Mark Northey's musical influences are many and varied. From the earliest rock stars on the national and local Motown and hippie scenes, Mark has gleaned a multitude of material and history. A Woodstock attendee and folk music afficionado, Mark's music is a blend of all the great songwriters of the baby boomer era coupled with great obscure masterpeices secretly hidden in between the lines of a generation. Beatles, Stones, Eagles, CSN&Y, Beach Boys, Dylan, Croce, Taylor, Goodman, Silverstein, Seger, Smokey, Joel, Cougar, McAnally, Hiatt, Marley, Walker, Guy Clark, John Sebastian and Buffett, with a little insanity and Catholicism thrown in.
He loved the great fingerpickers and twelve-string players like Denver, Lightfoot, Prine, Doc Watson; country heroes like Nelson, Rogers, Sonny James, Alan Jackson, Tritt, Haggard, Jerry Jeff, Waylon and Bobby Bare.
Mark has written songs in all genres; rock, blues, pop, folk, country, cajun, ballads, Irish, comedy, Christmas, Christian and Americana.
For Mark, it's all about the songs, the GREAT songs. There are treasures of well-written songs in the shadows of the old music library, and he holds the secret. You are his honored guests for the day, and all he wants to do is make you appreciate these unique songs, whether he wrote them or not. From the stage, Mark is charismatic and kind, giving them to you as gifts, and you appreciate the revelation. And you smile. Mark knows that laughter is the biggest bringer of people together, carried by the music. He sees humor in absolutely everything- a bit of outlaw. You go home from a Mark Northey concert enriched and feeling very much lighter, and you smile - at the memory of this crazy, Parrothead songsmith.
Neye Benziyor?
Mark sounds like a cross between John Denver, Jimmy Buffett, and Arlo Guthrie, with traces of Paul McCartney.
MARK NORTHEY is an accomplished singer/songwriter and music producer with a long list of credits. From Wyandotte Michigan, Mark's career began at the notorious Captain Ahab's on the Detroit River in a vocal trio called Deep Haven Touring Company. He cut his teeth on the great songwiters of the era: The Eagles, Beatles, Jagger/Richards, John Denver, Jim Croce, Steve Goodman, John Prine; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Shel Silverstein, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Willie Nelson, Randy Newman, Loudon Wainright III, John Mellencamp; and most important of all- Jimmy Buffett. After two years as a struggling solo artist,He migrated to Ann Arbor, settling in at The King's Arms Pub and soon packed the house with fans of his fun music and his crazy but charming personality. On April 10,1983, Mark performed on stage with his hero Jimmy Buffett in a concert at U of M's Hill Auditorium, a large photo of them gracing the front page of the next day's Michigan Journal. During this period Mark opened for Tim Allen in his first post -prison comeback show, truly an historic event. Around this time, Mark was getting a lot of radio interviews, and through this publicity gained the attention and respect of the legendary musician T.V Sylvia with whom he produced and hosted a musical television show called "Music People's Party". They also formed a Beatles tribute band, "P.S. I Love You", which sounded uncannily like The Fab Four. Although a "killer" band, the historical timing wasn't advantageous. But they did perform many concerts and radio apperarances, including a short halftime show during a Michigan game. Continuing as a solo and after four years of developing a charismatic stage rapport and subsequent large following at The King's Arms, he hit the beaches and islands of Upper Michigan. He was well-received by sailors, boaters and tourists in the area, spending four successful seasons on Mackinac Island. Mark won a local songwriting contest with "Behind His Old Guitar", which received a lot of air play, and was filmed by a CNN news crew on Mackinac singing his hit "Bombs Away"(about horse fuel). Thusly, Mark was seen on national television in 1984 roughly fifty times in the clip played round the clock for two weeks - Mark's "Fifteen Minutes", he jokes. Four winters in Phoenix / Tempe brought Mark more fans and some songwriting awards, and he opened at a comedy club for David Spade. His island soul finally returned him to the Florida Keys, and for six seasons he created fans up and down A1A. While living on his 25-foot Hunter sailboat, he sang island music and crazy songs to the local sailors and "Conchs", at the same time hosting an AM country drive-time show called "Morning Sickness" on WFFG radio. Still a Buffett "apostle", he began songwriting in earnest and recording a few originals. After a call from family to come to Missouri to build a house, Mark "Got Off The Rock", and when he completed the farmhouse ended up at The Lake of The Ozarks in 1995. The Captain's Galley immediately hired him with his Buffett songs and insanity. He packed the floating bar and grill with hundreds of new fans for the next 10 seasons, voted "Best Entertainer" most years. Drawing the attention of the Branson and St. Louis Parrtohead Clubs, Mark performed for countless Parrothead "Phlockings" and concerts as a solo and with friend and guitar player, Duane Hertz. He soon formed a tribute band, Mark Northey And The Finheads. They recorded two CDs; Son Of The Beach and Live at Keys(now called Phlocking Live), which included a radio interview with Dan Dierdorf. Another CD, Wine And Women In Thongs soon followed to great reviews and local radio airlplay. In 1998, Mark married the treasurer of the world's FIRST Parrothead club (St. Louis PHC) Denise Powell, a nurse with a huge heart and an awesome and fun personality. Their wedding reception cruise is legendary and still talked about. The honeymooners packed up their modest 36-foot RV and headed straight for Ft. Myers Beach, where Mark has played for ten seasons, eight at The Lani Kai Island Resort. In between, Mark has done several Caribbean tours, singing on the islands of St. John, St. Martin (where he did a radio interview on Pirate Radio), Tortola (at Foxy's), and on Grand Cayman. In 2006, Mark wrote and produced a nineteen-song CD "Over The Edge" in his home studio, his best to date. It has received rave reviews, and lately his songs have been afforded radio airplay for a brief time on early Margaritaville Radio and most recently on several Trop-Rock stations, including Island Time and Jimmy Dreamz internet radio. At fifty-nine, Mark is still reaching fans from all over the U.S. and making them laugh with his songs and island music brand of fun. This "not-all-there" performer will be back in Southwest Florida for the 2008 season. Mark Northey is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, poet, author,actor, photographer, carpenter, raconteur, and teller of legendary stories. His travels and experiences, both exhilirating and tragic, have humbled and enriched him as a Rennaisance man of the new millenium. His official Mark's Crew Fan Club and website is: www.marknorthey.com.
Mark, you are the bomb my man..After listening to "How Do You Like My Apples' and "She Got Maracas" I trust you will continue to keep me aBREAST of all your adventures, cheers!
