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INTERVIEWER: Mark, the "word" is you found yourself immersed in gospel music soon after you were born.
MARK: It's true. I was the son of a Pentecostal minister and found myself listening to southern gospel groups like The Blackwood Brothers, Oak Ridge Boys, and Stamps quartets before I could walk. I developed an ear for vocal harmonies at an early age from groups like The Imperials and The Downings. In high school, my band teacher instilled in me an intense love of excellence in music. As the years passed, I traded my trombone for a bass guitar and "discovered" Rock, Funk, Jazz and R&B. Growing up in the late 60s and early 70s, I couldn’t help being influenced by bands such as Chicago, Bachman Turner Overdrive, and Boston. Then, while watching a New Year’s Eve concert on television in 1974, I saw a group called Return To Forever playing something called “fusion”. I was hooked. Bassists such as RTF’s Stanley Clarke, John Patitucci, and Marcus Miller became my "guiding lights".
INTERVIEWER: Who else influenced you?
MARK: Oh… Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill, Daniel Amos, Phil Keaggy, Love Song, Resurrection Band, The Archers, Michael Omartian, and Andrea Crouch were the musical touchstones of the Jesus Movement. They brought together both the music and the message that I loved. Having played in the church most of my life, I gravitated towards what many called "Jesus music". I watched it develop into the unique worship music form it is today. I'm excited to be a part of its future!
INTERVIEWER: Your passion for music has also gotten you involved in other areas of the Music Industry, hasn't it?
MARK: Oh yeah. I have a love for live sound. I've done everything from working in music stores to designing and installing sound systems. I've even owned my own sound company. I’m excited by the incredible changes going on in the growth of live sound, (church sound in particular). I'm involved with my home church, running sound in its various venues.
But one of my other passions is great coffee! I’ve helped run a coffee shop for an urban church (an amazing ministry opportunity I feel is overlooked in many churches). Like any good coffee geek, I make it a point to search out any hidden great coffee houses in my travels! Seattle’s Espresso Vivace and Café Zeta in Lima, Peru top my list at the moment, but I’m always on the ‘hunt’. Sampling a rare single origin Ethiopian Harrar is concrete proof that the Great Creator loves us!
INTERVIEWER: No doubt you feel the same about the role that great gospel & worship music plays for God's people.
MARK: Ever since God established the order of the Levites, music in worship has had the vital role of helping to lead people into His presence. Even though the Arts in general have been historically associated with the Church from Rembrandt to Michelangelo, Handel to Mozart (or to Coltrane for that matter!), I think they've 'lost their way' over the years and, in many ways, they're being rediscovered in the Church today. From worship in the sanctuary to evangelical outreach, the love, joy, and majesty of the Father can be communicated and shared in no more clear or more evidentiary manner. I’m proud to be a small part of this community of "Levites".
INTERVIEWER: We, and many others, are glad you are.
MARK: Thank you.
www.GunnPoint.us/MarkAllen
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