🗼 MAI - MATRIXLOS

Criminal Mimes is the second album in the continuing saga of the Adventures of Marcel and Mimi Mime.  This album finds Marcel and Mimi just trying to survive after falling on hard times.  Marcel has lost his job; they’ve completely depleted their savings and finally, lost their home.  They are living on the streets and worst of all, it’s Christmas!

At this point in the Mimes On Rollercoasters™ timeline, our debut CD The First Date, (released December of 2012) has enjoyed good reviews and international success.   This encouragement is what drove me right back into the studio in January of 2013 to begin writing and recording Criminal Mimes.

In looking for a more edgy sound for Criminal Mimes, I turned to my old friend Greg Teresi for both inspiration and collaboration.  Together I think we’ve managed to crank out several tracks that deliver just the sound needed to bring this story to life. Greg’s guitar work is featured on the tracks: I Woke Up, Breaking Up, Alone In The Night and Doing Hard Time.

In some of the more unique aspects of the music, I continue to utilize the haunting sounds of the flute.  Chessie returns on this album to provide her expert interpretations of rock flute.   Providing such a unique sound when used in rock music, the flute can convey anything from a creepy sound, such as you will find in The Creepy Stalking Of Mimi Mime, to a mysterious sound as found in Doing Hard Time, or somber sound as in Hold Me, and finally to the up beat and happy sound of Making Up. But edgy, mysterious, creepy, somber and happy were just not enough, I still needed something more.  A touch of jazz perhaps?  So I brought in Adeline.

Criminal Mimes marks the debut of Adeline’s amazing alto saxophone with the Mimes On Rollercoasters™.  Featured most prominently on Making Up, Adeline also contributed greatly to the backbone of Doing Hard Time.  Coming from a jazz background, Adeline has provided that extra “something more” that I was looking for.  Watch for her name on future album credits.

In the end, I think it turned out quite nice. Please have a listen.                                ~Mark

Alone In The Night (You Can Scream)

The world we live in is full of good people. Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who all want the same basic things out of life: good health, comfort and happiness. We all love our families and friends and want to be safe and helpful to others.

Unfortunately, there are also bad people in this world who for whatever reason, desire to inflict harm on others. This is one reason all citizens of the United States are born with the natural right to protect themselves and loved ones. The Second Amendment to the United States Bill Of Rights also exists, to guarantee that The People have the tools necessary, to prevent tyranny within our own government.

Our founding fathers recognized that a government of The People, by The People and for The People may one day become corrupt, no longer representing the will of The People. Therefore, they formally recognized the right to keep and bear arms is a human right, that no government shall have the authority to alter or revoke. You might say, it's carved in stone, or it's black and white with no gray areas for interpretation.

Those trying to dissolve this right, are the very people our founding fathers were concerned about...

I Will Carry

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Pandemic - A musical journey of collective emotions

The year is 2022. The world still struggles for normalcy after enduring two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We look both back and ahead to try to make sense of it all.

So many questions, and so many  more remain unanswered. How did this happen? Who is responsible? Did we respond appropriately? Was it as bad as reported, or perhaps worse? How and when will it finally end? What will be the ultimate toll? Have humans entered a new age? Was the prior age so bad? Were medical advances really made? Were they worth the risks? Was an ulterior motive behind it? Was humanity irreparably damaged?

Well I cannot answer these questions, because I'm merely a songwriter. Maybe someday all will become clear. Some will have been right, and some wrong. Some will live in history as the heroes, while others will turn out to be evil villans. It's not for me to predict. However, here I can offer you some new music that in my mind conveys the emotional journey the COVID-19 pandemic has put our world through. I hope that you find this new piece unnerving, haunting, dark, frightening, uplifting, calming, and most of all, stimulating.

Pandemic

Well hello and welcome!

Living in the suburbs of Chicago, occasionally brings me downtown into the heart of the city.  It’s on those occasions that I am struck by the number of homeless, who spend their days (in summer and in winter) aimlessly wondering about the city.  This image has inspired me to compose In The Morning Sun. I can only imagine the emptiness and perhaps fear, they must feel as evening turns to night and the rest of us leave the city, leaving them cold and alone.

As a child, I was a big science fiction fan. Reading all of the standard sci-fi novels of the time, I noticed that the general theme was gloom and doom when it came to the human race. And how one day, machines will be our masters. Again, this inspired me to compose more music. Enter the song, Machine Maker. It’s a retrospective of sci-fi from my childhood.

The Time We Knew is perhaps one of my favorite works of the entire collection.  Inspired by the realization that our lives are merely cycles that repeat themselves from generation to generation.  One day while sitting in my studio staring at some old photos hanging on the walls, I noticed the pattern.  I saw grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren, all apparently doing the same things.  All being babies, growing up, going to school, getting jobs, getting married, having children, growing old together, retiring and eventually passing on.  Sounds depressing, but it really isn’t.  Each one of us gets our own life and can enjoy or suffer every moment. It’s our choice.

In the Spring of 1987, my mother passed away after battling cancer.  It was a dark period in my life.  At the time, I felt as if life was treating good people very badly. The experience was inspiration to write The Brighter Side. Every time I perform that song, it reminds me that good and bad things happen, but usually there is a bright side.  Sometimes it can be difficult to see it, but we should always be searching for it.

On The Thin Edge Of Insanity is where we all balance the busy schedules and responsibilities that make up our lives.

Everyone should meet a soul-mate during their lifetime. It’s the single most important experience we all need to have. I met mine 30 years ago. I still remember the feelings of infatuation that have matured into feelings of love and deep respect. She is my love, my best friend and The Girl That I Adore and so inspired me to write a little song about her.

I’m sure everyone has experienced the drifting apart that occurs when old friends become nothing more than memories. It has happened more than a few times in my life.  And as such, I drew inspiration from that for the song Old Relations.  What makes it an especially interesting story for me was observing how I felt on the few occasions where I had the good fortune to get back in touch with a friend of years past.  You would think it would be a wonderful and energizing experience, but often it’s not.  Often, both of you have changed and neither really can relate to the other any longer, which makes for this kind of awkward longing to go back to the time when you were close friends.  The moral to the story folks?  You can’t go back.  We grow and change every day.  Let it go and move on.  Remember and cherish the experiences you once had and open your self up to new ones everyday.

-Mark

The Time We Knew

The Girl That I Adore

Creepers

Machine Maker

On The Thin Edge Of Insanity

Just To Tell Her

The Brighter Side

Mimes On Rollercoasters™ is a United States based, independent music recording group, founded by Mark Ruester. We write and record "Album Rock", but often publish one Single at a time.

Our music has been described as "Prog Rock", "Space Rock", "Alternative", "Indie" and by some more perceptive folks, "Classic Style Melodic Progressive Rock". We were heavily influenced by Jethro Tull, Yes, The Moody Blues, and frankly just about every band who churned out an album between 1967 to the present. Give us a listen. We hope you enjoy what you hear.

Both CDs and downloads are available for purchase at all of the usual retailers and in our official store on the web.  We hope you will help support us by making a purchase.

I Will Carry

Mimes On Rollercoasters™

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