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Mark Avsec (born August 23, 1954) is an American rock keyboardist, songwriter, and producer. He was a member of the funk rock band Wild Cherry.
Avsec was an original member of Donnie Iris & the Cruisers. He wrote or co-wrote all of the band's music, was its sole lyricist, and produced all of its albums. [1]
Since 1995, he has also been a copyright lawyer.
Avsec joined the band Wild Cherry immediately following the recording of the disco hit, "Play That Funky Music" (1976). He was brought in as a session keyboardist for two tracks on the band's debut album, and was then asked to join the group. He also toured with the band, performing "Play That Funky Music" at the 1976 Grammy Awards. [2] During this period, he befriended Donnie Iris, with whom he composed Donnie Iris & The Cruisers' hits "Ah! Leah!" (#19 Billboard Mainstream Rock) and "Love Is Like a Rock" (#9 Billboard Mainstream Rock).
In 1980, Avsec wrote and produced the debut album for the band LaFlavour which garnered the hit single "Mandolay," climbing to number 7 on Billboard's Disco Chart. [3] Avsec later released "Mandolay" himself under the artist name Art Attack. By the time Avsec composed LaFlavour's follow-up album, the band's label, MCA, had decided to change the band's name to "Fair Warning," due to interest in disco music tapering off. The lead-off Fair Warning single composed by Avsec was called "She Don't Know Me," which was taken by MCA from the Fair Warning debut album and given to New Jersey's Bon Jovi, who were preparing their debut album for PolyGram's Mercury label. The label felt Bon Jovi needed the song as a single, making Avsec the only outside songwriter to compose a song released by Bon Jovi that was not co-written by a member of the band. Avsec has played with other musicians such as Mason Ruffner and The James Gang featuring Joe Walsh, Jimmy Fox, and Dale Peters.
In addition to Donnie Iris & the Cruisers, Wild Cherry, and James Gang, Avsec was a member of the Cleveland, Ohio-based band, Breathless. [4] He has also released material in collaboration with fellow Donnie Iris and the Cruisers member Kevin Valentine under the pseudonym Cellarful of Noise. [5]
In 2010, "Angel Love (Come For Me)," a song Avsec co-wrote with Mason Ruffner and Alan Greene, was included on Carlos Santana's Supernatural (Legacy Edition) album.
Avsec decided to become a lawyer because he was sued frivolously for the song "Ah! Leah!" He won the lawsuit but lost all of the royalties defending himself. [6] Today Avsec has a successful practice specializing in intellectual property law based in Cleveland, Ohio, having graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1994 magna cum laude. [7]
Since 2003, Avsec has taught "Law of the Music Industry" at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and he teaches "Representing the Musical Artist" through the Great Lakes Sports and Entertainment Law Academy, a program that Case Western Reserve University School of Law offers in affiliation with the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. [8] [9]
James Gang was an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh, Tom Kriss (bass) and Jim Fox (drums). Dale Peters replaced Kriss on bass for the band's second and third albums. Two of the band's songs, "Funk #49" and "Walk Away", continue to be popular on classic rock and AOR stations.
Donnie Iris is an American rock musician known for his work with the Jaggerz and Wild Cherry during the 1970s, and for his solo career beginning in the 1980s with his band, the Cruisers. He wrote the #2 Billboard hit, "The Rapper", with the Jaggerz in 1970 and was a member of Wild Cherry after the group had a #1 hit with "Play That Funky Music." He also achieved fame as a solo artist in the early 1980s with the #29 hit "Ah! Leah!" and the #37 hit "Love Is Like a Rock."
Wild Cherry was an American funk rock band formed in Mingo Junction, Ohio, in 1970 that was best known for its song "Play That Funky Music".
Back on the Streets is the debut album by American rock singer/guitarist Donnie Iris, released in 1980. The single "Ah! Leah!" was a hit for Iris, reaching #29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and #19 on the U.S. Billboard Top Tracks chart. The album was remastered and reissued on CD in 2021 by Rock Candy Records with two live bonus tracks from the 1981 Live EP.
No Muss...No Fuss is the fifth studio album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released by HME in 1985.
The Jaggerz are an American rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They came to national attention with their single "The Rapper" which was released on the Kama Sutra label. "The Rapper" was No. 1 in the Record World Charts and No. 2 in the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1970. Having sold over one million copies, the recording received a gold record awarded by the R.I.A.A.
"Ah! Leah!" is a song by Mark Avsec and American rock musician Donnie Iris from the latter's 1980 album Back on the Streets. The song has been described as Iris's signature song, as well the unofficial anthem of the city of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania as a whole.
"Love Is Like a Rock" is a song by American rock musician Donnie Iris from his 1981 album King Cool. The song was released as the second single from his second album.
Out of the Blue is the sixth album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released in 1992. The album is partly a 'best-of' collection as it consists of seven previously released tracks and six new songs. These six tracks were originally recorded for the band's unreleased 1986 album Cruise Control, and were remixed for this release.
Footsoldier in the Moonlight is the seventh studio album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released by Seathru on September 9, 1993.
Poletown is the eighth studio album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released in 1997. It was Iris' third post-major label release, and was released independently on Seathru Records.
Cellarful of Noise was a short lived 1980s rock and New Wave pop band featuring Mark Avsec and Kevin Valentine, both members of Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. They released two albums. They also had one song hit the Billboard Hot 100, "Samantha ," which peaked at #69 in April 1988. They named themselves after Beatles manager Brian Epstein's biography book of the same name.
"She Don't Know Me" is a single by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was the second single from their self-titled debut album Bon Jovi (1984). It was written by Mark Avsec and charted at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Jonah Koslen is an American singer-songwriter and musician best known for his work with the Michael Stanley Band and Breathless in the 1970s and 1980s.
Electrified Funk is the second studio album by the funk rock band Wild Cherry, released in 1977. It contains the track "Baby Don't You Know", which roughly continues the theme and story of their 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music" by effectively explaining that, contrary to popular belief, all of the band's members were white despite its typically-Black funk/R&B sound. The song peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became their second-highest charting hit. It also contains a repeat of a song from the first album, "Hold On ", this time with added violins.
Ah! Live! is the second live album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released in 2009. Except for one studio recording, all of the songs were recorded at live concerts in Kittanning and Erie, Pennsylvania. The album's name comes from Donnie's first hit single, "Ah! Leah!" It is his fifteenth solo album.
Only the Wild Survive is the fourth and final studio album by Wild Cherry, released in 1979. It contains the single "Keep On Playin' That Funky Music" a sequel to their 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music". It was also the first and only Wild Cherry album to feature Donnie Iris as a performer. After Wild Cherry's breakup, Iris and bandmate Mark Avsec would launch Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.
Ah! Leluiah! is the eleventh studio album and the first Christmas album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released on November 18, 2010. The project was first announced by keyboardist/songwriter/producer/legalist Mark Avsec in February 2010 in an interview with Cleveland Scene.
Magnificent Obsession is the second and final studio album from 1980s American pop-rock act Cellarful of Noise, a solo project of Mark Avsec of Donnie Iris fame. The album was released in March 1988, with some of the tracks featuring Donnie Iris on vocals.
Cellarful of Noise is the debut studio album from 1980s pop-rock act Cellarful of Noise, a solo project of Mark Avsec of Donnie Iris fame. The album was released in June 1985.
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