| Print interview with Daniel Brummel, Ryen Slegr | |
|---|---|
| Publication | The Maneater |
| Published | April 10, 2003 |
| Interviewer | Becca Eden |
| Interviewee | Daniel Brummel, Ryen Slegr |
| Title | Ozma proves Weezer they are not |
| Format | |
| Associated concert | Ozma concert: 04/07/2003 |
| External link | Archived via Weezer Media Archive |
| References | See where this article is referenced on Weezerpedia |
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Ozma proves Weezer they are not Hordes of too-tight vintage shirts and dark-rimmed glasses turned out at Columbia, Mo., based Mojo's on Monday. Weezer wasn't playing, but the band that was, Ozma, has been compared to them -- even by Rivers Cuomo himself. Although the band has toured with the ultimate nerd rock group in the past, the members of Ozma said they will prove otherwise when they drop their new album, "Spending Time On The Borderline," May 6. "We're the pioneers of progressive nerd rock," guitarist and vocalist Ryen Slegr said. "They're [Weezer] pre-progressive nerd rock. They're just nerd rock." Ozma has also toured with Nada Surf in the past and is now on the road with Superdrag. "Getting to tour with all the bands we listened to when we were younger and we respect has been awesome," bassist and vocalist Daniel Brummel said. "I mean, especially Weezer, that was the first big tour we got, and that was our first time outside of California." Brummel included the aforementioned bands as influences, but he also mentioned an admiration for classical music, especially the stylings of Russian composers Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Brummel attributed Ozma's admiration of these composers as one of the causes for their past fetish for all things Russian. "We kind of got it of our system," Brummel said. "We did, like, a whole half an album with a Russian theme, and we feel like that kind of dug it into the ground. I know that's a little pretentious to say we're influenced by classical music when we're just a rock band." The band said the new album is evidence of how Ozma has grown from early songs such as "Lorraine" or "Apple Trees," as well as the Russian theme. "That's the kind of stuff we wanted to write when we were 16 or 18 or whatever," Brummel said. "Once you do it, and you move on, then you grow and you look at your old self like you were juvenile back then. 'Precocious' is how I would describe us back then." That doesn't mean, however, that they hate their old material. "Generally, the ones the fans like the most, 'Domino Effect' and 'Battlescars,' we're most proud of," Slegr said. Brummel agreed but said those are more fun on the road. "When you're on tour, those are the most fun to play because people will get the most into them. But when we're just at home, I think we get sick of the earlier material," he said. Part of the reason they grow sick of the earlier stuff is that they've moved to a different place. "Lyrically, you stop caring about whether people are going to notice your little double meanings," Brummel said. "You start caring about whether they're going to get your point and understand what you're trying to say with a song." Brummel also said Ozma has expanded its range musically on the new CD. "I'm proud of that fact that we branched out a lot," Brummel said. "Our earlier records pretty much have a consistent keyboard, pop rock sound, and on this one we added to the basic guitar rock sound. There's strings and a marching band and saxophones and stuff. The songs are just a little more varied." It's this broadening of the instrumental horizons that really does distinguish Ozma from another great band of the '90s. "We're a little derivative of Weezer, but we're not," Brummel said. "We definitely incorporate things into our music that they would never, never dare to do. We go places that I don't think they want to go. Like, we have flute in our songs, and piano, and we know Rivers [Cuomo] wouldn't do that. Or maybe he would, you never know." |
