Mark Zane
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Mark Zane

Syracuse, New York, United States

Syracuse, New York, United States
Band Folk Singer/Songwriter

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"Mark Zane at Burritt's Cafe"

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Mark Zane at Burritt's Cafe

On April 4th, we traveled on that snowy Saturday to Weedsport to hear Mark play at Burritt's Cafe.

When we stepped inside Burritt's Cafe, I wondered if we'd arrived via subway...here was a slice of Greenwich Village transported to the midst of....of....well, nowhere, actually. What a delight this cafe is to the eye, to the ear and to the taste buds! Brick walls and antiques, delicious foods, owners who are charming and friendly as they take your orders and provide excellent service. I highly recommend the seafood bisque. Go visit them...it's worth the drive.

The stage area at Burritt's was definitely not constructed as an after thought. It allows the audience an intimacy with the performer, and Mark Zane is the perfect artist to take full advantage of the arrangement. He banters easily with the crowd, draws them into this songs until they are hanging onto his every word, never wanting the songs to end. Mark knows how to play to a crowd, changing gears to add a cover of "Country Roads" to his set so an elderly couple there to watch him (they'd been to previous shows) could dance, and they did, with elegance and grace. And the sound system here is amazing. You can tell the owners have a love and respect for music, it's not just something they think might be cool to add to the menu.

Mark welcomed a walk-in guest who happened to play the sax up on stage for that number and a couple more. It was the magic created by musicians who love what they do. The bass player, Steve Pederson, quietly played beside Mark, a powerful addition to Mark's music. We enjoyed hearing all our favorites....my particular favorite "Is There a Banjo In the House?", hubby's favorite "Ruby". We hummed "Hambone" all the way home. It was nice to hear him do a John Prine tune, also.

Mark Zane is a PRO....playing throughout the afternoon, making each and every song special, each song's story begging to be heard in spite of the rattle of dishes or folks placing lunch orders. Another performer mentioned previously in the blog would never have made it through his first attempt at a song here.

The highlight of the day? The cafe was a delightful surprise and Mark rocked the place. But what warmed our hearts on this snowy day was the news that Mark and Alice are engaged! Congratulations. Guess Mark isn't such a Knuckleheaded Fool after all. - The Errant Pen and Escaping Words Blog


"Friday Night at the Blue Frog"

Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday Night at the Blue Frog
by Robin Butler

As a surprise for our wedding anniversary, Mark Zane graciously agreed to add a song to his show at the Blue Frog in Cortland on Friday night. He sang "In My Life", the song my brother Alan played when Chris and I were married. I was honored that he did this for us. I had expected that song to be the highlight of the evening for me. We've seen Mark perform live and on tape now, and I've listened to his CD almost every day for a couple of months now. You'd think the music would get too familiar after awhile....that doesn't seem to be the case.

His songs become "friends". I missed not hearing him perform "Ruby" at this show. And was delighted to hear my favorite tune from his "American Hunger" CD, the song "Casualty Officer" about the man with the job of coming to your door to inform you of the death of your child serving in the military. As I've said before, Mark's lyrics haunt you. In this song he forces you to consider multiple definitions for causalities of war.

His cover songs at this show included some Neil Young, Townes VanZandt, a couple of very well done Dylan songs and Cohen's "Hallelujah" again. I enjoyed watching my brother, a musician himself, delight in Mark's music, and had to laugh when my cousin whispered in my ear that she'd like to take him home and cook him a good meal, which is similar to foreplay in our family.

The surprise of the evening came for me with an original song I had not heard before that has stayed in my head. I've hummed it all weekend....on Saturday night as we sat through a dinner theatre of Joey and Maria's Italian Wedding and all day Sunday as we drove out of town to help the son in crisis-mode (at least he's out of jail) , a day that ended with renting a U-Haul, loading up his furniture, and....yeah, he's on the couch downstairs.... but more about that another post.

That song, "Is There A Banjo in the House?" is about those times when your muse arrives and you're doing something else. One verse is about trick or treating with the kids and asking someone "is there a piano in the house?" I often have this issue myself......how lucky I am to only need a scrap of paper to write down a few words......musicians need paper and something to pluck out the melody that's running through their head. I hope to hear that song again soon.

