Through two consecutive nights the groove-rock engine we like to call the MZTRIO ran at full throttle as we pumped it full of our own adrenaline. Playing at the Delta Blues Bar and the 10^th Amparo Winter Festival, both in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the crowd’s reaction was incredible, and a lot of fans took home copies of our ‘Live Studio Sessions’ DVD.

On Friday at the Delta, aside from our originals, we also paid tribute to legendary guitarists Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, who have profoundly influenced me and countless other musicians.

After what seemed more like a nap than a well-slept night, we were on our way to the town of Amparo, where a crowd of close to 10,000 had gathered for the local Winter Festival. Throughout our concert, I listened out in amazement as people screamed out the lyrics to “Too Late” and “Fever“, as the Delta had audience the night before.

We’d like to thank everyone who showed up. This English version of the post goes out to all my friends from overseas who were in town and came to see us.

photos by Tatiana Ferro

The results obtained through my musical interactions with Eder Dias on bass and Luis Capano on drums, took us aback from the initial moments of our first rehearsal together. I was then more certain than ever that our debut record had to be as memorable as we could make it.

The decision to record a live album in which our performances were raw and sincere, and through which our audience could effectively capture our true essence and our ‘no bullshit‘ atmosphere, had already been made. However, we were in need of something more.

'The MZTRIO Live Studio Sessions' set

That is why I am proud to present “The MZTRIO – Live Studio Sessions” DVD, our live studio album, captured on video. The sessions were surprisingly easy to record, despite our production having been quite complex for an independant release.

'Viewfinder'

Filmed in the shortest two days of my life under the supervision of experienced recording engineer Alexandre Fontanetti, the COMEP Studios staff and being watched over by the NADA Audiovisual camera crew, we managed to make our first release unforgettable, as I had hoped it would be.

Both the audio and video of the album are on sale in digital format on my pleimo page, and HD videos for all the songs have been uploaded to my YouTube channel. If you want to save time, visit our media page.

photos by Tatiana Ferro

Guitar Player Magazine - June 2010

I was recently interviewed by Guitar Player Brasil‘s Guilherme Zanini, to whom I spoke about my gear, influences, records and plans.

The US-version of Guitar Player has been around since the 1960′s, and finally got a Brazilian edition in 1996.

Reading about myself in a magazine in which I used to get the lowdown on my favorite guitarists tones and techniques was quite fun. I do confess that I hadn’t bought a copy in a while. Didn’t miss the June 2010 issue, though.

Here is a link (in Portuguese): http://guitarplayer.uol.com.br/?area=materia&colid=4&matid=1545.

Scan of the actual article

All of the projects to come as well as those that we concluded in 2009 were possible thanks to all of you who come to our website, watch us on YouTube, listen to us on MySpace and support our work.

That’s why I’ve decided you all deserve a present! Team MZ has uploaded the song ‘Ain’t the Same’, our leading MP3 download from the music sales website Pleimo, (*Portuguese language link*). This special offer will be available until January 3rd 2010. For those of you interested in finding out more about Pleimo, go to Pleimo.org.

Right-click and choose ‘Save Link As…’ to download your FREE mp3!

Stay tuned and see you in January!

Thank you all once again,

Marcel Ziul & Team MZ

Analog x-mas tree

Here are a couple of pics:

MZ @ Delta Blues Bar / credit: Tatiana Ferro

MZTRIO @ Delta Blues Bar / credit: Tatiana Ferro

I’ve been studying hypnosis. Get ready, because that’s what it’s coing to be like at the Delta Saturday. If you like, take a date; but stay close to him/her. Waiters, security staff, sound techs and the manager should wear blindfolds at all times.

Gringo buddies – show these directions to the cab driver:

Saturday, Novemeber 28, 2009 – MZTRIO @ the Delta Blues Bar – Campinas, SP

Av. Andrade Neves, 2042, Castelo, Campinas, SP
tel: (19) 3242-8166, http://www.deltabluesbar.com.br

MZ @ the Delta / credit: Tatiana Ferro

We decided to set up some lighting and start a shoot at my house, and the results shown below are now at the head of the main page on marcelziul.com.

Radioactive Signature / credit: Tatiana Ferro

Tribute to Hicks / credit: Tatiana Ferro

Just in case any of my English-speaking friends are in town, print this address out and give it to the cab driver:

Friday, 13/11/2009 – MZ Acústico no Na Lata – Campinas, SP
R. Américo Brasiliense, 295, Cambuí, Campinas, SP
tel: (19) 3255-1225, mapa

Dragon @ Na Lata / credit: Tatiana Ferro