Mark
Doyle has had an interesting and varied career in the music
business. Raised by musical parents, he studied extensively
in classical and jazz piano, appearing on local TV and radio
shows by age ten. Mark seemed destined for a career in jazz
piano until The Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan, whereby he
switched to guitar. His first band, Jukin' Bone, was
signed to RCA when Mark was still in his late 'teens. They went
on to make two obscure albums hailed by Creem Magazine as seminal
classics of early '70's hard rock.
After
the breakup of that band in 1973, Mark found his niche as lead
guitarist/arranger/right-hand man for a series of brilliant and
eccentric singer/songwriters. Highlights of this period include
two albums each with Andy Pratt ("Resolution" and "Shiver
In The Night") and Cindy Bullens ("Desire Wire"and "Steal
The Night"), and three albums with David Werner ("Whizz
Kid," "Imagination Quota," and "David Werner"), along with a number
of tours as lead guitarist and bandleader for these artists. Concurrent
with this activity were numerous session dates as a guitarist
for Daryl Hall & John Oates, Judy Collins, Leo Sayer, and
many others.
The '80's saw Mark embark on many world tours and TV appearances
as lead guitarist for Meat Loaf; another high point was
arranging and singing the background vocals on "Straight From
The Heart" by Bryan Adams. An avid interest in record production
saw Mark perfecting his craft on many independent label productions,
as well as major label productions for Epic and Casablanca.
A move to Boston in 1988 yielded a new career as a string arranger.
After being introduced to producer Maurice Starr, Mark
arranged strings for virtually all of Starr's acts, including
New Kids On The Block, Rick Wes, Perfect Gentlemen, Tiffany,
The Superiors, Seiko, and The Stylistics, also contributing
co-production and instrumental prowess to many of these records.
A call from producer Michael Beinhorn led to Mark contributing
string arrangements to The Cavedogs' major label debut
on Capitol, "Soul Martini."
Next, Mark traveled to Tokyo to play keyboards and acoustic guitar
for the Epic/Sony and Pioneer labels.
Mark left Boston in 1994 and currently resides in Syracuse, N.Y.,
where he continues to actively produce and perform on a regular
basis. He has recently completed two critically acclaimed solo
albums of guitar instrumentals - the moody "Guitar Noir" and the
neo-psychedelic "Out of the Past." Other newer recordings include
the double live CD and DVD of his “Solstice at the Cathedral,”
two albums produced for old friend Andy Pratt,
and a brand new collaboration with original Jukin’ Bone
partner Joe Whiting, “The
Truth.”
Mark’s formed his own band, Mark Doyle and The Maniacs, in 2009. They released two albums - “Shake ‘Em On Down: A Salute to the 60s British Blues Boom” and “Comin’ Home”, which both won SAMMY Awards for Best Blues CD in 2010 and 2011, respectively. They are out gigging regularly and always deliver an awesome show steeped in the blues rock tradition.
2011 saw the release of two long-anticipated projects: “From
The Dark Side Of The Moon” by Mary Fahl,
which was co-produced by Mark and David
Werner, and the sequel to 1999’s “Guitar
Noir”, Mark Doyle’s third
solo instrumental album, “In Dreams: Guitar Noir
II.”
2012 saw Mark Doyle and The Maniacs back in the studio recording their third album, “Pushin’”, which has an official release date of January 4, 2013.
As a companion piece to the new album, the band also released a DVD, “The Making of Pushin’”, an in-depth view of the recording sessions with interviews, performances, and official videos. |
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