Thanks, Mark, for another great performance. - The Errant Pen and Escaping Words


"Zeppelin among Utica native Mark Zane's influences"

Zeppelin among Utica native Mark Zane's influences

By: Bryan Wilczak, Life &Times of Utica 05/01/2008


There is a kind of comfortable cliché that many artists who operate in the singer/songwriter genre like to gravitate to. The heart of most songwriting ultimately comes down to a guitar, pen and some words the artist chooses, but those who go out on a limb with just that onstage often fail, maybe under the burden of simplicity. The music may end up taking a backseat to a stream of meaningless words and there is often an underlying feeling that the performer is wearing their heart on their sleeve--and there is not much substance to their work beyond that.

Happily, local singer/songwriter Mark Zane is subverting this trend with his own homegrown style. Raised in Utica, he now lives in Syracuse, but he'll be returning to the area this Friday, May 2, to perform at the College Street Café in Clinton. It's a sort of homecoming for Zane, whose attachment to the area is such that he wrote a song called "Utica."
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Zane teaches sociology at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, but spends his time off working on his music, and is preparing to record an album of his best material in May after college classes officially end. While he cites some obvious songwriter influences, he's also taking cues from artists like Led Zeppelin, a band you often wouldn't expect a singer/songwriter to list as a guiding light right upfront.
"Growing up in the 1980s I played in hard rock bands, which means I was heavily influenced by bands such as Led Zeppelin, particularly their heavier songs," Zane said. "I still enjoy their heavy songs today, but I have a greater appreciation for their acoustic work. I think it might be Zeppelin's ability to write long, interesting songs, which has had a big influence on me, as many singer/songwriters write three to three and a half minute songs."
Zane uses the platform of lengthier songs as a vehicle for various topics, including songs criticizing religious practices, political decisions and the economic downturn of the area. These ideas are often expressed through the eyes of a character coming to grips with a situation. One such song, "Utica," is a heartfelt plea by a middle-aged worker who has lost his job and must head elsewhere.
As a practicing Catholic, Zane's religious upbringing seeps into songs such as "The Confession," where he touches on topics of faith in a manner reminiscent of '80s Dylan and the undercurrents of Catholicism in the songs of Bruce Springsteen, another artist whom he admires very much.
"I love Springsteen's latter two acoustic records, 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' and 'Devils and Dust,'" he raves. "I often perform 'Youngstown' from 'The Ghost of Tom Joad.' 'Utica' and another song titled 'Bethlehem,' which are both songs about rust belt cities that have seen better days, are much like Springsteen's 'Youngstown.'"
It's interesting to note that Zane became more involved in songwriting after he found writing short stories "arduous" and that writing songs was "less painful than fiction writing." There's a definite literary feel to his songs, which often are stories laid out in verse and may take several more minutes to play out to conclusion than a conventional pop song with a verse-chorus-verse structure, although they don't ever take on the flavor of extended strings of words awkwardly married to some guitar chords.
Front and center, however, is Zane's full, anchoring voice, at times similar to his idols Springsteen and Zevon, bringing the words, and thereby the heart, of the songs to the forefront.
Zane points out that he admires songwriters who are not afraid of tackling issues in their music often outside the realm of the standard pop song, while still remaining relevant and entertaining performers. One track he makes note of is the John Prine song "Hello in There," which he has played in his live sets on occasion.
"It's a song about aging, which certainly isn't a song a new artist releases with the hopes of getting rich and famous," he notes. "That took guts, and I've always liked the range of topics that John Prine covers."
He also espouses the songwriting of Bob Marley who he explains, "showed that a person can write songs about very serious subjects and still make them fun."
Zane keeps this spirit in his own shows, mixing the more reflective tone of his own compositions with lighter fare like Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl." However, he explains that it's sometimes the moments that force an audience member to think and be under a certain kind of pressure that he strives to create in a live show, more than just simple musical gratification, that are important for him to create.
"It's always funny watching the reactions of people who are eating in a café when I play a song criticizing human behavior," he said. "They sometimes seem uncomfortable, which makes me happy, believe it or not, because they are actually listening to the w - Life & Times of Utica


"Zeppelin among Utica native Mark Zane's influences"

Zeppelin among Utica native Mark Zane's influences

By: Bryan Wilczak, Life &Times of Utica 05/01/2008


There is a kind of comfortable cliché that many artists who operate in the singer/songwriter genre like to gravitate to. The heart of most songwriting ultimately comes down to a guitar, pen and some words the artist chooses, but those who go out on a limb with just that onstage often fail, maybe under the burden of simplicity. The music may end up taking a backseat to a stream of meaningless words and there is often an underlying feeling that the performer is wearing their heart on their sleeve--and there is not much substance to their work beyond that.

