Mark Salomon

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Mark Salomon
Also known asMark Cooksey, [1] Rainbow [1]
Born1970 (age 52–53)
Origin Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Genres Christian metal, hard rock, Christian rock, crossover thrash, hardcore punk, speed metal
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active1986–present

Mark Salomon (born 1970) is an American singer best known as the lead singer of the hard rock bands Stavesacre and the Crucified. Other bands in which he has been a key member include the punk rock Outer Circle and rap-oriented Native Son and Neon Horse. In both Stavesacre and the Crucified, he served as primary lyricist as well.

Contents

Biography

Mark Salomon was born in 1970 in Reno, Nevada. [2] However, around 1972, Salomon's mother moved to California, away from his father. [2] Growing up around Fresno, California, he was exposed to hard rock and hardcore punk bands such as U2, Suicidal Tendencies, Minor Threat, and G.B.H. [2] [3] In 1984, Salomon discovered a local hardcore punk band known as K.G.B., by way of a friend attending a local youth group. [3] However, in 1985, the band's singer, Wayne Stonecipher, departed from the band, which left the remaining members to search for a vocalist. [3] Salomon tried out and got the position, after a brief time. Following his induction, the band decided to change their name, as they felt K.G.B., which stood for Kids in God's Blessings, was juvenile. The band briefly changed their name to Directed Youth, [3] before finalizing into the Crucified, which the drummer, Jim Chaffin, came up with. [3]

With the name change, the lineup consisted of Salomon, Chaffin, guitarist Greg Minier, and bassist Kirk Palmer. However, Kirk departed from the band, being replaced by his brother Trevor Palmer. The lineup recorded a demo titled Take Up Your Cross, which consisted of 15 songs. Nailed, the band's second demo, was recorded the following year and the band's exposure continued to grow. Shortly after Nailed was recorded, the band members graduated from high school and Palmer left the group and was replaced by Mark Johnson. [3] The band recorded Live at the New Order in March 1989. Now with the band consisting of Salomon, Chaffin, Minier, and Johnson, the Crucified signed with Narrowpath Records and recorded and released their debut self-titled album. [3] [4] Johnson left the band after the album was recorded. The band would respond to an ad in a newspaper posted by Jeff Bellew, citing the Crucified as an influence, alongside Slayer and Metallica. Bellew joined the band and drove for four hours from his home in southern California to Fresno every weekend to practice. Eventually, the drive became too costly, and he moved to Fresno to practice with the band. [3] The band would then record their sophomore album, The Pillars of Humanity, which came out via Ocean Records. [3] Around this time, Salomon would move away from the band and work on a rap project titled Native Son and the Foundation. [5] Shortly after the release of the Native Son album, they broke up. [3] In 1995, the Crucified played a reunion and final show. Throughout their career, the band had played alongside Pantera, D.R.I., G.B.H., Scaterd Few, and many others. Hoping to continue playing music, Salomon started a punk rock project called Outer Circle. [6] [7]

At the same time as Outer Circle, Salomon was working on the beginnings of what became Stavesacre, alongside former the Crucified guitarist Jeff Bellew and Focused Bassist Dirk Lemmenes. The three found Jeremy Moffett, who briefly was a part of Deliverance, [8] and the band was formed. [3] Following the formation of Stavesacre, Outer Circle ended, with the new band – deemed a supergroup – being Salomon's main focus. The band signed with Tooth & Nail Records and began writing and recording their debut album, Friction. [3] In the process of the recording, Moffett quit the band. [3] Salomon, Bellew, and Lemmenes would then begin the search for a new drummer, landing on former Scaterd Few drummer Sam West to play on the material. [3] The four would then start to work on the band's second album, Absolutes , which would be released in 1997. Following Absolutes, Ryan Denee joined the band on rhythm guitars, however, Bellew departed from the band. [9]

During his time in the Crucified and Stavesacre, Salomon was often called upon to lend vocals to songs by other bands, most notably Project 86, Argyle Park, CHATTERbOX, Focused, XL+Death Before Dishonor (DBD), and Mortal.

