For music-loving natives of Columbia, and even for those who have recently joined the scene, the band name Mary & The Giant is probably not entirely unfamiliar. Describing their sound as “colonial pop,” the band boasts an indie bluegrass vibe with a bit of storytelling commonly associated with folk music thrown into the mix.
Since 2009, original members Zac Fiddes as lead vocalist, Jason Koch as acoustic guitarist and John Marino as electric bassist have rocked around the Midwest, slowly making a name for themselves around the region.
Joined later in 2009 by Michael Scembre as violinist and in 2010 by Justin Mayfield on the cajón, Mary & The Giant is nothing if not passionate about music.
“Each of these guys has sacrificed a lot,” manager Matthew Kohler says. “All of them were Mizzou students and have dropped out to pursue their dreams and play music full time.”
Keeping various positions around town as a Cracker Barrel employee, a freelance photographer and a Hy-Vee cashier to ensure the bills are paid, the band members spend much of their free time striving to perfect their sound in their small basement recording studio, where two previous albums have emerged. _Music for a Nervous Breakdown_ and _We Tend to Grow Older_ had six and eight songs, respectively, but Mary & The Giant intends to add to its repertoire very soon.
Dominating their lives recently is the highly-anticipated release of their newest album, _Welcome Back to Now_, which is tentatively set to become available March 27. This will be Mary & The Giant’s first full-length album, with 11 songs, three new instruments (including the addition of a piano) and new vocals to contribute to a sound change that has the band anxiously awaiting a reaction from fans.
The guys are also have an upcoming show with fellow musician Belligerent of Edwardsville, Ill. on Thursday, Feb. 2 at The Blue Note.
The band enjoys interacting with the crowd and intends to do this in some way at The Blue Note show.
“We’ll probably do a random CD giveaway/raffle type thing,” Fiddes says, amid jokes from his partners the raffle would be based not on numbers but looks.
They also discussed the possibility of a shirt cannon, but this came to a halt after realizing that would require shirts to fill it with.
Of the songs for the upcoming show, new release “Startown” is a source of excitement for the band members.
“It’s a reflective piece Zac wrote on the way home from tour,” Mayfield says, taking a moment from joking around with his bandmates to discuss the song.
“That tour started in Star Prairie, Wisconsin, and we went through some strange things and have some good stories,” Marino said, picking up where Mayfield had left off to blare the new hit from the closest set of speakers.
Sometime after the debut of its next album, the guys of Mary & The Giant intend to embark on another tour of the Midwest region, including Iowa, where they have noticed a good-sized following. The tour is anticipated to last approximately a month.
“This tour is the next level for these guys, which is going to be opening more doors,” Kohler says. “I’m getting calls from all over the country. There are lots of big things coming from these guys. Keep listening and stay tuned.”