Happily, local singer/songwriter Mark Zane is subverting this trend with his own homegrown style. Raised in Utica, he now lives in Syracuse, but he'll be returning to the area this Friday, May 2, to perform at the College Street Café in Clinton. It's a sort of homecoming for Zane, whose attachment to the area is such that he wrote a song called "Utica."
Advertisement


Zane teaches sociology at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, but spends his time off working on his music, and is preparing to record an album of his best material in May after college classes officially end. While he cites some obvious songwriter influences, he's also taking cues from artists like Led Zeppelin, a band you often wouldn't expect a singer/songwriter to list as a guiding light right upfront.
"Growing up in the 1980s I played in hard rock bands, which means I was heavily influenced by bands such as Led Zeppelin, particularly their heavier songs," Zane said. "I still enjoy their heavy songs today, but I have a greater appreciation for their acoustic work. I think it might be Zeppelin's ability to write long, interesting songs, which has had a big influence on me, as many singer/songwriters write three to three and a half minute songs."
Zane uses the platform of lengthier songs as a vehicle for various topics, including songs criticizing religious practices, political decisions and the economic downturn of the area. These ideas are often expressed through the eyes of a character coming to grips with a situation. One such song, "Utica," is a heartfelt plea by a middle-aged worker who has lost his job and must head elsewhere.
As a practicing Catholic, Zane's religious upbringing seeps into songs such as "The Confession," where he touches on topics of faith in a manner reminiscent of '80s Dylan and the undercurrents of Catholicism in the songs of Bruce Springsteen, another artist whom he admires very much.
"I love Springsteen's latter two acoustic records, 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' and 'Devils and Dust,'" he raves. "I often perform 'Youngstown' from 'The Ghost of Tom Joad.' 'Utica' and another song titled 'Bethlehem,' which are both songs about rust belt cities that have seen better days, are much like Springsteen's 'Youngstown.'"
It's interesting to note that Zane became more involved in songwriting after he found writing short stories "arduous" and that writing songs was "less painful than fiction writing." There's a definite literary feel to his songs, which often are stories laid out in verse and may take several more minutes to play out to conclusion than a conventional pop song with a verse-chorus-verse structure, although they don't ever take on the flavor of extended strings of words awkwardly married to some guitar chords.
Front and center, however, is Zane's full, anchoring voice, at times similar to his idols Springsteen and Zevon, bringing the words, and thereby the heart, of the songs to the forefront.
Zane points out that he admires songwriters who are not afraid of tackling issues in their music often outside the realm of the standard pop song, while still remaining relevant and entertaining performers. One track he makes note of is the John Prine song "Hello in There," which he has played in his live sets on occasion.
"It's a song about aging, which certainly isn't a song a new artist releases with the hopes of getting rich and famous," he notes. "That took guts, and I've always liked the range of topics that John Prine covers."
He also espouses the songwriting of Bob Marley who he explains, "showed that a person can write songs about very serious subjects and still make them fun."
Zane keeps this spirit in his own shows, mixing the more reflective tone of his own compositions with lighter fare like Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl." However, he explains that it's sometimes the moments that force an audience member to think and be under a certain kind of pressure that he strives to create in a live show, more than just simple musical gratification, that are important for him to create.
"It's always funny watching the reactions of people who are eating in a café when I play a song criticizing human behavior," he said. "They sometimes seem uncomfortable, which makes me happy, believe it or not, because they are actually listening to the w - Life & Times of Utica


"Songwriter shines light on society"

When he's not writing or singing songs, Mark Zane teaches sociology.

Nice match.

With the dozen original songs on "American Hunger," Zane shines a light on his view of society.

The collection starts with "Have Hope," showcasing the yearning in Zane's soul as well as his voice. He sings, "Have hope that we can save mankind." Gotta vote with him on that one.

