Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Ramsey.
Hi Mark, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
There are two different sides of my business. As a performing musician, I sing, play piano, drums and guitar with several different bands, including Departure ATX, and a duo with my wife Brenda. I also teach piano, drums, and guitar in private lessons.
My musical journey began with piano lessons at age 6. I played drums in the school band in Jr. High and High School, and had my first paying gig at age 13. I gigged as a drummer throughout high school and studied Music at the University of Texas, all while continuing to study piano. I have recorded as both a pianist and a drummer for several independent projects in the Central Texas area over the years. In 2004 I quit my last day job to make music my full-time vocation. I started teaching private music lessons full time while increasing my performing calendar.
I built my teaching business quickly and replaced my old income within a year. I now teach at six locations, with established educational groups. The majority of my students are home-schooled. This allows me to teach full time during the day, leaving me available to perform nights and weekends.
From 1989 to 1995 I was the keyboard player of the contemporary Christian band, Freeheart along with my wife and my brother. The mid ’90’s to early 2000’s found me playing keys for several country bands. We toured Texas, and did a few Nashville showcases. I later joined another Contemporary Christian band, Wear that Shoe, with my friend Barry Bynum. Since the early 2000’s I’ve joined by brother, John to support several south Texas blues bands, including Pete Denney, and King John and the Peasants.
In 2015 I joined Departure ATX as their keyboard player, and have performed with them throughout the state for the last ten years. We began as a Journey Tribute band, but have expanded our catalog to include many of the late ’70’s and ’80’s Arena-Rock Bands. These days we cover Boston, Toto, Van Halen, Heart, and others.
My Classic Rock Band, formerly called The Rev and now rebranded as Reload has provided the outlet for my songwriting efforts. We specialize in covering hits from the 1970’s that are not commonly covered by other bands. Our original songs have been written recently, but sound like they could have come from 1978.
For the last couple of years, I’ve also enjoyed performing with my wife, Brenda. We do a much more intimate show at several venues in the Highland Lakes area of Texas. We cover a wide variety of rock, pop, blues and country songs together, with me on piano and guitar.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The first struggle I encountered was trying to pursue a music career while raising a family. I was offered opportunities that would have advanced my career, with the likes of Charlie Robison and Freddie Fender, for example. I was invited to play the Monterrey Jazz Festival. As great as these opportunities would have been, I had to turn them down because they would have taken me away from my family and risked my income. As a husband and father of three young children, my first obligation was to them.
These days my biggest struggle is with scheduling. So many venues tell me they want my duo, but take a long time to confirm dates or return calls. Since I am also juggling the schedule for two other bands, I have to be sure I don’t create schedule conflicts. I spend a lot of time on scheduling.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a Piano/ drum/ guitar instructor I offer a “bigger picture” look at the music. I can teach you all of the classical training that you can get from other instructors and we can learn that Beethoven Sonata and that Debussy piece but I also teach music theory and improvisation so you can get a gig with a band and know what to do.
As a performing musician I am a quick learner which makes me valuable in a pick up gig where it’s not a rehearsed band and everyone is just pitching songs to each other. That also makes me valuable in the recording studio. I can figure what my part should be and get the track cut quickly.
How do you think about happiness?
Writing a new song makes me happy. I really like the newest song I finished a couple weeks ago. Seeing a student have one of those light bulb moments is really great too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://markramseymusic.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559229965503
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@departureatx1240?si=SiSq_aoljuCFsxQf
Image Credits
Photos of Brenda and me at Bankersmith were taken by our good friend and great photographer Aime Elise Alexander, of Music in Motion Photography. The black and white photo of me is on display at the Austin Bergstrom Airport, as part of the Austin Airport Project sponsored by Seven Pillars Photography. It, too was taken by Aime Elise Alexander, and was selected out of hundreds of photos submitted for this project. It’s a pretty cool honor, and always fun when friends see it at the airport. The personal photo was taken by Inspired by Karin Jensen Photography at a show I recently performed with my good friend Kenny Sharretts at The Mill Bar and Grill.
