The Unstarving Musician - 30 Mark Wenner on The Nighthawks, Performing, Recording, and Rock & Roll

30 Mark Wenner on The Nighthawks, Performing, Recording, and Rock & Roll

12/22/17 • 57 min

Mark Wenner and his band The Nighthawks have been performing and recording for over 40 years. He did this with and along side an impressive list of blues and R & B note-worthies. Mark came up as a young man when rock & roll was perceived by older adults as the devil’s music. It was a time, he notes, when when Elvis was in army, Jerry Lewis was banned, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran were dead, Little Richard was immersed in church, Ray Charles was in jail, and Gene Vincent was crippled. It was at this time that Mark sensed a conspiracy of sorts, as radio began to market the likes of Fabian and Frankie Avalon. Older people hated rock & roll, and teachers would yell about its ills for an entire periods, Mark recalls. His response? He'd venture without the permission of his parents to DC's Howard Theater. Here he'd see The Motown Review, Otis Redding, James Brown and Marvin Gaye mentor Billy Stewart. It's no wonder that he fell in love with music, learned to play harp, and formed The Nighthawks in 1972.

Known as the hardest working band in America, the Nighthawks have performed with the Vaughn brothers, Greg Allman, George Thorogood, Warren Haynes, Muddy Waters, BB King and others. Everyone seemed to love the band. Greg Allman even talked about joining the band. In some cases, The Nighthawks helped propel their peers to fame. Big time fame unfortunately eluded The Nighthawks. They can at least take solace in the fact that documentary film maker Michael Streissguth took interest in them, and created the film Nighthawks on the Blue Highway.

As you can imagine, Mark has a lot of stories to tell. During our conversation he shares a few good ones for sure. He also breaks down how he consistently got his band into new venues in the early days. His strategy was all about relationships and asking for help. It’s a strategy that still applies today.

The Nighthawks have been labeled an American blues roots music band. I suppose that’s not too off the mark, but also imagine that Mark would say they’re simply a blues band. He’d be right.

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Mentioned in this Episode

Nighthawks music on CD Baby Nighthawks music on iTunes Nighthawks.com Michael Streissguth Nighthawks on the Blue Highway documentary website Nighthawks on the Blue Highway DVD The Howard Theater

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The Nighthawks have been labeled an American blues roots music band. I suppose that’s not too off the mark, but also imagine that Mark would say they’re simply a blues band. He’d be right.

This episode of the was powered by Liner Notes.

Mentioned in this Episode

Nighthawks music on CD Baby Nighthawks music on iTunes Nighthawks.com Michael Streissguth Nighthawks on the Blue Highway documentary website Nighthawks on the Blue Highway DVD The Howard Theater

Stay in touch!

@RobonzoDrummer on Twitter and Instagram

@UnstarvingMusician on Facebook and YouTube

Previous Episode

David De Silva of Archer Nation on Music Theory, Fan Appreciation, Endorsements and Record Labels

David is highly respected in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond as a versatile musician. His versatility seems to stem from his deep appreciation for Bruce Lee the man, Taoism, and existentialist philosophy. As I discovered in my conversation with him, David strives to use the present moment and mindfulness to be everything he can be as a musician, an onstage performer, and student of life. Because I've seen David play, and actually performed with him on one occasion, I know that his versatility also comes from lots of passion and hard work. I met David before I'd finished writing The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs. This is significant, because in the book I mention a gig that we did together with another relatively young artist by the name of Mike Annuzzi. And this is relevant, because I learned some things about performing and serving ones audience from both Annuzzi and De Silva. As David and I discuss, there's always another person from whom we can learn.

A self-taught musician with a strong grasp of music theory

David is an amazing musician, and although he has an in-depth understanding of music theory, he's predominately self-taught. Jaco Pastorius comes up in conversation as one of his early and primary influences; but it's progressive metal band mates and his own music students that David sites as his main motivators for learning music theory. His progressive metal band mates were so well versed in theory that he was compelled to teach it to himself. His number one recommended read on the subject is Jazz Theory by Mark Levine. As a private lesson music teacher, he's had occasion where students progress to a point that has forced him to learn something new to maintain teacher status, thus expanding his own music theory knowledge base.

The importance of staying humble as a musician

Working as a pro musician has clearly given David the gift of expanded music vocabulary. Yet he says it's important to stay humble, suggesting there's always someone from whom we can learn. Playing professionally and putting in the hours has also made him very confident in his ability to quickly grasp a feel upon first exposure. This is without doubt a trait that keeps him in high demand as a gigging musician.

Archer Nation nearing completion of 2nd album

His band Archer Nation was nearing completion of their second album at the time of our interview. Their first album, Culling the Weak, can be found on BandCamp, Spotify, and iTunes. At the time of our interview, the artist listing for this album is simply "Archer," in case you have trouble finding it under "Archer Nation." Their forthcoming album is being produced by Mike Clink (Megadeth, Guns N' Roses, UFO, and more), who also worked with the band on Culling the Weak. David jokes about being the eldest member of the band at 35. He joined the band in early 2010, replacing their original bassist. He seems to genuinely love what their doing on the songwriting front. We share a good laugh about his stage presence being an issue when he first joined the band. We share a good laugh about his stage presence being an issue . His playing was apparently good enough, but his new band mates apparently had to brow beat him into things like lowering the height of his bass. Over time David learned that being in the moment was the key to developing his personal stage presence.

Making fans part of the family

One of the more interesting and educational parts of our conversation was on fans. David shares his thoughts of knowing all of your fans to reaching a point where it's no longer possible to know them all. He confirmed for me that fans are such an important part of a bands success, but not just because the go to shows or buy your stuff. It's also because they literally show up to help the band, hooking them up with venues, places to stay, shots, you name it. These are the super fans that make up a volunteer force that Archer Nation relies on, appreciates, and loves.

David also shares his thoughts on endorsements, the record label model, where the music industry might be headed, his fear of having a "regular job," and working with a clear mind. Like water indeed.

SHOW NOTES

Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilbur (Recommended Reading) George Brandau Episode 22

Next Episode

Why Musicians Shouldn’t Have a Cell Phone on Stage – Johnny Burgin

Rockin’ Johnny Burgin is incredibly passionate a about performing, and holds the stage in the highest regard. Johnny resides in the San Francisco Bay area, but came up as a blues player learning and performing in the west side Chicago blues scene. In his early twenties, he was performing at west side black clubs where he says watching bands was like watching a boxing match, a place where musical phrasing came to life.

Why move from Chicago to California? Apparently Johnny had toured in California several times, and those tours kept getting better and better. He recalls that the move was an opportunity to expand his market. Knowing what I know about the San Francisco Bay area blues scene, I imagine he was also welcomed with the openest of arms.

When we booked Johnny's interview, he expressed interest in talking about his new album Neoprene Fedora. We do in fact talk about the album, and feature the track Guitar King at the end of our conversation. It is such a great tune! We also discuss Johnny's beginnings in blues, his many memorable collaborations, Aki Kumar, Kid Andersen, touring around the world, and how much he appreciates his time with a father who introduced him to the arts. His appreciation for the arts seems to fuel Johnny's passion for the blues and performing. Johnny says he's living on the edge when he's on stage. He sees the stage as a place of endless possibilities. It's also a place where his spontaneity thrives.

Read more at UnstarvingMusician.com