me \| album reviews \| PS2 game reviews \| pictures \| web watch \| getting in touch Rilo Kiley - Take Offs and Landings \| Slipknot - Iowa \| Ozma - Rock and Roll Part Three \| Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs \| Lit - Atomic \| Garbage - Beautifulgarbage \| The Strokes - Is This It \| Live - V \| Tori Amos - Strange Little Girls \| Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American \| Blink 182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket \| Weezer - The Green Album \| Alkaline Trio From Here to Infirmary \| Alkaline Trio - Hell Yes \| American Hi-Fi \| Our Lady Peace - Spiritual Machines \| Aerosmith - Just Push Play \| Dave Matthews Band - Everyday \| Blue Meanies - Post Wave \| Weston - The Massed Albert Sounds \| U2 - All That You Cant Leave Behind \| Green Day - Warning \| Offspring - Conspiracy of One \| Everclear - Songs from an American Movie Vol. 2 \| Radiohead - Kid A \| Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water \| Smashing Pumkins - Machina II \| Superdrag - In The Valley Of Dying Stars \| Voodoo Music Festival Ozma - Rock and Roll Part Three In late 1995, Daniel Brummel, bought a Macintosh Classic II from his uncle, plugged it into his phone jack, and connected to the internet for the first time. Around the same time, Jose Galvez was a mere mile away, in the same town, searching for "bass player, Pasadena" in the AOL member directory. Daniel's e-mail address came up in a search, and Jose made the first move, writing to Daniel about a recently disbanded rock band ("Paper Or Plastic" broke up in early 1995) that was looking to form again with a new bass player and a new sound. He spoke of their lead guitarist by the name of Ryen Slegr and a rock steady drummer - Patrick Edwards - with a bedroom converted to a practice space. Daniel, previously a guitarist, happened to have a bass and an amp lying around from his previous band. Jose and Daniel arranged a day for the four kids to convene, and just like that Ozma was formed. The band released its debut album Songs of Inaudible Trucks and Cars in Jan. of 1999 and released Rock and Roll Part Three on January of 2000. The band then toured all over America in early 2001 with The Get Up Kids and the kings of geek rock Weezer. Rock and Roll Part Three was then picked up by Kung-Fu Records and re-released this summer. Rock and Roll Part Three begins with the bouncy piano playing of Star Wick and Brummel’s rumbling bass line of "Domino Effect." The rest of the band joins in and rockets the track along to pure power pop glory. The ending bassline of "Domino Effect" turns into the intro to "Apple Trees." The track, like most songs on the disc, find Brummel recalling his past relationships and going over the good and the bad. Crisp distorted guitars and some extensive soloing, doubled by Wicks keyboards, introduces "Shooting Stars." The track details the story of a soldier who has come back from war and finds that his lover has left him. The chorus "every night I see a shooting star/and wonder if it's landing where you are" shows the character longing for his girlfriend and daydreaming about his return. However when he returns he finds things very different than when he left "lean into the bell and press /you're in a brand new dress/I've never seen before /and then you say you gave your heart away (gave you heart away) /and then you say I shouldn't have returned (shouldn't have returned) /so I turn my face... and go." While the lyrics paint a pretty bleak picture the way they are delivered and the backing music is anything but, with it’s punkish guitars raging along with an energetic bassline, skillfully complimented by bubbly keyboards. The morose and sensitive "Natalie Portman" shows off the bands love for the loud/soft contrast. The songs starts with a low hum of a keyboard as Brummel wonders out loud "maybe she's alone/maybe she's alone/what can I do?/what can I do?" the songs then erupts into a fury of guitars as Brummel realizes "There’s nothing I can do." The punky track "The Ups and Downs" musically could very easily pass as a Weezer song, as it details someone getting over a break up "I've been cheating on you ever since we broke up /I've been dreaming about you ever since I woke up." "Baseball" is a slower paced track that looks back at fond memories of childhood and yet at the same time manages to turn itself into a love song. "Rocks" is a fast paced catchy as hell straight ahead punk pop tune. How can you not love a song with a chorus that consists of just the word "whoa"? The song careens along and comes in at under two minutes in perfect contrast to the eight minute "Battlescars" which it proceeds. One of the standouts on the disc, "Battlescars," is an ode to lead vocalist and guitarist Ryan Slegr's heavily abused electric instrument, while at the same time he cleverly pairs the marred surface of his Fender Telecaster to that of his heart which has been injured in a similar fashion by an unrepentant lover. The song again milks the soft/loud dynamic to perfection. "In Search of 1988" reminisces of a simpler time of playing Mario Brothers and cheating so the ouija board spells out the name of the girl that you want. For the most part the track is quick moving and up tempo before slowing down half way through with an extended breakdown by way of the line "I want to make a motion to stop the commotion" which reminds everyone the need to just slow down and remember how to have fun. The funky mid tempo "Last Dance" fittingly closes the cd with it’s tale of the nervousness and apprehension that goes along with just going up to that person that you love but yet for some reason or the other can’t bring yourself to talk to. A pretty good portion of the cd deals with looking back at the past or longing for the unattainable, however in no way is it disheartening. The band is unrelenting in its amazing musicianship, catchy lyrics, passionate vocals, and original arrangements and it‘s only a matter of time before Ozma breaks through.