Endo - movers and shakers in a big way
By Naughty Mickie
notymickie@earthlink.net
Endo, huh? Sounds like some whiny alternative band that should have broken up
years ago... Wait, no, perhaps they're actually medical students with a serious
hobby, after all "endo" is a medical term for "inside," right? I popped "Songs
for the Restless" (DV8/Columbia) into my CD player and listened to it - all the
way through - and then listened to it a second time. The vocals were seductive,
the music mesmerizing and I hadn't even had my coffee yet. I HAD to interview
this band.
Endo, vocalist Gil Bitton, guitarist Eli Parker, bassist Zelick and drummer Joe
Eshkenazi, had somehow slipped by me, as their debut, "Evolve," came out in 2001
to rave reviews. The Miami quartet had been making waves, but I had been
splashed yet. I guess I shouldn't beat myself too badly, as it seems that their
fan base is growing as they hit each stop on their tour with Ozzfest 2003. It
will probably continue on its much-deserved upward spiral when the group tours
on their own later to further support their new effort.
Bitton is perky as he recalls how he came to Endo, "I got a knock on my door and
someone was looking for a singer. They called me in to sing and I had some great
skills and some really good performance talents, so I played my first gig. I
just really loved being on stage, it came to me really naturally. For my first
performance, I said I was definitely going to do this, I was so driven by just
being on stage and having people watching me. The whole feeling was so natural
so I set to perform with Endo. It's been such a long process with Endo, maybe
eight years of trying to find the right people and the right chemistry. It's
very hard work and finally I found the right people, the right chemistry and
formed Endo.
"Zelick and I have been together since we were about 18, before Endo, so he's
basically my right hand," Bitton continues. "He's always been there playing bass
for me. He has been through all the shit that I've been through in forming this
band. People think you just form a band, but it's definitely not like that, it's
so hard. You have to find the right people and not only the right people, but
the right look, not only the right look, but the right chemistry, the right
vibe, do you share the same intuition? That kind of thing. It's a complex
pattern that you go through."
Bitton pauses and I ask him when he first started to sing.
"I sang ever since I was a little kid," Bitton replies. "I would listen to the
radio and sing, it was kind of like I'd know these songs, it was second nature
to me. And the people I was growing up with, there was all girls -- two older
sisters and their friends. The girls were like, 'Wow, you sing great' and 'We
can't believe there's a song on the radio and you're singing it' and I was a
little kid and I was like, 'What? Really?'"
Bitton's parents encouraged him, as his father sang at weddings.
"He's also a good singer and performer, he can imitate voices. So I get my
emotional instability from my father," Bitton laughs.
I am aware that Bitton didn't complete high school, but not sure why.
"I honestly left school because I was going to get kicked out anyway," Bitton
chortles. "I wasn't fully conscious in high school. I wasn't all there. I wasn't
myself, it was like some dork. I never fit in. I tried to fit in and it never
worked. I didn't wear the right clothes and talk the right way. There was so
much pressure in high school, it was like I would not want to go. I would ditch
or be tardy and I just said fuck it, they're not going to hold me back here, I'm
just going to go."
Bitton was good in English, but he didn't care about math or history, still, he
felt he needed something more. He continued his education on his own, immersing
himself in books and is still an avid reader today.
"I got into mysticism and a little into the Cabala. School was just not for me.
Even if I knew then what I know now, I would have just pursued knowledge," says
Bitton.
Bitton isn't afraid of having a day job.
"I used to wait tables, I used to work at a gift shop, I used to paint, I've
done so much. I've done all kinds of things," Bitton tells me.
With the success of Endo, you probably won't find Bitton serving you burgers,
but that doesn't mean he's sitting still.
"I just started doing yoga. I'm really really into it. That's basically all I've
been doing with my time, I've been doing yoga and rehearsing with the band."
Bitton adds, "Just finishing the album, that's an accomplishment in itself.
After the album, you just sit around and wait for things to happen."
This leads to a discussion of the process of songwriting.
