MARK GENDEL

Mark Gendel’s background paints an exciting landscape of colorful people and experiences, starting with growing up in Canada and studying classical guitar in Madrid, Spain.  

In Toronto, he became an apprentice engineer at Sounds Interchange Studios where he worked with world class artists such as The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Rod Stewart, Rush, Triumph and Anne Murray. Mark's vision for a band became a reality in Nashville as a founding member of RPM, one of the most regarded pop/rock groups to originate in that city. RPM’s debut was recorded and released under the Capitol/EMI label. Under his direction, the band recorded their second album in London, England for Warner Bros. where he co-produced the record with Gary Langan, former engineer for the world-renowned band, YES.  

An opportunity to work with Warner Bros. as a writer/producer soon lead him to move to New York City where he wrote, performed, and produced songs that have been in films and television, as well as recorded by other artists. He and longtime partner from Nashville, Llynda More, also had a successful original rock band that performed in the NYC club circuit but they eventually moved to Nashville to pursue their own independent record label. The More & Gendel writing/production team was soon after offered a regular live performance schedule at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas where they moved and currently reside.  They continue to write and produce songs and videos, and they perform live in various clubs and venues in Las Vegas.

Mark is also developing a unique line of electric guitars, Gendel Guitars.  After years of performing, he was inspired to redesign his instrument to better accommodate the full time professional guitarist.  The unique combination of features has captured the imagination of discerning guitar players.

 

Along the way, I’ve been asked by some of my hometown friends and fellow musicians to post some stories about my musical adventures, most notably the period around the early to mid 80’s. One of those friends was one of my first bandmates and neighbor, Chuck Moorehead. Sadly, during the late hours one evening, another dear friend, Jane Furlong, texted me that we’d lost Chuck and he’d passed away unexpectedly following heart surgery. I now regret that it’s taken me so long to get to this. Through the years, we’ve embraced those that we call best friends, and he was one of mine… so Chuck, I’m dedicating these excursions into the past to you.

MY GUITAR JOURNEY: Part 1

My guitar journey started when a cousin brought over a Hohner semi-hollow jazzbox and left it at our house. It was a weird guitar...thick nylon strings high above the fretboard and it was pretty much unplayable. Still, I loved the sound when I’d pluck or strum the strings. Around this time, the Beatles came along and with them the British explosion. That was enough for me to want to play the guitar.

My hometown of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario Canada, was a unique musical environment with more than its share of incredible and inspiring musical talent. I was fortunate to grow up in this vibrant musical community of Southern Ontario where there were so many great musicians and bands, especially considering the relatively small population at the time. Canada had a historical association with Britain and maybe that’s why our part of the world was so influenced by the British music that was taking over in the 60’s, and this was the music that captured me. With the help and support of my fellow bandmates and fellow musicians who were always older than me, along with a thriving live music scene… this is what gave me the opportunity to learn and carve out my role as a guitar player.

At the ripe age of 12 years old in 1968, a friend of mine called me up and said you’ve got to come over and hear this. When I got there, he dropped the needle on this record and it happened to be 'You Shook Me' by a new band named Led Zeppelin. From there we went to 'Good Times Bad Times' and we continued listening for hours to this amazing new band. Although I was certainly familiar with Hendrix, the Yardbirds, and Cream, there was something about the way this band hit me at this particular moment. The virtuosity of each band member came together with such a powerful cohesive sound, yet the whole thing was driven by this outstanding guitar. And this was my introduction to Jimmy Page.

Staying with Led Zeppelin for a moment, we now head into 1969 and the band has released their second album. Oddly enough, in two weeks, Led Zeppelin would be appearing in my hometown of Kitchener – Waterloo! I buy the album immediately and I’m in headphones for the two weeks leading up to this show. I didn’t have the $4.69 needed for the ticket saved at that time. However, our local radio station was running a 'call in' contest for two tickets. I sat and dialed and dialed and dialed and finally got through, was able to name all the band members correctly… and I won the tickets! 
Hearing Led Zeppelin on record was one thing, but seeing them live, seeing how they expressed their music in this setting, and witnessing their immeasurable amounts of charisma, this was unequivocally the greatest thing I’d ever seen or heard. This was my pivotal moment, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

My family lived in a small apartment, and by this time I was able to convince my parents I needed a guitar and an amplifier. My dad always liked gadgets, so the amplifier was easily relatable for him… the guitar, not so much. After much persuading, I got my first Kent guitar and a National 2x12 amplifier. The Kent led to a Hagstrom which lead to a Gibson SG, my first really good guitar. I would practice away in the apartment and took extra advantage when no one was home. I would point the amp out the rear sliding doors where the sound would shoot across the schoolyard across from where we lived and it created this huge sound including an echo that would bounce off the school walls. I must have had very understanding neighbors because I don’t recall many complaints.

