"You've got it, that's where I get my fix and I don't get it anywhere else; not like there," emphatically stated legendary guitarist and founding member of Grand Funk Railroad, Mark Farner as he discussed the joys of performing as well as his new concert DVD, "From Chile` With Love."
Farner, whose high energy style and authenticity helped launch Grand Funk Railroad into the stratosphere after their appearance at the 1969 AtlantaInternational Pop Festival has never lost his enthusiasm for the stage and has continued to create new music while bringing his past into the present and this latest effort is a perfect encapsulation of the man, the music and a rock 'n' roll career that has spanned nearly seven decades.
When Farner talks about the making of this DVD, he does so with such enthusiasm and passion, not only because he's very proud of his career and accomplishments but because he is also doing something very special with some of the profits.
"That's right! It is 16 live performances, there are two bonus videos; one of which is available right now at Markfarner.com. The "Rock & Roll Soul" video which is taken from this live shoot from Santiago, Chile at Teatro Caupolican and there's five additional bonus tracks, just the audio, on this DVD as well for $14.99; such a deal I'm telling ya'," he said with a laugh as big as his personality. "Also, my wife Lisa and I are giving three dollars from the sale of each DVD to our friends at Veterans Support Foundation; they help get veterans integrated back into society. They have taken veterans off the street, given them transitional housing, they have gotten them job placements, they get them some self-esteem and put them back in society as a whole person. I love these guys because it's veterans serving veterans; there's no government B.S. or red tape in there whatsoever. The funds go straight to the efforts and none of these guys who work this take a salary; not a penny. They give all of the money to the cause and I've been working with them since the '70's so, I know these guys are real, I believe in them and I thank all of the people who bought the pre-sale DVDs which are not only autographed by me but three dollars from each one is going to our brothers and sisters who need the help. I want to thank those who have pre-ordered or will buy the DVD and even after the DVD comes out we are still going to give three dollars for every one sold to the cause because it's that near and dear to our heart."
A worthwhile charity indeed; so why exactly is it, "Near and dear" to their heart?
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"My dad was a World War II veteran, he was a tank driver in the 7th Armored Division and he returned home with four BronzeStars; he made it through four major battles and I'm telling you, most tank drivers didn't get to see more than one or two and that was it. So, I'm telling you, my dad was very, very fortunate and so were the guys in his tank because they all came home. My mother was the first woman in the United States to weld on Sherman Tanks at Fisher Body in Michigan. I remember the front page of the Flint Journal had her standing on a Sherman Tank, she had her helmet tipped back, she had her striker in her right hand and her left hand clinched and this big beautiful smile on her face and it was like; I'm here for my man, we can do this, we are gonna do this! That revved me up as a young man to the point where I'm very proud of my parents and the efforts that they made during the second world war to bring us to a peaceful situation in our country and because of the songs that I've written and the veterans that have grabbed on to the hope that they find in those songs; I find that they are my most prized audience. They are coming from their hearts; these guys that joined us up at Fort Irwin for the celebration for the Viet Nam veterans, we got as many Viet Nam veterans on that stage as we could possibly put and then we did "I'm Your Captain/Closer To Home" and I'm going to tell you something; all of these guys from different states had never met until they got together for this reunion there at Fort Irwin but they were standing there hugging, crying, singing "I'm getting closer to my home" and I'm tellin' you, it's such an emotional fix and you know you're doing something right when something touches your heart in this way."
Farner grew up in Michigan but his family roots were far south of there; yet, no matter where you settle down it is the atmosphere that shapes us; something that has never escaped this veteran rocker.
"My mother moved from Litchfield, Arkansas when she was 16 years old to come to Flint, MI and the whole family moved there to get jobs in the auto factory; uncles, aunts, grandma, grandpa, everybody and all of the kids. Every Sunday we would do a hoedown either at Aunt Dorothy's or our house and everybody brought their instruments; fiddles, banjos, guitars, violin, my dad blew sax and all of the women sang like angels; it was good. I felt so good about what they were doing every time we got together that I couldn't wait for Sundays because I knew there would be jammin' and singin' and I was going to be eating southern fried chicken with those hockey puck dumplings or Sloppy Joes guaranteed (laughs)."
