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TropicalDreams.net
Interview with Mark James
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As told to the Old Parrothead - Billy Peoples
Q. Where is your home port?
A. Originally, I was born and raised in Reading, PA. As of this interview, I have been living in a small town called Macungie, PA - which I truly love. Sometime before I die, I would like to have lived in the Keys, or at least in Florida - even if just for a short time. However I have always felt most at home when I'm on the road.
Q. How did you get started in your musical career?
A. My first performing gig was actually playing snare drum for a gospel group called the Churchmen And Teresa out of Harrisonburg, WV. My brother and I would catch the tour bus on a Friday night in Carlisle, PA with the bass player and we would travel until Sunday night. I was in 11th grade and it was the coolest thing in the world. They ended up liking the concept of drums and hiring a professional drummer. I was crushed. Later that year I saw Aerosmith at the Harrisburg Farm Show Arena and that was the end of it - I could think of nothing but performing music from that point forward. I shocked my parents. The following year at my girlfriend's prom on local TV. They were interviewing the prom couples for the High School TV show and when asked what was my goal in life, I replied "to tour the Holiday Inn circuit playing music." Just the previous year, the yearbook said Engineering Drafting. That didn't go over well.
Q. How long have you been in this business?
A. If you count the gospel group tours in 1974-75, 30 years, but I didn't go full time until after my divorce in 1982, which would be 24 years.
Q. Who or what influenced your music the most?
A. That's tough, because I love so many different styles of music from Larry Carlton to Eric Clapton. To go back to my roots, I think my core style came from Larry Goshorn's work with the Pure Prairie League (post Amy) and smoothed out as I "matured." I really loved those albums that did not make East Coast radio. From a personal exposure standpoint, my biggest influence was Fred Bernardo. Back when Fred's Music was on 9th Street in Reading, Fred would be out front in his shop playing one of the latest gadgets that came in or some vintage trade-in, and he would just make any guitar sing. He was god, that was church. Sadly, those days are gone. My most influential all around music education was from Bobby Mercer. Bobby's band was musical boot camp. Everyone on the band was schooled and seasoned. As a guitar player on a guitar player's band, my position required me to learn trumpet, flugel horn and read bass charts for the monthly big band jobs. I still maintain the bass. THAT opened up the entire playing field. From a musician's lifestyle, the obvious answer is Jimmy Buffett. My "songs you know by heart" came from "You Had To Be There" on 8 track. NOBODY commands a crowd or "lives the life" like Jimmy. I hope you weren't looking for short answers.
Q. What type venue do you prefer?
A. My biggest favorite is Outside - fairs, carnivals and concerts with a band. As a solo, medium sized events with a stage. Generally, any gig where the people have come to hear you play and don't talk. That doesn't mean it has to feel like an opera. I love it when people get into the show and respond. I enjoy the banter and interaction of working the crowd, but I detest the bar syndrome where the entertainment is a glorified jukebox. I use this story a lot: When I started out, I used to sit in with a solo by the name of Dave Cody. We would get to the venue, and the manager would show us to the stage area. We would set up and, when it was time to play, the background music and TV went off, the lights would dim, the crowd quiet down and the show would start. If someone was talking at a table too loudly during the show, the manager went over to them and said "Shhhh, he's playing." NOWADAYS, you get to the gig and there are three tables with customers eating where you are supposed to perform. When that's finally cleared away you have 15 minutes to set up. The jukebox is playing while 5 TVs are showing every sport currently going on around the world. You tell the bartender you're ready to start - he'll "get around" to turning the background down. You finally start and the manager comes over to you and says, "Shhhh, they're talking." Go figure. As a solo, that was murder. That syndrome took me out of music for a while. It really killed the whole magic of live musicians making music. I'm really enjoying the sideman thing again and working and creating with the band members.
Q. What are your goals for the future?
A. I would like to earn the respect of my peers, meet some of my heroes, and record something worth listening to for a long time.
Q. How many CDs do you have to your credit?
A. My earliest material was on cassette only. As a solo, I recorded a bandstand sale only collection of covers called "Songs I Wished I'd Written" and a 5 song EP made it to CD titled "Mark James Live At The Stateliner." That was a board mix to MD which yielded some soulful, but very live, material including a great version of Mr. Bojangles with John Frinzi and I swapping verses. There was this elusive CD called "Late At Night" which was going to showcase my original material. It was referred to as "currently in production" on all my promo material for the college circuit. That was 10 years ago. I think it's still "in production", but it's NOT on CD. One of the first original songs I wrote, Missing You, was captured live at MOTM 2003 and was featured on the "One Particular Harbor" Commemorative VCD. As a studio guitarist, starting around 1978 there was Jeff Pine - Wild Man's Weekend, Bobby Mercer Live At The Florida State Fair, Bobby Mercer Party Time, I played bass on the studio recording of the Bobby Mercer Big Band Featuring Frank Consolo, Rock guitar on the Vince Rollins CD, produced and played guitar on 2 singles for Dave Noble - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams and Water Into Wine, and guitar for a few tracks on John Frinzi - Not Looking Back. (I have tons of live recordings from all the way back in 1978 to the present - my Box Set would be an orange crate.) Pending work, there are plans for a new CD with the John Frinzi Band including Coral Reefer Doyle Grisham and other notable guests. I would also hope to have a new solo CD completed for sale at MOTM in Key West.
Q. Is there anything you would like people to know about you?
A. My first paying gig was with my brother, Craig, at the Sunnybrook Ballroom in Pottstown, PA for the Boscov's Sight and Sound Expo. We were introduced by Jerry Blavett (the geeter with the heater) as the Leister Brothers (my real last name). It is his 1973 Strat with EMGs which is still my main guitar for live and studio work. He gave it to me in pristine condition when his path took him into computers and mine went into music. I just got him up to sit in with me again at a ski resort gig in February. That was special. I've also been performing in an Educational Music In The Schools program called "Having Fun With Music" which has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Mostly geared toward middle and high school students, each of the 8 members of the band has a feature and a message to express the role that music has played in their lives. I am the youngest guy on stage (although Dave Stahl insists HE is) and our lineup has included musicians up to the age of 80 (Sam Marabella would say that in the portrait of The Last Supper, he's the second guy on the left). My message is "Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life" and my feature is "I Feel Good" by James Brown which closes the show with a roar. Last week a girl came up to the band at lunch and said that we inspired her to pick up the flute again. I thought that is why we do this. In addition to my music, I own my own business, MicroChip Music, which sells music software and hardware. I was the first guy in Reading to be performing solo live with a computer on stage. I eventually became a Microsoft Certified Professional and have been relatively successful with computer consulting. Computers are incredibly consuming, however, and I would rather play guitar. MicroChip Music will be evolving back to the Music Business direction. On the personal side, I love to ski, race and fly. I have a beautiful 24 year old daughter, Shannon, of whom I am very proud and an equally beautiful girlfriend, Lisa, who is extremely tolerant of my unorthodox lifestyle. Someday I would like to write a book, a screenplay and produce a movie. I also LOVE to talk, thanks for listening.
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Billy H. Peoples - 135 Ganey Lane - Satsuma FL 32189 - (386)328-6118 "At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, Heard It All... I Just Can't Remember It All" |