Manda and the Marbles

Manda and the Marbles were a pop punk/ new wave band from Columbus, Ohio.

History
Many grown-up children of the '80s have a special place in their hearts for ladies such as the Go-Go's, Bananarama, and Kim "Kids in America" Wilde. Their music was pouty, awash in lip gloss and hairspray, and absolutely irresistible. Their songs made pining and heartache sound like so much friggin' fun. Finally, the valley girl woes have a new poster girl: Manda Marble. Manda and the Marbles are a Columbus, Ohio trio whose songs mirror those of sassy female-fronted pop bands – sunny surf rhythms and rather forlorn subject matter.
Jeanne Fury, Review of Manda and The Marbles, NY Rock Confidential, March, 2003[1]
Who is Manda you might ask? Well just take the best of the Go-Go's, Berlin, and your favorite girl-fronted 80's new wave pop band...that's Manda. This will be the soundtrack to many a summer. Prepare to have your hearts broken.
Punk Updates, October 15, 2002, in relation to release of More Seduction[2]

Founded in 1997, the group produced four albums: Rock's Not Dead, Seduction, More Seduction, and Angels With Dirty Faces. The band was originally a three-piece featuring Manda Marble on vocals and bass, Joe A. Damage on guitar, and Mark Slak on drums. Work on their most recent album featured keyboardist Elias Dubok,[3] 2001 was the band's breakout year; they played at the CMJ Music Marathon and later signed with Go-Kart Records.[4]

The Marbles were the first band to release a song using podcasting and were heralded for this achievement on MTV and the BBC. While the band's latest album, Angels With Dirty Faces (to which the podcast distribution related), released on September 17, 2002,[5] was well-received, the label to which it had been licensed, Addison Records, ceased operations within a short time after the album's 2005 release.[6]

Following guitarist Joe A. Damage's departure in late 2005,[7] the band's activity slowed considerably. In 2008, Manda Marble and Mark Slak recorded a new demo and posted it on their MySpace page, but nothing has been heard since.[8] The band website (www.marthaandthemarbles.com) is also inactive.[9]

Manda and the Marbles' music was featured in several motion pictures, including the low budget thriller Creepies (2003) and the 1980s throwback Nail Polish (2006).[10] Their music also appeared on the MTV show Rich Girls (2003-2004),[11] and the band's image and name were shown in the film Come Away Home (2005).

Over the years, Manda has continued to write music. She released a new album in 2023 which featured all of the singles she wrote from 2015 through 2020. This album is called "The Singles: 2015-2020" and is available for download on all music platforms. The songs have shifted towards an acoustic and more folk-influenced style but still retain a pop edge. Manda has also dabbled in the electronic dance music genre and continues to explore her creative boundaries musically. You can listen to Manda Marble's current music on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/0I1BlbqjnzUKWHr8SW1JJf

Discography

Albums
  • 1999 Rock's Not Dead Break Up Records
  • 2001 Seduction Break Up Records
  • 2002 More Seduction Go-Kart Records (Remastered Seduction, with four new songs)[12]
  • 2005 Angels With Dirty Faces Sickhouse Records, licensed to Addison Records[13][14]

Compilation Contributions
  • 2002 Fields and Streams Kill Rock Stars Records. "New tracks by 45 indie artists", including "Sex Object" by Manda and The Marbles.[15]

References
  1. Full review accessible here Archived 2008-11-18 at the Wayback Machine; www.nyrock.com.
  2. Complete review by Hein Terweduwe is accessible here; www.punkupdates.com: "...I'd prefer to call this sound power pop with a glimpse of pop punk in it. Manda's fluent voice really does fit this music and the light guitar and mid-tempo drumming results in joyful tunes. ...Fans of The Go-Go's, Blondie or why not Dance Hall Crashers and Teen Idols will like it for sure."
  3. also from Columbus, Ohio, and a member of the band Dubok, formed in 1998 and disbanded in 2006. See Dubok MySpace Page.
  4. Hopkin, Kenyon. Biography of Manda and The Marbles at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  5. "More Seduction - Manda & the Marbles | Release Info". AllMusic.
  6. A companion act on Addison Records, The Evil Queens, was forced to purchase copies of its own album on Amazon, in order to have copies available for distribution at shows: "drastic times require creative solutions, and there's nothing more drastic than the record company suddenly falling off the face of the earth." See Brian O'Neill, Evil is good for you, May 23, 2007; www.uweekly.com (weekly newspaper of Ohio State University).
  7. Manda and the Marbles MySpace Blog Archived 2009-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, October 5, 2005.
  8. MySpace Last Login: 6/25/2008, 11-08-13.
  9. Attempted website access 09-01-16.
  10. "Lipstick", "Simple Things" and "Seventeen", from Angels With Dirty Faces. See Nail Polish Soundtrack Details; www.imdb.com.
  11. The song "I Wanna Go Home" was included in the soundtrack to Episode 7. See Rich Girls Episode Guide; www.mtv.com.
  12. "The music here is like the Go-Go's gone No Doubt, with a hint of Bratmobile thrown in." Mark Whittaker, Review of More Seduction; www.frictionmagazine.com. "Sounding remarkably similar to The Go-Gos, Manda and the Marbles are reinventing great girl pop from the 1980s." Review of More Seduction, December, 2002; www.babysue.com.
  13. "The Marbles really hit their stride on nuggets like 'Say Anything' and 'Confidential'. Manda's soaring vocals fit perfectly atop Joe Damage's buzzsaw guitar work, while new keyboardist Elias Dubok helps cement all the 80's new wave comparisons the Marbles are met with. The Ramones-y moments of their debut show up here more in the guitar tone than the tempo, as the band never really breaks some self-imposed speed limits. Still, despite a collection of relatively mid-tempo rockers, Angels... doesn't lag. Reinforcing their roots, the band even serves up a cover of The Avengers' 'Cheap Tragedies.'" Adam White, Review of Angels With Dirty Faces; www.punknews.org.
  14. Addison Records was owned by the band's manager, Marc Alghini, and distinguished itself by servicing 100 copies of the Manda and the Marbles track "Ode to Rock” to podcasters. See "Addison Records services new Manda & The Marbles track to podcasters"; www.punknews.org, January 24, 2005. See also Alex Steininger, Interview With Manda Marble, undated, as to history of release from Sickhouse to Addison; www.inmusicwetrust.com
  15. Adrien Begrand, Indie Heaven, Circa 2002. Review of Fields and Streams, July 12, 2002; www.popmatters.com.
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