SpeakFree Celeb Watch

MARIO ON REALITY TV

JB- I’m not sure if you follow the “Idol” shows…

MC- Yeah

JB- What do you think of those shows?

MC- I think it’s amazing. I don’t know how long it’s going to last. It’s just another way to get in the business. But at the end of the story, that’s how it goes. It’s just that now it’s on TV and people vote. People are involved. With the trend of the reality shows, they all connect and they all make sense. How long is it going to stay? I think every year it goes down in popularity. The impact (of these shows) is less every year, I find. But some great talent emerged from this and that’s the key. The more the better from Canada, that’s the way I see it. I think it works very well.

JB- Do you think most of the people who are trying out for the shows just want to be on TV? Or do they actually care about music?

MC- Some of them are there for their 15 minutes of fame or they don’t know how to approach this business. If you don’t know what you’re doing and then an opportunity comes to you right in your face on TV you’re going to go, “Whoa, OK, this is the way to do it.” Some of these artists are legitimate and they have a real talent and the whole thing. Some of them are trying for the easy way, I guess, and whatever happens, happens.

JB- Do you think this is a good launching pad for their career or could it potentially end a career before it even starts?

MC- Can it hurt them? Yes. You see, once you win and you’re on your own, if you have an identity and you’re a true artist, no matter what, the sky’s the limit. If you’re not a real artist then one way or another it’s going to transpire and people will know and it’s going to be the end of it.

JB- How much of winning those shows do you think is based on looks as opposed to talent?

MC- I think the look is just a compliment. I mean, it’s a compliment but it’s an ingredient that you absolutely need. I’m telling you, sometimes the look scares people. With my record company, if I see a demo coming in with a beautiful lady, sexy with the whole thing, I’m going to take a different listen to this demo because I’m going to go, “Oh my God, this is another piece of shit probably.” It scares you.

JB- What do you look for then? When you get a demo what are you looking for? What is your idea of the perfect artist?

MC- If I have an artist with an amazing voice and I can match them with a project, that’s the way I’m going to do it. Now we’re looking for mature voice, mature lyrics. The bubblegum days are gone. The Venga Boys, whatever it is… over. It’s more mature now, it’s more serious, it’s more deep.

JB- Six months down the road or one year from now, where do you see music headed in Canada?

MC- Oh my God. No idea.

JB- Where do you hope it goes?

MC- Variety. That’s what I hope. I hope I see rock, hip hop. We’ll have a dance show one weekend. We’ll open up to variety - have a rhythm, world beat show on Sundays; a lounge show Sunday afternoons. Explore. Take chances. That’s what I like. I think I’ll find it refreshing. When people stay in a box all the time, that’s when people, the audience, lose interest.

JB- And what will we see from MC Mario in the next year?

MC- More mature house, more international hits. I’ll be playing in Dubai very soon. I’ll be playing in Miami. I’m talking to Australia. I’m talking to Dominican Republic. I’m talking to a club in New York. Dubai – I’m very excited about this. There’s a lot of gigs in the works right now.

JB- Good luck with all those projects and keep us posted on how things go.

MC- No problem, Jeremy. Thank you.

MARIO ON CLUBBING

JB- You also mentioned you are a club owner in Montreal. Tell me about Club 1234 (pronounced twelve thirty-four) .

MC- It makes the people understand what house (music) is all about in downtown Montreal. We opened this house club with a fantastic sound system from Germany, something never heard before. We made the club 21+. So right there we cut all the 18, 19, 20(-year-olds) listening to hip hop. We basically put our foot down, saying “This is who we are, this what we’re going to be and this is it.” And it worked from day one. Then the whole scene changed in Montreal. A lot of clubs came our way and decided to leave hip hop behind. They finally realized Montreal is a house scene. Now we get DJs from overseas. I don’t know if you know that Boy George is now DJing. We have DJs from everywhere coming to Montreal, to 1234. If you talk to the DJs around the world, they’re all going to say “I would love to play Montreal” if they didn’t play it yet.

JB- Do you see yourself staying in Montreal? Where do you see yourself down the road?

MC- I see myself staying in Montreal for now.