🗼 MAI - MATRIXLOS

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

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Well here we are, it's 2024 and we still have the homeless problem in the United States. One might ask how that's possible. Supposedly national and local governments have been addressing the issue for years upon years. Yet, the problem persists.

One wonders if those we vote for truly represent our values. I'm sure you have your own views on that. I will only say this. If I could solve the issue myself, I would have by now. At last, all I can do is dig an old stale tune out from the Mimes On Rollercoasters archive; brush the dust off a bit and give it another go-round. Maybe that will draw some attention to the crisis once again.

Please enjoy what you have and help others when you can. We are one world.

-Mark

In The Morning Sun (2024)

Back in the day my band-mates and me collaborated on and composed many songs which reflected exactly that mindset. And coincidentally enough, while going through a box of very old cassette tapes from the 1970s, I came across one of those songs that a fantastic keyboard player named Kyle and me collaborated on and recorded in his basement studio. It was a VERY rough version, but a great song none the less. So as a nostalgic tribute to Kyle I decided to recorded a brand new arrangement which is based on our late 1970s original collaboration. I'm pretty sure that I've captured the true essence of the original. But ultimately, only Kyle can confirm this.

Reaching Out (To Kyle)

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 First Date

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.