From Manchester England, Mark has played with bands such as Happy Mondays, Soda and Elbow. During the ‘Madchester’ period of the mid nineties, Manchester seemed like the right place to be.
After a support slot with Sting in 98 he longed for pastures new and after busking through North America, he relocated permanently to Los Angeles in 2000.
“I got of the plane at New York JFK with just a bag and a guitar. l had a limited amount of cash so all I could do was start busking. l wanted to see a bit more of America so I got the Greyhound and set off. I wanted to see some musically historic places so I headed out to Nashville and then on to Memphis.”
“The main criteria was earn enough busking for my food and lodging and then let the Greyhound take me where it would. l got a couple of paying gigs here and there but nothing keep me in one place. After brief stints in New Orleans and Texas, I landed in the home i’d always missed, LA. While in Hollywood I managed to get a couple of gigs with the Charlatans and Reeves Gabrells band but felt like just the playing of music alone wouldn’t be enough to sustain a decent existence. That’s when I swapped the guitar for a soldering iron and became a tech.”
“After a few years on this side of the industry I began to miss playing so I was encouraged back into the studio and Mark Loughman the album was born. The album is a mix of 70’s glam, punk and indie rock influenced by Bolan, Bowie and McCartney and was exiting enough to attract some local guests. Amongst the artists who featured on the album are Kenny Aronoff, Chris Chaney, Allan Holdsworth, Josh Homme and Matt Sorum.”