Southern roots, a Cherokee heritage and a full rock 'n' roll pedigree have served Farner well over his years in music as he has graced some of the world's largest festival stages, variations of his music have gone platinum 30 times over and his successes have been many. So, with all of the different venue stages he has graced in countries literally around the globe; why was Chile` the choice for the DVD?
"We had been to this venue before and the promoter Carlos has a friend in Abysmo Films; Carlos Toro and he is the head and president of Abysmo and they were talking and the guy from Abysmo says to Carlos, "I Want to do this eight camera shoot on Mark Farner when he gets here and you've got to pitch him on this because we want to put this out and we're going to do it right;" money is always a consideration of course but man, he made it so right that it was like an offer we couldn't refuse. I couldn't hardly wait for this concert because I knew that if it was going to be anything like the first time we were there it was gonna rock and brother, they didn't let me down at all. They were rockin' and they were rockin' hard and singing my songs back to me. I am who my songs say I am and I get on that stage and those people expect me to be that guy and I am and they sing it back in American English even though it's a Hispanic country. They sing it back; in fact, some of the fans that I talk to tell me that they learned how to speak English just so they could discover the words of what "Heartbreaker" meant. I'm telling you, music crosses all of those boundaries, there's no language barrier; I mean, they had to find it out but something in the music touched their heart in the music. Was it the guitars? The Drums? Something was prophesizing something lovely to them and they had to find out what it was; yeah."
Farner lives for his fan base and often finds ways to involve the crowd both on and off stage; for instance, choosing a set list. So, how did he choose the setlist for the DVD and how does he do so when touring?
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"This is all the Grand Funk stuff and we did a Chuck Berry thing down there to honor him and to give him wishes from our heart and to speak of him highly as he should be spoken of; we did "Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller" down there," heexplained. "We did "Heartbreaker" and like I told you the audience was singing it back to me so loud that it was louder than the PA and of course we did "The Locomotion," "Some Kind of Wonderful;" we just go for it.I polled the audiences a few years back to find out what they wanted to hear in a live stage performance and out of 2,700 people that responded in the two weeks that we had the poll out there; we put our set together and found out pretty much what people had in common, what songs that they wanted to hear. So, we built from that little nest-egg of about 10 songs that we had started and we add as we go but we always keep that base of songs in there just because we can (laughs). We pick the setlist from those 10 to start with and then it just goes as far as my heart and what I'm feeling. I always put songs that people might not; I put something obscure in there to keep people saying, wow! I didn't know they would play that! That happens all of the time, people say, I didn't know you guys were gonna play that, I've never heard you do that; there's so much music. I'd like to be able to sit there for five hours and play all those albums but I just physically can't do it. What we do is from our hearts and it's never too much for them because they always want more (laughs)."
Autographed copies of "From Chile` With Love" can be pre-ordered now at a cost of $19.99 with three dollars from each sale going to Mark's favorite veteran's charity; the DVD is scheduled to begin shipping on May 21 and by then Farner says he'll be up and running once again.
"People can find out on Markfarner.com; I'm on the road, I've got three gigs starting in May with Blue Oyster Cult in St. Augustine, FL and I've actually got a lot of offers coming in now. So, hopefully we can fill up this calendar and bring some love to the people because they really need to know that they are loved and they really need to clear their heads of the BS (laughs)."
To purchase the DVD or find out more about mark Farner, please visit www.markfarner.com.
