by Brian D. Holland.

Mark Newman is known for his work in the late '90s as frontman for pop-rock band Tao Jones, wherein he sang, played multiple instruments, and wrote most of the material. They experienced mild success with Rorschach Sunset in 1997, an album that was critically acclaimed and distributed worldwide. The New York City musician has a knack for a variety of stringed instruments, especially guitar, as well as a gritty and soulful voice.

He was able to fine tune his guitar playing style when he hooked up with the likes of Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) and Sam the Sham ("Wooly Bully" and "Li’l Red Riding Hood" singer Domingo Samudio, of Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs). His love for the sweet, tuneful fill-in guitar riffs of Steve Cropper, along with the styles of other blues and r&b legends, made touring with the two Sams a perfectly affable ride. To this day he continues to tour and record with both legendary performers.

Mark’s 2006 debut, Must Be A Pony, is 14 songs rich in melody, provocative verse, and colorful musical texture. Though the songs often evoke a classic rock ambiance, simultaneously they’re fresh, original, and extremely engaging. Each is a seasoned and honed blend of American roots folk and rock, reminiscent of the likes of Ry Cooder, James Gang, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, and many other composers of timeless, catchy and well crafted songs. His cover of the Bee Gees’ "New York City Mining Disaster, 1941" is hauntingly brilliant. He conjures pleasant tones and stimulating melodies throughout the album's tracks on lead and rhythm guitar, dobro, mandolin, slide, and lap steel.

The interview took place on January 25, 2007.

Your debut CD, ‘Must Be A Pony’, is really very good.

Mark Newman: Thank you, Brian

You’re entirely welcome. I enjoyed it so much that I reviewed it in my column here at Modern Guitars. Tell me a little about yourself. How did guitar happen for you and how’d you get into your style of music?

MN: Well, I was always attracted to guitars. You know, the sound, even the look of the guitar. It always caught my ear as a kid. I was going to say ‘when growing up’, but there’s this joke in which a kid says, "When I grow up I wanna be a musician." The mother answers, "Sorry hon, you can’t do both." [Both laughing] But anyway, listening to The Beatles and The Stones, and with the Stones I realized, wow, there’s blues out there, too. And then bands like Little Feet, The Allman Brothers. That’s really what steered me in this direction, and you know, combining all of those influences. Then there was soul music and Steve Cropper guitar parts. That’s my favorite stuff. That’s kind of what directed me toward playing guitar; all those people, and the sound coming through the radio.

You can hear a lot of different sounds and styles in your music, much of it pointing toward classic rock. Though original to you as well, your playing style and your voice are often evocative of something else. It’s hard to spot, which makes it incredibly interesting. Both ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ and especially ‘Must Be A Pony’, in my opinion, are suggestive of a melodic and mellow Joe Walsh and James Gang. That said, I’m sure other listeners perceive different things. I perceive some Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, and Jackson Browne in your music as well.

MN: Well, thank you. You’re naming all the right people.

Though I perceive those influences in your music as well as in your voice, voice-wise I also hear a raw and gritty Paul Rogers, Steve Miller, and Lou Gramm.

MN: Again, thanks. To me, not to sound jaded or anything, but those guys set the standard. It’s funny, because today it’s singers like Eddy Vedder who have set another standard. I love Eddie Vedder’s style. He’s one of the most passionate singers I’ve heard in like the past twenty years.

I agree. I’m a huge Pearl Jam fan. And you’re right. So many singers have come out since, especially in radio rock, and they’re all trying to sound like Vedder. But going back to that classic sound, you did a cover on your CD that I like quite a lot, the Bee Gees’ ‘New York Mining Disaster, 1941’. I love it when someone does a good cover of a classic '60s or '70s song, especially one that hasn’t been covered much, or hasn’t been covered at all. That’s a nice one.

