The Perfect Storm

It all began in the bustling town of Orlando. Mark and James, two young men living parallel lives, knowing nothing of one another, yet, sharing a bond. A love of song and tune that could not be silenced!

James: "When I was younger, my parents used to make me play piano. I hated it."

Mark: "At church I was pulled out of the choir at five."

What they didn't know was that, in their future, something was brewing, a storm that would throw them headlong into their frenzied fate! As the storm threatened all they held dear, these heroic heralds knew what sacrifices must be made, even if it might cost them their very lives…

James: "There were a lot of hurricanes that year. Mark didn’t want to go home and board up his house and neither did I. So, it really came down to us each thinking, 'Cool, I’ll go meet me some girls at the hurricane shelter on campus.'"

This decision was meant to be, James and Mark becoming kinsman in the face of death, under the watchful eye of the dreaded tempest.

Mark: "At the University of Central Florida, this kid came up to me wearing red sweat pants and a Lost t-shirt and was like, 'Hey, you want to play me a song?' I don’t know exactly how it came about, but we both kinda waited out the storm and jammed."

This tune was but the first of many to come, combining the talents of the newfound bardic brothers. The twin troupe of Mark and James came to be known under the majestic title of 'Mark & James'.

Mark: "We are a duo. Our styles of music, separately, are vastly different. James is like a John Mayer fan and I am more like a Ryan Cabrera, hip-hop, rap sort of fan. So, bringing what each of us brings to the table, it makes a totally different blended sound that we both enjoy.

James: "My brilliant idea was that if I put his name first, he’d go for it, so I just threw that out there. Ever since then, we’ve played together. I think it has to do with the stars aligning, essentially being at the right place at the right time."

Mark: "We definitely hang out, but it’s almost kind of weird because we get along really well, but we shouldn’t get along if you saw us on paper. We’re completely different with our hobbies, things we like to do. James is afraid of heights, I like to rock climb and repel and play sports. James is more the technical halo gamer, computer guy. But somehow it really just works."

James: Up until now, we got to play with some pretty awesome people. Avril Lavigne, Jonas Brothers, John McLauglin, Matchbox 20, Alli and AJ, Hanson, so we’re not short of awesome shows we’ve had. We’re putting a lot of work into our album; you can find it on iTunes. We started working with Johnny Wright of Wright Entertainment Group. The last year or so, it’s just been a constant learning process and experience. Ya know who we are and what we do, I think the CD we have coming out speaks a lot to that. It’s called “The Making Of” so I think it’s there to say who we are.

Mark: We had a total creative role and our hand was in on basically everything. Every step of the way we were part of the process. The cool thing was this is our first fully produced album. So the songwriting and all that has been three or four years in the making. We think this is the best representation of who we are. It'll be out March 17. We’re looking to be on tour this summer."

As they continue on their epic, they have picked up wisdom and truth and a discovery of who they are. This revelation adds to their music and fuels their destiny.

James: "I think, like anything else in life, there are phases you go through. I remember music used to be about thinking I want to be a rock star and all this cool stuff. I am just as much James of “Mark & James,” as I am James Friedman."

Mark: "It used to be delusions of grandeur and it’s not until you realize that it’s about being happy as a musician, you don’t have to be rich. We want to be able to share out music with as many people as possible. Not for the fame aspect of it, but just I know art is meant to be shared. There’s nothing better than somebody being able to relate to your music. Just having people smiling when you’re playing is worth it."

To be continued...