Mark Gunner
Meet The Cotswolds-born UK Open Mic performer Mark Gunner:
Hi Mark Gunner, thanks for joining us! Let’s get into it:
Do you play solo only, or also in a group?
Solo
What’s the name of the group?
How old are you?
33
Where were you born?
The Cotswolds
Where did you grow up?
The Cotswolds
How did that place influence your music? (if at all!)
While I played and listened to a lot of different styles, genres and cultures, my connection to the English countryside is borne out in my artistic style, my themes, my passions, everything. There’s an English Folk flavour to almost everything I write. It’s got to the point where trying to make enough money to go home and buy a farm in the Cotswolds is effectively one of my brand values.
Where are you based now, and why?
I’m now based in London. As far as I can tell, it’s still the best place to look for opportunities and develop as a musician. This is likely my last 12 months trying in London before I go back and spend more time making cheese.
What got you into making music in the first place?
I find this a surprisingly hard question to answer. All I know is that I gave up a job as a Senior Engineer designing aeroplane parts to do it, so I must reeeaally want to make music.
I have a really eclectic musical history, from grade 8’s in singing, piano and trombone from school to welsh male voice choirs in the Royal Albert Hall to singing with jazz big bands in seedy underground clubs in Leeds. I spent the first 30 years of my life telling myself that I’d have a proper go at music at some point. There came a point where I decided that I’d just have to take the plunge and do it, and here I am now. Or one of the places, at least.
What instrument/s do you play?
Singing, Bass
Who would be in your top 10 musical influences, and why?
Nic Jones is an english folk artist, who’d play a unique guitar style to create really fun and energetic groves while using folk melodies and lyrics to create wonderfully down-to-earth yet skillfull and beautiful music. That’s pretty much what I’m trying to do on the bass.
Jimi Hendrix combined a really interesting array of artist influences to create incredibly compelling and beautiful music with a huge amount of character. Again, my aim.
Jaco Pastorius developed a really powerful way to play the bass as a solo instrument. I don’t actually like any of the solo playing he did at all, but I can’t deny that his technique has had a huge influence on my playing.
Other artists less specifically:
Newton Faulkner
Tony Rice
Tommy Emmanuel
Kate Rusby
Phil Lynott
Gregory Porter
John-Paul Jones (bassist of Led Zeppelin)
Do you write your own songs?
Yes
How many years have you been writing songs for?
15? Ish?
What process, or processes, do you often find yourself using when you write songs?
When I’ve got time I like to let hooks and ideas come to me while I hum idly to myself day-to-day. I’ll then try and build a story around it and a theme to define the chorus by.
When I’ve not got the time, I challenge myself every so often to write a song in an hour. It stops me getting bogged down in details and process and just gets me to write the thing.
How long have you been playing open mic nights?
Why did you get into playing them in the first place?
I was just looking for somewhere to play. I love being creative, but I’m terrible at getting gigs. There’s something about the networking and emailing people that I’m terrible at. I should clarify that I’ve done about 3 years of playing at open mic nights, but there’s about a 5 year gap in between each year that I’ve done it.
What advice would you give new performers who are just starting out playing their first open mics?
Have a go, you’ll almost certainly be fine. London especially is a fascinatingly open-minded place, so you really have to work hard to be booed off stage.
Personally I’d recommend avoiding ones which don’t require a sign-up before the night because there’s literally no low bar for artists wanting to perform.
What’s the hardest thing, for you, about playing open mics?
A bad open mic will have a room full of 30 people, each with a glass of water in their hand, waiting to play their one song before they immedately leave the venue. No one cares about anyone else’s music, everyone’s bad, you get on at midnight (because you didn’t turn up 45 minutes early to sign up) and play to an empty room. A week later the venue closses because it never actually made any money.
Those open mic nights are arduous.
What’s the most bizarre, or fun, open mic, or gig, you’ve ever played, and why?
If I remember correctly there was a pub called The King William IV, just across the river from Battersea Power Station. Before it closed down they did an open mic night on Fridays and Saturdays. All the musicians were either mad, incredibly talented or both, the atmosphere was warm, friendly, energetic and exciting. I played a few nights there, and ended up on the cajon for the final song they played before it closed down.
If it’s not already, are you hoping to make music your full-time career?
Yes
What do you currently find the hardest and biggest obstacles to moving your music career forward?
I’ve been realising recently how important it is to find your community and reach into it in order to be heard and accepeted, on social media or otherwise. As a home/shed inventor/tinkerer style of creative I find this difficult. It’s just not in my nature to reach out to peopel all of the time because I never assume anyone actually wants to listen to what I have to say.
What’s the one truth about you that people often find surprising?
I’m really bizaarly passionate about British cheeses. People seem to pick up on it within the first few times of meeting me, even if I don’t remember mentioning it.
What’s the most exciting project you’re working on at the moment?
My musical project I find most exciting is my whole act being as a singer-songwriter playing on the solo acoustic bass. I’ve taken some niche jazz techniques and adapted them into a percussive acoustic style which some has described as like “a bassy Ed Sheeran” or, my favourite, a “folk Thundercat”. Like I say I’m not great at reaching out and getting noticed, but people seem to be starting to pick up on it which is great. I’ve got a new single coming out at the end of September as well.
Do you have your own music video, channel or playlist you’d like to share?
www.youtube.com/@mgunnermusic
Do you have music on streaming? What’s you main streaming channel to send people to?
Where is the main place should people go to find out more about you?
What other sites/profiles should people go to to find out more about you?
www.instagram.com/mgunnermusic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.instagram.com/mgunnermusic, www.tiktok.com/@mgunnermusic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.tiktok.com/@mgunnermusic, www.soundcloud.com/mgunnermusic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.soundcloud.com/mgunnermusic
We’re done! Anything else you want to share before we go?
Thank you! I hope you are well!