Check Out Mark Addison’s Story

Hi Mark, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born in London, England. My father was an opera director and conductor, and moved us to the US when I was 6 years old. At the insistence of my father, I started piano lessons at the age of 6. I was a very undisciplined student, but it turned out I had quite the knack for melody and harmony. I used to cheat – I hated reading music, so I would ask the teacher to play the piece and then I would play it back to her by ear – all the while pretending I was reading the score.

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. My Father got me a Kay electric guitar for Christmas when I was ten and I taught myself to play. I joined my first rock band in the eighth grade and then played in various bands in Northeast Ohio and produced a few records for local artists through the mid-eighties, earning a bit of notoriety in the process.

In 1989 I moved to Los Angeles and was introduced to the Folk/rock scene there. I set up a studio in the dining room of my small apartment in Santa Monica and recorded anyone who would let me. I formed a band called The Borrowers, who were subsequently signed to Guardian Records, a small EMI imprint. A year after our debut was released, EMI was gone – folded into Virgin/Capitol Records. Many artists, including The Borrowers were left without a home. I took the buyout money, invested in recording gear and moved to Austin in 1996.

I set up my studio in the basement of a rented ranch house on 73 acres in deep south Austin. The person who built it was from Nebraska, and so it had a full finished basement with a built in tornado shelter with an arched concrete ceiling. I got some crazy sounds in that room. I recorded “Ian Moore’s Got The Green Grass” there, as well as half of Amy Atchley’s “Speeding, ” The Borrowers’ self-released second album “Overcoming Gravity” and two albums for Kitty Gordon, the band I eventually formed with former Borrowers drummer Nina Singh. While I was working with Ian Moore on “…And All The Colors,” co-producer Joe Chicciarelli hipped me to a vintage recording console at a local pro audio store, a rare 1979 Quad Eight Pacifica. I worked out a deal to acquire it and spent a year or so rebuilding it. I still use it every day.

The property where I had my studio was eventually sold, so I bought a small house on 8 acres in Southeast Travis County, just outside the city limits. I set up the Quad Eight in the master bedroom and recorded Bob Schneider’s “Galaxy Kings” there over a three-day period, as well as many other records including “One Foot In The Ether” by The Band of Heathens and “Raining Down Arrows” by Irish artist Mundy, which went platinum in Ireland. While I was doing rough mixes for that album, Mundy actually helped dig the foundation for a new cutting room I was building behind the house. It’s not huge, but the vaulted ceiling makes it sound bigger than it is. In that new space, I’ve produced and recorded albums for Guy Forsyth, Jess Klein, Matt The Electrician, Wendy Colonna, Sara Hickman and many others.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The entertainment industry, the music biz, is always a challenging road. There’s technology, which you have to keep up with every day. Stuff breaks, computer update smokes your files, motherboard fries, somebody drops your go-to microphone etc. And the Quad Eight needs constant attention.

There’s the economy. Some years, there are budgets. Some years, there are not. But you have to keep making records. Payment plans, trades (I own some beautiful paintings made by fellow musicians) back-end deals, promissory notes, handshakes etc., are all on the table. I happen to be lucky in that I don’t lease a space. I have a lot more leeway than some of my peers to accommodate various financial situations.

And getting bitten by a rattlesnake on my right hand a few years ago was another challenge. But I was lucky. After dreading that I would lose the use of my favorite fingers, all I ended up with was a little nerve damage that doesn’t affect my ability to work and play music.

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?
I think my forte is probably that I’m a songwriter first. I’ve written quite a few songs over the years, had cuts by Joan Baez, Gene Simmons, Edwin McCain, Cher and others, and co-written with many artists. In fact, co-writing has been my “in” for a lot of the records I’ve produced. And as a songwriter, I am able to help the artists I work with fine-tune their songs if needed; clarifying a lyric, repeating a chorus, adding a bridge, creating a musical hook or something as simple as slowing it down or changing the key to better fit their vocal range.

I’ve also become sort of a student of the psychology of recording. Understanding what makes a creative space for the artist, what gets in the way, etc. I always strive to create a setting that will insure the artist or band is able to deliver their best performance.

I guess one other thing I could say is: I play a bunch of instruments. Keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, bouzouki, etc. It’s been a useful talent to have over the years, it helps me convey concepts to the musicians I work with, and I can step in and play something if need be.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Black Fret (now Sonic Guild) has provided a great opportunity for networking. I’m on their advisory board as are many local industry professionals. It’s been a great way to put faces to names, and a very useful forum in which to discuss and implement ways to support, strengthen and celebrate the Austin music community. I’d encourage anyone to learn more about Sonic Guild.

My personal mentors are the musicians I have worked with, and the recordings I have studied over the years. My skills are largely self-taught. I learn by listening, by reading about what others have done, by emulation and experimentation. I learn something new every session, and I’d like to think others learn from me as well.