Zane handles the acoustic and electric guitars, bass, percussion and vocals, with help from Bill Chernoff on classical guitarsis, keyboards and percussion, Joanne Perry and Bianca Cummings on backing vocals and Ben Chernoff on harmonica. Born and raised in Utica, Zane now lives in Syracuse and teaches at Onondaga Community College.

With peppy songs like "Knuckleheaded Fool," and passionate stories like "Bethlehem" and sad tales like "See Spot Run," he knows how to write lyrics that'll lure you in. With pretty riffs like the acoustic guitar in "Make a Wish" and rich harmonica in "Man Under a Bridge," his hooks are sharp, too.

Catch a show: Zane performs at 7 p.m. Saturday at Shamballa's Cafe, 34 Oswego St.

On the Internet: www.myspace.com/markzane1.

- Syracuse Post-Standard


"Songwriter shines light on society"

When he's not writing or singing songs, Mark Zane teaches sociology.

Nice match.

With the dozen original songs on "American Hunger," Zane shines a light on his view of society.

The collection starts with "Have Hope," showcasing the yearning in Zane's soul as well as his voice. He sings, "Have hope that we can save mankind." Gotta vote with him on that one.

Zane handles the acoustic and electric guitars, bass, percussion and vocals, with help from Bill Chernoff on classical guitarsis, keyboards and percussion, Joanne Perry and Bianca Cummings on backing vocals and Ben Chernoff on harmonica. Born and raised in Utica, Zane now lives in Syracuse and teaches at Onondaga Community College.

With peppy songs like "Knuckleheaded Fool," and passionate stories like "Bethlehem" and sad tales like "See Spot Run," he knows how to write lyrics that'll lure you in. With pretty riffs like the acoustic guitar in "Make a Wish" and rich harmonica in "Man Under a Bridge," his hooks are sharp, too.

Catch a show: Zane performs at 7 p.m. Saturday at Shamballa's Cafe, 34 Oswego St.

On the Internet: www.myspace.com/markzane1.

- Syracuse Post-Standard


"Telling 'very short stories' with guitar"

By L. David Wheeler, staff writer
Daily Messenger
Posted Nov 20, 2008 @ 01:18 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopewell, N.Y. — As an associate professor of sociology, Mark Zane studies humans and their interactions with one another in families, cultures and institutions ranging from church to country to corporation.


So it’s no surprise that Zane — also a singer, songwriter and guitarist — is drawn to work by artists who take the same observational, reflective approach — people like Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle. He does the same.


“I’ve got a song about homelessness, and domestic violence — these are basically things I’ve studied in class” with his students, Zane said last week. “The only trick is, you’ve got to say a lot of things in a song that’s maybe only four minutes long. You have to get to the point, and make it interesting.”


Zane, who works at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, returns this Friday, Nov. 21, to Finger Lakes Community College, where he taught from 1999 to 2003. He will give a concert from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the FLCC Honors House — a CD release party for his new disc, “American Hunger.” His first full album, it includes a number of songs about contemporary American social issues (hence the title), though boiled down to the personal level. “See Spot Run,” for instance, borrows the Dick-and-Jane characters to present the effects of ongoing domestic violence and tension on a helpless observer (Spot):


“This happens almost every night/Dick comes home looking for a fight/Because he claims Jane ruined his life/When she became his wife ...”


That one, Zane said, is somewhat counterintuitive in the marriage of lyrics and melody: “It sounds like a nice country, folk song, that you want to get up and dance to,” he said.


His most realized song, in his opinion, is “Casualty Officer,” sung from the perspective of the military officer whose duty is to inform families that their loved one has been killed:


“I’ve done this for a year/to bear bad tidings and no cheer/When you see me at the door/You know just what’s in store/No, you can’t run and you can’t hide/I have arrived ...”


“It’s one of the songs I’m most proud of,” Zane said. “It’s something I didn’t know a lot about before I researched it.”


And one that audiences seem to respond to particularly is “Knuckleheaded Fool,” about someone who’s made something of a mess of a lot of his life — but is nonetheless loved unconditionally and realizes how lucky he is:


“I got a daughter and a son who want nothing to do with me/I got three ex-wives each living off alimony/Still I got love, I got love/I’ve got railroad tracks where the train ripped up my arm/I got a monkey on my back still threatens to do me harm/But I got love ...”