MN: Thank you. I’ve always loved that song. Sometimes, when you really love a song, it’s hard to find a good departure that will stand up to the original. So I hope it does. It’s very hard. One of the best covers I’ve ever heard is Joe Cocker’s version of ‘A Little Help From My Friends’. It’s really hard to take a Beatles’ song, you know, which every note is etched into your mind, and just take it somewhere else.

Right. One that comes to my mind is Aerosmith’s version of ‘I’m Down’. That’s a good one.

MN:Yes. That’s a good one, too.

How did your debut, ‘Must Be A Pony’, come into existence?

MN: I was in a band called Tao Jones in the '90s. After we disbanded I kind of floated around playing with different people. I was still writing, too. Keith Lentin, who co-produced it, told me that he had just built a studio in his house. I told him I’d do it there if he’d coproduce it because the guy is a great producer. It was intended to be an acoustic record. But being a guitar player, you just start thinking, well, I can hear an electric guitar here and there. You just start adding things. But it was Keith Lentin who had encouraged me to get it out there. He’s responsible.

Talking of the classic sound of much of the music, especially songs like ‘Mean Season (Lucille, Lucille), and ‘Love Won’t Ever Pass This Way Again’, they possess this extraordinary timeless attribute about them, almost as if they’re classic already.

MN: Well, that’s a good thing.

You sound like an old bluesman on ‘Hard In The Rain’.

MN: Well, it’s me on the first and third verse. But that is an old bluesman on the second verse. That’s Sam The Sham, the guy who did ‘Wooly Bully’ (singer Domingo Samudio).

Very interesting.

MN: Yeah. Before he did ‘Wooly Bully’, he was a blues singer. He played clubs in Louisiana and Texas, doing blues and shuffles. He co-wrote that song (Hard In The Rain) with me. I play guitar in his road band. Since I live in New York, I told him I need someone to write me some swampy lyrics. [Laughing] I said, "You’re in Memphis, a little closer to all that. Help me out here." So he did. And I got him to sing on the record.

You’ve also toured with Sam Moore, of Sam and Dave fame.

MN: Yeah. That’s why I’m thankful I listened to all that Steve Cropper stuff over the years. Playing with both Sams has been amazing. The Sam Moore gig lets me play all the Steve Cropper stuff. Plus I get to play slide guitar with him, the stuff Robert Randolph did on Sam’s new record. It’s a thrill.

How did you run into those guys?

MN: I’ve known Sam the Sham for years. I wound up playing guitar for him when I was a kid. He was into a solo career at the time. We eventually lost touch, but I called him while passing through Memphis when I was on the road with someone else. It was back in the 90s. We got together and I wound up doing a session for him. He called me a couple of weeks later and said he was going back out on the road, and he asked me to be his guitarist. I said anytime. And with Sam Moore, I had been doing gigs with a music director, a guy named Ivan Bodley. They brought him out to listen to the tracks on Sam Moore’s record and named me to do what I do. He called me and left a long message, and at the end of the message, he said, "Oh, by the way, can you do ‘South By Southwest’ with Sam Moore next week? And can you go to Barcelona? You’ll need a current passport." And that was it. [Laughing]

That’s wild!

MN: Yeah. It was.

Anton Fig played drums on your record in places. It must have been quite interesting to play with him as well. He’s an awesome drummer, very rhythm minded. He was good on ‘Mean Season’.

MN: Yeah! Anton’s great. I didn’t have to give him any direction. I just said ‘here it is’. He scribbled out a quick chart and did it in one take I think. He’s incredible.

What’s the connection to Bekka Bramlett. I saw her photograph on your website.

MN: We took that in Girona, Spain, while on tour with Sam Moore. Man, she can sing. She sang on Sam Moore’s record (Overnight Sensation).

I know we’ve touched on it already, but talk more of your idols and influences.

