Mark Firehammer
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Mark Firehammer
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Date: 9/25/99 1:13:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time
<<I'm not connected to Mark, so this is not a "paid endorsement" or anything. It's just forwarding the word on someone who might be of interest to DF (Dan
Fogelberg) fans, and whose music is accessible through the mail. For Karie--he's also in Florida often, so you might actually be able to see an inexpensive, enjoyable show. WWW.MARKFIREHAMMER.COM
One Friday night a couple of years ago, I was feeling very down, alone, disconnected from most of the people around me, and even from the music I loved. That last part was the last straw, so I decided to check out this acoustic musician playing Borders'. Music, books, coffee? If that can't put the blues on hold, what can?
When I wandered in, he was in the middle of a Harry Chapin tune, and I might have sworn it *was* Harry Chapin. Every cover he played that night sounded so much like the original performer, or every bit as good, that it was amazing. He played Jim
Croce, James Taylor, and mentioned Dan Fogelberg -- I can't remember the context now.
After the break, he decided to do "Morning Sky," and asked me if I wanted to join him on stage. (Clearly, the man doesn't know me. . . or my voice!) It was such a thoughtful, generous gesture, though, typical of what seems to be a very open and spontaneous nature.
Not only is he a down-to-earth, warm, really neat guy, but also, in my opinion, a talented musician and singer/songwriter. He has a wonderfully engaging stage manner -- not difficult (or maybe all the more difficult ?), when you're playing for a dozen people. For those of you who like to connect to the performer, and who like to hear the stories behind the songs, etc., Mark is one of those very rare people (at least in my sphere they're rare) who give off light. I don't know how else to phrase that right now. He's just . . . .genuine. :-)
He told a story before his original song, "I'll Play For You," that gave me goose bumps. As a matter of fact, when he played his own songs, I decided that I was going to buy the
cd, which I rarely do. (The first cd has no covers -- they're all Mark.) Firehammer and the Forge has several songs that I really like, but the one that got me was "Soul of an Ancient." When I got home and saw the lyrics, I realized I'd missed a line that MIGHT be considered controversial, in that the relationship might be outside society's accepted norms. . . or not...it's subtle. Nonetheless it's a beautiful song, and a very romantic sentiment that has, unfortunately, become so "pop" and abused that it's almost trite these days.
An excerpt <controversy omitted>
One other thing that really impresses me about him as a person is that he is living the path of heart. When I left him, I told him that I didn't necessarily want to wish him success in terms of "show business," because that wasn't a guarantee of happiness, in fact at that time seemed to me to be the antithesis. He seemed to understand what I was saying and genuinely seemed thankful for it.
I saw him again last year and his fan base seemed to have picked up steam. Yay! I guess. :-) I promised to send him some links to local booking contacts and then totally forgot to do it, so I'm feeling a bit guilty. Letting you know about him is my way of assuaging that guilt a bit. :-) It's also my way of continuing to wish him happiness, because I know it would make him happy to know that his music was reaching more people whose lives, musical and otherwise, were influenced by some of the same people, DF (Dan
Fogelberg) included.
That link up there came to me from his email mailing list this morning. I haven't heard any of the material on the cd, and as I say, I have no connection to him outside of feeling really grateful for The Night The Music Was Exhumed.
Karen P.S. I've mentioned him here before. If you know or know of Mark, I'd be glad to hear about it. If this isn't the forum for discussing someone other than DF, email is fine.>>
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Copyright Mark E. Firehammer, All Rights Reserved. 2004 |