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
This week's event listings
Al's Airport Inn 636 Bear Tavern Road West Trenton (609) 883-5252 Wed. 7 p.m. Mark SaccoBailey's Bar & Grille 6922 Bristol-Emilie Road Levittown, PA (215) 946-7992 Sat. 7 p.m. Soul Custody TrioBlend Bar & Bistro 911 Highway 33 Hamilton (609) 245-8887 Sat. 4 p.m. "Ocho de Maya Party" w/ The Polish NanniesBroken Goblet Brewing 2500 State Road Bensalem, PA (267) 812-5653 Thurs. 7 p.m. Mike Estabrook Wed. 8 p.m. Open Mic w/ Cara Cartney All Shows 21+Carpool Cinema 204 North Union Street Lambertville (609) 483-5237 Sat. 8 p.m. "The Bird Cage." Lot opens 7:30 p.m.Championship Bar 931 Chambers street Trenton (609) 396-5457 Tuesday 8 p.m. "Jam Night" Hosted by Nikki & Caleb Ages 21+Clubhouse at Mountain View (The Patio) 850 Bear Tavern Road Ewing (609) 771-0400 Fri. 6 p.m. Full Grown MenCOARadio.com 125 South Main Street Hightstown (609) 241-7103 Sun. 7 p.m. "Rock On Radio" feat. Helen O'Shea, Duffy King, Marc Swersky, Lyssa Coleman, Dave The RaveCooper's Riverview 50 Riverview Plaza Trenton (609) 393-7300 Thurs. 7 p.m. El Ka Bong Fri. (5 p.m.) "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere Happy Hour" feat. Jerry Monk (8 p.m.) Kindred Spirit Sat. 8 p.m. Se7en Band Sun. 11 a.m. "Mother's Day and Sunday Latin Jazz Brunch" w/ Victor Tarassov Mon. 7 p.m. "Sunny Monday Blues Jam" Tues. 7 p.m. Karaoke w/ Karen and Mark Wed. 12 p.m. "Wine Down Wednesdays' All Events Ages 21+Cream Ridge Winery 145 Route 539 Cream Ridge (609) 259-9797 Fri. 6:30 p.m. Ronnie Brandt, Joe Nap, Arne Wendt Sun. 2 p.m. Ronnie BrandtDacey's Pub 215 West Philadelphia Avenue Morrisville, PA (215) 295-4838 Fri. 6 p.m. Acoustic Music Night Wed. 8 p.m. Quizzo Dog & Bull Brew House 810 Bristol Pike (Rte. 13) Croydon, PA. (215) 788-2855 Sat. 11 a.m. "Saturday Brunch" Sun. 12 p.m. "Sunday Brunch" Mother's Day Celebration feat. Keli Vale Eddington House Bensalem 2813 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, PA (215) 639-1220 Fri. 8 p.m. Stem Duo Sat. 8 p.m. CJ & KevinForsgate Country Club 375 Forsgate Drive Monroe (732) 521-0700 Sat. 6:30 p.m. Sun. 10:30 a.m. "Mother's Day Brunch" Gleason's Bar 6700 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA (215) 943-4781 Thurs. 7 p.m. Weekly Corn Hole Tournament Fri. 6 p.m. "Happy Hour" w/ (TBA) Sat. 8 p.m. Karaoke Wed. 5:30 p.m. Family Fun Night w/ "Gina the Balloon Girl" Greenhouse 90 South Main Street New Hope, PA (215) 693-1657 Thurs. 8 p.m. "Musicians Night Out" Hosted by Lovelight Tues. 8 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Sam Ryan Wed. 8 p.m. Trivia Hosted by Dwayne DunlevyHalo Pub (Fete) 9 Hullfish Street Princeton (609) 921-1710 Sat. 6 p.m. Kim Yarson BandHopewell Valley Vineyards 46 Yard Avenue Pennington (609) 737-4465 Fri. 6 p.m. Ralston Heights Book Party" w/ Author James Betz / Deb & Mike Sat. (1 p.m.) The Mac Paige Band (4 p.m.) "Music & Merlot" feat. Tune Bandits Sun. 1 p.m. "Jazzy Sundays" feat. Robert Ruffis ExperienceIron Plow Vineyards 26750 Mount Pleasant Road Columbus (732) 306-9111 Fri. 6:30 p.m. Jim Gaven Sat. 6:30 p.m. Carly & Me Sun. 2 p.m. Steve GuygerIvy Tavern 3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton (609) 888-1435 Thurs. 