Money Mark

As the story goes, keyboardist Mark Ramos-Nishita (a.k.a. Money Mark) was discovered by the Beastie Boys when he came by their L.A. house/studio to do some carpentry work. Whatever the case, his influence on the Beastie Boys' music during their Check Your Head period is undeniable.

Listening to his playful lo-fi debut, Mark's Keyboard Repair, is like stumbling on a demo cassette; it's full of rough song ideas and seemingly unfinished tunes (of which there are 30 here). But on Push the Button, Mark really finds his groove. Not only does he sing on much of the album, but the songs teem with fun, poppy charm, great melodies, and the Latin-rock vibe of early War and Santana. Legendary session drummer Jim Keltner holds it down on a couple of tracks, including the lovely "I Don't Play Piano." Fans of the Beastie Boys collection The In Sound From Way Out (on which Ramos-Nishita shares writing credit on all 13 tracks) will certainly dig Change Is Coming, a cool 38 minutes of keyboard-driven instrumentals flavored with funk and bossa nova. Nishita cleary enjoys any opportunity to play around with his collection of vintage keyboards and other curi-ous gear -- an activity that's manifest on his three albums. (DAVID SWANSON)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide