Mark Etheredge

Mark Etheredge is a Los Angeles, California based singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Etheredge writes and performs a style of adult contemporary music with elements of pop, soft rock, and smooth jazz.

Biography and early career

Mark Etheredge was born and raised in the Bay Area. He started improvising on piano when he was five years old, but never ended up taking lessons, choosing instead to teach himself entirely. Etheredge has stated that he considers his love of the Beatles and the songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney in particular as his primary inspiration for wanting to become a professional songwriter and musician.

Etheredge released his first recording in 1990, an exclusively instrumental New Age album called As Dawn.

Mark spent a significant amount of time playing music for the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, where he met friend and collaborator Michael Cronin, who would later appear as a lyricist on the album Change Coming. While a musician at the church, Mark also taught himself to play the drums.

Though he never stopped writing and performing music, Etheredge primarily took on a successful career in software development, in which he worked for 21 years in software before deciding to return to music full-time in 2011.

Change Coming

In September 2012, Etheredge released his second full length album, Change Coming.

All of the songs on the album are original compositions, and most are written by Etheredge. Many of the songs on the album are light-hearted in nature, including "Pimp You Out for Love" and "Hot Tub," but some address more serious subjects; in an radio interview, Etheredge stated that the song "Room to Room," written by collaborator Michael Cronin, is AbOUT Etheredge's mother's struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

The name of the album and the lyrics of the title track refers to Etheredge's decision to give up his previous career to pursue music full time. Discussing the album, Mark stated, “I looked at my excuses not to leave—job security and the fallacy that I couldn’t afford it ... I realized that this limited thinking was holding me back. I had to let go and embrace a shift. [Change Coming is] the theme song for my career change.”

The album has generally been positively received, with critic Matthew Forss calling the album "refreshing" and stating that Etheredge "brings us a contemporary pop/rock production of twelve funk , jazzy, and soulful compositions that feature great percussion, jazzy keyboards and light vocals that are somewhere between Jack Johnson and Ben Folds. Critic Wildy Haskell noted that that on the album Etheredge "shows a surprising ability at crafting accessible and complete musical arrangements that seem ready for adult contemporary radio."

Some of the musicians who Etheredge has worked with include Jeanie Tracy, Tom Politzer of Tower of Power, Dave Shul of Spearhead, and Charlene Moore of the Weather Girls.

Mark has opened for artists including theatrical dance-pop musician Raquela.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Appearances

External links

• Official website
• Vipaka Records website