In the summer of 1998 I met Money Mark behind the Paradise in Boston. He was on tour for his most recent album "Push the Button". After the show had finished, he was outside moving the gear into to van out back with his band. My girlfriend (future wife) and I went over to tell him how much we dug the show. He was ecstatic and struck up a conversation with us. Then he called over his band and introduced us to his crew.
Mark "Money Mark" Ramos-Nishita is one of the most talented and unrecognized keyboardists of our time. He is responsible for that retro-synth sound on two of the 90's more popular MTV hits. Beck's "Where It's At (Two turntables and a Microphone)" features an throwback organ riff that we all recognize. It sounds like a sample with all that vinyl snap, crackle and pop going on, but Beck weaves his audio magic yet again!
The other hit you might know is that seizure organ flavored hip-hop staple, The Beastie Boys' "So Watcha Want". Mark just adds that signature riff to the chorus that sets this rap song apart from anything before them. (Beck would sample this song ten years later for "e-pro" off the album "Guero")
Mark was actually doing work as a carpenter when he was hired to do repairs at the home of the Beastie Boys. Through that meeting, he would then sit in on jam sessions and record with them on "Check Your Head" and "Ill Communication". His fuzzy-synth electronics would become an essential part of the Beastie sound. The Beasties went from a heavily sampled hip-hop sound to a full fledged band capable of handling rap, punk, rock and instrumental Jazz during this time. This was unprecedented in the real world of "two turntables and a microphone" and "three M.C.'s and one DJ". I feel Mark Ramos-Nishita was the force that crystallized that formula and brought the Beasties to that next level. (if George Martin can claim fifth Beatle, then $Mark is Fourth Beastie!)
Since then Money Mark has been tapped as the hired gun on keyboards by numerous artists. He was in the original lineup of musicians in Jakob Dylan's Wallflowers. He collaborated with Sean Lennon on "Sunshine" for the first Handsome Boy Modeling School album. The Dust Brothers, Porno for Pyros and most recently Jack Johnson have collaborated with $Mark. Johnson recently signed the keyboardist to his label Brushfire Records for Mark's next solo album. So it flows...$Mark continues to push his genre-collage feel into whatever project he touches.
So anyways, there we were talking with $Mark behind the Paradise. I had been taking pictures for a friend that night and he notices the camera in my hand. Mark says we should all get in a picture. I was beside myself at this point. Mark gets his drummer to take the picture and the rest of the band all get into these grand poses. Mark puts both arms around me and my girl and smiles. It was perfect. That was right about the time the drummer says "There's no more film in this camera!" We all groaned in unison. Undeterred, Mark turns to me and says "Hey, we'll be here for like another half hour if you want to get another camera". I laughed and said "It's all good Money Mark". The picture in my head is ten-times better.
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