9:30 p.m. "Thursday Night Dance Party" All shows 21+ Killarney's Publick House 1644 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road Hamilton (609) 586-1166 Thurs. 5 p.m. Radio FictionLaurita Winery 85 Archertown Road New Egypt (609) 752-0200 Fri. (12 p.m.) "Wine In The Grove" (6 p.m.) Pasta Night "All You Can Eat." $29 Sat. 11:30 a.m. "Wine In the Grove" Sun. 11 a.m. "Mother's Day Brunch" McGuinn's Place 1781 Brunswick Avenue Lawrence (609) 392-0599 Tues. 9 p.m. Karaoke Ages 21+ McStews Irish Sports Pub 5316 New Falls Road Levittown, PA (215) 949-9570 Sat. 9 p.m. TroublemakerzMore Than Q 13 Klines Court Lambertville (609) 773-0072 Sat. 2 p.m. Ed WallMusic Mountain Theater 1483 Route 179 Lambertville (609)397-3337 Fri. 8 p.m. "The Last 5 Years" Sat./Sun. 3 p.m. "The Last 5 Years"Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company 909 Ray Avenue Croydon, PA (215) 458-7081 Sat. 12 p.m. "Puppies and Pints" Pet Food Drive Sun. 11 a.m. "Mother's Day Bonsai" New Egypt Flea Market Village 933 Monmouth County Road Cream Ridge (609) 758-2082 Sun. 8 a.m. "Mother's Day at The Market" New Hope Winery 6123 Lower York Road New Hope, PA (215) 794-2331 Fri. 8 p.m. "Tusk" Fleetwood Mac Tribute Sun. 1 p.m. Mark & Ralph Acoustic DuoNewtown Brewing Company 103 Penns Trail Newtown, PA (215) 944-8609 Thurs. 7:30 p.m. Trivia Night Sat. 7 p.m. Tony AlosiNick's Roast Beef 4501 Woodhaven Road West Philadelphia, PA (215) 637-5151 Thurs. 6 p.m. Keep The Change Fri. 6 p.m. LeCompt Sat. 6 p.m. Ear Candy Sun. 4 p.m. Sir RodO'Fowley's Tavern & Grill 200 State Road Croydon, PA (215) 785-6998 Fri. 8 p.m. DJ EntertainmentPalmer Square 40 Nassau Street Princeton Sat.12 p.m. David Alastre & Latineo Sun . 4 p.m. McCarter Theater Concert Series feat. Esteem All StarsPasquale's Sports Bar 9078 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA (267) 202-6268 Fri. 5 p.m. Happy Hour feat. (TBA) Sat. 7 p.m. DJ or Live Band Entertainment Tues. 7:30 p.m. Quizzo Wed. 7 p.m. Open MicPatriots Crossing 1339 River Road Titusville (609) 737-2780 Thurs. 8 p.m. Open Mic Night Wed. 7 p.m. QuizzoPrinceton Public Library 65 Witherspoon Street Princeton (609) 924-9529 Thurs. 7 p.m. "Mental Health 2021: Telling Our Stories, Coping with COVID and How to Reach Out" (Panel discussion)Ralphie's 2295 2nd Street Pike Newtown, PA (267) 491-5408 Fri. 7 p.m. Stems and SeedsRandy Now's Man Cave 134 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown (609) 424-3766 Sat. 3 p.m. The Amazing KreskinRecklesstown Farm Distillery 2800 Route 206 North Columbus (609) 784-8046 Thurs. 6:30 p.m. TriviaRevere Restaurant 802 River Road Ewing (609) 882-6365 Fri. 6 p.m. Two For Flinching Sat. 6 p.m. Brian ElliotRomeo's Restaurant & Pizza 10 Schalks Crossing Road Plainsboro (609) 799-4554 Fri. 7 p.m. The Blue-Eyed BalladeerRosedale Mills 101 Route 31 North Pennington (609) 737-2008 Sat. 1 p.m. Outdoor Line Dancing. $10 (Rain date Sundays 12 p.m.)Tankard Pub 440 Keim Boulevard Burlington (609) 306-5079 Thurs. 7 p.m. The WilliamsboyTemperance House 5 South State Street Newtown, PA (215) 944-8050 Thurs. 