Marianas Trench is a Juno award nominated Canadian pop rock band from Vanco… Read Full Bio ↴Marianas Trench is a Juno award nominated Canadian pop rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada signed to 604 Records. The band was formed in 2001 and released their first full length album Fix Me on October 3, 2006. Some of the demos the band sent out four years before appear on the album. The band says their biggest musical influences are Queen, Foo Fighters, The Beach Boys and Ben Folds Five.

The band released their second studio album on February 24, 2009 entitled Masterpiece Theatre.

It takes some real cojones to include the word 'Masterpiece' in your album title, but Josh Ramsay isn't too worried. "I suppose I could be digging myself into a hole calling the record Masterpiece Theatre," he chuckles, "but it's tongue-in-cheek. And I'm not the kind of person that people would assume as being an egomaniac. I hope not, anyway."

Given his feverish imagination and comprehensive musical gifts, Ramsay could probably get away with a little egomania. And with the release of Masterpiece Theatre, the frontman of Vancouver's Marianas Trench makes a iron-clad case for a prodigious set of talents - both his own and those of his bandmates, guitarist Matt Webb, bassist Mike Ayley, and drummer Ian Casselman.

Marianas Trench had already elevated itself above the rest of the pack with a 2006 debut, Fix Me, that showcased a knack for colouring outside the lines of factory-issue millenial punk, shrewdly-built pop, and super-adrenalized modern rock. The single and in particular the video "Shake Tramp" was enough to demonstrate these qualities, coupled with Ramsay's uninhibited urge to be the complete song-and-dance man.

But with both the industry and the fans beating down the door for a quick second album, the Trench decided to put on the brakes. "All of a sudden you have six months to do your next record," Ramsay sighs. "So I really had to just put my foot down and say, 'No, I need the time to do this.' I was not interested in putting something out for the sake of putting something out."

Two years later, Marianas Trench has re-emerged with Masterpiece Theatre. And not surprisingly, it's a work of soaring ambition and decisive technical prowess – that easily might not have happened. "It's one thing when you're Chad Kroeger and you just finished writing 'How You Remind Me'," Ramsay states. "I didn't have some mega-platinum song to back up my argument with, so I was lucky that the band and the label trusted me enough to do it."

By "it", Ramsay means he was allowed to indulge a high-concept fantasy for the band's sophomore album, which is built, for starters, around a song called "Masterpiece Theatre". Adopting Brian Wilson's notion of the 'pocket symphony' and then running with it, the three distinct versions of “Masterpiece Theatre” dotted across the record feature an almost perfect balance between the vocal theatrics of Queen and the more hymnal qualities of the Beach Boys.

By the time “Masterpiece Theatre” is reprised for a final, climactic time, every other song on the album is quoted and incorporated into an intricately constructed dramatic revue that swings from pristine pop, to propulsive riff rock, to quasi-doo wop, to robotic new wave, and finally into a wholly satisfying thematic payoff.

"You know in the climax of a musical, there's always that medley at the end, and I thought that would be cool on a rock record," explains Ramsay, "but it turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. I wrote it in the studio as we recorded it, and it took about three weeks."

After a beat, he adds, "But really it took me two years because it draws from all the songs on the whole album."

Bassist Mike Ayley readily admits, "I don't think any of the three ‘Masterpiece Theatre’ songs could have gone on Fix Me had they been written at the time. ‘Masterpiece’ 2 and 3 in particular are amazing songs that really explore the potential of Josh's writing. You really have to hear them to get it. It's like trying to explain ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to somebody who has only heard Kanye West and Katy Perry."

Ramsay agrees. "I really wanted to have a 'Good Vibrations'/'Bohemian Rhapsody’ style song on the first record,” he says, “but I don't think I was a mature enough writer to have written it yet, and I still feel like I was in over-my-head when we did this one, and I just barely made it."

Ramsay is unnecessarily modest; the whole of Masterpiece Theatre demonstrates a startling compositional maturity compared to the Marianas Trench of two years ago.