One day I get a  knock on the door during one of my sessions and the person at the door asks, “Is that you playing?” I assured him it was and invited him in. This was my introduction to Chuck Moorehead who lived in the apartment above ours. Chuck was a few years older than me, but he was a huge music fan and we hit it off immediately. I happened to have been playing along with the record, 'Crystal Blue Persuasion', and Chuck seemed impressed that I could play it. Chuck had a circle of friends that he introduced me to, which was pretty amazing, because again, I was much younger, but those friends lead to us forming what would be my first serious band.

So, I started off playing in bands from the age of 12 in my local area. My first real gigging band was Pure Jones. The band featured Bill Dallier on lead vocals and he named the band. It remains one of my favorite band names of all time. Chuck Moorehead was on rhythm guitar and sometimes bass, Randy Hoffman and Henry Huber also switched off on bass, and my neighbor and great pal, Warner Slavik, was on drums. Pure Jones was such a cool band. We opted for British Blues and rock as our trademark while most local bands were much more Top 40 oriented. 

​Around this time, although I was still in middle school, I got asked to play Jimi Hendrix’s version of the Star Spangled Banner for a high school assembly. So I showed up with my 50 watt Marshall amp purchased from dear and lifelong friend, Dave “Red” Wight, my then Gibson SG, and got on stage unaccompanied, playing to a full auditorium. Oddly, a few students came up to me after and said, “You weren’t really playing that... you were motioning along with the record, right?”,  but it really was me. That being the case, word got around town about my performance which led to my meeting bass player and singer, Bill Mair. Bill has a vivid recollection of our meeting because he’d heard about my Hendrix moment. Here’s an excerpt from Bill’s memoir:

​“My first chance meeting with Mark Stephen Gendel was in the back of a van at the University of Guelph parking lot while partaking in pre-concert rituals prior to a show by The Guess Who. It was crazy. Mark was only thirteen, and already he was causing quite a buzz as a guitar-playing prodigy for his Hendrix rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner performed during a student assembly at Grand River Collegiate. Would we have connected so easily, or at all, if we had known that Randy Bachman had quit the Guess Who the day before and the show was to be cancelled? That's a story for a parallel universe.”

Bill was in a gigging Top 40 band at this time, but we had a shared enthusiasm for doing something more to the left, more rock, and so... the formation of my next band, Atticus, began. We were comprised of Bill on bass and lead vocals, Ray Laurianitis on keys/flute and vocals, and the late Jim Minas on drums. Because of this unique line-up, we could delve into all kinds of material, including Jethro Tull, Humble Pie, and stuff not normally covered at the time, but also including the Stones, Zeppelin, etc. This was the band that really required me to step up and learn to pull my weight, learn how to improvise, and develop a sound. We made our share of noise in the area, and not just musically. We were a rowdy and not always responsible bunch... and our T-shirts may have said it all… “Atticus Is Late”. 

At age 16, I found myself wanting to bring something fresh to my guitar playing, so I decided to take a break from my then band, Atticus. My thought was to enroll in the London Royal Academy of Music's classical guitar course, so I hopped a plane to London, England.  Once there, I learned the course was full, so I made my way to Madrid, Spain where I lived out the year studying classical guitar which was quite the amazing experience. When I returned, I got back into a few bands, most notably, Copperpenny. They were a very high profile band in southern Ontario and it was time to support their latest recording. Bill Mair, Jim Minas, myself, and the very talented vocalist, Rich Wamil, got to tour eastern and central Canada…which was my first taste of a real touring rock band. We opened for the band, Blue Swede, who were supporting their hit, 'Hooked On A Feeling'… remember “ooga-chuka-ooga-chuka?” Other bands that I performed with around this time were The Gabe Lee Band, Nicholas Sloan, Seadog, and the all original trio, MGM, with my former Atticus bandmates, Bill Mair and Jim Minas. 

Around the mid 70’s, and staying true to my path, I wanted to make a big change and focus on the art and mechanics of recording. I’m hearing this sound in my head but don’t yet have the skills to record it. I moved to Toronto, and although there were a number of great studios in town, I found out soon that one studio had the reputation for being cutting edge and above the rest. That studio was Sounds Interchange, a super modern, well-equipped Westlake facility, designed to take on the world’s best. I show up at the studio one day, meet the owner, Jeff Smith, and, naturally leave 20 minutes later with a job as assistant engineer.  

