Mark Darnell
Bio
Mark R Darnell started music on trumpet at 10 and Guitar/Bass/Drums at 12. After returning home from Anderson University studying music Industry and Performance has been playing in the Michiana music scene for over 38 years. Nashville too.
Stories (8)
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How to Cut Your Utility Costs
I have noticed the cost of our utilities at our home is a lot higher than I think it should be. Especially since now that my wife's youngest is off the college, there are just two of us in the house these days. And I’m at my job eight hours a day. So that just leaves my wife who works at home. Mind you, we do have a good size house, but still how are two people using so much energy? Well, studying a wide range of topics and “how to” videos on YouTube I’ve been able to come up with a list of practical things we can easily do to cut our utility cost. Many things I already knew about, others maybe I forgot about, some just I learned.
By Mark Darnell7 years ago in Lifehack
1972 Was It a Good Year?
Was 1972 a special year for the Telecaster guitar? That question we will cover in detail and you can decide. However, Fender did come out with several new designs, making the Telecaster available with more options than ever before, coming out with new options like alder or ash bodies (depending on finish), “C”-shape maple necks, bullet truss rods, vintage hard-tail strings, through-body bridges, three-bolt neck plates with Fender's special “micro-tilt,” and with one “Wide Range” humbucking neck pickup (special design), and a traditional single-coil bridge pickup. These were some great new twists on the legendary, groundbreaking Telecaster guitar. Or were they?
By Mark Darnell7 years ago in Beat
Top 12 Things Bands or Artists Should Not Do at Gigs!
Having over 35 years experience of playing in bands and musical groups all over the Northern Midwest and all over the East & West Caribbean (cruise ship), I have learned and experienced what to do and not do being a working musician. It really does not matter the type of gig that it is. I've done everything from church gigs, country clubs, theater/auditoriums, schools, bars, clubs, restaurants, weddings, wedding receptions, outdoor festivals, opening acts for pro touring groups, live radio and TV shows, and a three and a half month cruise ship gig.
By Mark Darnell7 years ago in Beat
Juniors Gone Wild
I have spent a good portion of my mid- to late-twenties trying to find the right sound for me. At the time I was in an all-original band that did play covers to pay the bills. So needing something versatile but yet still sounded good and unique was keeping me quite frustrated in the search for that "holy grail" of Amplifier/Guitar tones. I had switched earlier on in my career (age 21-22) from solid-state amps to the tried and true tube amps.
By Mark Darnell8 years ago in Beat
PCC160 Boundary Mic
1985 was a very interesting year in the microphone market. January of that year Crown International introduced a very oddly shaped and interesting mic called the PCC160. Following the huge success of the PZM’s a few years before, this mic would soon reinvent how stages and theaters all over the country and around the world would mic their productions.
By Mark Darnell9 years ago in Beat
Fender Toronado: Not to Be Confused With Grandma's GM Oldsmobile
This is not to be confused with your Grandma’s old boat of a car, the GM Oldsmobile Toronado! This is a guitar folks. This is one breed of guitar that has both confused and interested me at the same time. When it first came out a few years ago, it caught my eye because it, at first glance, looked like an alternate version of the Jazz Master. But let me say straight up that a Jazz Master it is not... and to be fair, nor was it intended to be.
By Mark Darnell9 years ago in Beat