"Beside You" is a panoramic exercise in big emotions, with a dash of the Dream Academy's "Life In a Northern Town”. "Acadia" begins with a clipped, bright acoustic guitar, and blossoms into something like the Who reconsidered by U2, reimagined for the net generation. In the crunchy "All to Myself", the power ballad "Lover Dearest", and the strident "Good to You" (in which he duets with Kate Voegele), Ramsay pulls out the kind of honeyed vocals more attuned to modern RnB than white, adolescent rock.

"I always had that aspect in my voice but the first record just didn't have songs that were conducive to me singing that way," he states. "I think it's from growing up listening to a lot of Michael Jackson. With these songs, it made sense to stretch out a little more."

On "Cross My Heart" and "Celebrity Status", the band conjures up a kind of perfect pop crossover. Producer Dave 'Rave' Ogilvie was responsible for the latter track, which cops a move he used on Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People" with three drummers (Casselman, Ramsay and Shane Wilson) playing at once - much to Ramsay's delight. "He's just worked with so many great artists which makes his well of tricks and ideas so vast," he says.

True to Ramsay's quest for "more diversity on this album" - not to mention the indulgence of his record label - Rave was just one of four prominent guest producers eventually roped into Masterpiece Theatre. Their collective resume includes Nine Inch Nails, Sum 41, Iggy Pop, Avril Lavigne, and Hedley among others.

"I feel really fortunate to have worked with all those guys," Ramsay says, "coz they all bring really unique things. Dave Genn and I have a really good working relationship with each other, and he has such a unique style with arrangement and stuff. Greig Nori was a really pleasant surprise. As far as I can tell, he wanted to work with us because he liked our video. The whole time he was just trying to get me to dance around like an idiot. And Raine Maida, man? Raine's a trip!"

Bassist Ayley also credits Maida for encouraging the band to “find a personality-identity that wasn't as evident when we started the production process," while also praising Ramsay for his production efforts. Ramsay took charge of four songs on the finished record. “Josh is really about capturing the emotion and power which isn't surprising considering all the feeling in the writing,” he says.

Oddly enough, Ramsay also wanted Disney's in-house genius Alan (Little Mermaid) Mencken to twiddle the knobs for the climactic version of "Masterpiece Theatre", but admits, "it's a pretty tall order to get an Academy Award winner to come and work on your record."

Still, the album is certainly not diminished by the few things Ramsay didn't get. And once the world gets a load of this Masterpiece, Mencken, Pharrell Williams, Phil Spector... you name it. They'll probably be lining up.

Alibi
Marianas Trench Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

From the scrapes and bruises
To the familiar abuses
I'll kick and scream
But it never changes anything
I could spill my guts out
Wearing my best little girl pout
I almost missed it
But nobody said this was gonna be easy

This is not the man I hoped to be
And I'm just trying to stop the bleeding
I don't know how to word it
I just started to deserve it
And all my faces are alibis, and me
I'm half the man I wanted to be

Most times it comes out wrong
I don't know the words but I'll hum along
There's nothing familiar here anymore
To anyone or anything enough to feel alive

And I still taste that sickness
And it makes me crazy without it at best
But I'm in the same place I used to be
But I'm trying harder not to be

So what am I
And all my,
All my faces are alibis
This is not the man I hoped to be
And I'm just trying to stop the bleeding

I don't know how the words go
I just started not to say no

Don't want it, don't get it
I know you won't regret it
Don't surface, don't surface,
And I feel so damn worthless

Another day is gone
And all my faces are alibis,

And me,
I'm half the man I wanted to be.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Marianas Trench's song Alibi convey a sense of frustration and disappointment in oneself. The singer is grappling with issues of identity and self-worth, feeling as though they are not living up to their own expectations. The repeated use of the phrase "all my faces are alibis" suggests a sense of duplicity, as though the singer is hiding behind various personas in order to avoid facing the truth of their own shortcomings.