And these are my humble beginnings. More to come on my studio years, so stay with me, because there are some real twists and turns ahead.

 

MY GUITAR JOURNEY: Part 2

Upon returning from the tour with Copperpenny, we continued to gig for a while with that same touring line-up…and then it seemed my stint with Copperpenny had run its course and I changed direction completely. 

It’s here that I have to revisit the profound effect Led Zeppelin had on me, hearing them for the first time at age 12, studying their records, and seeing them in my hometown at age 13. My path was really set as a result of Jimmy Page displaying the limitless possibilities the voice of one guitar could have on a band…and the world. I just had to see if I could cultivate a voice that would allow me to pursue those possibilities. I was also very aware of Jimmy Page’s role as producer. He obviously had total control of the creative and recording process, and that’s what I wanted. 

So I could have a chance of developing those skills, I made the decision to move to Toronto and land a job at one of the best studios in the country, maybe the world at the time, Sounds Interchange. So I left live performing for a few years and apprenticed under British engineer, Mike Jones, who was head engineer of the facility. (I want to talk more about Mike as he really deserves his own chapter, and I will expand on that later.) This was a pivotal period for me because it developed my ear, my recording and producing skills, and I got to play guitar on some sessions, as well. I learned how to setup and properly mic everything from lead vocals to small combos and 50-piece orchestras. I learned how to bias and maintain all of our Studer tape machines and generally learned how to successfully conduct recording sessions.

​I make no secret about it, I dropped out of high school early to pursue my musical vision, but the education and experience I received during these years could never have been matched in any college or university.  I was allowed access and even encouraged by Mike Jones and Jeff Smith to take advantage of the studio after hours and this was my playground where I got to apply what I’d learned on the sessions I was working. I’d spend nights recording my guitar, bringing in fellow musicians and recording them. This is where I also found time to write and record my originals with the ability to record them in a world class facility.

While at Sounds Interchange, I had the unique opportunity to work with some of the greatest session musicians, engineers, producers and some of the biggest names in the business such as The Rolling Stones and Eddie Kramer (engineer for KISS, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin), Black Sabbath, the Beatles’ producer…Sir George Martin, Thin Lizzy, Triumph, Rush, Anne Murray and many others. I worked on sessions with a multitude of Canadian artists such as Moxy, Goddo, Walter Zwol, Ian Thomas, A Foot In Coldwater (more on them in a moment) and too many others to mention.  There are so many stories, I could go on for eons, but I do want to narrow this down to a few highlights.

The first was my run in with The Rolling Stones. I’m in the control room on a typical day taking care of routine chores when I get a call from our reception area. “Mark, please come to the front. We have a client who’d like to see the studio.” So, off I go and I open the door… and this legendary character bounces towards me, hand outstretched, and it’s, “Hi, I’m Mick!”.  I have to say right here, my aspiration of learning the craft and working in a studio was just that. It had never dawned on me that I’d be crossing paths with the likes of Mick Jagger. Anyway, I responded, “Hi Mick, I’m Mark...follow me”, as I turn, trying to catch my breath and process the enormity of the moment. We enter our big recording room, and Mr. Jagger goes bouncing around from corner to corner with those famous Jagger moves clapping his hands while seemingly testing the room’s reflections and acoustics. I don’t think anyone will ever accuse Mick Jagger of lacking in energy, and up close, the guy is an perpetual one-man electrical power plant. And so, The Rolling Stones booked time with us to mix their live performances recorded at the legendary club, El Mocambo, in Toronto.

Before their sessions commenced, I was working on another session with Canadian producer, John Driscoll. Right in the middle of us working, and unannounced, MIck walks in the control room. He says, “Please forgive the interruption, just wanted to take another look”, to which John replied without missing a beat, “Don’t worry, we always have time for you.” And we all had a good laugh.

Early on in their stay at our studio, they’re playing recordings of their performances at the El Mocambo. As the tape is playing, Eddie (Kramer) points at one of the speakers and says, “what was that?”. Well it was obviously a rather noticeable clam, a bad note from one of either Keith or Ronnie. And what happens next?…they start laughing, and I’m not talking about polite subdued chuckling.. they are really laughing, infectiously. It was a hilarious, spontaneous and unexpected moment...and a real highlight as well as a great lesson, one I’m sure you can all relate to as Mick so artfully explains, “It’s only rock and roll…”

A few months later, I get another call while in the control room and I’m told to prepare the 1/2 inch and 1/4 machines for an editing session, which I do. A short time goes by and I’m called again telling me our client has arrived. Again, I head off to the reception area, the door opens and I’m looking at Sir George Martin. He’s got this calm smile on his face, and I lead him to the control room. Now, two weeks prior to this, Jeff Beck’s ‘Blow By Blow’ was released. I wasn’t able to put the album down and had been immersed in this record in my every spare minute. I was also very aware that Sir George produced this monumental recording. We get to the control room and I just have to say something, so I tell him, “I’ve been listening to ‘Blow By Blow’, and it is absolutely brilliant. You’ve done such an amazing job. Congratulations.” He pauses a moment and looks at me in a way as if to say, “You have my undivided attention”, and he states in the most sincerest tone these exact words, “Well, isn’t that sweet...thank you so much”.

