MARK T.
The White Hart, Wimbourne Minster, Dorset
The Open Mic night held in the White Hart on Thursday 20th July was a fantastic evening of local talent with a surprise appearance of the well respected Mark T who performed traditional folk songs and some numbers from his newly released CD “Where Are You Going”. Copies of Mark’s CD were sold during the evening, half of each sale was added to the fund raising for Ed Dowie. There were some very strong performances from local young musicians contributing to a thrilling and uplifting evening of musical delights.
Bournemouth Daily Echo 27/07/06
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MARK T
The Rising Sun Institute, Reading, Berkshire
The Music of Mark T-Turauskis- is an acquired taste via a style that embraces a Marc Bolan vibrato and a radical approach to a repertoire drawn mainly from blues and British traditional material. The idea is to make, say, Nottamun Town or Dust Pneumonia Blues not sound like any other artist’s version. In this he succeeded admirably as exemplified by a lengthy introit of squittering Hendrix wah-wah before you were caught off-guard by a headlong plunge into Leadbelly’s I Ain’t Goin Down To The Well No More. Similarly, he grabbed The Water Is Wide by the scruff of the neck and wrung the life from it. An unusual absorption with rhythm became most conspicuous in an entirely in an entirely appropriate Shaft chukka-chukka underpinning Pick A Bale Of Cotton.
The uninitiated might be bemused but none can doubt Turauskis’ extraordinary fret board dexterity whether handling bouzouki –especially on a bona fide instrumental- his solid-body Stratocaster or a recently-purchased and magnificent acoustic guitar. Nevertheless, there were times when I found his vocal extremities irritating – and he needs to jump about a bit more on stage. However, I’m nothing if not vulgar – and I must add the raw information that some woman was motivated to cavort during his reggaefied ‘Green Broom’ finale.
Mark’s strange star has led him to a forthcoming engagement at Cecil Sharp House which, on the evidence of his Rising Sun performance, could either earn him a standing ovation for his bold reinventions or get him lynched from the nearest lamp-post.
Alan Clayson - “Folk Roots”
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‘RETURN OF THE SUMMER BIRDS’, at Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre
THE LAUDABLE Year Of The Artist scheme has placed more than 100 artists in 100 different locations throughout the country. Surely none of them has been as worthwhile as the Thatcham-based Circle of Sound – a musical concept that crosses every border of technical ability and style.
‘Return of The Summer Birds’ – a collage of words and music
was an enormous success. Following Mark T’s introduction, it was straight
into a taste of what was to follow. Charles Spicer on English bagpipes played
‘Stella Splendens/ La Rotta’, which had a haunting, repeated melody
line. Then John Kane gave a superb classical violin solo – it was a shame
that some kidlets were allowed to chatter by those who should have known better,
but Kane’s rebuke was as gentle as his bow play.
The first sample of Kim Taplin’s poetry was less impressive. A line which
included “jumped for joy” created the suspicion that no cliché
was to be left unturned and, in truth, some verses were carelessly phrased.
However, all was not lost. The main body pf the performance was music based
around Taplin’s as an interpretation of the narrative.
Mark T was first in folk / roots mode, underpinned by heavy, tribal bodhran,
and overlaid by delicate guitar work as the birds were pictured leaving Africa.
There were contributions from baritone Jonathon Brown, and brilliant folk /
blues singer Fran Wood, of local band Poachers Pocket. How these two contrasting
voices could gel in a performance is beyond analysis – but it happened.
Excellent backing was also provided by Nadia Larson and Ellen Slatter on violin, Nichola Clark on viola, Jessica Slatter on cello and Jeremy Broome on harp. Then there were the mesmeric sounds of Tim Baker and Tony Doak on soundbeam.
It was very good and even the rougher lines of the verse were saved by the
resonance of the final stanza of Kim Taplin’s poem, “travellers
without baggage, voyagers without visas, every year five billion birds, fly
out of Africa”.
Fred Redwood - Newbury Weekly News
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MARK T & THE BRICKBATS
Four Bars Inn, Cardiff
I’D LOOKED forward to this gig for some time, partly because of Keith Hudson’s interview with Mark T and Tim Hill last year, also just to see what kind of audience they’d get.
Mr. T started alone on electric guitar and voice, bringing a smile to my face in the first number, with a wah wah pedalled guitar making the kind of abrasive, scratchy racket not normally found on the folk scene. On Hendrix’s Red House, Tim Hill added virtuosic, bluesy sax and he used more free jazz playing in the next song, where Roger Watson came in on melodeon and all three were playing in stylistic areas thought to represent separate genres. Energy and commitment made it gel.
Mark moved on to Bouzouki for the rest of the set, except for brief outings on the marimba. East European, Breton and Chinese tunes all cropped up, as did Mark’s originals, blues, gospel and nursery tunes.
A funky bouzouki riff was behind I Gave My Love A Cherry was vaguely familiar when suddenly the sax came screaming in and the riff sounded straight out of Prince. Leadbelly’s Ain’t Goin’ Down To The Well No More was like a Phillip Glass arrangement, except that the clarinet lifted it from the systems music trap and the storming arrangement of Mark’s Butter And Guns sounded as if Ornette Coleman had a stab at it.
To round off this journey through the band’s challenging and original ideas came the beautiful The Mallard, with free-form clarinet passages bursting out of the traditional melody, and a song about a surreptitious sexual liaison (which they never gave the title of) beautifully sung by Watson and with more of Hill’s passionate sax. Traditional English Soul!
If you dislike traditional music presented in a challenging and confrontational way, then this band’s not for you. If you prefer folk music to inhabit a comfortable, cultural corner of the music scene, then these guys are bad news. But anyone wanting music that’s raw and committed should check out Mark T & the Brickbats soon.
Rob Smith - “Taplas”