Marcus Meston

Marcus Meston

Hey, it's a typical day for a 16 year old. Get up late, go downstairs, dig into a bowl of Wheaties, write a song, mix a track, post a single from your new EP "Everything is Fine" on YouTube and attend to the zillion little details that need ironed out for your debut release. That's life for Marcus Meston right now.

The teen is a multi-instrumentalist who's just finished his own project while also the singer and lead guitarist of power rockers 13AM (which just dissolved late last month). And if that wasn't keeping him busy enough, Meston is a producer and engineer for another handful of area artists, using his dad's basement recording studio to mix tracks.

He came about his chops honestly. His pap, Tom Meston, is a veteran jazz musician who's played sax, keys, guitar and drums and was part of the fusion group Stir Fry that used to rock Shadyside's Balcony in the eighties. Meston pere is a protege of Duquesne's Dave Budway, and has a couple of his own CDs out, 2003's "Upside" and 1992's "If You Only Knew." Tom is also the steady hand and unbending ear behind Marcus' travels along the music path.

Marcus is catching up quickly. 13AM released their first (and we guess only) CD in December, "Turn It Up" on the Stir Fry label. On August 27th, Meston's "Everything Will be Fine" is scheduled to be released, available from all the usual on-line download suspects. One of the tracks, "Separate Ways," is already collecting hits on YouTube, with the song "Save Me" to follow.

(You can download the LP at http://marcusmeston.bandcamp.com/ and stream the track "Everything is Fine")

Tom played most of the bass, drum and keys on the EP. Marcus did the programming, guitars, second keys, vocals, and all of the songwriting with the exception of "Separate Ways" and "Disappear," which his dad co-wrote with him. Man, that's a one stop shop!

Meston will be the guest on the Saturday Light Brigade show on the 27th, aired locally on CMU's WRCT and another half dozen college stations. It's also broadcast on the local channels of Comcast and Verizon for you cable fans.

We kinda pity the Upper St. Clair teacher who asks Marcus, who will be a junior when classes start again, to face the class and tell them what he did this summer. That tale should take care of the semester.

Marcus Meston - "Separate Ways"