​He went about his work and I assisted, and then he was on his way. And here’s the takeaway for me on this experience… I’m in a room with the fifth Beatle, the guy with the skill and forethought to capture and enhance the four lads on record and change music history. I’m some kid trying to learn the ropes, but he had the empathy in this moment to treat my comment with importance. Producers, the great ones, have an interesting role in the recording process. They put the artist first with the goal of bringing out their best. It’s part psychology and part selflessness, and I got to see that greatness in this unique individual. He was truly a remarkable presence and one of the greatest we’ll ever see...and was I ever lucky to meet him under the circumstances I did...a moment I’ll never forget.

I’ll focus on guitar players for a moment to lead into my next highlight. The list of great guitarists (many of them Canadian) that I got to work with is almost too many to list, but the great session players such as Bob Mann, Brian Russell, Bobby Edwards, Danny McBride and Ed Bickert might hint at the level of talent we’re talking about. There were numerous talents who were more ‘band’ oriented such as Rick Emmett, Earl Johnson, Dominic Troiano, Gino Scarpelli and my dear friend Doug Blais…and one I’d like to talk about is Paul Naumann, the guitarist for the Canadian band, A Foot In Coldwater.

I got to work on their last album. Paul was someone who, in my opinion, should have gained much more popularity internationally. I saw the band perform live a few times and Paul was a master of his craft. He’d defined his own sound with his modded Stratocaster and Marshall amps. He had a glorious sound and technique, a gift for tasty and melodic solos and the rock star presence. While we worked on this album, Paul and I hit it off and he’d allow me to offer my thoughts on particular takes and decisions that ended up going on the album. I’m not sure he’d have given it a second thought, but by him allowing me to do that  was an important step for me to see what it feels like and to understand the role of a producer. Paul sadly passed away at age 57. He was a real inspiration and a highlight and privilege to work with.

Late one evening, I was playing away in the studio and in walks Hughie (Leggett), the bass player for Foot In Coldwater. He told me Paul was leaving the band but they wanted to continue on… and he asked me if I’d like to be the guitar player. This was a huge compliment! I realized they’d already defined their sound and I’d be fitting into their vision if I accepted. So, I declined…trying to stay true to my vision of creating my own thing…but given the status of this band in the Canadian market, it was certainly the highest compliment and a highlight for me.
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Here is a link to their biggest single, and listen to the guitar solo, and keep in mind this came out in ’72.

​Another takeaway with this story is this…and it’s something we all know. Not everyone gets the fame and recognition they deserve, and I’ve seen more than my fair share of talent that was so amazing but didn’t get that extended glow in the limelight. Success or lack thereof is not always a reflection of talent and ability.

So, after my very productive years with Sounds Interchange in Toronto, I felt I’d acquired the skills and experience to take my vision to the next level and it was time to move on. The next chapter involves some bold decisions resulting in highs off the scale! Stay with me... because this gets really good.

 

​MY GUITAR JOURNEY: Part 3

Relationships coming to an end can either be devastating, motivating… or both. Upon returning home one night after a day of work at Sounds Interchange in Toronto, my then girlfriend announced she was getting married, and immediately realizing she wasn’t talking about me, I was disoriented in so many ways. So when this relationship came to an end, I was devastated…for a little while. But soon after that, I became motivated. I continued to play guitar around Toronto and rented rehearsal space where my Les Paul, my Marshall stack, and I got motivated. Some of my early musical sketches were worked out with my pals and bandmates, Bill Mair on bass, and the late great Jim Minas on drums. For whatever reason, restlessness set in and I decided it was time to make a move propelled by my breakup. It occurred to me, “You’re free!”, and so my brother, Wayne, and I packed up a van with some clothes, the Les Paul, the Marshall, and we moved from Toronto to Nashville… America!  We’re near the end of 1981.

Nashville was intended to be a stop along the way to Los Angeles, because Nashville is a songwriting town and I wanted to refine my writing skills, write more material, and then head west. Because Nashville, as it is well known, is a town that was built on “the song”, I wanted to see if I could place myself amongst some great writers. Although Nashville was firmly a country music community, there were writers there who had pop and rock success.

