mark fassett
music
Here you'll find links to my various musical projects, current and past.Currently I'm in two bands, tiny mike (indie rock/math/prog) and frances8 (alt Americana).I'm also working on various sound design and other more experimental forms. I'll post more about them here and/or on the various social media sites. I'm most active on Facebook these days.tiny mike
Bandcamp Spotify Apple Music Websitefrances8
Spotify Apple Music Websitemark fassett (solo EP)
Spotify Apple Musicrewilders Spotify Apple Musicliquid state
Spotify Apple Musicinglas Spotify Apple Musicparticle salad
Spotify Apple Musicwatersaw
Website
about
# bio-ishI grew up in southeastern Michigan. I first picked up an acoustic guitar as a 12 year old. The first acoustic was almost unplayable, with super high action and poor intonation. Eventually I talked my parents into buying me a Sears Les Paul copy a couple years later (Christmas Day, the same day my parents announced their divorce). I spent my remaining high school years playing nonstop in my bedroom. One performance highlight was the John Glenn High School talent show, where I was part of a band who took second place performing a cover song medley. I think first place was a bad comedy act.I then moved out west, spending some time in Lake Tahoe performing in cover bands. The highlight was performing in front of a few thousand people for a Halloween party at Caesars Tahoe with my band Silent Partner. I also began writing some originals at this time, though none of them have stood the test of time. They were very much in the style of the 80’s, heavily influenced by The Cars and other new wave artists.After a few years in Tahoe, I decided to get serious about life… so I moved to the San Francisco area. I went to broadcast school and began a career in radio, including on-air stints in Stockton (KJOY), Napa (KVYN), and Willits (KLLK). I also did some radio production at KOIT in San Francisco. In the meantime I played in several bands including The Knobs in El Cerrito (performing at the classic San Francisco club “Mabuhay Gardens” among other places) and Fatman’s Picnic in Oakland.At some point I discovered the joys of home 4-track recording and the artistic freedom it brought. I started experimenting with a lot of different styles of music that my bands were not that interested in exploring (hip hop, Brazilian/African music, hard core funk, industrial). During this period I also had a world music radio show I called “Face The World” on KVYN in Napa.I also experimented with some pre-internet BBS culture. I had an idea to combine a radio show featuring new industrial music with live BBS/chat. Unfortunately I could never find a radio outlet that would permit this experiment to happen. During this period I also dug deep into the early virtual reality culture (centered around the magazine “Mondo 2000” and author R.U. Sirius). This culminated in my visit to early Cyber Arts International conventions.One other important era of my life was the year I spent in Willits CA as Program Director of radio station KLLK. Living in an extremely small town was quite an adventure, as was working at a very small station with a staff of four people.Short summary of my projects:tiny mike
Tiny Mike is my current main band, in which I’m the lead vocalist, play guitar, and write most of the lyrics. Our style combines elements of progressive rock, indie rock and math rock into what might be a bit of a hard sound to pin down. We’ve released our first album, “elements,” which is available on all the usual music services, see the music page for direct links. Hit up the tiny mike Facebook page if you would like more real-time updates.Frances8
This band is really the brainchild of vocalist/songwriter Nicole Laby. The music is sort of alt/folk americana. I’m primarily the guitar player in this band. We will be releasing a new album soon (probably early 2027).Mark Fassett music
In the later days of the pandemic I released an EP of music which was originally destined to be a full CD/concept album. But as these things go and as time moves, I decided to release part of the songs as an EP. It’s available on Spotify and Apple Music.The Rewilders
During the first part of the pandemic I was extremely inspired and produced an EP under the name The Rewilders called “The Immutable Rhythm.” This is also available on Spotify and Apple Music.Watersaw
I played upright bass and assorted other instruments in Watersaw. We composed and performed music for modern dance. The music itself is difficult to describe, but there are samples you can listen to online. We were fortunate to have won an Izzy award (Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text) for our work in 2012 with Lizz Roman & Dancers.Greensmyth
I was part of a jam band called “Greensmyth.” I contributed co-lead vocals and guitars to the band. We lasted a few years and made some great music, but we didn’t complete any studio recordings.AFTR
I previously played lead guitar on a band called Along For The Ride. We don’t have any music online. This band was a mix between Grateful Dead style jams and singer/songwriter music. We have never really been able to capture the sound of the band in a recording, it’s really more of a live band. I may revisit some of the recordings we’ve done for historical reasons.Liquid State
I worked with vocalist Jennifer Wilde on our Liquid State project. We co-wrote and recorded a full CD full of acoustic oriented music, similar in flavor to Beck’s Sea Change and Sufjan Stevens. I still feel like this is some of my best work. This music started on a solo music trip I took to Big Sur, and I think has many flavors of the northern California coast. Jennifer’s vocals, lyrics, and melodic input really added magic to the project. This all happened during a challenging time in my life (and Jennifer’s life), and those challenges are well represented in the music.Warrenpeece, Haze, and 42 Shades of Gray
For many years I’ve participated in the RPM Challenge. The idea is to compose and record a full CD of material in the month of February. I’ve completed it several times. Most recently as “The Rewilders," but earlier as “42 Shades of Gray,” once with Scott Caplener as “Haze” and a few times with John Rose and Michael Nold as “Warrenpeece.” Some of the music is great… and some of it is obviously written quickly. In every case these were extremely rewarding experiences.Inglas
Another terrific (in my opinion) album I worked on was Intelligent Design by Inglas. This CD featured the excellent vocals and songwriting of Michael Nold and the guitar work and arrangement of Rick Escobar. This has some experimental touches including an 8 minute version of Michael’s song “Throwing It All Away” that features an ambient music bridge and a rap coda. The work was both tedious and extremely inspiring and ultimately helped us create something great.Particle Salad
I put out a full album back in 2006 that is available on iTunes among other places. The music incorporates elements of ethnic/world music, but is also ambient and moody at times. This project probably took up a decade or more of time. I drafted several friends to add vocals and instruments. I think several songs hold up extremely well and still sound great to me today. I am not working on any current Particle Salad music at the moment.I am usually working on a few different projects. I post about them in the news section on the home page of my site.
contact
Thanks for your interest