"Certain guitar melodies lend themselves to certain phrases," explains Bitton.
"But basically it comes intuitively. I thank God that I have the intuition with
word patterns, poetry and lyricism. It comes naturally and also certain life
experiences. Being in relationships throughout my life, all of these
experiences, the ups and downs, it comes from there, but basically it's the
collaboration of the band. Someone will come up with a guitar melody, I'll come
up with some lyrics, we just go from there. No set way, ever, it's got to come
naturally.
"I'll write something one day," Bitton goes on. "Some poetry or something I
dreamt or anything and take it into rehearsal and we'll try something and I hear
this music and it will go really good with something I just wrote. We'll
collaborate like that."
I note that Bitton's background is unique and query about the influence of
culture in his music.
"I'm French Moroccan and I was born in Israel, but I left when I was three years
old," responds Bitton. "With 'Songs for the Restless,' I guess (I was
influenced) emotionally because I come from a very emotional background. My
parents are old fashioned and had a lot of passion, so in that respect,
yes. I would like to pursue some other avenues of music, I listen to all kinds
of music. Nothing on the radio, I can't stand it."
He explains that he is influenced by a wide range of vocalists, including Bono
and Jeff Buckley. It's hard for me not to blurt that Bitton's vocal abilities
may influence other aspiring singers.
"I was never really confident in my voice until David Schiffman (producer of
"Songs of the Restless," as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tom Petty) pushed
me to realize that I have something to say and that I really have a good voice
to say it. That was important, that was a step for me. It's like, 'Whoa, I can
sing,'" Bitton says humbly.
We talk about the music scene.
"It's a very crucial time; there's got to be some sort of revolution in music.
Who knows where it's going to come from, but it's going come and it's go to
happen soon, well it does have to, but I think we're due for it," says Bitton.
"It's just a very diverse time right now and there are a lot of things
happening. I think it's OK. I think there's a lot of good bands that have a lot
of good things to say that are not only positive, whether it's positive or
negative I think it's the best for right now, it's commeci, commeca."
Bitton may seem blase about the music scene, but he isn't where it comes to the
effect on the industry by the Internet.
"To me, as a musician, trying to sell records in the business and to have some
sort of career, it's terrible. I think people should buy records. But not only
that, if you like a band go buy the record. You want to look at the lyrics, you
want to see the expression of what they are trying to do with their music.
That's comes with the CD, the whole CD from the front cover to the back cover.
This is an art form. We're trying not only to give you the music, but an
artistic view," states Bitton. "I think it's important to go out there and get
the record, but I do not agree with records being 16 bucks. I think that's
fucking awful. I think that records should be no more than $10. I don't think
that people should pay any more than $10 for music. I think a lot of places are
rip-offs and people get pissed off and they want to burn music because it's
there and it's free."
I take a deep breath and bravely ask, "Do you use the Net?"
"I don't have a computer right now," laughs Bitton. "But when I did, yeah, it's
a great thing. There's a lot of knowledge. There's nothing wrong with the
Internet, it's great, but as a musician, I just want to sell records. Don't get
me wrong, I don't want to be rich, I just want to be comfortable."
Whew! Bitton continues, telling me that Endo is hoping to do some intensive
touring.
"I don't want to take a break ever. I want to be out and about for two years,"
Bitton chuckles. "I don't want to take a break, I just want to be out on stage.
If I'm not on stage, I'm not totally 100 percent. I want to be out there, I want
to meet people, I want to explore the world. I so love it out there."
As we close, I offer Bitton an opportunity to speak his mind on any topic and he
obliges.
"I hope everything goes well with this whole situation we're in right now as far
as being at war and realize that we're all human beings and we're all feeling a
lot of the same emotions, not beliefs obviously, but we're all human. I hope we
can get through this, I think we will." Bitton gets personal, "I just want to
bring a positive message to everything even though some of our music can be on a
negative front. From all negativity comes positivity. I think everything is
going to fall into place I hope."
Endo and their album "Songs for the Restless" are probably coming to your town.
Find out at www.endomusic.com
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