About
“Mark’s acoustic style combines a wonderful blend of Celtic, New Age, and Folk. A genial storyteller with a heart full of music.“
-Metronome Magazine
Entertainer, singer-songwriter, and recording artist Mark Frederick Fisher continues to engage and captivate audiences with his friendly, familiar delivery, and succinct and clever word play. He instantly delivers listeners to his world of lighthearted humor and poignant, introspective life observations that are so comfortable and satisfying, while reaching for topics outside of the well-trodden Tunesmith’s path.
Mark puts on a great live music show
Mark serves up his own diverse mix of comedic, personal, and sociopolitical songs with a wry sense of humor. He released his first CD They Went North in 1995, followed by Birthmark featuring “The Wren”, Scratch Board: Songs and Drawings, full of art by Mark with a more Americana production aesthetic, Four, with a devotion to his wife (they married that year), Don’t Get Me Started, and At Home Alone starting out with the barn burner “Fire in the Kitchen”. His latest release Behind The Mask in 2022 delivers thirteen band-driven compositions laced with country, folk, and pop vibrations. “A well-penned collection of feel-good tunes aimed straight for the heart.” – Brian Owens
CDs or downloads are available for purchase. Have a listen.
With Derek Drowne in the control room at WKPX FM…”THE k-ZONE” talking about our Behind the Mask CD release show at “The Bull Run” in Shirley.
A little history
Mark has performed with his sister Donna Fisher-Russo since they were teens, combining sweet sibling harmony on Mark’s originals and popular music. In the 1980s Mark formed “Tunesmith”, setting the tone for popular live music performance in the area. Later, he was joined by bassist Kris Lucander, guitarist John Vedoe and drummer / percussionist Dennis Mahoney to create the Mark Fisher Band. Along with his original music, sets might contain familiar songs from the blues, some jazz standards, and Finnish jug-band favorites.
Mark began performing on guitar and vocals at birth….OK, age 12, then journeyed from band front-man to soloist in pubs, busking on the streets of America, at weddings and other events and venues. He sharpened his musical and performance skills in the late 70’s as a modern minstrel, traveling across the country and crisscrossing the states, busking, listening and accumulating stories as he played. Along the way, Mark learned how to hold an audience and deliver a great live music show. He has honed his innate ability to convey everyday happenstance in song to a steadfast art form.
“Fishers songs are gentle, never sappy; they may have bite, but it’s a subtle nip, one that makes you think as well as react.”
Steve Gaetz
On his latest CD, Mark collaborates with a talented troupe of musical compatriots who have been playing together and performing for years, some going back to high school marching band!
Jeff Root: The Root Cellar – Recording Engineer, keyboard, accordion, bass guitar
Kris Lucander – Bass guitar, Piano
Eric Adamson – Bass guitar
Brie Green – Vocals, flea market fiddle
Jason Sharron – Drums
Ted Broughey – Drums
Tom Ruckey – Drums
Donna Russo – Vocals
Doug MacArthur – Electric guitar
Mike Lamere – Pedal steel guitar
Brian Chaffee – Keyboards, vocals
(50th Anniversary of Woodstock!)
Mark performed at the South Florida Folk festival as a finalist in their National songwriting competition, and won two awards for “Best Male Vocalist” and “Best Solo Performer.” He has been a three time nominee as “Best Folk Act” in the Worcester Phoenix music poll. Mark was a finalist in the “Acoustic Underground Competition” in Boston MA and was a finalist in the Beale’s Prize for Poetry in 2022. Mark’s songs appear on four compilation CD’s as well as his seven all-original releases. He has performed in concert with some of the best singer-songwriters of our time:
Livingston Taylor
The Kennedys
Cormac McCarthy
Bill Morrissey
Aztec 2-Step
Jonathan Edwards
Les Sampou
Greg Greenway
Jeff Root
Slaid Cleaves
Rod Macdonald
Cheryl Wheeler
Chuck Brodsky
Colin Hay
Jamie Brocket
The Installers
Al Stewart
others
“Hanging With The Heathens” from Behind the Mask.
Listen to his solo!
Mark finalist in the Beals Prize for Poetry
Local area poet Mark Fisher was selected as a finalist in the 2021 Beals Prize for Poetry. Now in it’s second year, the competition drew the attention of 44 poets from around the commonwealth. Chosen for his poem “The Wren”, Mark started writing poems in 1970 to impress the ladies. Awhile later he picked up the guitar and set about combining poetry and music to impress his family. Mark found inspiration in Bob Dylan’s and Jim Morrison’s lyrics, and “even though they were accompanied by music, to me the poetic content could easily stand on it’s own merit.” Mark continues to write on socio-political topics along with declarations of love and reflections of “what if’s” and “why not?” He believes that poetry is always an important component in the world we live in, especially in today’s world.
About my visual art
One Christmas, back awhile, I met a gentleman who owned and operated a stained glass business on Cape Cod. You’ve all heard of it, a beautiful stretch of beaches starting at the Cape Cod Canal and ending as a sandbar at P’town. I had been looking for something creative to do, other than music…
“Mark has been playing his trademark mix of humorous, introspective and socio-political songs since the release of his very first CD, They Went North in 1995. Through the years, Mark has honed his innate ability to convey everyday happenstance in song to a steadfast artform. His casual, familiar delivery and succinct word play is as comfortable and satisfying as a conversation with a dear old friend.”