About

Mark Salyers is a music enthusiast, a guitarist, and a singer-songwriter. Mark’s interest in music was fostered by his parents. It all started when he was five or six years old, the day that he and his sisters discovered their parents’ record collection of 45s in an old butter churn in the corner of a bedroom closet. Mark loved listening to the 45s of Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and many other stars of the 50s and 60s on the small red and white checkered record player that his parents had bought for him and his sisters.

At a young age, Mark briefly took piano lessons. He studied the violin for four years, playing in his 5th through 8th grade elementary and middle school orchestras led by Michael Trowbridge.

One afternoon at the age of 14, Mark heard what he now refers to as “music to his ears” – an electric guitar. When a neighborhood friend strummed a few chords, he thought it was the coolest thing in the world. His interest in the guitar was further fueled when he heard another neighborhood guitar hero”rockin’ out!” That summer, Mark took guitar lessons and mastered “Country Roads” on his father’s late 60s Silvertone flattop acoustic guitar. Later that year, he bought his first guitar at a yard sale for $50.

Over the years, Mark has studied guitar with several influential guitar teachers including Rebecca Miller, Lawrence Green, Guy Go Lightly, Billy Phillips, Mario DaSilva, and Jay Scott. While living in Knoxville TN, he co-founded the East Junction Band, and after moving to Nashville TN, he founded the Coyote Blue Band. He also c0-founded two different corporate rock bands while working for a large global organization when he was living in the Philly PA area: The Prescriptions, and The Challengers.

Today, Mark continues to enjoy music, and he appreciates a good song with a great guitar part. These days he enjoys listening to a wide range of music from blues, rock, and funk – to country, bluegrass, jazz, and classical. Some of Mark’s favorite guitarists are Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Johnson, Joe Bonamassa, Brent Mason, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Dan Tyminski, Wes Montgomery, Lee Ritenour, Al Di Meola, Eliades Ochoa, Joao Gilberto, Paco De Lucia, and Andres Segovia.

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