​Shortly after getting settled in a small apartment, Wayne and I got gigs as waiters, and I made my way up and down Music Row where most of the record labels and publishing companies resided. My first stop was Tree Publishing. I walked in and met Terry Choate and had no idea how successful and important he was in the industry. I told him I was a writer and I was looking to connect with other writers. Oddly enough, Terry introduced me to the head engineer in their recording studio and he handed me an acoustic guitar. He pointed me to the studio and he said, “let’s hear what you’ve got”. I’m caught totally off guard, but I had to follow through, so I strummed and played about four or five songs I’d written. This was a rather sobering experience because I’m not a singer and the kind of songs I was writing didn’t really translate too well in this setting, especially with my voice… or lack thereof. The guys in the control room didn’t even realize when I’d finished. I guess a few bars into my amazing presentation, they pulled the master fader down on the console. I guess those first few bars really got them excited. Anyway, I saw Terry when leaving the studio area and he’s like… “not really what we’re looking for… but good luck.”

Undeterred, I kept on, door to door, trying to meet people. One day, one of the doors I walked through was ATV Publishing. I had no idea at the time that they controlled the Beatles’ catalogue and if I had, I’m not sure I’d have had the courage to walk in. But I did…walked in and I introduced myself to Bryon Hill, then head of the Nashville office and head song plugger and soon to be hit songwriter. Byron was great. I told him my intentions, played him a couple of things I had on cassette, and he told me there was a session going on in their upstairs demo studio and I should meet the players and tell them I sent you up. This was a very important day, as fate would have it. 

As I walked in, the red record light was on and this pop track was getting laid down. Immediately my attention was drawn to this very young bass player who just stood out. Great tone, perfect feel. He seemed too young to be a session ace, but that’s what I was hearing and my years at Sounds Interchange Recording Studios in Toronto were great training for hearing quality musicianship, quickly. When the tape machine stopped, the two gents at the console introduced themselves and Robert White Johnson was one of of them and one of the writers.. and the vocalist.. and when I heard the playback, I heard a radio voice. To say Robert was in a league with Steve Perry and Lou Gramm would not be an exaggeration. They asked me to hang out and when the session was over, I told them I was interested in pursuing something more rock oriented. Surprisingly, bass player Jimmie Lee Sloas and Robert were both receptive. They informed me they had a studio band project and had a session coming up and for me to come by.
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Creative Workshop was the studio in Berry Hill, an area of Nashville, where this session was taking place. As they were working on this song, again, on the pop side, I had to be impressed that they were using Joe English from Paul McCartney’s Wings on drums! After listening to the talents of Robert and Jimmie, I knew I wanted to pursue the possibilities of doing something with these two and if we could find meeting ground that leaned more rock, we might have something. Robert and I decided to get together and worked on some sketches I had, just to see if there would be chemistry as writing partners… and there was.  We banged out some acoustic demos very quickly and because the chemistry was there, that led to us forming enough material for our first session of rock material.. and a band was formed. We had some terrible band names, too embarrassing to recall, But Robert came in one day and said, “how do you like RPM?’” .. and I loved it. It had the momentum we were building. So, Robert, Jimmie and another session ace drummer suggested by Robert, Tommy Wells, and I became RPM.

​Things progressed very rapidly from this point. Robert and I tackled writing like a full time job, wailing away during daytime hours in my studio apartment. When we had more songs and it was time to record, Buzz Cason, owner of Creative Workshop and songwriter of the hit, “Everlasting Love”, opened his doors. Buzz and Robert were friends with Brent Maher, a very successful producer Robert had been developing a relationship with, and I got an introduction. Brent was very enthusiastic about our demos, so Brent took over engineering and we recorded demos that ended up being the masters on our first album.

We created quite a stir in Nashville being the only project that leaned this rock at the time. Brent sent out our tapes to various labels in Los Angeles and New York knowing the Nashville offices of the major labels would be too country to market us fairly. We received offers from everyone who heard our material, including Atlantic Records, but Brent had a good relationship with Don Grierson, then President of EMI. Brent felt it would be advantageous to sign with EMI because of that relationship…and that’s what we did.  On a side note, remember Terry Choate, the head of Tree Publishing which I mentioned above? Well, I ran into him around this time, which would have been a few months after our first meeting. He asked, “how are you doing?”.. And I said, “Great.. just signed an album deal with EMI.”.. to which he responded, “Really?” Small victories!  I hadn’t been in Nashville six months and I’m about to have my first major label album released!… breathtaking!

And with that, let's check out RPM’s song page!  Click here