MN: Well, as I’ve said, I’d have to put Steve Cropper up there. It was a shock, but when I got the gig with Sam Moore, and actually dug in deeper, there were songs I’d never heard. I listened to the guitar part in a Sam & Dave song called ‘Ain’t That A Lot Of Love’ and went, "Wow!" And it was because of the way he played it more than the notes. I mean, he digs in and sounds like he’s killing the guitar to play this. So, it’s Cropper, the Beatles obviously, the Stones; Duane Allman was a big influence. But one of my biggest influences was probably Lowell George. As great as Duane was, Lowell George really took it somewhere else besides the blues licks. He really incorporated it into the writing and everything. And as a vocalist he had incredible phrasing, just like an old blues guy. And he was a great songwriter. He was everything I wanted to be as a musician. I saw Little Feet four times this year. I love them. They’re great. When I was a kid I snuck in and saw them with Lowell George. Though they’re still great today, they were better with Lowell, and he was the main songwriter, too. So, he was one of my main influences. There were others along the way, like the Steely Dan guitar players. Vocally, I listened to soul music, and Beatles and Stones.

There’s still a lot of great music being made by classic rockers today. A lot of people don’t realize how much of it is out there, and how good it all is as well.

MN: You know, I studied guitar years ago with Harold Roberts. I took one of his clinics. He said, "People don’t know what they like. They like what they know."

Words of wisdom, generally speaking.

MN: Yes, they are.

Besides Lowell George, who was the most amazing and influential guitarist you’ve ever seen play live?

MN: I saw Duane Allman with the Allman Brothers Band. He was just amazing. I saw Cream last year. We caught the last night at Madison Square Garden. And, you know, I was in Berlin with Sam Moore, and we caught Clapton doing a regular gig. He had Derek Trucks on guitar, and Doyle Bramhall, who’s incredible. Though that was great, seeing Clapton in Cream made me realize just how amazing he really is. I mean, he didn’t repeat himself at all. He was on fire the whole night. It wasn’t as fiery as the early days but out of the three of them Clapton really blew me away. I’d say the guys who played with McCartney were pretty incredible, too.

There’s a guy who plays in the village at the Bitter End every Monday night named Oz Noy. He has his own thing, very progressive, very strange melodies. He plays a lot and backs other people as well, but he really shines when doing his own thing. In fact, Anton Fig plays drums for him. Sometimes Will Lee plays bass with them also. Noy is very well known in progressive circle, but I don’t know about mainstream. He’s amazing.

You have some great guitar tone on the CD. How do you go about recording guitar?

MN: Small amps. On some I used a ’65 Deluxe Reverb. That was probably the biggest amp used. A lot was done on a 70s Champ, a ’68 Champ, and a Blues Jr. I used a Supro on a couple of things. On one cut I used a Vox Pathfinder, which is a new amp. They’re all small. They Blues Jr. and the Deluxe have one 12" speaker. The others have 8" speakers. Most of the work was done on G&L guitars. I have a G&L ASAT. I love it. If I had to go out with one guitar, that would be it.

[Mark then proceeded to give me a gear breakdown for each song on ‘Must Be A Pony’. I’ve added the information to the songlist below. A couple of streams can be heard in my review of his CD below as well.]

Must Be A Pony equipment notes by track

"Dead Man’s Shoes"
Mark used a Guild DCE5 acoustic and the G&L ASAT. The slide solos were done on a GHI, which is a 60s Japanese guitar with four pickups. In fact, this guitar was used on almost everything where slide is heard, and put through either the Blues Jr. or the Champ.

"What She Does To Me"
Danelectro Baritone, a Frankenstein Tele for rhythm and slide, and the Japanese GHI for the slide solo.

"Must Be A Pony"
Guild DCE5 acoustic (double tracked), Regal Dobro tuned to open C, lap steel by Dobro.

"Hard In The Rain"
An old Harmony F-hole equipped w/ a pickup and put through the Vox Pathfinder.

"Mean Season (Lucille, Lucille)"
The Guild DCE5 and an electric piano, solo done on a G&L Legacy.

