If you want to know who Mark Edgar Stuart is don’t read this. This is all just trivia. Go listen to his song “Remote Control,” instead. That home-loving guy singing about how he was so happy just hanging out in the living room watching TV with his dad? That’s the guy you’re looking for, he’s not here. 
Mark shrugs off praise reflexively. If you tell him you like his guitar playing he’ll swat the air and tell you he’s just mimicking Roger Miller. If you tell him you like his music, he’ll probably look at his feet, thank you, then credit the other guy in the aforementioned song, his dad “Big Lou” Stuart, a traveling salesman from Pine Bluff, Arkansas who had a superb record collection and an unusual plan for his son.

It was the elder Mr. Stuart, a Sun records fan who thought Elvis Presley was the weakest link in the Million Dollar Quartet, who encouraged Mark to take up the bass. Money was sometimes tight at home, and when it came to college scholarships Mark’s dad thought music was a better gamble than sports.

Big Lou wasn’t a player, only a listener. He’d been an athlete in school, and assured his son that the short-lived glories he’d known on the field weren’t worth the bruises and broken bones.

Mark’s a rebel’s rebel. When all the other kids were asserting their independence, he took his father’s advice, dodged the ball games, and started playing upright bass in the junior high orchestra.

“It wasn’t very cool back then,” he now says, like cool ever mattered much.

As anticipated, the music scholarship came through and Mark attended the University of Memphis where he fell in with a group of roots-minded songwriters and musicians. The Pawtuckets, as Mark McKinney, Kevin Cubbins, Mark Stuart, and Andy Grooms were collectively known, were an Uncle Tupelo-inspired outfit who packed Memphis clubs for roughly five years before calling it quits, leaving behind three solid CDs full of soul-tinged Americana.

The Pawtuckets experience solidified Mark’s identity as a musician. Big Lou was proud. And he stayed proud.

You can learn a lot about a person by the company he keeps. After the Pawtuckets broke up Mark toured with Grammy nominee Alvin Youngblood Hart, and cut two records with songwriter Cory Branan which led to an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.  He performed with Robbie Grant in Vending Machine, and Steve Selvidge in The Secret Service. With little fuss or fanfare he became a go-to bass player for an elite group of Memphis players including John Paul Keith, and Jack (Oblivian) Yarber. He was always happy to lend his harmony singing, and his no-nonsense grooves; to play a supporting role that was close to the spotlight, but not too close. 

Cancer changes things. So does losing your dog. And so does losing your dad. When all of these things happened in rapid succession Mark took some time to heal, and reevaluate. He put down his bass, picked up a guitar, and started writing songs he never thought anybody outside his family would ever hear. It’s possible nobody ever would have heard them either, if not for the encouragement of colleagues like Branan, Keith, and Jimmy Davis. But it’s not likely. 
The story you’ll hear over and over again as people discover Mark’s debutl CD, Blues for Lou, (and a collection of songs so effortlessly poignant will be discovered and rediscovered for a long time) is how it was triggered by this period of sickness and sorrow. While that’s essentially true, a record like this was inevitable. As his richly-described stories of everyday life and yard sale weirdos suggest, Mark soaks in details like a sponge, and spending so much time in the company of strong songwriters, it was only a matter of time before these humble, humorous and, and sometimes heartbreaking stories found a way to get out. 

- Chris Davis, Memphis Flyer

New Singles “4403 (Time Machine)” & “Wild Heart” OUT NOW!

https://linktr.ee/jeremystanfill

Hi, My name is Joshua Cosby. I live in Memphis TN and create music in my little shed. I go under the name Black Bettie named after my now deceased 17 yr old dog. Im using this soundcloud page to promote my original songs as well as instrumental clips, that could all be used in film/tv etc. If you want to use something just contact me at joshuaandrewcosby@gmail.com

Dirk Kitterlin is an electronic music producer from Memphis, TN, blending atmospheric soundscapes with pop and rock elements. Their compositions feature rich textures and deep bass grooves, offering a dynamic and immersive listening experience. Currently preparing for their debut album release, their music invites listeners on a journey through emotion and sound.

My new single "How Can You Walk Away" is out now. From the upcoming album, THE RHYTHM OF THE CITY, out 02/19/21 on Wild Honey Records.

Baby of the 80s, teen of the 90s, obsessed with the 60s and 70s; an FM wannabe in a Youtube world. I guess I just wasn't made for these times. I like songwriting in the Gershwin, Tin Pan Alley, Lennon/McCartney tradition. I prefer records to singles. I prefer three minutes to ten.

According to my mama, I was whistling before I learned to talk. I played organ in the Memphis garage rock scene between 2000 and 2016. I've done a lot of studio work, adding keys to records by songwriters that I really admire.

I'm now focused on recording my own songs. I have a minimal home recording set up with a laptop, microphones, cheap guitars, drums, piano, and a grab bag of other toys. All my lyrics rhyme with the truth, or at least I think they do. 

Life is short and there are more good songs then there are raindrops. Which is to say: thank you very much for lending me your ears.

