By Joe Hyde
Publisher
January 14, 2008

Two-decade Texas music star sounds like Willie, Jerry Jeff—and poet Lord Byron

Texas country music star Mark David Manders is set to record a live album at Blaine’s Pub (10 W Harris St, San Angelo) on January 18 and 19. The public is invited. “I really want to capture the ‘Blaine’s experience,’” Manders says. “It is such a fun club and I’ve seen it from its very beginning. And San Angelo is a cool place. I love it here.”

The 45-year-old Manders isn’t the typical “wet-behind-the-ears” kid with a catchy tune or two, singing about a life he’s yet to live. Behind all the antics and fun at his shows, there is a genuinely intellectual man who is thoughtful and offers insight into the songwriting craft and entertainment business.

Manders is a poet, and his influences may include a little Willie Nelson or Jerry Jeff Walker, but he is just as passionate about Lord Byron, the eccentric and controversial 19th century Romantic poet. Manders started reading the works of poets like Byron at the tender age of 13.

“I realized at that point that words have gravity. They have meaning,” Manders says, after quoting several cantos of Lord Byron’s poem, “The Corsair.” “They draw people into things. Of course we have other songs about ‘Let’s drink beer,’ because you have to get ‘the other people’ in first. But then you go, ‘and here’s another cool song about something else where all the words play on each other.’” (Lord Byron’s “The Corsair,” a semi-autobiographical tale about a pirate, sold 10,000 copies its first day of sale in 1814.)

Manders is looking to record a more rowdy live album than his peers have published: “Sort of like a ‘Hold my Hand and Watch This’ rowdy time,” he says. He has new material he’ll try out, but only 15 of 36 songs will make the album cut. Manders and band went to the recording studio in Dallas to practice the first week of January.

“We’re going to publish whatever songs get the best audience response,” he says. The live recording will encompass the same show for each of the two days. “We’ll play two 75 minute sets with a break in between. We’re putting a lot into those three hours of music each night,” he says.

Manders has been following his heart since 1989 or so when he made the decision that music meant more to him than being a “$100,000 millionaire,” slaving at a white collar job he hated, earning just enough money to make the nice car payment and big house mortgage.

He’s now entering his 18th year of a Texas country music career. He relays stories about guys who “got mean” when they became successful, and a few more about some dishonest characters he’s met in the music business. But Manders says his better half has kept him honest and successful. Wife Kathryn—a beautiful blonde who could pass for a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader—is usually on the road with him. She holds an MBA from Texas Woman’s University, and manages the business aspects of the band.

Manders met Kathryn when he was putting his band together in 1989. She was with some friends and hung around listening during a rehearsal. “When she walked in, I said to myself, ‘goddamn, she’s beautiful,'" Manders says.

He enjoyed her company so much that day that he became presumptuous. "I turned to her and I said, ‘hey what are we going to do on our second date?’” She agreed to go out to dinner the next evening. They’ve been together since, and have 9-year-old triplets. Manders wrote the song "Mountain of Gold" for Kathryn when she was his girlfriend.

Mark David Manders and Blaine's Pub's owner/partner Steve Brown. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

Mark David Manders and his band. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

 

“Let me tell you something about the music business,” he says. “It’s not what you know, how you play; it’s who you marry. I’ve seen a lot of good people come and go in this business. I’ve seen a lot of good people turn into bad people because of this business. The most important thing in this business is who you marry. And believe me, I’m no angel, but I married one.”

The Mark David Manders show is a yearly Blaine’s highlight. The artist’s on-stage energy, coupled with his great band, draws the crowd inward. They play their hearts out. Manders's on-stage antics could win him an Emmy rather than a Grammy. Fun and moving songs are weaved into his shows.

Fred Remmert will engineer the live album. He has worked with producer Lloyd Maines (of Dixie Chicks fame) many times. “He is a miracle of a sound guy,” Manders says. Manders says Maines will produce his upcoming studio album scheduled for recording in May 2008, just after “Live from Blaine’s Pub” is released.

Blaine’s partner Steve Brown says that Mark David Manders is the best entertainer to ever come to San Angelo, Texas. Don’t miss the show!

When: January 18th and 19th, 9:30 p.m. at Blaine’s Pub, 10 W Harris St, San Angelo. Arrive early for the best seating.