"God For Sale"
Regal Dobro.

"Mambo Dancing"
Guild acoustic, solo was on the G&L Legacy, slide solo on the ASAT (utilizing the front pickup).

"Little One"
Gurian Acoustic tuned to DADGAD, GHI for the solo.

"So, So Cynical"
Guild DCE5, Gibson Trini Lopez (335 style body) used with amp tremolo, GHI for slide.

"New York Mining Disaster, 1941"
Gurian acoustic in DADGAD, slide on G&L ASAT

"A Love In Vain"
Franken Tele, slide on the GHI.

"Wanda"
Guild DCE5, first solo on Gurian and slide solo on the ASAT.

"Love Won’t Ever Pass This Way Again"
Guild DCE5, Danelectro Baritone with Supro amp tremolo, Dobro lap steel.

"Going Underground"
An old pawn shop mandolin, G&L Legacy, slide solos on the G&L ASAT.

So basically, you played lead and rhythm guitar, dobro, slide, mandolin, and lap steel on the CD.

MN: Yeah. I’m not much of a mandolin player, but you learn the song on it and move on. I once got a call to do a jingle here in New York, because it says on my card: guitar, dobro, and mandolin. Guitar and dobro I’m at home with. I had done some other sessions for the guy who called. He said I need you to play mandolin on a jingle. I told him, "To be honest, I’m not much of a mandolin player, and my mandolin really sucks. The neck is out and it won’t stay in tune or anything. And if you’re expecting a guy with bluegrass abilities then I’m not the guy." He then said, "Let’s put it this way, we live in New York and you’re all I’ve got." [Laughing] I arrived and there were three writers waiting for me with stuff written out. The mandolin is tuned in fifths, not fourths. I struggled to read those things, and finally said, "Just sing it to me." It was a disaster.

How’d it come out?

MN: It came out okay. They were very patient with me. I went out and bought a new mandolin that night with the money I’d made. [Laughing]

Excellent!

MN: Yeah.

Getting back to the album, did you record with Pro-Tools?

MN: No. Believe it or not, we used two 16 bit ADATs, of which is still digital. Most people are using 24 bit ADATs or just using Pro-Tools. He (Producer Keith Lentin) had these ADATS that he’d borrowed. We decided to give them a shot and see what they sound like. I have logical audio on my computer. But this guy is a real good engineer. I spoke with Danny Jones; he used to do work for Alan Toussaint and a lot of other people. He sat me down one day, and said, "Look, it’s not the format. It’s the guy playing and it’s how good the engineer is." So, I took a chance and went with it, and I was very happy. We then mastered it with half inch tape, running at 30ips just to fatten it up. I mastered it at a place called Tiki Recording. The guy there said that they do it that way once in a while. I told him to do it to the whole record.

What strings do you use on the ASAT?

MN: Usually 11s. A lot of times I’ll have to tune the high E down to a D just to accommodate certain songs. ‘Mambo Dancing’ has to have that drop D on the high string, so I need the 11 on top. I’ll use 10s on the Legacys; though I have one set up hybrid, 9s on top and 10s on the bottom. It’s 9 down to 46, just in case I need to do a lot of double bends and all kinds of crazy stuff. They’re pretty much D’Addario. On the acoustics I use D’Addario lights, like 12 down to 53.

What’s up for the future? Hopefully another CD, a tour maybe?

MN: I’m thinking of recording an acoustic CD in the very near future, just an acoustic with maybe one overdub. I have a few songs written. But even this record, most of the rhythm tracks were done with an acoustic guitar. But what I may do is take a bunch of songs I’ve written over the years and record them acoustically. I’ll always be writing. I’m sure I’ll be back in the studio soon, but right now I’m just busy promoting this record.

Related Links
Mark Newman
Brian D. Holland's review of Must Be A Pony

About Brian D. Holland (background, contact info, list of articles)