Zane, 36, grew up in Utica and says he started playing guitar when he was 10. He says he was fortunate to have musical neighbors — including David Gluck, now a SUNY Purchase professor and member of the chamber group Rhythm & Brass. Zane only began seriously writing songs over the past four or five years, since taking the job at OCC. He earlier had tried his hand at writing fiction, but found that he was more suited to narrative songwriting — “very short stories,” as he puts it.


As he started getting more involved with songwriting, he started testing out some open-mic nights and developing his “bag of covers,” which he says make up about a third of his shows these days: songs from his perennial favorites like Springsteen and Neil Young, along with lesser-known songwriters like Loudon Wainwright III, Tom Waits and Todd Snider, even some reggae. (Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” has been a concert staple.)

- Canandaigua Daily Messenger


"Telling 'very short stories' with guitar"

By L. David Wheeler, staff writer
Daily Messenger
Posted Nov 20, 2008 @ 01:18 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopewell, N.Y. — As an associate professor of sociology, Mark Zane studies humans and their interactions with one another in families, cultures and institutions ranging from church to country to corporation.


So it’s no surprise that Zane — also a singer, songwriter and guitarist — is drawn to work by artists who take the same observational, reflective approach — people like Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle. He does the same.


“I’ve got a song about homelessness, and domestic violence — these are basically things I’ve studied in class” with his students, Zane said last week. “The only trick is, you’ve got to say a lot of things in a song that’s maybe only four minutes long. You have to get to the point, and make it interesting.”


Zane, who works at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, returns this Friday, Nov. 21, to Finger Lakes Community College, where he taught from 1999 to 2003. He will give a concert from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the FLCC Honors House — a CD release party for his new disc, “American Hunger.” His first full album, it includes a number of songs about contemporary American social issues (hence the title), though boiled down to the personal level. “See Spot Run,” for instance, borrows the Dick-and-Jane characters to present the effects of ongoing domestic violence and tension on a helpless observer (Spot):


“This happens almost every night/Dick comes home looking for a fight/Because he claims Jane ruined his life/When she became his wife ...”


That one, Zane said, is somewhat counterintuitive in the marriage of lyrics and melody: “It sounds like a nice country, folk song, that you want to get up and dance to,” he said.


His most realized song, in his opinion, is “Casualty Officer,” sung from the perspective of the military officer whose duty is to inform families that their loved one has been killed:


“I’ve done this for a year/to bear bad tidings and no cheer/When you see me at the door/You know just what’s in store/No, you can’t run and you can’t hide/I have arrived ...”


“It’s one of the songs I’m most proud of,” Zane said. “It’s something I didn’t know a lot about before I researched it.”


And one that audiences seem to respond to particularly is “Knuckleheaded Fool,” about someone who’s made something of a mess of a lot of his life — but is nonetheless loved unconditionally and realizes how lucky he is:


“I got a daughter and a son who want nothing to do with me/I got three ex-wives each living off alimony/Still I got love, I got love/I’ve got railroad tracks where the train ripped up my arm/I got a monkey on my back still threatens to do me harm/But I got love ...”


Zane, 36, grew up in Utica and says he started playing guitar when he was 10. He says he was fortunate to have musical neighbors — including David Gluck, now a SUNY Purchase professor and member of the chamber group Rhythm & Brass. Zane only began seriously writing songs over the past four or five years, since taking the job at OCC. He earlier had tried his hand at writing fiction, but found that he was more suited to narrative songwriting — “very short stories,” as he puts it.


As he started getting more involved with songwriting, he started testing out some open-mic nights and developing his “bag of covers,” which he says make up about a third of his shows these days: songs from his perennial favorites like Springsteen and Neil Young, along with lesser-known songwriters like Loudon Wainwright III, Tom Waits and Todd Snider, even some reggae. (Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” has been a concert staple.)

- Canandaigua Daily Messenger


"Zane brings sociology to songs"

Zane brings sociology to songsBy David Wilcox / The Citizen

Thursday, November 6, 2008 6:14 PM EST

As a sociology professor and musician, Mark Zane’s songs observe the world around him more sharply than most.
His first full album of original material, “American Hunger,” gathers 12 songs digging into diverse subjects, such as domestic violence in “See Spot Run” and homelessness in “Man Under the Bridge.”

