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Circus Circus

Blue Circus was born in 1987 in Madison, Wisconsin. Mark Gordon, Mark Vickery and Marcus Bleecker lived at 530 Mifflin Street in a beat up off campus house complete with a menacing drunk landlord. Across town Butch Vig’s Smart Studios was defining what would become grunge/alternative with records by Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth and that little known band Nirvana.
Thirty-three years later Blue Circus has a new EP. Three different time zones separated the band but what connected them was their friendship forged during their years living together and playing venues in Madison such as Club De Wash, O'Cayz Corral, and Mifflin Street Block Party.
While there have been many negatives due to the pandemic, reconnecting with folks from the past has been one of the positives. “As everyone knows, the coronavirus drove everybody’s extracurriculars right out the window. What the Hook (Gordon) and I recognized early on is that it opened an opportunity to start something new, from within our solitary confines,” Vickery muses. “From there, it was an easy jump to get Bleex onboard... I have no reason to believe this EP would exist if not for the pandemic shutdown.”
The music on the EP runs from clean, lean pop to loose-groove pockets that lay a foundation for Vickery’s soulful baritone to shine through. “I can’t think of anyone with the tone and register of the Vick’s voice,” says Bleecker, “it’s beyond unique.” Gordon’s guitar work and solid production, and Bleecker’s percussion and piano brings it all full circle. “I sent an email and attached a song (the single, Circus Circus) with no intention of making an EP. It was like, hey, how you guys holding up, want to make some music?” Gordon recalls. Five songs later the collaboration is right back to where it started on Mifflin Street.

The Blue Circus

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