ALL Magazine November 2016 | Page 53

Mark was gracious enough to sit down with us, and answer some questions. Mark, first off, let me say that I love your story. I think both it, and you, are such an inspiration. 'How Much More?' is an album fraught with emotion. You’re saying goodbye to a key figure in the band while simultaneously welcoming new ones. What was it like, recording those tracks? Johnny and I were friends as long as I remember, and losing him was very difficult. Sal was a great friend and a kindred spirit to me. He was also close to Tony as well; but we know that they both would have wanted us to carry on without them. Recording has always been a passionate, emotional labor of love. It can be tedious, but I have always enjoyed the process; even when we had a bad night with glitches in the equipment or something wasn't gelling creatively. So many people would give up and move on in the face of adversity. What inspires you to keep making music, keep moving forward? I found that when we are slapped down; life doesn't wait for those who don't get back up. I am very glad Tony stuck with me all these years and had the faith in me and these songs. Life is short and full of pain and disappointments; we need to cherish the few moments of accomplishment and happiness we get. When I am in the studio creating, producing and arranging; I can honestly say that it is the few times in life when I really feel alive. Do you have any personal favorites from the new album? One of my favorites is Tony's song: "Please Tell Me". Although the lyrics may appear on the surface to be just another 'lost love' song; it is really a song written about our original drummer: Sal Di Angelo, who died a few months after the band's first recording session. I like when there are layers of depth and discovery either in the arrangement of the music, or the construction of the lyrics. Another favorite is the title track: "How Much More?". That is a song where Johnny and I wrote the lyrics together and we had a 'friendly competition' with ourselves in coming up with the next lyrical line. Additionally, their were so many Classic Rock bands that had influenced me on the construction of the musical arrangement. I was really jazzed to use some of those ideas in that song. Which song was the most difficult to write? For me, composing the music for "The Ides of March (Et tu Brute)" was a task. Johnny had already passed away; I was now alone and had his lyric sheet in front of me and no longer had him as sounding board. I found it to be an emotional challenge to compose the music and melody that was going to do justice to such a great lyric that he wrote.