Michael Marquart and a bad think
A Bad Think, the musical project conceived by the prolific singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Michael Marquart, provides listeners with a captivating cinematic musical journey on its eleventh studio album, Short Street. Drawing inspiration from his childhood memories, the GRAMMY® -nominated Marquart has fashioned an exquisitely crafted set of twelve songs that balance soul-stirring lyrics with genre-blending arrangements.
The songs on Short Street evocatively weave personal recollections with introspective reflections, exploring the feeling of loss and longing while offering glimmers of hope and the resiliency of the human spirit. “When I was writing, I was thinking about my mother passing away, and my dad’s and sister’s health struggles,” Marquart explains. “It made me look back in a retrospective way. Personal but also hopefully universal.”
The album’s epicenter is Marquart’s hometown of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Each song is a glimpse into his past, like a snapshot of his youth. “Evening Fog” recounts the tale of DDT-spewing mosquito trucks that used to fill his neighborhood streets. “Pages of the Past” was inspired by a memory of watching an old man flipping through a scrapbook in his basement. “Danny Boy” is a solemn tribute to a childhood friend who died in the Vietnam War. The final track, “Brand New Day,” is an optimistic outlook on the future as Marquart moves forward and holds hope for what's to come. The stunning video for the album’s haunting lead single, “Hammer and the Plow,” is a literal scrapbook of Marquart’s childhood. It imaginatively utilizes Marquart’s authentic old family photographs and videos, mixed with animation, to create a fascinating visual collage while also revealing glimpses of the American Dream in the mid-20th Century. Present-day footage of Marquart performing the song floats in and out of the video, adding more profound layers of reflection and perspective in a song where he sings, “I can’t remember what I’m fighting for.”
Short Street has quickly garnered critical praise with reviewers hailing it as “an absolute masterpiece” and “a must-listen for anyone who enjoys thought-provoking music.” The album is available in stereo and exquisitely rendered in Dolby Atmos® immersive mix, which showcases the album’s sonic beauty.
Marquart produced the album with his longtime collaborator, multi-GRAMMY-winning producer/engineer Dave Way (Fiona Apple, Michael Jackson, Macy Gray). The album’s sonic textures and intricately layered instrumentation were expertly mixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos by multi-platinum award-winning mix engineer Bob Clearmountain (Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adam, David Bowie, The Cure, INXS). This trio previously collaborated on A Bad Think’s 2019 release The Savior, which garnered a GRAMMY nomination for Best Immersive Album, as well as its follow-up releases. Short Street was mastered in stereo by multi-GRAMMY winner Bob Ludwig (Led Zeppelin, Queen, Jimi Hendrix), and mastered for immersive Dolby Atmos by GRAMMY-winner Emily Lazar and GRAMMY-nominated Chris Allgood at The Lodge.
Short Street’s sound is an evolution of the style that Marquart has developed over the course of A Bad Think’s recording history. He describes it as more of a cross between country, folk and rock, without fully forgoing his progressive rock background. The songs themselves guided Marquart to take a more straightforward sonic approach. “I think there is a humanity at the heart of this record,” he elaborates. “So, to complement that we went with a lot of earthy, acoustic sounds, and I think we were able to capture a rootsy vibe that really suits the material.”
Michael Marquart has been passionate about music for most of his life. He honed his musical skills at an early age performing his original music in the local Wisconsin bar scene and later joined the Iowa based band Tokyo Rose during his college years. In the late 80s, he made his debut in the global rock scene as a drummer with GRAMMY-winning new wave chart-toppers A Flock of Seagulls, and later as a member of the Canadian rock band Alias, best known for their power ballad hit “More Than Words Can Say.”
After close to two decades as a touring musician, Marquart turned his focus to the studio and exploring his own artistic voice. Marquart relocated to Virginia Beach, VA, and co-founded the Windmark Recording studio with concert promoter Bill Reid. The state-of-the-art studio was highly successful, hosting such artists as Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and Pharrell Williams’ group The Neptunes. In the mid 2000s, He launched Windmark Studios on the west coast in Santa Monica, CA, which he eventually sold in 2021.
In 2006, Marquart released the self-titled A Bad Think, followed by a series of notable recordings including Simple Rhymes (2009), Medicine (2012), The Tragic End of A Dreamer (2016), the GRAMMY-nominated The Savior (2019), Lifelike (2021) and X (2022). The initial albums were created solo by Marquart, but he later collaborated with other musicians to shape A Bad Think’s sound.
The stellar group of players on Short Street includes Matt Chamberlain (drums), Dan Rothchild (bass), Kirk Hellie (guitars) and Phil Shenale (keyboards), who have previously worked with Marquart. “These are my guys,” shares Marquart enthusiastically. “I’ve been searching for all these years to try and find the right chemistry and the people that understand my music and how it’s supposed to sound, and we’ve arrived. They are incredibly gifted and know what the songs need.” Another in-demand session musician (and another A Bad Think returnee), Greg Leisz, contributed both lead and pedal steel parts during later overdub sessions that took place at Dave Way’s Waystation Studio in Laurel Canyon.
Short Street was recorded in Marquart’s two home studios. His Virginia Beach studio features an API analog console, while the one in Malibu, constructed with discarded old wood from the Hollywood Bowl, is equipped with a vintage Neve console. On this album, Marquart also made use of several of his classic guitars (like a 1958 Gibson Les Paul burst, a 1962 Gibson Les Paul (SG), a 1954 Fender Stratocaster, and a Gretsch 1955 Round Up). It’s easy to see how these vintage guitars complement the songs’ sense of nostalgia as well as contributing to the album’s sonic ambiance.
Marquart’s unwavering commitment to his craft has resulted in his latest album, Short Street, a beautifully personal record that pushes the boundaries of technology with the Dolby Atmos format.
Short Street has been devised to look toward the past while also leaping into the future through its use of immersive Dolby Atmos technology. Marquart is a big proponent of audio advancements regarding lossless and 3D surround sound. “If there is an opportunity to listen to the immersive mix in a true, properly calibrated Dolby Atmos environment, then I think it will be a really special experience,” he says. “I’m so proud of this album and what we’ve been able to accomplish with it, especially with the immersive mix.”