Mark Steiner & His Problems

Artist Information

Biography

Mark Steiner (and His Problems) is a well-known figure in Oslo’s music underworld, and he’s been around in Norway for so long that many assume that he is Norwegian. He is not. This ex-New Yorker is a wandering scoundrel who one might find hanging out in the shadowy corners of a pub at closing time – whether the nearest street sign reads New York, Oslo, Paris, Berlin, Lisbon or Melbourne. A musical vagrant who draws inspiration from the same sources which may have influenced Stuart Staples, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Rowland S. Howard – yes, that entire circle of hollow-eyed, black-clad night owls with melancholic dispositions and pocket-flasks full of booze to match. Mark Steiner is indeed such a character.

An odyssey of decadence, the album BROKEN was recorded in Melbourne, New York, Dortmund and Oslo, with some of the “crème-de-la- crème” of today’s “Swamp-Rock” and “Lounge-Noir” musicians from around the globe, including Parisian art-rocker Dimi Dero and his German partner-in-crime Tex Napalm, Sofy Perez and Lisa Barel of French cabaret duo Tulla Larsen, Rosie Westbrook (of former Bad Seed Mick Harvey’s band), and Cam Butler of Australia’s Silver Ray. Ex-Autodrone vocalist Susana Melendez makes an appearance on the song “Divine Whore,” and New York’s Susan Mitchell contributes her incredible string-playing skills on several other tracks. Australian legend Pete Luscombe of Paul Kelly fame is here on a couple of songs, as is Stevie Hesketh of Jet. And yet there are even more…

BROKEN is Mark Steiner’s follow-up to his debut solo release, a Mini-LP CD called FALLEN BIRDS. A limited edition 12" 180gram vinyl EP version, aptly entitled LITTLE FALLEN BIRDS is available by mail order through Stagger Records, and can also found in vinyl record shops throughout Europe, the United States and Australia!

Performing nowadays as “Mark Steiner & His Problems,” whether solo or with one of his many bands, Steiner has played gigs all over New York and Europe, and even in Hong Kong. He has also played two well-received tours of Australia, first in September 2008, and again in November, 2009!

Featured live guest musicians have included Spencer P. Jones (Beasts of Bourbon), Rosie Westbrook (Mick Harvey band), members of Silver Ray, Madrugada and Serena Maneesh, and many others.

Mark Steiner has also played support, both solo and with his band, for many an artist, including ex-Swans member Michael Gira (US), Devendra Banhart (US), Madrugada (N), Rowland S. Howard (AUS), The Fatal Shore (AUS/UK), Kid Congo Powers & the Pink Monkey Birds (US), Ingrid Olava (N) and many more...

Saudade, the new album, is currently in the works, and is expected to see the light of day by Autumn 2013.

For more info, go to:
www.StaggerHome.com
or
www.MySpace.com/StaggerHome

Instrumentation

Mark Steiner - Guitar, Vocal, Baritone Guitar
Thomas Borge (Denmark) - Bass
Tobias "Tex" Lange (Denmark) - Percussion
Pavel Cingl (Czech Republic) - Violin
Bunny Lake (Scotland/Portugal) - Vocal
Christopher Mele (USA) - Drums
Peter Mele (USA) - Bass
Susan Mitchell (USA) - Violin
Dimi Dero (France) - Percussion
Sofy Perez (France) - Vocal
Lisa Barel (France) - Piano
Tex Napalm (Germany) - Guitar
Cam Butler (Australia) - Guitar
Julitha Ryan (Australia) - Piano, Cello, Vocal
Rosie Westbrook (Australia) - String Bass

Discography

CURRENT RELEASES

MARK STEINER'S BANDS & SOLO RELEASES
Mark Steiner "Broken" CD (Stagger Records, France, 2010 • Stagg008)

Mark Steiner "Sea of Disappointment/Beautiful Thief" gatefold 10" vinyl EP (Stagger Records, France, 2010 • Stagg007)

Mark Steiner "Broken" / "Fallen Birds" special edition 2-CD (Z-Man Records, Australia, 2009)

Mark Steiner "Broken" limited edition 12" vinyl LP (Z-Man Records, Australia, 2009)

Mark Steiner "Fallen Birds" Mini LP CD (Stagger Records, France, 2007 - Stagg003)

Mark Steiner "Little Fallen Birds" limited edition gatefold 12" 180g vinyl EP
(Stagger Records, France, 2007 - Stagg004)

EARLIER RELEASES

Mark Steiner "Songs of New York" compilation promo (2003)
Piker Ryan's Folly "Bowery Blues" CD (2000)
Piker Ryan's Folly "Lowlife" CD - EP (1998)

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS, SINGLES, COMPS, ETC.

"A Tribute to Rowland S. Howard" CD Compilation
(Stagger Records, France, 2006)
features "Silver Chain" (RSH, Genevieve McGuckin) as performed by Mark Steiner

"In Glorious Mono" CD Compilation
(Honeymilk Records, Norway, 2005)
features "Reason" by Mark Steiner & The Debauchery

The Mirror Reveals "The Undying Man" single
featuring Mark Steiner & Kit Messick on vocals,
from the album "Frames of Teknicolor"
(Middle Pillar Presents, 2000)

The Mirror Reveals "Moon's On Fire" single
featuring Mark Steiner on guest vocals,
from the album "This Infinite Eye"
(Middle Pillar Presents, 2004)

Piker Ryan's Folly "Eat 'Em Up Jack!" single
(released on Curse of the Hearse compilation, 1998)

Official Website

http://www.StaggerHome.com

Links

• MySpace
• Last.fm
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Download Music Here at BandCamp!
• Official YouTube Channel

Audio

• Broken Man
  Listen   Download
• Beautiful Thief
  Listen   Download
• Sea of Disappointment (St. Kilda version)
  Listen   Download
• Nisj
  Listen   Download
• Peculiar Girl
  Listen   Download
• Unbearable-FallenBirds-MarkSteiner
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• Broken Man
• Sea of Disappointment
• Nisj
• Wallspotting

Video

This World

WALLSPOTTING 28-10-07-test 2

Photo Gallery

Press

• "Lounge-Noir" [+ Show ]
  

  "Mark Steiner's special brand of 'Lounge-Noir' will have you reaching for the booze and the 'replay'..."Mark Steiner's special brand of 'Lounge-Noir' will have you reaching for the booze and the 'replay' button."
  

