Mark Duval: words & music, guitars, harmonica, vocals
Larry Lowis: double bass, guitar, vocals, keyboards
Scott Dill: drums and percussion
Traci Seuss: vocals, guitar
John Foster: trumpet, slide guitar
Alec Johnston: upright bass
Adam Jones: drums
Influences
Dob Bylan, Tom Waits, Iron and Wine, Van Morrison, Gillian Welch, Neil Young, Jim White, the Cornfed Girls, the Red Sea Pedestrians, John Campos & Bill Jones, John deRoo, Andru Bemis, Seth Bernard & Daisy May, Steppin' in it, Fool Rooster, Jen Sygit, Ian Gorman, Chris Bathgate, Phil Barry, Jay Gavan, Michael Beauchamp, Michael Ann Erlewine
Sounds Like
Reviewers at Garageband.com have compared Mark to Tom Waits, Loudon Wainwright, Wilco, CSNY, Van Morrison, REM, Tom Petty, Calexico
In the spring of 2006, Mark Duval emerged in Southwest Michigan from a 10-year musical hibernation with “Rhythm of the Rustbelt”, his brilliant debut album, described by reviewer Dustin Walsh of Creem Magazine as “...the soundtrack to a summer sunrise over a dusty, forlorn Route 66.”
His songwriting versatility takes the listener from haunted landscapes of brooding fingerstyle folk ballads to rhythm-driven roots rock social commentary, shuffling blues riffs and latin grooves that show off his skills as a rhythm guitarist.
His follow-up release, “Two-Track Mind”(2007), was nominated for “Best new folk album of 2007” by WYCE in Grand Rapids
The production on his albums is sparse, earthy, organic, and intimate, alternating between folk and roots rock, and using banjo, violin, cello, organ, harmonica, trumpet and slide guitar to create a unique atmosphere for each song. Both albums were engineered and produced by Ian Gorman, who has become one of the most sought-after producers in the Michigan folk music scene.
Mark performs his music regionally in 2 different configurations :
Mark Duval & Traci Seuss perform Mark’s folk ballads in listening room concerts. Traci’s beautiful vocal harmonies bring Mark’s melodies to life, and they are often backed up with upright bass and other stringed instruments.
Mark Duval & Two-Track Mind perform regionally in bar venues and music festivals as a 5-piece band, centered around Mark’s acoustic guitar with drums, bass, slide guitar and trumpet, playing sets of rhythm-driven roots, grooves and blues that keep the dance floor crowded.
John, Alec, and Adam are all graduates of WMU's prestigious School of Music. John has over 20 years experience as a soloist in blues bands (slide guitar) and reggae / ska bands (trumpet)
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Sounds GREAT Mark! I'm going to try & catch you at O'Duffy's on the 20th. Thanks for coming out last night. Good to meet you... again. Dan ~Who Hit John?
Great meeting you. We had a blast."Rustbelt" is in the CD player at work for 2 weeks now. Very popular. lets do it again soon, I'll come to you next time!
Mark & Traci, Thanks for coming on the Nonchalant Cafe on 89.1 WIDR FM. If fans are interested, I posted a portion of the interview on the Nonchalant Cafe Myspace profile CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
