Interview with Mark Farner

Mark Farner is perhaps best known as the vocalist/guitarist/songwriter for Grand Funk Railroad, a position he held with different incarnations of the band from 1969-1999. He has also recorded a number of solo albums and is still going at it. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing to find out about his past and his current projects.


MM-So how old were you when you started playing guitar and what was your first guitar?

MF-I was 15 and my mother got me 6 lessons and rented a Kay acoustic guitar for that time period. My first real electric guitar was a Harmony, it came packaged with a little amp with an 8" speaker and I was rockin'!


MM-What were some of the bands you were in before Grand Funk Railroad?
MF-The Geneseeins, MoJo and the Nightwalkers, the Derelicts, Robin and the Hoods, The Pack, The Fabulous Pack, and Terry Knight and the Pack.

MM-Tell us a little about how Grand Funk Railroad formed.
MF-Brewer and I went to Bay City Michigan to take a piece of this promotion company's ass and wipe up their office with it and while we were in the waiting room we could hear a band rehearsing in the next room. It was Question Mark and the Mysterians and when they took a break Mel Schacher came out and we talked to him about starting a three-piece band. He accepted and the rest is history.


MM-Who came up with the band name?
MF-Former manager and promotional genius Terry Knight.


MM-In July of 1969 Grand Funk Railroad played the Atlanta International Pop Festival. You were the only unsigned act on the bill and shortly after that you got signed. What do you remember about that show and do you think it was instrumental in helping the band to get signed?
MF-What I remember about the show was getting up on the platform of the stage, which was 12 to 15 ft. above the ground and gave us the advantage of seeing the size of the crowd for the first time. Up until then, we had only heard the hum of all those people. (it was and amazing hum!) At that point I didn't know whether to shit or go blind so I went blindly, with reckless abandon to the front of that stage and we proceeded to kick their asses so good they wouldn't let us leave the deck. Capitol Records folks were no dummies, their representatives were there and saw the reaction of the audience that day and signed us shortly there after.


MM-What were some of the other more memorable shows of your career?
MF-Shea Stadium in New York City 1971, Atlanta Pop festivals 1969-1971, Texas International Pop Festival 1970, Randals Island, New York, World Series Baseball Stadium in Osaka, Japan 1971, The L.A. Forum shows Rocked! And with my solo band, Mexico City, Mexico, Monterey, Mexico rocks! Also Santiago, Chile was exciting as the fans were literally hanging from the rafters! Japanese cities have always rocked with my brand of rock and roll and when we went to Bulgaria we found a warm welcome from fans who rocked so hard the place was shakin'!

MM-If someone had never heard a Grand Funk Railroad album before and could only afford to buy one then which one would you recommend to them and why?
MF-I would recommend Closer to Home because it contains the song "I'm Your Captain" and it is as meaningful today for our troops and those who love them as it was in the time of the Vietnam War. Even though it was foisted upon us and the focus of the nation was shifting, those Americans wanted to be Closer To Home.



MM-Why did you guys break up in 1977? What did you do during the time in between when the band split and when you did your solo albums?
MF- We broke up because Don Brewer came to rehearsal one day and announced he was going to find something less stressful to do. We went our separate ways and the remainder of the band ended up forming a group named Flint. The band split in 1976 and I put out my first solo album on Atlantic Records in 1977. I was busy putting together a band to tour with because I still have a lot of music left in me and I am going to spend it recklessly!



MM-Grand Funk reformed in the early 1980's and you did two albums. Did you approach those albums any differently than the albums you did in the 1970's?
MF-Not really, because Mel Schacher was in the band until we were supposed to go to L.A. and sign with Warner Brothers Full Moon label. At that time he told us he couldn't fly any more. The difference in the band was the bass player Dennis Bellinger from Flint, Michigan. He was a kick-ass bass player and solid vocalist that complimented our style and worked well.

MM-What were you doing in the 80's after those two albums?
MF-I made some Christian albums for Frontline records and kept touring through out the years. I have to. I can't get my fix any place else!



MM-In 1995 you toured with Ringo Starr's All-Star band. What was that experience like?
MF-It was a great experience playing with brother Ringo and and I loved learning all the other artist’s music. People like Billy Preston, Felix Cavaliere, Randy Bachman, John Entwistle, Zack Starky and Mark Rivera, how could that be bad?

MM-You toured again with Grand Funk Railroad in the late 1990's. What was that like and why did you leave in 1999?
MF-The reunion was good but before we started Don Brewer asked me not to tour with my solo band as it would be competition for the Funk dates. I agreed to his request but stipulated it would be only for a period of two years as I was not willing to give up the solo career I had worked some twenty-five years to establish.


MM-What are you currently working on?
MF-Always writing music, wrote some songs with John Anderson from Tennessee and Richard Young from Kentucky Headhunters recently.

MM-What kind of music are you listening to these days?
MF-I listen to my favorite oldies, stuff that makes me get my ass up and dance with my beautiful wife Lesia!


MM-Of course the music business today is way different from say 35 years ago. What's better in today's business and what's worse about today's music business?
MF-The technology is better and the manipulation by the money printers is worse.

MM-What advice would you give to a young band just starting out?
MF-Stay true to your heart and write what you are feeling, don't let any one tell you what not to say and what would be more commercially accepted. Fuck that!


MM-Is there anything else that you would like to say about yourself or your music?
MF-I thank the Creator for my music and I am equally as appreciative for the fans who help us musicians keep music alive, along with the rest who together believe in the love of it to the death. Thanks Brother McKinney!
http://www.markfarner.com/


***Thanks to Mark Farner for doing the interview.