M A R K
A N D E S
LEGENDARY BASSIST
SPIRIT
JO JO GUNNE
HEART
F I R E F A L L
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Heart, Spirit, Firefall, Canned Heat, Stevie Nicks,
Dan Fogelberg, Whitesnake, Jo Jo Gunne, Chris Hillman, Kim Carnes, Joe Walsh
and so many more legendary bands and artists have all relied on the brilliant
musicianship of MARK ANDES to punctuate their songs and elevate their musical
visions to chart-topping status. Andes has been the rock-solid support on
bass guitar, songwriting and vocals for all the above. and others too.
MARK ANDES has enjoyed a musical career spanning over
four decades of groups generating gold and platinum albums and world-wide
impact! He is one of the most respected and loved bass players on the
planet.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Mark was a founding member
of such cutting-edge bands as Canned Heat and Spirit while still a teenager.
Spirit is still considered by many in the U.S and abroad, to be the first
band to successfully fuse jazz and rock with protest, folk-like lyrics and is
known as a progressive rock innovator. Their four albums (Spirit, The
Family That Plays Together, Clear, and The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
released from 1967-1970) all are propelled by the visionary rhythm section of
Mark Andes and Ed “Cass” Cassidy and include radio staples such as “Got A Line
On You” and “Nature’s Way.” Spirit toured with top 1960s bands including
Led Zeppelin (who were heavily influenced by Spirit), Jimi Hendrix (who played
with guitarist Randy California in the group ‘Jimmy and the Blue Flames’), The
Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin and so
many others.
Mark and Spirit’s lead vocalist Jay Ferguson went on
to form the hard rockin’ Jo Jo Gunne (which also included Mark's brother, Matt
Andes) and quickly scored a top-30 hit with the infectious “Run Run Run”.
Mark then moved on to the mountains above Boulder,
Colorado and for a short time was in two bands there, Firefall and Navarro
(soon to be Carole King’s backup band). During a brief tour with the
Chris Hillman Band (that included Rick Roberts & Jock Bartley), Chris
became ill and Firefall finished the 3-day stint in NYC where Atlantic Records
heard the band; within the month, they signed the band to a long-term recording
contract and it was off to the races.
In Firefall, Mark was paired with drummer Michael
Clarke (from the Byrds and Flying Burrito Bros.) and a very solid and
distinctive rhythm section was formed: Mark’s progressive and melodic bass
style enhanced Michael’s straight-ahead drumming. Playing with guitarist
Jock Bartley and multi-instrumentalist, David Muse, Firefall’s sound became
much more than the ‘country rock’ style they were often cast as. The
Colorado-based group enjoyed huge success right from the start in 1976,
receiving nationwide saturation radio airplay and touring with the top bands of
the day: Fleetwood Mac Rumors Tour, The Band (on their final tour before making
‘The Last Waltz’ and breaking up), Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doobie Brothers (with
Michael McDonald), Loggins and Messina, Heart, Cheap Trick, The Allman
Brothers, Marshall Tucker, America, Kenny Loggins and many
others.
In 1982, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson recruited Mark
where he co-wrote their return-to-radio hit “How Can I Refuse” in 1983 infusing
creative bass rhythm and vocals. Mark Andes’ musical talent, as well as
his good looks, made the group one of the original MTV darlings. Heart’s
vibrant comeback to industry prominence was on! After the band moved to
Capitol Records in 1985, they made the album simply called ‘Heart’ That
album reached Number One, sold five million copies and launched four Top Ten
hit songs: “What About Love” (#10), “Never” (#4), “These Dreams” (#1) and “Nothin’
At All” (#10). A fifth single, “If Looks Could Kill” also charted making
five hit singles from the same album for the first time. Mark Andes'
10-year stint with Heart from 1982 to 1992, was dotted with multi-platinum
albums, No. 1 chart topping hit singles, award winning videos and non-stop
arena headlining tours worldwide.
MARK ANDES rejoined Firefall in January 2014 and looks
forward to helping Firefall play relevant, compelling shows and recording new
records. On January 9, 2015 in Denver, CO, FIREFALL and MARK ANDES were
inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, along with The Nitty Gritty Dirt
Band, Poco and Stephen Stills and Manassas.
You can purchase
Mark Andes
Real
World Magic
at amazon.com
M A R K
A N D E S
INTERVIEWED ON
THE RAY SHASHO SHOW
BBS RADIO
www.bbsradio.com
CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN
THE RAY SHASHO SHOW WILL RUN WEEKLY BEGINNING AUGUST 8TH!
And don’t forget to
purchase a copy of my book entitled Check the Gs -the true story of an eclectic
American family and their Wacky family business
available now at amazon.com.
You’ll live it!!!
Have a great week everybody!
