Mark Barden Music
Born in Yonkers, N.Y., I was privilaged to grow up in a warm and musical family. From the start, I was exposed to a diverse range of genres. My Father loved Big Band and Swing, my Mother grew up listening to the Grand 'Ol Opry and my older Brothers listened to Rock, Blues and straight ahead Jazz. I loved all of it. My Brothers were my first guitar mentors. At age 7, I was playing trumpet in the school band and taking folk guitar lessons. By high school, my cousin Carl and I had started our first band.
In 1986 I moved to Florida. I studied Jazz, harmony and theory with Jim Graves at Daytona Beach Community College. For the next few years I did session work and played with various Rock, Top 40 and Blues bands throughout Florida. In 1990 I went on the road with a Country band.
In 1992 I moved to Nashville and immersed myself in its rich music scene. While there, I studied Jazz and Funk with the great Reggie Wooten. I did demo sessions, and toured with The Cox Family, Michael Martin Murphey, Doug Stone, Vern Gosdin, Vicki Bird, Randy Stafford and others. I also did other jobs such as producing, road managing, sound and lighting.
1996 was a heavy year. On July 27th, my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, less than a week later, my Father died suddenly. A month after that, I met the sweet, beautiful woman that would be my wife.
In 1998 I moved back to New York and got married. In 1999 my wife encouraged me to pursue my other life-long passion; aviation. I started taking flying lessons and am now a commercial pilot. I am working on getting my instructors rating so I can teach others to fly. Also in '99, I enrolled at Lehman College where I had the honor of studying composition with John Corigliano as well as many of the other brilliant luminaries on the faculty at Lehman. In 2001 I received my B.A. in music. Upon my return to New York in '98, I started working Tuesdays and Wednesdays in a duo with long time friend Artie Tobia, which continues to this day!
Currently, I live in Sandy Hook, CT. with my wife and three children. My favorite thing to do is spend time with my family. In addition to working 4-6 nights a week, I stay busy doing recording sessions, teaching guitar and working on my flight instructor rating. I embrace each day and look forward to every minute of this life!