Rock 'n' roll is dead, long live rock 'n' roll.
__________
__________
__________


A few of my influences, in no particular order, are:

Sly and the Family Stone 
The Mamas and Papas
Beck
Big Star
The Beach Boys
The Beatles
Smokey Robinson 
Bob Dylan
Buddy Holly
Jack Oblivian
James Brown
Beaulah
Elliot Smith
Hank Williams
Otis Redding
Steve Martin
10CC
Joe Jackson
Frank Ocean
Billie Holiday
Dave Fridman
Joni Mitchell
Tyler, The Creator
The Dirt Bombs
The Cocteau Twins
George Gershwin
Ben Folds
Cornelius
Bjork
Donny Hathaway
The Drifters
Ennio Morricone
Moby Grape
Prince
The Breeders
The Monkees 
Caetano Veloso
Kendrick Lamar
Nina Simone
Pink Floyd
Waylon Jennings
Del Shannon
Booker T and the MG's 
Mott the Hoople
Grandaddy
The Hombres
Philip Glass
Huey Lewis
My Bloody Valentine
David Bowie
David Byrne 
The Pixies
Thin Lizzy
The Clash
Broadcast
Willie Mitchell
Billy Joel
Wilco
Cat Power
Pusha T
Blonde Redhead
Os Mutantes
Al Green
The Kinks
The Animals
Spiritualized
The Zombies
Carol Kaye
Them
Led Zeppelin
The Beta Band
Loudon Wainwright
Leadbelly
Lou Reed
Tom Petty
Tom Waits
Shuggie Otis
The Impressions
Weird Al
Van Dyke Parks
Roy Orbison
Nino Rota
Jack White
Don Covay
Sir Douglas Quintet
Chet Baker
Chicago
Buffy Sainte Marie
Miles Davis
Elvis Costello
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Harlan T Bobo
Nick Lowe
Earth Wind and Fire
Chopin
William S Burroughs
Nina Simone
Ray Charles
Ravel
Electric Light Orchestra
M.O.T.O.
Steely Dan
Willie Nelson
Phish
Charles Mingus
The Grateful Dead
The Cars
Lee Hazelwood
REM
The Replacements
Pavement
Kurt Cobain
Isaac Hayes
Jerry Lee Lewis
Ike & Tina
The Vaselines
Lenoard Cohen
Gilberto Gil 
Air
Alejandro Escovedo
Fats Domino
Little Richard
Buddy Holly
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Groovies
Janis Jolpin
Scott Joplin
John Coltrane
Willie Nelson
Todd Rundgren
They MIght Be Giants 
The Drifters
The Coasters 
Django
Marvin Gaye
Belle and Sebastian
The Delgados
Animal Collective
Curtis Mayfiled
Harry Nilsson
Warren Zevon
Steve Miller
Randy Newman
Carole King
The Isley Brothers
JJ Cale
Nat King Cole
Frank Zappa
The Rolling Stones
The Compulsive Gamblers
Greg Cartwright
The Reigning Sound
Jeff Pope
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Dr. John
Ray Manzarek
Paul Simon
Dan Penn
The Byrds
Badfinger
The Band
Stephen Sondheim
Andrew Lloyd Weber
Stephen Schwartz
The Police
Richard Thompson
Dean Martin
Chuck Berry
Syd Barrett
Rita Lee
Gal Costa
The Specials
2 Pac
Weezer
Squeeze
The Violent Femmes
Wanda Jackson
The Andrew Sisters
The Memphis Horns
The Memphis Jug Band
The Oblivians 
Cole Porter 
Johnny Mercer
Black Sheep
Harold Arlen
The Everly Borthers
The Faces
Neil Young
Charlie Rich
Oscar Peterson
Stevie Wonder
Phineas Newborn
M. Ward
The Lyres
The Troggs
The Velvet Underground
Funkadelic
Donovan
The Doors
Meat Puppets
Brian Eno
The Hollies
Radiohead
Frank Sinatra
? and the Mysterians
Tommy James
Madness
The Seeds 
The Lovin' Spoonful
Carl Perkins
Howlin' Wolf
The 13th Floor Elevators
Yo La Tengo
Love
A Giant Dog
Sparks
Courtney Barnett
Kate Tempest
T. Rex
Outkast
Irving Berlin
The Who
The Searchers
Fleetwood Mac
Allen Toussaint

…and a few others

MARK E. STUART -Lead bass &amp; bells 
STEVE SELVIDGE - Engineer &amp; stunt bass


It's back!!!The almost 10 year anniversary reissue of"CHRISTMAS FOR BASS!"Here you will find all your holiday favorites performed on the bass guitar all in the key of C, "C" for for Christmas!

"Triumphant!" - The Memphis Flyer

"A Masterpiece!"- Jeff Powell @ Ardent 

"Better than fried turkey"-Hank @ The Deli

"Worth the money!!" - Paul Ebersold

"I don't understand" - Mark's mom

"Making Memphis Proud" - Mayor A.C. 



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