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BELIEVIN’ represents the emergence of a unique and important voice in modern country music. Marcel's sophomore album comes a full five years after his promising debut of You, Me and the Windshield and is an intensely personal body of work from the singer/songwriter, cataloging a journey through love and pain, loss and achievement, struggle and hope.
"I matured so much between these albums," he says, describing a time in which he lost his record deal, went broke, lost two close family members, and witnessed a fatal accident. All of it went into his art. "These aren't songs pitched to me by publishers," he says. "I wrote them and they're from personal experience. This CD is my life."
Marcel hit the charts with his first single, "Country Rock Star," in 2002, and followed it with "Tennessee," a song that failed to chart but that lingers as an underground favorite. The subsequent loss of his deal shook him to the core. "Everything goes through your head," he says. "What am I going to tell my parents? What am I going to do for money? I've spent the last ten years trying to get this, and now it's over."
I had no money and I borrowed enough from my parents to keep the rent paid--and the rent was only $300 a month," he says. But the hard work and patience paid off. Other artists were recording his songs— Rascal Flatts’ “Backwards”, LeAnn Rimes’ “The Weight of Love” and Jessica Andrews’ “There’s More to Me Than You”. Josh Gracin recorded both “Favorite State of Mind” and "Nothin' To Lose", but it was the latter that was the breakthrough and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Through it all, he had kept fans up to date with a blog and had played select gigs. "Mentally," he says, "it made me feel like, 'I'm still doing this. I'm still an artist. I'm not quitting.'" It's just my personality. I guess it's from all the hockey days, the coaching, making you think you can do anything. You've just got to put your mind to it."
After the first deal ended, Marcel went through his toughest times. All of that became part of his music. The resulting 11 songs on BELIEVIN, represent breezy joy and clear-eyed sadness which battle for control as the music weaves its way through all of life’s ups and downs. Marcel wrote the single "Believin'" when he was doing remodeling work for one of his co-writers, James Slater. He was thinking about the economy and the hard labor going into earning a dollar these days and digging deep in his soul to find the belief that one day things will get better. "One Big Church" takes a look at connection and forgiveness and its assertion that "Sometimes you've got to get lost to find yourself," takes a sweeping view of the human condition. "The Good Life" is a bittersweet overview of life written after his aunt, his grandfather, and his beloved 13-year-old black lab Maggie died. "In God We Trust" tackles the large and small of day-to-day living and “Big Break” is an autobiographical snapshot into Marcel’s journey in the music business with the faith that one day he will break through and make his presence felt. "More Careful Each Day" and "Goodbye" detail the complexities of romantic love, while "Glory" and "Baby Breathe" take haunting looks at the preciousness of life. “Baby Breathe” was inspired by an anonymous stranger who died in a fatal car crash which he and a friend witnessed while driving on a rural road in New Jersey. "Having this guy die in my arms, it's been a hard pill to swallow," he says. The lighter side is brought home with "Lose Yourself," a rollicking look at romance and "I Love This Song". The latter was co-written with Jeffrey Steele, one of several world-class writers who collaborated with Marcel on songs for the project--others include Anthony Smith, Darrell Brown, Chris Wallin, and James T. Slater.
In addition to songwriting, he still makes time to pursue interests like video editing. “Believin’”, “In God We Trust” and “Goodbye” are all videos in which Marcel produced, directed and edited himself. Remodeling is another hobby of his, this time for his own home. The latter helps keep him in shape, something important to a man who spent so long as an athlete. In fact, he still bears the aches and pains of his years in hockey.
"I have been so fortunate for all the things that have come into my life," he says. "Don't get me wrong, I've worked my butt off for it, but I'm grateful for the friends and everything else God has given me. And I've learned that if you want something, you can have it if you put your mind to it and do it. Anyone can."
And Marcel, at that point where labor and blessings come together, is living proof.
