Marzeles Music

When you hire Lou Marzeles, you're essentially hiring a band. The technology exists today to allow a single performer sound like two or three people, with harmonizers that automatically generate multiple harmonies live to one voice. Then there are backing tracks, which Lou arranges and produces himself; no cookie-cutter karaoke-style tracks are these. And he shifts instruments as the song requires; he'll use his Martin SC-13E for gentler music, then pick up his Taylor T214 to crunch away on a rocker tune, or apply his 12-string effect on either guitar. Then there's his mandolin, which he uses on songs like "Ripple" and Mike Nesmith's forgotten masterpiece "Propinquity."

But because he's a solo, his set-up and take-down times are minimal. He comes in with a Bose L1 column configuration that sets up in minutes but can easily fill a cavernous space.

In terms of experience, you can count on Marzeles Music to please a crowd of wide musical tastes and leave a lasting good impression.

Lou Marzeles has been a professional musician for most of his adult life (chronologically, not psychologically; he's still having his happy childhood). In high school he was a major super music geek--he taught himself music theory and composition and wrote and performed a piano concerto. In college he got into a folk music phase and started playing the regional folk music circuit. He’s been on the same bill with Mary Chapin Carpenter at The Birchmere in D.C. He’s won a multitude of best-song and best-performer awards, especially in the nationally prominent Northern California Songwriters Association (today West Coast Songwriters). He was part of a folk-rock group that got a record contract with famed producer Tony Valor. He's recorded and/or performed with such people as Donn Godward (The Association tour band), and Bill Dannoff (co-writer with John Denver of "Country Roads," Starland Vocal Band) and Jon Carroll (Starland Vocal Band) on a song Lou wrote commemorating the Challenger shuttle crew. He’s composed and recorded soundtracks for film. He plays guitar, keyboards, mandolin, and the E-flat kazoo. These days he performs solo or sometimes with his neo-groovy folk-rock band Sonic Light Brigade. He sidelines as publisher and editor of a newspaper.

Lou was also music editor at one of those really big newspapers, the kind where your byline becomes known around the country and you interview people like Donny Osmond and Placido Domingo and you get invited to meet the president (yes, of the United States) at the White House (which he did).

He's trained educators in psychoacoustics (the study of how sound affects the human nervous system), and he became known for his presentation “Purposeful Use of Music,” which he gave at education conferences around the country. He contributed a chapter on the topic in Snapshots, an education anthology. He was filmed for a segment on psychoacoustics for a Masters Degree program for Walden University.

Lou has often been told that he writes funny, and it turns out much of the time that was on purpose. He wrote a humor column for a national magazine for some years, and a collection of the columns was actually published by a company that doesn't make you pay them to print your book.

Here's what actual people have actually said about Lou and/or Sonic Light Brigade:

"Lou Marzeles’ 'Love Will Take Me Home' could be called feel-good mellow music, if the word 'mellow' hadn’t been tarred by, well, I don’t want to mention anyone specific -- let’s say people with last names the same as a major city in Colorado (I’m looking at you, John Boulder). But Lou's music is also sweet and heartfelt, with a beat. Warning: Listen only if you want to feel good."
—David Misch, famed Hollywood comedy writer ("Mork and Mindy," The Muppets, author of "Funny: The Book" (he actually wrote the book on funny).

"I've had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Lou Marzeles live and was truly rewarded. He not only has smooth vocals to match his engaging music, but he has stage presence to boot. A wonderful combination. I book a lot of music for my resort and other events, and when I find a great talent, musically and or vocally, I always then determine stage presence and how they interact with the audience, as I find this is the key ingredient for a memorable performance. Lou has the entire package, and I can honestly say he is an entertainer! Bravo!”
—Len Schulmeister, Pine Springs Resort

"Maryhill Winery has been pleased to present Sonic Light Brigade to our guests for several years now. They are not only complete professionals and a pleasure to work with, but they are talented, uplifting performers and are friendly and engaging to our guests. They play a wide range of songs and appeal to many age groups and musical genres, which makes them a perfect fit for any venue."
—Maureen Lee, Terrace Music Booking Agent, Maryhill Winery ((link hidden))

Really all that's needed is heat if it's cold, cold if it's hot, and electrical outlets (at least two) in close proximity to the performing area.