Hitting The Mark With A Trippy Retro-Vibe Of Musical Muses From 1966 And 1991

NYC Based Singer/Songwriter Steven Mark Finds Eternal Sunshine In Creating A Sound He Calls "Elliot Smith Meets The Byrds With A Touch Of Alice In Chains Unplugged"

New Disc Aloneaphobe Offers Fascinating, Introspective Chronicle of Lovers "Desparate To Be Alone, But Not Strong Enough To Get There"

In the summer of 2002, in the midst of an afternoon spent in the coffeehouses of Amsterdam, Steven Mark (stevenmarkmusic.com) found himself in the Rock N Roll exhibit at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. A virtual cavalcade of moving images of his lifelong 60's musical heroes -- Lennon, Dylan, Townshend, Morrison--spun past as he was listening on his iPod to "All You Need Is Love," and the New Yorker's mind began racing with memories of his lifelong love affair with music.

Poetic images came to him in torrents of love, isolation, religion, politics and sex; and his life as a sometimes musical cover act was over. Dedicating himself to his songwriting when he returned home, he didn't have to search too far for inspiration. Musically, he channeled what came naturally-a blend of 60's era psychedelia and the unplugged grunge of the early 90's to form a unique sound that he describes as "Elliot Smith meets The Byrds with a touch of Alice In Chains Unplugged....1966 meets 1991."

Lyrically, the Columbia Journalism School grad with the green-tinted 60's mind, finally had an opportunity to vent about the life he had created for himself in corporate America. Mark's first album, 2004's Distraction, recorded, appropriately enough, near Woodstock, featured such songs as Get Off The Ride and Toxins With Cream. The success of that disc -named one of the finest recordings of 2004 by Hybrid Magazine - has earned him gigs at such New York hotspots as CB's Gallery next to CBGB's in the East Village and The Baggot Inn in the West Village.

His railing against the suit and tie realm complete, he now turns to the always-intriguing realm of dysfunctional, happy then sad then happy then confused boy-girl relationships on his new release Aloneaphobe. Produced by his guitarist and "partner in crime" Matt Wilcox, the melodic 14- track, image rich collection is a fascinating chronicle of his on and off, sometimes sublime but often troubled relationship with his former girl friend - who is the nominal inspiration for tunes like "Ditsy Genius" and "Fairmaiden."

"It's all about the ups and downs of this relationship. It's easy to follow the sequence because I kept most of it in the order I wrote it. 'Lazy Sunday Afternoon' is the dysfunctional rut we were in, 'Weak' is the break up song, but then on 'Ditsy Genius' and 'Fairmaiden' I'm thinking about her again.

Amidst the romantic drama, Mark has included songs about his other significant relationships including the poignant "Don't Cross Lake Avenue" and "Yesterday's Smile " written about his siblings, the optimistic "Ballad For Now" inspired by another love who entered his life at the time, and the wistful "You've Seen It All" dedicated to the songwriter's dog.

"The thread that ties it all together is my desire to be alone, offset by my simultaneous fear of being alone," he says.

The swirl of lyrical optimism and pessimism is underscored brilliantly by the melodic - harmonic mix of a jangly 12 string guitar and the raw darker edged sounds of the six string.

"The music on Distraction was all very 60's like, but my mantra with Aloneaphobe from the start was to make it very organic, get the prettiness from the 12 string, the anger from the six string and then add some subtle drama with the piano and cello. I toyed with the idea of calling the album 66/91, referring to the years of my chief inspirations, but Aloneaphobe just summed up everything perfectly."

While the album was mostly based on his own turbulent relationship, Mark also points to the film Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind as an inspiration and feels his album bears a strong spiritual resonance with the trippy, offbeat romantic film starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Appropriately enough, he and his ex girl friend saw the movie together while he was writing the songs for Aloneaphobe.

"The movie was definitely on my mind as we were producing it. I'm not suggesting any sort of Dark Side of The Moon/Wizard Of Oz synch up thing, but I do think the album shares the same tone and mood of the movie as well as the same themes about holding onto the past and fighting the need to let go and move on. One of my favorite lyrics on "Weak" is 'Fear and guilt will rope you in, erasing memories of splendor.' The reference to erasing memories was directly inspired by the movie."

Still, Mark is hoping his album will resonate with listeners whether or not they have seen Eternal Sunshine. "The lyrics are universal. I think people will relate to this tug of war of emotions and think about their own loves; whether it's the ones who got away, the ones who overstayed their welcome, or the ones who did both."