“It’s about the guys you see in Syracuse when you get off the highway,” Zane said.

But the tone of “American Hunger” isn’t all downbeat; it leads off with the optimistic “Have Hope.”

Though the majority of Zane’s music looks outward, select songs, such as “Ruby,” feed off inspiration from within. The song looks back at a woman Zane liked named Ruby. But like other autobiographical songs, “Ruby” isn’t entirely based in reality.

Zane’s acoustic bent contrasts his harder-rocking days in high school, when he played in rock and metal bands.

“I wrote a little bit of stuff back then, but not the kind I’d want to play today,” said Zane, who has played guitar since he was 10.

After dabbling in fiction writing as a young adult, Zane felt he would be more apt at acoustic songwriting. He prefers the accessibility of the acoustic guitar, but “American Hunger” isn’t all Zane’s words and bare strings.

The album also features backing vocalists Joanne Perry and Bianca Cummings, harmonica player Ben Chernoff and classical guitarist Bill Chernoff, who also co-produced the album with Zane last summer. Zane also plays percussion, bass and electric guitar on several tracks.

“I dust off the electric when I want to put a solo down,” he said. “It’s fun to let my hair down and jam.”

David Wilcox
- Auburn Citizen


"Zane brings sociology to songs"

Zane brings sociology to songsBy David Wilcox / The Citizen

Thursday, November 6, 2008 6:14 PM EST

As a sociology professor and musician, Mark Zane’s songs observe the world around him more sharply than most.
His first full album of original material, “American Hunger,” gathers 12 songs digging into diverse subjects, such as domestic violence in “See Spot Run” and homelessness in “Man Under the Bridge.”

“It’s about the guys you see in Syracuse when you get off the highway,” Zane said.

But the tone of “American Hunger” isn’t all downbeat; it leads off with the optimistic “Have Hope.”

Though the majority of Zane’s music looks outward, select songs, such as “Ruby,” feed off inspiration from within. The song looks back at a woman Zane liked named Ruby. But like other autobiographical songs, “Ruby” isn’t entirely based in reality.

Zane’s acoustic bent contrasts his harder-rocking days in high school, when he played in rock and metal bands.

“I wrote a little bit of stuff back then, but not the kind I’d want to play today,” said Zane, who has played guitar since he was 10.

After dabbling in fiction writing as a young adult, Zane felt he would be more apt at acoustic songwriting. He prefers the accessibility of the acoustic guitar, but “American Hunger” isn’t all Zane’s words and bare strings.

The album also features backing vocalists Joanne Perry and Bianca Cummings, harmonica player Ben Chernoff and classical guitarist Bill Chernoff, who also co-produced the album with Zane last summer. Zane also plays percussion, bass and electric guitar on several tracks.

“I dust off the electric when I want to put a solo down,” he said. “It’s fun to let my hair down and jam.”

David Wilcox
- Auburn Citizen


"Hallelujah! Mark Zane at Sparkytown!"

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2009

Hallelujah! Mark Zane at Sparkytown! by Robin Butler

Mark Zane did NOT disappoint us at Sparkytown's last night! He made good on his promise to play his new song, "Maybe" and many songs off his new CD "American Hunger". His keen observations of the state of the world are reflected in his lyrics. He makes you laugh, shake your head, tear up, but -- most importantly -- he demands your attention and you can't stop thinking about his songs long after he's put his guitar down. As a poet, I'm always in awe of songwriters who can pull off the tough rhymes.....as he does in his song "Ruby" where he manages an end rhyme for "erection" that works.

There's always a highlight or two in a live performance and one of them for me came when Mark announced he'd do a cover of the Leonard Cohen anthem "Hallelujah". (It's on the playlist I shared a few posts ago...one of my absolute favorites from the father of song.) I was initially excited, then wondered if I could stand to hear another performer butcher what I consider to be one of the finest songs -- both lyrics and melody. I had once been excited to hear Willie Nelson's version and then cringed, although I have grown to like it a little more.

But Mark nailed it - and it wasn't just because some others from the audience sang a soft harmony. His voice is powerful and his guitar playing strong; his bass player was excellent. Mark's performance of "Hallelujah" was bone chilling and delicious, creating the magic a musician weave only when he understands a song completely.

