By Joe Hyde
Publisher
October 7, 2007

Texas country music star Mark David 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 over a white collar job he hated earning just enough money to make the nice car payment and big house mortgage.

The 45-year-old Manders isn’t the typical wet-behind-the-ears kid on the block with a catchy tune or two singing about life he’s yet to live. Behind all the antics and fun at his shows, there is a genuine intellectual man who is thoughtful and offers insight into his craft of writing songs and entertaining people. I caught only a glimpse of that side of him in our interview. 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. He started reading the works of poets like Byron at the tender age of 13-years-old.

“I realized at that point that words have gravity. They have meaning. They draw people into things,” Manders said, after quoting several cantos of Lord Byron’s poem The Corsair. “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,’” he said. (Lord Byron’s The Corsair, a semi-autobiographical tale about a pirate, sold 10,000 copies its first day of sale in 1814.)

Manders has been in the trenches of the Texas music scene for over 15 years. Well, maybe that should be closer to 17 years. He performed for pay his first time in 1990. He relayed stories about guys who got mean when they had their initial success, and a few more about the dishonesty of some characters he has met in the music business. He narrowed his success and longevity to finding the right bride. His wife Kathryn, a beautiful Texas blonde with an MBA from Texas Womens University, who could also be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader, was right there by his side Friday and Saturday evenings, Oct. 5-6, at Blaine’s Pub (10 W. Harris St., San Angelo).

Manders wrote a song, "Mountain of Gold" for his then-girlfriend, now wife. He met Kathryn during one of his first rehearsals when he was putting his band together in 1989. She was with some friends and hung around listening. “When she walked in, I said to myself, ‘goddamn, she’s beautiful,'" he said. Manders 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 and the rest is history. They’ve been together ever since, and today they have 9-year-old triplets.

“Let me tell you something about the music business. It’s not what you know, how you play; it’s who you marry. And 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,” he said. “And believe me I’m no angel, but I married one.” (That line could be a hook for Manders’ next hit).

The Mark David Manders show was a highlight of the year at Blaine's. His energy on stage, coupled with a great band, drew the crowd inward. They played their hearts out. Manders' antics on stage could win him an Emmy rather than a Grammy. Interlined in the show were fun songs and highly moving songs. And he had the crowd hooked from the first. Blaine’s partner Steve Brown noted that Mark David Manders is the best entertainer to ever come to San Angelo, Texas.

Mark David Manders (center) and his wife, Kathryn (right) and drummer, Cody Norman during a break at Blaine's Pub, 10 W. Harris St., San Angelo. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

Mark David Manders and Blaine's Pub partner Steve Brown. Brown, who says Manders is the best entertainer to ever come to San Angelo, confirmed Manders will record his next CD live, at Blaine's, on January 18-19, 2008. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

Near the end of our interview, Manders and I were comparing notes about our respective jobs. “So what is it really like running around with that fancy camera?” he asked. I told him I didn’t really know how to describe the ecstasy of being the true Paparazzi of the San Angelo music scene.

“I’d like to find out. Can I use your camera during the next set?” he asked.

“Well, who is going to lead the band while you are doing that?” I asked.

“You are,” Manders said. “What songs do you know?”

I figured I had better keep it simple. And the only song with two chords I could think of was Jambalaya by Hank Williams Sr. We agreed to switch roles for the next set. Manders would run around the stage taking pictures and I would lead the band (and sing).

After serious consultation with the band, Manders turned to me just before we were up on stage and told me that there was a change in the selection. I was to play Folsum Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. That song is much more complicated than the old Hank Sr. tune; it required an added third chord. Nervousness set in.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. The artful photography of Manders captured the frenzy of the crowd as we blasted through the Johnny Cash standard. The old people were two-stepping around the stage. The girls were dancing on the tables, and everyone at Blaine’s ordered another shot. We brought the crowd to their feet, even Steve Brown. And Manders isn’t a bad photographer, either.

San Angelo LIVE! publisher Joe Hyde traded roles with Mark David Manders for the second set at Blaine's Pub (10 W. Harris St., San Angelo) on Oct. 5, 2007. Manders became the reporter and photographer while Hyde lead the band through the Johnny Cash standard, "Folsum Prison Blues." (LIVE! Photo/Mark David Manders)	The crowd at Blaine's Pub (10 W. Harris St, San Angelo) went wild for Joe Hyde. And Mark David Manders caught it all on camera. (LIVE! Photo/Mark David Manders)
By the second verse of "Folsum Prison Blues" performed by Joe Hyde on guitar and lead vocals, the girls were dancing on the tables at Blaine's Pub (10 W. Harris St, San Angelo). LIVE! Photo/Mark David Manders)	After the high-energy rendition of "Folsum Prison Blues" sang by Joe Hyde, the crowd went wild. (LIVE! photo/Mark David Manders)

Mark David Manders returns to Blaine’s Pub January 18-19, 2008 to record his next album, Mark David Manders Live at Blaine’s Pub. We confirmed this with the management. It’s no joke.

For more on Mark David Manders, please see:

Web site: http://www.markdavidmanders.com/

My Space: http://www.myspace.com/markdavidmanders

Sample and listen to his music on iTunes. Click here.