Coming off of the success of his single “Country Girl” from last years breakout CD, Easthaven’s, Mark Konarowski moves forward with a new look and brand name, “The Mark Konnors Band.” This rebrand came about after meeting with Anthem Entertainment Publishing’s Lauren Luie, who pitched him songs based on the strength of his recent CD called “Country Love,” which featured three singles that did very well on Sirius CBC Canadian Country Channel 171. Mark was fortunate to hear many songs from their writing team and was very happy to discover the song “Sunny Days And Sleepless Nights” by Bollinger, Martin, Long. Excited with his new look, and a more personal brand, the “Mark Konnors Band” is set to release “Sunny Days And Sleepless Nights” in early Fall 2019, across the Canadian Country Radio Network.
Mark Konnors is a well-known, multi-talented Canadian musician and writer who has his eyes and ears firmly focused on the musical landscape as he and his exceptional band “The Mark Konnors Band” cross the great pop divide to conquer the world of Country music. Konnors (then Konarowski) and Easthaven took their first-steps into Country with a wave of classic tracks on their compilation entitled Country Love, a ten-song recording that came together on the streets of his hometown of Oshawa ON, where the local musical icon has constantly pushed the envelope of his artistry since picking up his first pair of drumsticks at the tender age of 16.
Konnors is a seasoned, award-winning singer/songwriter who has come into his own. He is consistently known for his groundbreaking songwriting, vocals and the genre-crunching dynamics in his music, and this latest release does not disappoint. He’s been described in a recent news article as a person with “powerful vocals” echoing influences of David Coverdale and Sammy Hagar. His musical journey transverses the Canadian music landscape and has taken him from coast to coast playing venues both big and small, but always with the maple syrup flowing through his veins as he stays true to his Canadian roots.
Konnors musical star started its shining rise while still in his early teens, exploding onto the scene with his gift of writing lyrics and composing songs and a clear crisp powerful voice that led to him winning several contests with earlier pop/rock bands.
His well-earned respect by peers in the industry was rewarded when he was recruited to record a new CD with a late nineties band Adrenalin, and with the ever-changing fast-paced music scene, he was recruited to record with the band Xntrik. His venues have included some of the most notorious nightclubs, playing mostly showcases for both bands, at places like Rock n Roll Heaven, The Spectrum, Gasworks, El McCombo and others.
Why did this pop-rocker have aspirations to go country? After relentless years of touring, performing and writing it turns out his past helped him to transition to the future. His strength at ballad writing and advice from a friend convinced him to look at the country music market.
“We were driving in the car one night listening to some of my previous recordings. She’s a huge country fan and asked if she could take them home to listen to. A few days later we were speaking and she said ‘you have a really nice quality (voice) on the softer, slower or ballad-like songs’ that she thought would truly lend itself to the new country genre.” says Konnors.
Excited and ready, the more Konnors thought about it the more it made sense. Having jammed and played with several country bands throughout the years, he came to the conclusion it was time to make a change.
“I love the loyalty of country fans -the music is fast-paced, fans still buy a lot of CDs, they love going to concerts and I was truly inspired with the move which to me is like Darius Rucker has done, and the new incredible rocking country sound of Keith Urban and even Canada’s own Dallas Smith.”
Joining Konnors is an incredible collection of stunningly talented and sought after Canadian musicians which includes multi nominated CCMA and 2001 winner Doug Johnson on pedal steel, 6 time CCMA guitar player of the year, Paul “Chappy” Chapman on lead and rhythm guitar, bassist John Dymond who was awarded the CCMA’s Bass Player Of The Year, no less than 5 times, drummer Gary Craig who has played alongside some of the best musicians like “The Anne Murray Band” for many years, and last but not least, Craig Harley on keyboards. Craig has performed, toured and/or recorded with many well-known artists and producers.