7p.m. "Blues Night" w/ Steve Guyger Tues. 8 p.m. Trivia w/ Righteous Jolly Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic Night w/ Cara Cartney Terhune Orchards 330 Cold Soil Road Princeton (609) 924-2310 Sat. 12 p.m. "Mother's day Wine Trail Weekend" w/ Jim Matlack & Joe Kramer Sun.12 p.m. "Mother's day Wine Trail Weekend" w/ Kara & CoreyThe Beer Garden at Snipes Farm 890 West Bridge Street Morrisville, PA Sat. 5 p.m. "Music at Snipes Farm Spring 2021" feat. Dogs In A Pile / Diamond Eyed JackThe Buck Hotel 1200 Buck Road Feasterville, PA (215) 396-2002 Fri. 7 p.m. Love JunkThe Cool Cricket 216 Burlington Street Fieldsboro (609) 291-9110 Fri. 9 p.m. Karaoke Sat. 8:30 p.m. Kindred SpiritThe Five Four Bar & Grill 8919 New Falls Road Levittown, PA (215) 547-5525 Sat. 9 p.m. "Dave Deegan's Birthday Bash" w/ WitzendThe Morrisville Tavern 376 West Trenton Avenue Morrisville, PA (215) 295-5310 Fri. 7 p.m. Dan Ward Sat. 7 p.m. Jukebox Graveyard Mon. 7 p.m. "Country Night" Tindall Road Brewing Co. 102 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown (609) 526-8651 Sat. 7 p.m. Tiltin' CatzTrenton Buzz 702 Pine Street Trenton (609) 392-6000 Sat. 10 p.m. "Buzzed Saturdays"Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location) 400 Union Square New Hope, Pa. (215) 862-8300 Thurs. 8 p.m. Trivia Sun. 7 p.m. Open Stage All shows 21+ Vault Tap Room 19 West College Avenue Yardley, PA (267) 907-8550 Thurs. 7 p.m. Comedy Night w/ Marc KayeWater's Edge Gastropub and Lounge 1067 Totem Road Bensalem, PA (267) 332-2095 Thurs. 7 p.m. Cornhole "Blind Draw." $10 Sat. 7 p.m. "Comedy on the Crick" Sun. 12 p.m. "Mother's Day" Drag Brunch Wed.7 p.m. Drag Bingo & KaraokeWorking Dog Winery 610 Windsor Perrineville Road Hightstown (609) 371-6000 Sat. 1 p.m. Spoondrift Sun. 2 p.m. Jersey Sure CatsWWFM 89.1 FM HD2 Radio MCCC Old Trenton Road West Windsor Jazzon2.org Mon. 7 p.m. "Danny Coleman's Got The Blues"
Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled “Rock On Radio” airing Sunday evenings at 7:000pm EST on multiple internet radio outlets where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.
Here is a look at upcoming shows taking place from April 23-30, 2024 along with our featured listings. New Jersey Stage offers previews of concerts throughout the Garden State as well as select shows in New York City and Philadelphia areas. Click on the title to go to the full preview. Jump to Featured Events, Event Previews, Event Listings.
(RAHWAY, NJ) -- As part of their new All That Jazz series at Hamilton Stage, UCPAC, WBGO, & Smooth Jazz NJ Present: Stanley Jordan: Stanley Plays The Grateful Dead on Saturday, June 1, 2024. He will perform shows at 7:00pm and 9:30pm.
(DEAL PARK, NJ) -- Axelrod Performing Arts Center has a pair of great shows coming up in April. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of Joni Mitchell's 1974 album Court and Spark, The Joni Project will perform the album in its entirety, along with a selection of other Joni favorites, on Saturday, April 20 at 8:00pm. The following week, Magical Mystery Doors will perform classics from The Beatles, The Doors and Led Zeppelin on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 8:00pm.
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