Live it, learn it, perform it. Chicago-based indie group Mister E Machine rocks out with a gay perspective.
In summer 2014, lead vocalist, primary songwriter and LGBTQ activist Manny Capozzi and producer/drummer Chuck Harling teamed up and established the band. Now as a quartet that also includes David Ladon on bass and backing vocals and Perry Simmons on backing vocals, the band combines acoustic rock with indie/pop elements while creating a layered sound filled with harmonies.
"It's got some punk, it's got some rock, some rockabilly, it's got folk and acoustic and harmonies," said Capozzi of the band's music. "We always do three-part harmonies. For me the vocals are the most important thing because if you don't have good vocals you don't have anything."
The band's debut EP, entitled Shooting Stars, features the band's anti-bullying single "Rosa Marie," which will soon have a music video.
Growing up in Chicago's Northwest suburbs and then moving to Arlington Heights, Capozzi was bullied as a kid for being overweight and gay. His older sister Rosa stood up for him and helped during what he described as dark times. It was at that young age his sister taught him how to play guitar. He eventually learned the drums and joined her all girl punk band.
"So the song is just a thank-you to her and it happens to be an anti-bullying song that I think could speak to a lot of people," Capozzi said. "My hope is people like my sister, [who] are allies or people witnessing it going on, it'll empower them to step forward or step in and create an environment where it's not okay to do that to somebody. My goal of the song was not to just make a song about bullying. It was a song about gratitude."
Capozzi recalled developing confidence during his high school years and standing as the only openly gay student. Aside from winning prom king, he said he started the first gay-straight alliance ( GSA ) at Prospect High School.
Since being the man—or teenage boy—in the all-girl band, Capozzi has explored various musical genres with different bands and has had a solo career. He even made the move from a corporate COO position to pursue his musical passion further. Classifying himself as a rocker, his musical tastes and inspirations range from artists such as Tori Amos, to Nora Jones, to Bastille.
Mister E Machine is now taking on another project partnering with Illinois Safe Schools Alliance ( "the Alliance" ). Both entities work together to promote the anti-bullying agenda. The band will be performing at Illinois Safe Schools Alliance's Day of Silence/Night of Noise Rally on April 17 at the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago.
"I really wanted people to know what our band stood for and I thought this song was really the core of what we stand for," Capozzi said of the new GSA theme song. "It's a cool song—it merges genres, but it has a really cool message and it's very personal. That's one of the reasons we partnered with the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance."
LGBTQ Youth Engagement Manager Lawrence Carter said this year the Alliance is focusing on pumping more life into the Day of Silence Rally. Carter explained there is a need to continue to focus on issues such as youth getting into fights due to bullying and as a result getting pushed out of school, the use of anti-trans language in the schools and schools not recognizing trans youth and their needs.
"This year we're putting a lot more effort and focus on some of those issues and I think the Day of Silence and partnering up with this band is really going to help us to do that," said Carter. "Young people can rally around music. They love music, so this is a perfect partnership and I think it's going to help us out a lot."
By way of the music scene, Carter knew Capozzi and the story of his childhood years being bullied and having his family rally around him. Carter believed it would be a good partnership and has shared the song "Rosa" with some GSAs, while sharing the story behind it.
"They've gotten really energized and pumped around it," Carter said of the GSA youth.
The band also launched a Kickstarter campaign for the "Rosa Marie" music video this past January. For the video they will be casting junior high and high school kids, some from the School of Rock, to play the band's younger selves at key moments of the video.
"I think the theme of the event is going to be allies," said Capozzi of the Day of Silence Rally. "The event is about empowering people to step in when there is somebody that's being picked on or bullied and that they're not alone and there's a community of people that are stepping in. So, what this reality is is putting that community into a physical form so you can actually see there is a group of people that are there and that they're always there and everywhere. It's really putting a face to the name."
For more information, visit www.themistere.com/ and www.illinoissafeschools.org/ .
