Yay! The microphones all worked today! Mark Elliott was such a great guest. There was so much I wanted to cover, but time just seems to fly so fast. I also wish I could have captured some of the stories Mark shared during CD plays, but you can't really manage show details and take notes(at least I can't).
Segment 1: Picking Through the Record Box
While I set up for guests, I do a "picking through the record box set" that will have a mix of things. I asked Mark what some of his favorite oldies were and unfortunately, I bombed out on having all but one...so I picked some songs by artists which were relevant to him.
Beatles – Thank You Girl
Wilson Pickett – 634-5789
Gordon Lightfoot- Early Morning Rain (the only song I had that he requested!)
John Sebastian - She's A Lady
Kim McLean – Ain't No Glory (Kim and Devon O'Day are part of the FolklahomaAppalachi-Groove Train with Mark)
Tom Paxton - The Last Thing On My Mind (Tom was influential in getting Mark to Nashville)
Guest segment: Mark Elliott
I must tell you my story of how I came to hear of him. I was doing some music screening last year for an indie music organization for their music awards presentation. One of those artists who came up in the process was Mark Elliott. I was very impressed, saw he was in the Nashville area and made a mental note to check him out if he played in the area. Well, I had plans that weekend to go to one of the Friends of Pegram Park Writers Nights held at Fiddle and Pick because I'd never been there before. Well, lo and behold, much to my surprise, on the bill was none other than Mark! He was great, he was nice and he did a special favor for me that evening that he did again here this morning...played "Baseball and Beatles" for me live!
Mark grew up around a vibrant bluegrass and folk music scene in Washington, D.C. He and his parents drove around in an old VW van with an 8 track player (high tech for that time), listening to Jim Croce, John Denver, the 5th Dimension and other 60s acts. His parents gave him the van for his 16th birthday, but sadly he wrecked it shortly thereafter.
A debut album (Common Ground, 1988) and a last minute opening act for Tom Paxton earned some encouragement from Tom, leading him to Nashville and a publishing deal with Cherry Lane Music. Mark wasn't quite sure what a publishing deal was at that time, but he managed to do well, placing a cut on an album by Chris LeDoux (which included a duet with Garth Brooks, so it was a well-timed opportunity!).
Mark's tracks:
Baseball and Beatles (live in studio--by request! From the "American Road" CD) My favorite song of Mark's. Co-written with Jim Moran, a story of two communication points between a father and daughter during the tough growing up years. You should have seen my face when he played this song.
Good Life (title track from his CD)
Bye Bye Baby Jane (live in studio- from the Good Life CD)
Crescent City Lullabye (cut from Good Life CD)
Mark's links:
www.myspace.com/cubcreekrecords
markelliottmusic.com (website)
http://markelliottmusic.blogspot.com/ (music blog...Mark was very kind to write about his experience on my show and post the audio file! Go listen!)
www.myspace.com/folklahomaappalachigroovetrain
Frequency to the Heart: Repeated from last week, since no one was able to hear it then. See last week's blog.
Closer – Soul Serenade – King Curtis
Pretty smooth show overall. Great artists who are nice people make it easy. Thanks, Mark!
1 comment:
Wendy,
Sure enjoyed the radio show with you. Having hosts who are prepared is important for sure (and you were) but hosts with passion and true love of art and artists is the key. You're a treasure. Thanks for all the support. Mark Elliott
www.markelliottmusic.com
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