Mark has been performing virtually all of his life. Originally trained as a classical pianist starting at the age of seven, he participated in state competitions and won first place in his age group at an event held at McCormick Place in Chicago.
After five years of playing piano Mark decided to learn guitar. With his already extensive knowledge of music theory, learning the guitar came easy to him. It was not unusual for him to practice four hours or more a day.
Mark joined his first rock band, a heavy metal band named Quazimodo, at age 14. This consumed most of his teenage years. When Quazimodo fired it’s lead vocalist Mark was eager to take that position.
After graduating from Loyola University he decided to revisit music as both a singer and keyboardist for the band Black Bison. It was the guitar player of Black Bison who introduced him to Bill Burns, with whom he would later form Fourcast.