| MARK SALLING - boy most likely to rhyme 'metaphors' with 'dinosaurs' in his song lyric proclamations. |
| Written by Shahlin Graves |
| Wednesday, 03 November 2010 10:18 |
 Somewhere in Los Angeles - to be precise, Paramount Studios in Hollywood - Noah Puckerman is busy filming prime-time episodes worthy of 19 Emmy award nominations and various other TV wins on the set of Ohio's fictional William McKinley High School. Sixteen-year-old Puck cleans pools for a living, plays football, and is a member of his school's Glee club New Directions. The cougar-magnate is fond of snappy one-liners such as: "Are you questioning my badassness? Have you seen my guns?" ...and talking about his favourite hobby... "you can't tie me down. I’m a sex shark; if I stop moving, I die." Off-screen, kid of '82 MARK SALLING who plays Puck in the TV phenomenon 'GLEE' is a former guitar teacher, and best friend to animals. Salling is far more reflective than his on-screen counterpart and carefully chews over his words. He enjoys jazz nights, is a self-proclaimed bird-enthusiast and amateur ornithologist, and proficient on the drums, guitar, piano, and bass. Salling and Puckerman share sporting interests, but that's where any identical-likeness ends. For one, there's a slight drawl in Salling's pronounced syllables coming out of the telephone line at me. Two, Mark is going worldwide with the release of his debut album (under his own name) 'Pipe Dreams' via his own label Pipe Dream Records in a comfortable partnership with Universal Music Group and Fontana Distribution. And three, Salling seems to still be weighing up the importance of drooling fangirls against quality shut-eye time, a life choice that would be a no-brainer for Puck: "I don't know how you think it is <laughs> but it's not like I'm being chased down the street like Robert Pattinson or anything. It's not that crazy! Yet. I don't even have time to sleep, to be honest. So what ya gonna do?" Welcome to Salling Street. A place which Mark describes as a rather pleasant neighborhood. If you were to visit, he says that: "It would have Autumn-coloured trees on either side of it. And the houses would be modest but accommodating. And there would be lots of flowers!" One assumes that glass-half-full 'Pipe Dream' numbers such as 'Willing And Wonderful', 'Doppleganger' and 'Migration', are the required soundtrack accompaniment for the duration of your stay. Salling politely asks me how I am and where I'm calling from - see! Potentially parent-friendly - and then we're off...  COUP DE MAIN: Your new album 'Pipe Dreams' is released this October... are you pretty excited? MARK SALLING: I'm very excited - yes ma'am! It's been a long time coming, so it's about time. CDM: Having been writing these songs of yours for the last eight years, why has it taken so long for 'Pipe Dreams' to be introduced to the world? MARK: Well, it didn't take long to put it together. It was... I'd put a record out with ten songs previously, and then some of these ['Pipe Dreams'] songs are even older than the tracks on my first record, so if anything, being so busy with filming 'Glee' it definitely pushed things back a little bit. So I'll claim it on that! CDM: Although 'Pipe Dreams' is your Mark Salling debut, you previously released an album entitled 'Smoke Signals' back in 2008 under the pseudonym of Jericho. How does your new album differ to your first? MARK: Well, at least 'Smoke Signals' actually went double what I... I sold two hundred copies of it. I'm very proud of that. No, I don't think it's too far away from that record. 'Pipe Dreams' is actually a collection of songs that I handpicked from a library of over fifty songs that I've compiled over the last eight years. Some of the songs are older than songs on 'Smoke Signals'. So, there's definitely a similarity, but hopefully this will be a lot more polished. CDM: Which 'Pipe Dreams' song is the most representative of what you love about music? MARK: Hmmm that's a good question. Well, the song 'Pipe Dreams' is the title-track and I think, is the most honest song on the record. But I don't think it's the most representative of my sound, or of my musical taste. I would say 'Fugitive' [a hidden track on the album] - it is the most representative of my sound and my musical style. CDM: Tell me about the first single 'Higher Power'... MARK: Oh! That's not actually the single, that's just something we let Ryan Seacrest play and I'm actually not even selling it yet. In fact, there's another track that's going to be the first single. But, we're still working all that out. But 'Higher Power' is an old song. It's kind of a fun tribute to the Gloria Gaynor song 'I Will Survive'. But it's really not indicative of the rest of the record, so I'm really looking forward to people hearing how eclectic the record will be. CDM: Which 'Pipe Dreams' song are you lyrically the most proud of? MARK: I would say, probably... lyrically, did you say? There's a track called 'Doppleganger' on the album that I'm pretty proud of lyrically. Part of it is actually a rap, believe it or not. People really listen to your lyrics if you rap. So, I had to make sure that they were clear and concise. CDM: From what I've been privy to hear of the album so far, like you say, it's definitely an eclectic mix. Was that a deliberate decision or more of a natural happening? MARK: It's just indicative of what I like listening to and the type of music that I like - and so that's usually what comes out into my music. CDM: Having written, performed and produced all of the album's eleven tracks, which 'Pipe Dreams' song are you instrumentally the most proud of? MARK: I would probably say 'The Descent' - for sections I composed, it goes back and forth between an atmospheric verse and a rock-chorus and a very different bridge.  CDM: You've cited your musical influences as ranging from Thom Yorke to Trent Reznor... that's quite a coupling. MARK: Yeah! There's something about that whole nineties thing, especially with Trent and Nine Inch Nails - it was a great era for music - and those projects from his heyday. I really admire him for his producing and writing abilities and he's kinda doing what I've always wanted to do. CDM: What other contemporary artists do you enjoy listening to? MARK: I don't really listen to much... but right now I really like Cee Lo and I really like Muse - they're a great band. CDM: What bands did you grow up listening to? MARK: Like I said, I was really into the nineties grunge-movement - Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana... stuff like that. CDM: It's great that you have been able to release 'Pipe Dreams' through your own record label with major label distribution. Has 'Glee' been helpful in putting you into a position where you're able to cut such deals? MARK: I certainly hope that the mainstream exposure from 'Glee' has helped me build a fanbase I would not have otherwise had, but I'm trying to really balance the two worlds and keep them separate, and not let my work on 'Glee' suffer. That's really the biggest challenge of this whole thing. CDM: Speaking of 'Glee'... True or False? You haven't seen any royalty money from 'Glee'... MARK: That is not true! I don't know where that came from or who started it. I've definitely seen money from 'Glee'. CDM: Can your fans hope to one day be able to catch 'Pipe Dreams' live? Or is touring a more far-off dream after your 'Glee' commitments release you to be able to do so? MARK: To tour? Absolutely. I might be doing something over the Christmas holiday and hopefully maybe next year, go on a more extensive tour. Yeah, absolutely. That's what it's all about - is to get your music out there to the fans first-hand. So, I'd love to. I'd love to come to New Zealand! And Australia. Everything!!  |
