markmcgee.com

1976-1986: Mark was born in Oakland, CA and spent his younger years growing up in the small town of Alameda, right in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. Mark began playing guitar in 1976, thanks to inspiration from his brother Kevin and all of the great music of that time. He began performing live in the summer of 1979 and was in a variety of S.F. based bands including Overdrive (1979-1983), Now (1984-1985) & Starcastle (1985-1986). Paying his dues working in the S.F. Bay Area club scene, Mark shared the stage with such acts as Metallica, Loudness, Ratt, Y&T, Quiet Riot & Randy Hansen. 1986-1995: In late 1986, Mark joined Bay Area heavyweights Vicious Rumors, who were finishing songs for their album "Digital Dictator." "Digital Dictator" (released in 1988 on Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records) received rave reviews, and in 1988 the band headed off to Europe for a festival show in Holland where they, along with bands such as Megadeth, played to 10,000 screaming fans. VR also traveled to England for a headlining show at the legendary Marquee Club in London before returning to the States. As lead guitarist/harmony vocalist/songwriter and producer, Mark's distinctive melodic style and technical finesse became a key element in Vicious Rumors' sound. VR started performing shows with acts such as Blue Oyster Cult, Testament, Paul Dianno (original Iron Maiden singer) and Savatage. After performing a sold out show on Paul Stanley's (Kiss frontman) solo tour, VR signed to Atlantic Records. With VR, Mark recorded 4 studio albums and 2 live albums, performed in music videos that appeared on MTV worldwide, and from 1987 through 1995 toured in 20 countries including the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Scandinavia, and a sold out tour of Japan. 1995-1999: Mark constantly honed his songwriting skills during his years with Vicious Rumors, and in March 1995 he notified the band that he wished to pursue new musical ventures. Following his departure, Mark continued crafting his talents and began performing shows with long time locals, the Alameda All Stars. The All Stars were the musicians in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame icon Gregg Allman's solo band, Gregg Allman and Friends. By fall of 1995, Mark was asked to audition for Gregg Allman and Friends -- and Mark walked away with the gig! Mark played his first show with Gregg to a sold out crowd on December 26th, 1995 at Slims nightclub in San Francisco. In May of 1996, after an opening bit and introduction by Tonight Show's Jay Leno, GA&F performed at the Bay to Breakers to a massive crowd of 70,000 people in San Francisco's Golden Gate park. In mid-1997, Mark went into Fantasy Studios (Berkeley, CA) with Gregg and the boys and recorded "Memphis in the Meantime" and "Startin' Over" for Gregg's "Searching for Simplicity" cd. The songs were recorded and produced by the legendary Tom Dowd (Allman Brothers, Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Lynyrd Skynyrd), and "Starting Over" was selcted by Sony to be the album's first single. GA&F played increasingly more U.S. shows, including 5 sold out shows at the Fillmore Auditorium in S.F. The band performed with such acts as Ted Nugent, The Spinners, Bad Company, Wilson Pickett, REO, BTO, Joan Jett & Kansas. In April of 1998, Mark again traveled to Japan -- this time with GA&F -- for 24 sold out shows at the Blue Note showrooms in Fukuoka, Tokyo & Osaka. Since then, GA&F have toured every year and continued to perform shows with more great acts such as Cindy Lauper, Jimmy Vaughn, Jeffery Gaines and Edwin McCain. 1999-2002: Mark's desire to grow and expand as an artist has always been the driving force in his life. In 1999 he played guitars and bass, and produced, the cd debut from Morris/Thomas. 1999 also introduced Mark to singer/songwriters Nicole Sutton and Katie Schuch. Mark and Nicole felt an instant musical connection. They hooked up with legendary Stu Hamm and Jeff Campitelli and began working together on a new musical endeavor that led to the formation of Luvplanet. Through this new-found relationship, Mark was invited to appear on Stu Hamm's "Outbound" cd, released in 2000 on Steve Vai's "Favored Nations" label. Also in 2000, Mark went "back in time" and made a special guest appearance on 5 songs for Vicious Rumors' "Sadistic Symphony" cd (released in 2002) and co-wrote and recorded with Night Ranger/Ozzy guitarist Brad Gillis for his solo cd "Alligator" (released in 2000). In 2002, Mark appeared on Gregg's Sony release, "No Stranger To The Dark/The Best of Gregg Allman," on a previously unreleased live version of the song, "These Days." 2003- present: Luvplanet's self-titled debut cd was released in 2003. Shortly after it's release, the band recruited the talents of bassist Tommy Sisco and drummer Scott McKenzie. Tommy and Mark toured the world together during the 90's with Vicious Rumors, and Scott and Mark played together (1985-86) in a revamped version of the successful 70's prog-rock band Starcastle. Luvplanet's debut cd mixes male/female, electric/acoustic musical elements with phat melodic grooves, lush vocal harmonies and Mark's stellar guitar work. Luvplanet performed live throughout 2003-2004 in support of their debut cd while honing new songs for their follow-up cd. The songwriting/singing chemistry between Nicole and Mark is a perfect match; and with Tommy & Scott added to the mix, the music flows effortlessly. Luvplanet went into the studio in November 2004 to record their 2nd cd, "State of Mind". The final mixes and mastering were finished by March 2005. Mark's production talents captured the energy and vibe within the band to create an extremely powerful and expressive cd! "State of Mind" was released in May 2005. Mark's desire to create new music continues. He has begun work on his first solo cd titled "Gem". "Gem" includes many elements from Mark's diverse musical palette and includes guest musicians Tony Franklin (Jimmy Page), Stu Hamm (Steve Vai), Tommy Sisco (Luvplanet), Jamie Van De Bogert (Gregg Allman), Jeff Campitelli (Joe Satriani) and Scott McKenzie (Luvplanet) on drums and other surprise guests. Fans everywhere will soon know the beauty of the music that is Mark McGee!

http://www.markmcgee.com/