• Review: Broken (Australia) [+ Show ]
  

  American-born vocalist Mark Steiner has a commanding voice that is ?lled with passion and intrigue, ...American-born vocalist Mark Steiner has a commanding voice that is ?lled with passion and intrigue, sadness and lust. This double CD special edition release contains a myriad of musically and lyrically rich, sophisticated and emotive
  songs. ‘Broken’ opens with a moody instrumental track leading into ‘Broken Man’, a dark and melancholic song, while ‘Fallen Birds’ opens with the
  unpronounceable ‘Nisj’, a gentler and contented song. At times Steiner sounds
  like Mark Sandman, the late front man of Morphine. Steiner’s deep, contemplative music begs for several listens, though not too often or the melancholia will get to you.

• "Backyard Hero" [+ Show ]
  

  “Mark Steiner sounds like an optimal mixture of Nick Cave, Stuart Staples and cult figure Kim Salmon...“Mark Steiner sounds like an optimal mixture of Nick Cave, Stuart Staples and cult figure Kim Salmon… He’s an artist who stands out with heaps of honesty and authority. Broken is Mark Steiner’s step up to the musical elite of rock…”
  - Nordlys (Norway)

• Review: Broken - "Impressive Results" [+ Show ]
  

  “Impressive results - think Lee Hazelwood crossed with Rowland S. Howard with a sprinkle of Nick Cav...“Impressive results - think Lee Hazelwood crossed with Rowland S. Howard with a sprinkle of Nick Cave… Seek, find, buy and you too will fall for his drunken and
  battered heart.”

• Review: Broken - "Delivers" [+ Show ]
  

  “As an LP, ‘Broken’ serves as a fulfillment of what Steiner’s contemporaries “The Devastations” have...“As an LP, ‘Broken’ serves as a fulfillment of what Steiner’s contemporaries “The Devastations” have yet to deliver; for where The Devastations sought emulation
  without necessarily putting their own scars on display, Steiner has delivered an album so steeped in the misery of his own alcohol soaked wounds that the influence he has taken from others serves merely as a foundation for Steiner to drunkenly pass out on.”
  - Damaged Cannibal (Australia), November 2009

• "Obscure but lounge" [+ Show ]
  

  (Mark Steiners) "...profound creative process is obscure but lounge, swamp but groove in the same hi...(Mark Steiners) "...profound creative process is obscure but lounge, swamp but groove in the same high with other scorched of soul poets, like Nick Cave, Steve Dietrich, Stuart Staples, Jeffrey Lee, Hugo Race"

• "Cool classy music" [+ Show ]
  

  "Cool Voice. Somewhere between Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Alan Vega and Lou Reed. Cool classy music, too...."Cool Voice. Somewhere between Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Alan Vega and Lou Reed. Cool classy music, too."

• Modig Madrugada [+ Show ]
  

  Mark Steiner & the broken men varmet opp med enorm overbevisning. De spiller en mørk, melankolsk roc...Mark Steiner & the broken men varmet opp med enorm overbevisning. De spiller en mørk, melankolsk rock, ikke så langt unna Madrugada (de turnerte også med Madrugada i USA nå nylig). Allerede fra første tone viste dette bandet seg som ekstremt profesjonelle og i tiden som kommer vil de nok være et band å regne med, om ikke for de store scenene akkurat. Dette er, i likhet med Madrugada, rock for sene, mørke kvelder.
  
  - Lars Erik Ringerud

• La Fleche D'Or (Paris) [+ Show ]
  

  Une combinaison de punk et de jazz qui donne à ce groupe, à son air crooner et à la voix de son chan...Une combinaison de punk et de jazz qui donne à ce groupe, à son air crooner et à la voix de son chanteur, un petit côté Nick Cave (Eat’ Em Up Jack). Emergeant à New York à la fin des années 1990, ils sont aujourd’hui connus pour être appréciés dans tout ce qui s’apparente à un pub ou à un saloon. C’est dans une tournée européenne de débauche qu’ils accompagneront la diva country, Alice Texas."

• New Yorker i Oslo [+ Show ]
  

  "Soloartisten Mark Steiner er en singer/songwriter/musiker fra New York, som har bosatt seg i Oslo. ..."Soloartisten Mark Steiner er en singer/songwriter/musiker fra New York, som har bosatt seg i Oslo. I tillegg til å synge solo og jobbe med andre band som f.eks Madrugada, så har han eget band under navnet "Piker Ryan". Torsdag 8. mars kl 20.00 spiller han på Cafe Stenersen (ved Museet i Vika). Steiner har akkurat kommet hjem fra studioinnspilling i Paris, og har i tillegg til gamle låter mye nytt materiale. Liker du litt dyster og melankolsk musikk som Nick Cave og Leonard Cohen, så er dette virkelig noe for deg."

Setlist

SONGS - current 30-35 minute setlist
"Torn"
"Broken Man"
"Dead Radio" (Rowland S. Howard cover)
"Nisj"
"Unbearable"
"Beautiful Thief"
"Drunk"
"This World"
"Beijos"
"Sea of Disappointment"

Basic Requirements

Calendar