Mark Coram
Americana, Rock
From: Knoxville, TN, United States
Band Members
- Mark Coram - Guitar, Vocals
- Tim Lee - Guitars, Backing Vocals
- Susan Bauer Lee - Bass, Backing Vocals
- Don Coffey Jr. - Drums, Percussion
- Buell Wisner - Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle, Vocals
About Band
I am a singer/songwriter from the Knoxville, TN area. Originally in the local band THE RATTLEHOUNDS, I have since recorded a solo CD (GARAGEICANA) with Tim & Susan Lee and Don Coffey Jr. and I am currently working on material with guitarist Buell Wisner for a future project as yet to be determined. One thing is sure though ... we gots lots o' songs to do something with.
About GARAGEICANA:
Listening to Garageicana you really get the sense that Mr. Coram is the kind of guy that it’d be worth your while to sidle up next to, buy a beer, and hear his stories. The man lets his lyrics unfold like a story untold. Tales of heartache, heartbreak, and a love of his southern roots.
Mark may be best known for his long-standing band, The Rattlehounds. But for this, his first solo record, he culls a veritable who’s-who in the Knoxville music scene. On the LP are Don Coffey of Superdrag and Independent Recorders [who also recorded, mixed, and produced Garageicana], and Tim & Susan Bauer Lee. Tim of Windbreakers and Tim Lee Band fame. Even though there is an ample amount of wattage on the disc its Coram’s lyrics, his truth if you will, that shine bright above all else.
There’s an internal struggle on trying to figure out the classification of this album. It’s not really a throw back record. It’s more of a forward looking album, yet steeped in old school sensibilities. Back when lyrics meant something more than shaking ass and rockin’ bodies. When giants like Cash, Haggard, and Jennings ruled the airwaves. As much as Garageicana is a working man’s tribute to those mentioned, it’s also a good piece of straight forward southern rock that can stand on its own two legs. It can do so without the columns those forebearers built, holding up the genre to a even greater esteem. Making a solid album is all too often hard to accomplish. With that, at least in the reviewer’s eyes, Coram has succeded where many before have failed.
- Paperthin Magazine
Starkly powerful songs underpin Coram's disc
By WAYNE BLEDSOE, bledsoe@knews.com
Mark Coram may be the best local singer-songwriter you've never heard.
Full disclosure: Coram is a News Sentinel employee, and I've been one of the lucky few to hear Coram's demos since the days The Rattlehounds, his former band, were still pups. The new album, "Garageicana," finally gives the general public a chance to tap into Coram's talents. It's not an album that sounds like a debut (Coram's only previous release is an EP with The Rattlehounds, released after the death of drummer and News Sentinel reporter Mike Flannagan). With able contributions by Tim Lee Band core Tim Lee (guitar) and Susan Bauer Lee (bass) and drummer/producer Don Coffey Jr. (formerly of Superdrag), "Garageicana" sounds like the work of a seasoned veteran.
A student of classic rock from the 1960s and '70s, along with studies in the early alt-country movement, Coram constructs songs that are tight, unpretentious and believable.
When he sings about a femme fatale on "She's a Catastrophe," there's little doubt that it's a girl he's met: "She's a kamikaze in a skirt/With a look that renders my rage inert/I think she loves, but she loves to hurt/Look what she does to me/She's a catastrophe "
On "I'll Let You Stay (If You Let Me Leave)," Coram bitterly calls it quits with an unfaithful lover in no-nonsense terms: "You can have the house/I just want the car/I'm gonna see this country/from bar to bar "
He also offers a fine Gothic ballad, "Anna Brown."
Coram is a modest vocalist, but his songs don't call for passion or a wide range. His dry delivery actually helps emphasize the simple power of his melodies and lyrics.
"Garageicana" could hardly be more aptly named. Check out the reverb-laden riffs on "Come On Down" and overall Southern twang of the disc.
The six-minute conclusion of "She's a Catastrophe" is a garage-rock tour de force with Tim Lee cranking out some particularly smart licks and Coffey and Susan Bauer Lee pounding the beats into your soul.
"Garageicana" is an arresting disc by a local artist whose work should appeal to far more than the local market.
Copyright 2006, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
