Mark Weber is into every type of music there is, and as a recording artist, there are two sides of him: the modern day pop singer-songwriter doing his own material and the bringing classics back/love song crooner of covers made famous long ago.
Mark got his start singing in front of large audiences as part of Regent University's multi-cultural Gospel choir. At Regent, he earned a Master's degree, with his academic dissertation covering the details of "making a pop CD." Besides Gospel, he sang opera ("Carmina Burana") at the University at Buffalo, and back-up for pop star Kenny Loggins. But it was his dad, Joe, a drums and vibraphone player, who came up with the idea that Mark would front their pop-jazz trio, "Uptown," playing gigs around the Buffalo area.
"Ever since I was a little kid, I've always appreciated different styles of music. One day I heard my dad practicing some music with his friend, and I sang along for fun in passing," says Mark. "I think it was 'Fly Me To The Moon.' Turned out that I wasn't half bad, and my dad's other band, The Educators, had a gig, but their lead singer couldn't make it, so I filled in. The rest is history, as we decided to form a new group, Uptown, which has been very, very active with about 50 gigs a year, entertaining mostly the Senior crowd with classic love songs they grew up with and can still enjoy even if they're in their 80s or 90s."
While singing pop-jazz, Mark had a folder full of his own original songs he had written since 1998 or so using his vintage baby grand piano, and decided to work with producers Nate Salter and Danny Pizarro, Jr. After many long hours, some greats music tracks were produced, but when he went to record the vocals at another studio, "it just didn't work out," remembers Mark. "Timing, motivation, enthusiasm, money, and 'who you know' all play a part in getting music from a person's mind onto an actual CD. It has been a long journey to get to where I'm at today"
One of Mark's friends, fellow recording artist Johnny Juarez, with whom he did several "Christmas in Spanglish" concerts, introduced him to producer Joe Secchiaroli, and everything changed.
Joe Secchiaroli (pictured to the left) was and is the key to Mark Weber becoming the recording artist he intended to be.
"Joe is like the brother I never had but always wanted," says Mark. "We get along so well together, and that translates into music that transcends the ordinary."
Mark has worked with a number of singers and musicians on his three albums in development, bringing them into Joe's studio to record their parts.
"I had my friend Omar Vargas in to add his beatboxing skills to songs like 'That's What You Do' and 'Mack The Knife,' along with Dave and Felicia Meyer of the Celtic duo Kindred, guitar great Jeremy Thompson, and vocalist Darrell Castleberry from Biloxi, Mississippi," says Mark. "It's important for me to have live instruments on my recordings, so I'm elated to have Julia Norris playing violin and jazz great Dave Rydelnik from Albany playing his trumpet and singing on a couple of my tracks. Plus, several female singer friends of mine, including Brittany Walker, Sue Gugliotto, Marybeth Treichler, Michelle Stockton, Kisha Johnson, and Keri Cardinale sang on my songs."
If it's one thing Mark Weber is, it's eclectic. In his own CD collection, you'll find music from Smokey Robinson, U2, Rob Thomas, Tina Turner, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Harry Connick, Jr., Enya, Willie Nelson, NewWorldSon, Marc Scibilia, Greg Sczebel, BeBe Winans, Amanda Marshall, and many more.
In the past, his "other" career involved interviewing famous singers and bands, and he was nicknamed "the singing journalist," often asking artists to sing with him, for fun. With over 1,000 articles published in magazines covering a wide spectrum, from The National Enquirer to Gospel Today, Mark has interviewed many great artists, including Mary J. Blige, Charlie Daniels, John Tesh, Joan Osborne, and Dionne Warwick. Today he still writes articles, runs a couple websites, and is a publicist for several clients, though he's more likely to be the interviewee than the interviewer.
"As a singer, I've been featured in 'After 50' and 'The Buffalo News' twice recently, and magazines like 'Forever Young' and 'Thrive' have written about me," says Mark. "That attention is great because it allows me to reach more people-- I consider what I do a calling, and my mission is to use music to bring hope, joy and encouragement to as many people as possible."
