Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark May.
Hi Mark, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved here in 1984, played in various rock or country bands and then got bit by the blues bug. I started my blues band in 1992 and have never looked back. I signed my first record deal with Icehouse Records from Memphis in 1995. We toured with The Allman Brothers Band in 1997 and 1998. Dickey Betts then invited me to play with his band Great Southern and we toured with Charlie Daniels, 38 Special, The Doobie Brothers and others. I have appeared in numerous national magazines like Guitar Player, Guitar World, Blues Music Magazine and Tonequest. Since then, we’ve had 2 top-ten Billboard Blues Chart releases and continue to play around Houston and tour around the country.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely up and down, some years, you get a lot of festivals and summer concert series and other years, not so much. We have played some of the roughest bars in town but also lots of the biggest, best festivals too. The blues is not the most popular style of music these days and there are not too many people making it big but you can be successful if you work hard at it. As with any band, you always have personality conflicts, band member changes, alcohol and drug use, among other things that you’re always dealing with during the journey.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a singer/songwriter/guitarist and band leader, I hope that what sets me apart from others are my influences. From the Beatles to the Eagles or Jimi Hendrix to George Jones, B.B. King or even some of the hard rocking 80’s bands I listened to growing up, they all pop up in my music. There are plenty of guys who do the straight blues thing better than me, I let it all come out from all the music I grew up with but always with a heavy blues base to it.
How do you define success?
Making people happy with my music or helping them through tough times with a specific song I wrote. It makes it all worth it. Sure, there all tough times, and the money is always unpredictable but it always comes back to the fans and friends you meet along the way. I get to do what I love for a living and somehow have made it work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.markmay.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/markmayband
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markmayband
Image Credits
Wendy Turner
