Ten Questions with singer, songwriter, bassist, and band leader Mark Tucker
Q: Beatles or Stones?
A: Play some fuckin’ Stones man!
Q: How would you describe what you are trying to do with your music?
A: For the Genuine Jones I really want to make energetically and emotionally direct music. With lyrics that have some depth and meaning, usually over a kick ass rhythm but sometimes slow and tender. A backbeat and a good story or maybe the classic saying: three chords and the truth… or at least a good hook! So very much an emphasis on fundamental songwriting and rhythms, while trying to find interesting variations on rock & roll forms. I had a friend describe it as “garage rock as a high art form.” There’s an edge to it for sure although I sometimes think of it as garage pop…Lots of hook-filled choruses, over-driven guitars and pounding drums!
Q: Have you ever smashed an instrument?
A: That I own, no. But I did have temper tantrum coming back from a Shiva Dancing gig when I lived in San Francisco on a steep hill and threw my bass guitar down Divisadero street and it just kept going and gaining speed and damn if the 24 Divisadero bus wasn’t coming up the hill so I ended up running my ass off to get to it in time. Case was scratched to shit but all good in the Bernal Heights neighborhood. Of course I learned it’s not okay to take your anger out on property. It’s much better to put in songs.
Q: What was the first album you owned as a kid?
A: Got Live if You want It by The Rolling Stones. I was bugging and begging my parents for that record and I got it as a gift from my grandparents and I snuck about to find it beforehand and had to look surprised when I finally got it.
Q: What was the first venue you ever performed? How did it go?
A: When I was 15 I played a house party for the 22yr old drummer’s biker chick mom who was dealing meth and we were rocking the house when all of sudden there’s a fight and I saw a guy get his head split open on the stairs in front of the stage while we were playing. The cops came and waved confiscated machetes in my face and made me leave my equipment behind. It was very dramatic. I think the guy might have died.
Q: To you as a songwriter, who are some of your major influences?
A: Where do you start… the amazing songwriters and songs that came out of Motown, the soundtrack to Oliver, the Velvet Underground expanding lyrical and sonic content, of course there’s always Dylan, and the songwriting teams like Jagger/Richards, Hunter/Garcia, and David/Bacharach, but even more influentially for me would be punk and post-punk goodness like the Clash, Buzzcocks, X, Bauhaus, and Siouxie and the Banshees, and later bands like Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. Great songs all.
Q: What are you listening to now?
A: I’m trying to listen to current female voices and songwriters, some indie and some more mainstream, folks like like Lana del Rey, Soccer Mommy, Sharon Van Etten, Snail Mail. There’s a lot of energy and creativity there.
Q: Favorite pop star then and now?
A: Mick Jagger. His Tiger Beat spread was fab. But seriously he is both the ultimate rock & roll singer and pop star and my all-time fave. Of course now I would have to flip a coin between Lana Del Rey and Post Malone.
Q: Is there any one concert that stands out as life-changing?
A: Always and forever the last one I saw right? But the Clash/English Beat concert at Golden Hall back in the day was a revelation. I went primarily to see the opener but got fucking blown away by the Clash and came out the doors a huge Clash fan. I have great stories to go with the night including getting Joe Strummers signature on the business card of the San Diego police detective who was interviewing me about some alleged misdeed at the time. Lots of folks feel that band changed their life in some important way.
Q: If you got laryngitis the day of a big show, who would you want to step in on vocals?
A: Post Malone and Cyndi Lauper duets the whole show! They would look and sound so cool singing Genuine Jones songs. I wonder if they would coordinate on outfits?
Bonus Q: What’s your favorite part of playing with the Genuine Jones?
A: The fast and fun part.