The first stanza paints a picture of a person who has been through difficult experiences but feels as though they are not making any progress. They are tired of fighting and feel as though their efforts are futile. The second stanza suggests a sense of disconnect from the world around them, as though everything is unfamiliar and nothing gives them a sense of purpose.

The chorus is particularly poignant, with the singer acknowledging that they are not the person they wanted to be and are struggling to understand why they feel so dissatisfied with themselves. The lines "I don't know how to word it / I just started to deserve it" suggest a sense of guilt, as though the singer acknowledges that they have brought these feelings of inadequacy upon themselves.

Overall, the lyrics of Alibi convey a sense of vulnerability and self-doubt that many listeners will be able to relate to on a personal level.

Line by Line Meaning

From the scrapes and bruises
Starting from the painful experiences that I've been through

To the familiar abuses
To the point where I am accustomed to being mistreated

I'll kick and scream
I will fight and protest

But it never changes anything
But it doesn't make a difference

I could spill my guts out
I could reveal my deepest emotions

Wearing my best little girl pout
With a sad and innocent facial expression

I almost missed it
I almost didn't notice

But nobody said this was gonna be easy
But no one ever promised this would be simple

This is not the man I hoped to be
This is not the person I aspired to become

And I'm just trying to stop the bleeding
And I'm just trying to stop the emotional pain

I don't know how to word it
I don't know how to articulate it

I just started to deserve it
I am finally receiving what I deserve

And all my faces are alibis, and me
And all my different personas are excuses for my true self

I'm half the man I wanted to be
I'm only half of what I wanted to become

Most times it comes out wrong
Most of the time, what I say isn't correct

I don't know the words but I'll hum along
I may not know the lyrics, but I'll sing anyway

There's nothing familiar here anymore
Nothing seems recognizable here anymore

To anyone or anything enough to feel alive
To anything or anyone that can make me feel alive

And I still taste that sickness
And I still feel that nauseous and unpleasant feeling

And it makes me crazy without it at best
In the absence of it, my mind becomes chaotic

But I'm in the same place I used to be
But I'm still in the same stagnant position

But I'm trying harder not to be
But I'm pushing myself to change

So what am I
So what kind of person am I?

And all my, all my faces are alibis
And all my different personas are excuses

I don't know how the words go
I don't know how to express myself correctly

I just started not to say no
I only recently stopped saying no to things

Don't want it, don't get it
If you don't want something, you won't receive it

I know you won't regret it
I am certain that you won't feel regretful about it

Don't surface, don't surface,
Don't show any emotion

And I feel so damn worthless
And I feel completely useless and insignificant

Another day is gone
Another day has ended

And all my faces are alibis,
And all my different personas are excuses

And me, I'm half the man I wanted to be.
And as a result, I'm only half of what I wanted to become

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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From the scrapes and bruises
To the familiar abuses
I'll kick and scream but it never changes anything

I could spill my guts out
Wearing my best little girl pout
And I almost missed it
But nobody said that this was gonna be easy

This is not the man I hoped to be
And I'm just trying to stop the bleeding
I don't know how to word it
I just started to deserve it
And all my, all my faces are alibis
And me, I'm half the man I wanted to be

Most times it all comes out wrong
I don't know the words but I'll hum along
There's nothing familiar here anymore
To anyone or anything left to feel alive

And I still taste that sickness
And it makes me crazy without it at best
But I'm in the same place I used to be
But I'm trying harder not to be

This is not the man I hoped to be
And I'm just trying to stop the bleeding
I don't know how to word it
I just started to deserve it
And all my, all my faces are alibis
And me, I'm half the man I wanted to be

So what am I? What am I? So what am I?

And all my, all my faces are alibis
This is not the man I hoped to be
And I'm just trying to stop the bleeding
I don't know how the words go
I just started not to say no

Don't want it, don't get it
I know you won't regret it
Don't surface, don't surface
And I feel so damned worthless
Another day is gone and all my faces are alibis
All my faces are alibis

And me, I'm half the man I wanted to be