Mark, who is sometimes referred to as "The Senator," grew up listening to the sounds of James Brown, The Temptations, as well as the Beatles, and Otis Redding. Though he never learned to play any instruments, and didn’t begin singing until recently, his mother took him to see many great musical acts in the 60s and 70s. These included Diana Ross and the Supremes, and the Jackson 5.
One of the most profound acts that he saw was a standup comedy show put on by Mr. Bill Cosby. The chance to see Bill Cosby was great, but the one thing that has shaped Senator’s stage performance philosophy was seeing Sammy Davis Jr. who just happened to open for Mr. Cosby that night. This was one of Mr. Davis’ last stage performances. He was so intrigued by the performance Sammy put on, that he decided to use that performance as the measurement for success as a stage performer.
Mark learned to be very versatile singing many genres by studying many artists from Frank Sinatra, to Luther Vandross to Garth Brooks, and from The Temptations to Three Doors Down. Because of this he has the ability to move in and out of genres with relative ease singing Soul, Jazz, Blues, Country, and Rock.
Mark has performed with many local bands including Mystic Road, the Hardlanding Blues Band, and the Puma Jazz Ensemble.
He is also currently working on his first album scheduled to be released in 2009.