Even though I've been listening to Mark's CD as I do dishes or cook dinner, after hearing him perform these songs, they take on new meaning. It's difficult to pick a favorite. I thought it was "Bethlehem" but this morning it might be "Man Under the Bridge". Then again it may be the other song that touched me last night, Mark's song about a fallen soldier in Iraq, "Going Home". This is the song that has stayed with me, keeping me company this morning.

We had a great time. Sparky, thanks for opening up your restaurant to music for the 'hood. Mark, thanks for sharing your music with us.






POSTED BY SUNNY AT 9:56 AM 1 COMMENTS
LABELS: MARK ZANE, SPARKYTOWN

- The Errant Pen and Escaping Words


"Hallelujah! Mark Zane at Sparkytown!"

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2009

Hallelujah! Mark Zane at Sparkytown! by Robin Butler

Mark Zane did NOT disappoint us at Sparkytown's last night! He made good on his promise to play his new song, "Maybe" and many songs off his new CD "American Hunger". His keen observations of the state of the world are reflected in his lyrics. He makes you laugh, shake your head, tear up, but -- most importantly -- he demands your attention and you can't stop thinking about his songs long after he's put his guitar down. As a poet, I'm always in awe of songwriters who can pull off the tough rhymes.....as he does in his song "Ruby" where he manages an end rhyme for "erection" that works.

There's always a highlight or two in a live performance and one of them for me came when Mark announced he'd do a cover of the Leonard Cohen anthem "Hallelujah". (It's on the playlist I shared a few posts ago...one of my absolute favorites from the father of song.) I was initially excited, then wondered if I could stand to hear another performer butcher what I consider to be one of the finest songs -- both lyrics and melody. I had once been excited to hear Willie Nelson's version and then cringed, although I have grown to like it a little more.

But Mark nailed it - and it wasn't just because some others from the audience sang a soft harmony. His voice is powerful and his guitar playing strong; his bass player was excellent. Mark's performance of "Hallelujah" was bone chilling and delicious, creating the magic a musician weave only when he understands a song completely.

Even though I've been listening to Mark's CD as I do dishes or cook dinner, after hearing him perform these songs, they take on new meaning. It's difficult to pick a favorite. I thought it was "Bethlehem" but this morning it might be "Man Under the Bridge". Then again it may be the other song that touched me last night, Mark's song about a fallen soldier in Iraq, "Going Home". This is the song that has stayed with me, keeping me company this morning.

We had a great time. Sparky, thanks for opening up your restaurant to music for the 'hood. Mark, thanks for sharing your music with us.






POSTED BY SUNNY AT 9:56 AM 1 COMMENTS
LABELS: MARK ZANE, SPARKYTOWN

- The Errant Pen and Escaping Words


Discography

American Hunger - 2008

This debut CD contains the following 12 original songs:
1. Have Hope
2. Ruby
3. Like a Photograph
4. Knuckleheaded Fool
5. Make a Wish
6. Bethlehem
7. See Spot Run
8. Casualty Officer
9. Come Alive
10. Man Under the Bridge
11. Without Love
12. Going Home

Photos

Bio

Mark Zane was born and raised in the small rust belt city of Utica, NY and now calls its larger neighbor to the west, Syracuse, home. The grit of life in crumbling industrial cities can be heard in some of the songs that appear on Mark's debut CD titled, "American Hunger," which features an exciting blend of folk, rock, and even a little country thrown into these 12 original songs.

Mark has written 81 original songs, and performs 40 of these live. He throws in periodic cover songs, which includes songs from among the following artists: Bob Marley, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright III, Tom Waits, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Todd Snider, Townes Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and many others.

Along with writing and performing music, Mark is also an Associate Professor of Sociology at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse whose songs often incorporate sociological themes and concepts. In the tradition of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Steve Earle and others, Mark's original songs analyze American life through a sympathetic, yet sometimes, critical eye. He also writes and performs autobiographically inspired songs about love and aspirations, and everyday occurrences, as well as throws in periodic cover songs from some of his favorite artists.

Mark performs as a solo artist, and also as a duo with bassist Steve Pederson (and often as a trio with harmonica player Paul Marconi) in Central and Western New York cafes, bars, and colleges, as well as private functions. He is always interested in expanding his locations.