Mark Powers is one of the Pacific Northwest’s secret weapons. A skilled tradesman possessing a vast wealth of capabilities, not only in the percussion realm, but as a stalwart music industry journeyman. On top of that, the guy climbs a mean rock wall! Hang out and chat with Mark to discover why so many artists seek him out to perfect their live and studio presentations.
“It’s an honor to have shared the stage over the years with artists as diverse as Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, Devon Evans (of Bob Marley and the Wailers), Clyde Stubblefield, Rolling Stones saxophonist Tim Ries, Bad Company’s Lynn Sorensen, [America’s Polka King] the late Frankie Yankovic, disco sensations The Afrodisiacs, 80’s nerd-rockers The Spazmatics, Mbrascatu, King Black Acid, Portland Cello Project, Floater and more.
I feel equally as fortunate to have contributed drumset and/or percussion tracks to a number of incredible recording projects, including releases by M.Ward, She & Him, Mbrascatu, Haley Johnsen, Falls, Amanda Richards, Robert Wynia & The Sound, Drumattica, Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, Elke Robitaille, Cult of Orpheus and others.
I’ve also had the pleasure of appearing on tracks that feature Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey of R.E.M., Neko Case, and k.d. lang.”
https://www.accesskevin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/aal-mark-powers.jpg7201280Kevinhttps://www.accesskevin.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/AAL_Gradated-1030x1030.pngKevin2024-05-18 13:10:092024-05-21 15:50:32MARK POWERS: The ALL ACCESS LIVE EPISODE
IGNITER PODCAST:
Hosts (and bandmates and jacks/hacks of many trades) Robert Wynia and Mark Powers have joined forces to bring you IGNITER, a brand new podcast aimed toward sparking your creativity. With suggestions, tactics, special guests, listener feedback, and sheer and utter randomness, Mark and Rob will send you on your day with new tools to increase your creative flow and effectiveness.
ROB WYNIA:
Robert Wynia is a native son of the Western US. Born in Oregon, he has been performing and writing all his life. He has been voted Best Male Performer, Best New Artist, and Performer of the Year in Eugene and Portland, been inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame, and has received two preliminary Grammy nominations for his work with his band “Floater.” He has appeared in numerous radio, television and web-based shows and has traveled extensively on tour.
MARK POWERS:
A percussion artist/educator and world traveler, Mark Powers has studied, performed and taught throughout North America, as well as in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the South Pacific. He has contributed drum set and/or percussion tracks to a number of incredible recording projects, including releases by M. Ward, She & Him, Mbrascatu, Haley Johnsen, Falls, Amanda Richards, King Black Acid, Robert Wynia & The Sound, Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, Portland Cello Project, Floater, and many others.
Mark has also made music on stage with a diverse list of artists, ranging from Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, Devon Evans (of Bob Marley and the Wailers), Clyde Stubblefield, Rolling Stones saxophonist Tim Ries, and America’s Polka King- the late Frankie Yankovic, to disco sensations The Afrodisiacs and ’80s nerd-rockers The Spazmatics.
Fun fact: He is also former co-holder of the Guinness World Record for Longest Drum Roll by a Group (shared with Namiah Tribolini, Peter Buxman and Pat Flanigan)!
Local Heroes Month continues! Join me and the dynamic NW Publicist PR champion Alex Steininger at 5pm today to discuss the evolution in the music scene, both live, online and globally. Alex has worked with countless artists to assist their efforts to be noticed. Topics such as “why should we hire a publicist?”, “what does a record label offer us today?”, “does touring really help?” and more will be discussed.
More on Alex:
Alex Steininger got his start in music in 1995, writing about both local and national bands for the America Online magazine ChipNet. Making several connections with indie and major record labels, when AOL ceased ChipNet in 1997, Alex Steininger co-founded the online magazine In Music We Trust with life long friend Ryan.
In Music We Trust Magazine soon found an audience with like-minded music fans; In Music We Trust covered all genres, leaving no sound untouched, which resonated well with its readers, especially during the dawn of the world wide web. In Music We Trust managed to gain the attention of Billboard Magazine following it’s launch, which reviewed the website, stating that they were champions of the little guy.
While still doing In Music We Trust Magazine, in 1999 Alex was hired to work at N.A.I.L. Distribution (National Alliance of Independent Labels) heading up their marketing department, working alongside artists and indie labels to coordinate their marketing efforts at retail. That same year, Alex started In Music We Trust PR, and picked up his first two PR clients courtesy of Cavity Search Records: King Black Acid and Helio Sequence. Many other clients followed after.
In 2001, Alex started another chapter in the In Music We Trust empire, launching In Music We Trust Records with the debut solo record from former Crackerbash/Jr. High front man, Sean Croghan. That year also saw Alex move to Burnside Distribution, accepting the title of Marketing Director and Label Liaison, again working alongside artists and labels, and retail stores, to better represent the Burnside catalog at both local and national retail outlets.
In 2003, CD Baby offered Alex the job of Vice President of Business Relations, and Alex moved over to CD Baby.
While Vice President of Business Relations at CD Baby, Alex secured deals with Amazon.com, Ryko Distribution, and Super D, a one-stop distributor, for CD Baby’s catalog. The Ryko Distribution deal saw Alex heading up CD Baby’s umbrella label group, with it’s first release a live album from Reel Big Fish. The Amazon.com deal would make each CD Baby title not available on Amazon at the time available for sale. The Super D deal allowed CD Baby’s clients, who didn’t have distribution deals in place, to stock and special order their titles at retail. All three deals helped with CD Baby’s rapid growth.
After four and a half years at CD Baby, all while still doing In Music We Trust Magazine, PR, and the record label, Alex left CD Baby in 2007 to focus on In Music We Trust full-time. The following year he added another division to In Music We Trust, launching In Music We Trust Management. He hasn’t looked back since.
Now, here we are, nearly twenty years later, and Alex Steininger is still doing In Music We Trust, managing bands, running a national PR firm, and operating his record label. As the name states, Alex trusts in music and is thankful to be involved in helping expose, guide, and create hype for a wide array of artists and bands.
From the episode, here’s the clip of Western Aerial’s “Housewives” performance for Alex’ birthday, complete with his contributions:
