Marco Piro is one of those guys you see at almost every local show on any given evening. Ever the polite gentleman, Marco always makes it a point to walk up and introduce himself to anyone he hasn’t met at the end of each show, and instead of bailing once his set is over, he always stays and supports the bands on the rest of the bill.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Marco play in numerous bands over the years and watch him grow into the well-rounded musician that he is today. He knows just about every band currently playing in our local circuit and has probably played with the better half of them. That’s why Marco is the quintessential North County drummer; not because he was born in a Cadillac off the 805 freeway, but because he’s been born and raised in the scene that we’re all a part of today and knows it like no other.
It’s because of this that I wanted to shine a light on him and his life so the rest of North County can better get to know their true ambassador of the scene. Like most young musicians growing up in North County, Marco began taking guitar lessons at Giacoletti’s in Carlsbad at age 10 until he moved to Utah at 12 where he joined a couple of bands. Marco’s dad, always supportive of his son’s musical endeavors, decided to buy a cheap drum set so the boys wouldn’t have to drag their drummer’s set back and forth from his house. They set up a little recording studio at his place and the rest is history.
Marco’s band history reads like a laundry list of now-defunct upstarts, including Pray For A Crash Landing, The Valentines/Her Alibye, The Carcinogens, The Merkaba Bandits (a former Scene and Heard-featured band), and Good Luck Mr. Gorsky.
One band drew Marco out to L.A. to live the dream playing shows at places like The Viper Room and The Troubadour, but the dream soon turned sour once the band was given the chance to play 15 shows on the East Coast leg of the Vans Warped Tour. Marco said they proceeded to kick him out of the band based on flimsy excuses. “It was actually the best thing that could’ve happened to me though, because that’s when I moved back to San Diego and began working at Guitar Center,” Marco said. It was working at Guitar Center where Marco really honed in on his craft; taking full advantage of all the talent, available drum kits, and instructional videos that were readily at his disposal.
With 11 years of drumming under his belt, Marco now plays for Vinyl Film — a super band of sorts with fellow scensters Justin Linn (of New Addiction fame) and bassist Miles Stanley (formerly of Good Luck Mr. Gorsky). I caught the ‘Film play an awesome show at Fenway’s in Carlsbad and everyone in the crowd seemed impressed with not only the band’s sound, but with Marco’s exceptional drumming. Praises and affirmations like “That drummer is freaking amazing!” or “Man, the drums are awesome!” came floating up from all over the dance floor and bar.
It seems as though things might be finally coming together for Marco. Vinyl Film just wrapped up recording their first six-track EP at Big Fish, where the boys worked with ultra-famous producer Ben Moore whose production resume is a who’s who list of San Diego bands like Blink 182, Switchfoot, As I Lay Dying and No Knife. Look for “Save It Till the Morning,” tentatively to be released sometime late November/early December, on iTunes or at your local record store. The band will then set out Jan. 13 to embark on their West Coast/10-shows-in-14-days tour in support of the new EP.
You can meet the emissary of our scene when Vinyl Film plays the Ruby Room in Hillcrest on Nov. 12 or at Mira Costa on Halloween. In the meantime, you can also hear their music on My Space at www.myspace.com/vinylfilm or become a fan of theirs on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vinylfilm.
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