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Interview with Mark Farner
April 2008, By Metal Mark |
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Mark Farner is perhaps most known as the
vocalist/guitarist/songwriter for Grand Funk Railroad, a position he
held with different incarnations of the band from 1969-1999. He has
also recorded a number of solo albums and is still going at it. I
recently had the pleasure of interviewing to find out about his past
and his current projects
So how old were you when you started playing guitar and what was
your first guitar?
I was 15 and my mother got me 6 lessons and rented a Kay acoustic
guitar for that time period. My first real electric guitar was a
Harmony, it came packaged with a little amp with an 8" speaker and I
was rockin'!
What were some of the bands you were in before
Grand Funk Railroad?
The Geneseeins, MoJo and the Nightwalkers, the Derelicts, Robin and
the Hoods, The Pack, The Fabulous Pack, and Terry Knight and the
Pack.
Tell us a little about how Grand Funk Railroad
formed.
Brewer and I went to Bay City Michigan to take a piece of this
promotion company's ass and wipe up their office with it and while
we were in the waiting room we could hear a band rehearsing in the
next room. It was Question Mark and the Mysterians and when they
took a break Mel Schacher came out and we talked to him about
starting a three-piece band. He
accepted and the rest is history.
Who came up with the band name?
Former manager and promotional genius Terry Knight.
In July of 1969 Grand Funk Railroad played the
Atlanta International Pop Festival. You were the only unsigned act
on the bill and shortly after that you got signed. What do you
remember about that show and do you think it was instrumental in
helping the band to get signed?
What I remember about the show was getting up on the platform of the
stage, which was 12 to 15 ft. above the ground and gave us the
advantage of seeing the size of the crowd for the first time. Up
until then, we had only heard the hum of all those people. (it was
and amazing hum!) At that point I didn't know whether to shit or go
blind so I went blindly, with reckless abandon to the front of that
stage and we proceeded to kick their asses so good they wouldn't let
us leave the deck.
Capitol Records folks were no dummies, their representatives were
there and saw the reaction of the audience that day and signed us
shortly there after. |
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What were some of the other more memorable
shows of your career?
Shea Stadium in New York City 1971, Atlanta Pop festivals 1969-1971,
Texas International Pop Festival 1970, Randals Island, New York,
World Series Baseball Stadium in Osaka, Japan 1971, The L.A. Forum
shows Rocked!
And with my solo band, Mexico City, Mexico, Monterey, Mexico rocks!
Also Santiago, Chile was exciting as the fans were literally hanging
from the rafters! Japanese cities have always rocked with my brand
of rock and roll and when we went to Bulgaria we found a warm
welcome from fans who rocked so hard the place was shakin'!
If someone had never heard a Grand Funk
Railroad album before and could only afford to buy one then which
one would you recommend to them and why?
I would recommend Closer to Home because it contains the song "I'm
Your Captain" and it is as meaningful today for our troops and those
who love them as it was in the time of the Vietnam War. Even though
it was foisted upon us and the focus of the nation was shifting,
those Americans wanted to be Closer To Home.
Why did you guys break up in 1977? What did
you during the time in between when the band split and when you did
your solo albums?
We broke up because Don Brewer came to rehearsal one day and
announced he was going to find something less stressful to do. We
went our separate ways and the remainder of the band ended up
forming a group named Flint.
The band split in 1976 and I put out my first solo album on Atlantic
Records in 1977. I was busy putting together a band to tour with
because I still have a lot of music left in me and I am going to
spend it recklessly!
Grand Funk reformed in the early 1980's and
you did two albums. Did you approach those albums any differently
than the albums you did in the 1970's?
Not really, because Mel Schacher was in the band until we were
supposed to go to L.A. and sign with Warner Brothers Full Moon
label. At that time he told us he couldn't fly any more. The
difference in the band was the bass player Dennis Bellinger from
Flint, Michigan. He was a kick-ass bass player and solid vocalist
that complimented our style and worked well. |
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What
were you doing in the 80's after those two albums?
I made some Christian albums for Frontline records and kept touring
through out the years. I have to. I can't get my fix any place else!
In 1995 you toured with Ringo Starr's All-Star
band. What was that experience like?
It was a great experience playing with brother Ringo and and I loved
learning all the other artist’s music. People like Billy Preston,
Felix Cavaliere, Randy Bachman, John Entwistle, Zack Starky and Mark
Rivera, how could that be bad?
You toured again with Grand Funk Railroad in
the late 1990's. What was that like and why did you leave in 1999?
The reunion was good but before we started Don Brewer asked me not
to tour with my solo band as it would be competition for the Funk
dates. I agreed to his request but stipulated it would be only for a
period of two |
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years as I was
not willing to give up the solo career I had worked some twenty-five
years to establish.
What are you currently working on?
Always writing music, wrote some songs with John Anderson from
Tennessee and Richard Young from Kentucky Headhunters recently.
What kind of music are you listening to these
days?
I listen to my favorite oldies, stuff that makes me get my ass up
and dance with my beautiful wife Lesia!
Of course the music business today is way
different from say 35 years ago. What's better in today's business
and what's worse about today's music business?
The technology is better and the manipulation by the money printers
is worse.
What advice would you give to a young band
just starting out?
Stay true to your heart and write what you are feeling, don't let
any one tell you what not to say and what would be more commercially
accepted. Fuck that!
Is there anything else that you would like to
say about yourself or your music?
I thank the Creator for my music and I am equally as appreciative
for the fans who help us musicians keep music alive, along with the
rest who together believe in the love of it to the death. Thanks
Brother McKinney!
www.markfarner.com |
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