"Some things are just meant to be. Birds are born to fly, politicians
were born to lie, big fat guys with giant beards were born to ride
their machines without getting hassled by the man, and Carolyn Mark
was born to make music.
Ever since first taking to the stage as Templeton the rat in her
elementary school's musical version of Charlotte's Web, show business
has been the main driving force in Carolyn's life. After coming to
the obvious conclusion that musicians were much more fun to hang
around with than actors, in the early 90's Carolyn formed her first
band. all-girl surfy twang popsters, The Vinaigrettes. This was the
beginning of a love affair with music, musicians and the road that,
even after 15+ years of crazy hard work, still puts the nitro in her
funny car.
After The Vinaigrettes, Carolyn did brief stints in such bands as The
Metronome Cowboys and The Fixin's before, in 2000, making her Mint
Records debut with her first solo album, Party Girl. Since then, and
with the help of a revolving cast of Can-Country super stars
including, but not limited to, Tolan McNeil, Garth Johnson, Ford
Pier, Nathan Tinkham, Corb Lund, NQ Arbuckle, Luke
Doucet, Amy Honey, Greg MacDonald, Neko Case and Carey Mercer, she
has released five more highly acclaimed albums. As well, she has also
travelled thousands of miles entertaining crowds of 4 to 4000.
touring Canada, the United States, the UK, Norway and Italy. She has
shared the stage with such talented musicians as Jenny Whitely, Hank
& Lily, Luther Wright, Sarah Harmer, Kelly Hogan, Lederhosen Lucil,
Geoff Berner, Joel Plaskett, The Handsome Family, Neil Hamburger, JT
and The Clouds, The Shiftless Rounders, NQ Arbuckle, Wanda Jackson,
The Waco Brothers, The Sadies and Blue Rodeo."
- Andrew Pearson
Carolyn Mark doesn't sit still for long. After putting the finishing touches on Let’s Just Stay Here, she is burning down the great Canadian highway, probably on her way to a festival somewhere. Now, we should mention that Carolyn doesn't like to hog the spotlight; Let’s Just Stay Here sees Carolyn teaming up with Toronto's JUNO Award nominated (and Six Shooter stars) NQ Arbuckle for six Carolyn penned numbers, three NQ songs and a handful of covers. NQ Arbuckle and Miss Carolyn set their minds on creating a "rock" record together after a summer of touring Southern Alberta. Not like AC/DC rock, more like Lucinda Williams/Wilco/Tom Petty rock. Carolyn lovingly calls it her Rumours. We think you'll love it too.
Let’s Just Stay Here is not the first time that Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle recorded together. Perhaps it was a harbinger of things to come, but back in 2005 they recorded the track "Fireworks" for another of Carolyn's collective recording projects – Just Married: An Album of Duets (Mint/Outside). They were not alone in noticing that there was some, for lack of a better word, "magic" there (which illustrates an interesting facet of cooperation, sometimes 1+1 can equal infinity). So, like Gretzky and Kurri, Burns and Allen, Peanut Butter and Jelly, they decided to take this winning combo and head for the Big Time.
Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle – Let’s Just Stay Here
JUNO Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Group Nominee
* * * Carolyn Mark is a busy lady. And as a result, there are a handful of Christmas elves who take care of this page. To reach Carolyn, please contact her label, info(at)mintrecs(dot)com, and they will point you in the correct direction. * * *