Salomon also is the author of Simplicity, an autobiography that tells of his formative years in Fresno, California, his development as a singer, and the band Stavesacre's struggles to fit into the Christian music scene (and why it eventually left the scene). Initially self-published, a revised version was released in 2005 by Relevant Books, a publishing house connected to Relevant Magazine. He is the singer in White Lighter with Steven Dail (Project 86, Neon Horse) on Northern Records.

Personal life

Salomon resides in Florida with his wife Stephanie. He currently works for NASCAR. [10]

Bands

Current

Former

Discography

With the Crucified

With Stavesacre

With Neon Horse

With Native Son

With Outer Circle

With White Lighter

Guest appearances

Never Was podcast

Salomon hosts a podcast entitled "Never Was". He has interviewed many musicians, producers, and people involved in the musical industry. [10]

Related Research Articles

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Stavesacre are an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1995. The band is composed of vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarists Jeff Bellew and Ryan Dennee, bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Sam West.

Christian punk is a form of Christian music and a subgenre of punk rock which contain Christian lyrical content. Much disagreement persists about the boundaries of the subgenre, and the extent that their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies among bands. For example, the Crucified explicitly rejected the classification of "Christian punk" while staying within the Christian music industry.

The Crucified is an American Christian hardcore and crossover thrash band from Fresno, California that formed in 1984. Its lineup is vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Jeff Bellew, and drummer Jim Chaffin. The band are considered "pioneers of Christian hardcore." During their initial 1984–1993 tenure, the band played at the Cornerstone Festival several times, and also opened for non-religious punk and metal bands like D.R.I. and Pantera. The band broke up in 1993 due to personal differences, but reunited in 2009.

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Spy Glass Blue is an American post-punk/new wave/Britpop band formed by Allan Aguirre of Scaterd Few, is credited for legitimizing and authenticating the post-punk genre in Christian alternative music (ACM) much in the same way that Scaterd Few defined punk rock in Contemporary Christian music (CCM). In the words of the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, Spy Glass Blue is a "rare example of Christian goth music." As Allan's solo effort shows Allan's artier side where Scaterd Few showed his edgier side. Aguirre likens the band's presence to the restructuring of other Christian Alternative bands: Mortal to Fold Zandura or the Crucified to Stavesacre.

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<i>Speakeasy</i> (Stavesacre album) 1999 studio album by Stavesacre

Speakeasy is the third full-length album by Christian rock band Stavesacre. It was the band's final studio album to be released on Tooth & Nail Records. The band would later re-record "Keep Waiting", "Gold and Silver" and "Rivers Underneath" for the Collective compilation album, also released through Tooth & Nail.

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References

  1. 1 2 Salomon, Mark (January 17, 2015). "Episode 2 – Mark Salomon – Part 1". Interviewed by Billy Power. Urban Achiever. Retrieved March 5, 2016. Billy: in the last interview we did together you revealed your nickname. Mark: Aw yes. Rainbow. Billy: Aw now you went and told everybody! Mark: (laughter)
  2. 1 2 3 Salomon, Mark (January 17, 2015). "Mark Salomon". Urban Achiever Podcast. Interviewed by Billy Power. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Salomon, Mark (January 24, 2015). "Mark Salomon – Part 2". Urban Achiever Podcast. Interviewed by Billy Power. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  4. ↑ "The Crucified – The Crucified". Discogs . 1989. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  5. ↑ Salomon, Mark (January 31, 2015). "Mark Salomon – Part 3". Urban Achiever Podcast. Interviewed by Billy Power. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Outer Circle". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Outer Circle". Discogs. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  8. ↑ thrashboy (June 2, 2016). "Jimmy P. Brown II Answers Questions About the History of Deliverance Video". The Metal Resource. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Stavesacre biography". Christianmusic.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Salomon, Mark. "Never Was Podcast". Never Was Podcast. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
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