"Mark & James" began inside a hurricane shelter at the University of Central Florida during Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 – “I thought staying in an on-campus shelter would be a good way to meet girls”, quips James. Armed with his guitar and sarcastic wit, James went out on his girl-hunt, but though he didn’t meet any girls during that stay in the shelter, he did meet Mark Russell, a lacrosse player and marketing major, who was sitting in a corner with his own acoustic guitar. After the storm had passed, it didn’t take long before each had ditched the bands they had been playing with and started recording music together in their dorm rooms.
“Mark and I are like night and day” says James. “Really – if you look at it, we’re totally opposite in almost every way, but we spend all our time together and somehow, I dunno – it works.” James is pretty much an indoors kind of guy; a digital media major who loves art and cooking, he works at the university part-time as a graphic designer and runs a web-site design company on the side. Mark, on the other hand, is a pure jock. After playing Division I lacrosse his first few years at UCF, he now partakes in every sport he can fit into his schedule. His latest craze is rock climbing, which for some reason translates itself into repelling off of the side of the university parking garage in the early hours of the morning. “I just like being active”, he claims.
When it comes to their music, both share vocal and guitar duties, but whereas Mark sees his strength in lead vocals over guitar, James revels in his electric guitar and feels his strength lies there. Paradoxically, Mark feels much more comfortable singing with his guitar in his hands, and James’s husky voice shares lead vocals nicely with Mark’s clear, poignant tone. Both write, but while James looks for an intense emotion – usually about girls – to spur his creativity, Mark just needs the perfect first line: “I’ll sit around for long periods of time just trying to come up with the perfect first line – from there, I’m golden. It’s just gotta grab you”.
Mark & James do a pretty good job of “grabbing” their audience’s attention. Full of charisma and charm, Mark & James have been gigging around Central Florida for the past two semesters with a band they’ve put together to back them. “Performing is by far my favorite thing to do”, says Mark. “It’s the best feeling in the world to have a fan tell me how a song has impacted them”. Though currently focusing on recording more material in the studio, the two 22-year-old college seniors are continuing to perform out at local clubs and bars. “To really be an artist you have to create your song with everything you have, record it to the best of your abilities, and then give it all away to an audience”, says James. “We are having the time of our lives doing what we love, but we have nothing but good things to look forward to, as long as we can continue recording and performing, sharing our experiences and relating to our fans through music”.
Mark & James (CALL US at 407-982-4927!)'s Friend Space (Top 22)
Mark & James (CALL US at 407-982-4927!) has 12484 friends.
Good Morning Mark and James! How are you guys?! I'm waiting for my grandparents to come get me so we can go to church. Man, I have 4 projects I have to do for school and they are due this month =/ three of them are for the same class. Oh well, part of life. Gotta do what you gotta do! I hope to see you handsome fellows again very soon! LOVE YOU! ♥ Stephanie
hey mark and james :) so i called your saynow 2 x's this morning cuz i was bored and i wanted to talk to you lol so yeah call back soon and just to let you know i might be going to your seaworld show by the way :) im excited.. i havent seen you guys in a really long time.. but until then i will talk to you guys on saynow and on myspace lol sooo.. tonight 106.7 is playing letting go :) after they play it i will continue to request it ok? luv ya guys ttyl muah!!
haha wow, it's obvious why James wanted to take the gig at the after party for the hispanic film festival. craving the spanish blues? haha maybe see you there, not sure, I have a volleyball game and church early the next day. we'll see.
hey mark and james :) so you missed a great show on the 9th.. maybe next time huh? lol soo its almost been a year since i first saw you guys in concert :) so yeah i hope you guys have an awesome weekend :) HAPPY SATURDAY :) luv ya guys muah!!
omg, mark and james! the craziest thing happened today. well i wouldn't sat its crazy, idk. okay during my lunch today in school, i was texting my bf. but i accidently texted your saynow by accident, lol. i went back to my texts to make sure it went to my bf but it came back to your number. i was like, oh snap! haha, interesting story right ?? well i gotta get me a little bit of sleep. i'll be sure next time i'll call you guys on your say now:].
Heyy:). Can you guys fill out a survey just with random questions? and then it will be posted on Nicolepomarico. com. Just comment back if you can, and ill send it to you:). thank you!
hey guys whaz up havent heard from you in a long time hope that you guys will take a minute away from your buzy schedual and yea well hope to hear frm you soon and i realle miz you guys
hey guys! long time, no talk. watsup?! how are you doing? it's really frustrating not being able to go to any of those o=concerts you posted, but hey what can i do :/
HOLY CRAPOLY! I just called your saynow. i think it takes like ten minutes for it to register, but i DID call. HIT ME UP ON MY LANDLINE, YOU CALL ME SO MUCH BABY YOU CAN BLOW ME UP LIKE A LANDMINE. MWHA! good luck to you mark! and HOWDY JAMES! -staley
Fondest thanks for your time, talent and participation at the School House Rock Benefit. Our page has been updated with some shots of the performances. Another album will be added soon with random/candid shots of the day. Thanks again for taking part!
hey guys :) omg im super happy for you guys... im guessing baking cookies was the best idea ever lol :P so yeah dont forget about me!! lol i luv ya guys and miss you sooo much.. i hope to see you guys really soon :)
