As a young child living in England with his mother and musician father, Marc Von Em had much exposure to London's exploding music scene. At the tender age of 5 he was hooked on Rock & Roll. After moving back to New York and wearing out his father's ukulele, Marc's parents reluctantly rented him a guitar, and he learned to squeeze what music he could out of a $10 a month Sears six string. Finally, after proving his dedication by two years of practicing, they bought him a guitar of his own. By his early teens, Marc became strongly influenced by his older brothers' record collection. CSNY, Bob Marley and Janis Joplin were just some of the artists he loved. This, coupled with his father's passion for the blues, quickly motivated Marc to begin writing songs. In fact, you will still find his first song, Sunshine Kid, on his set list today. Throughout High School, College, and beyond, Marc continued to write music, and performed in many original projects.
In 1999, Marc produced & released his first solo album entitled Von Em. Driven by his acoustic guitar playing & soulful voice, this album was well received by critics & fans alike, and created quite a buzz on the local music scene. Living in New York's Hudson Valley, Marc was in perfect proximity to many great venues. The Bottom Line and The Living Room in New York City took a special liking to Marc, and he played at both venues regularly. Marc continued to deliver his brand of groove oriented folk from Massachusetts to Philadelphia, appearing at well known venues such as the Iron Horse Music Hall, Club Passim, Cafe Lena, The Tin Angel & The Acoustic Cafe. Playing these clubs, as well as other small bars and coffee houses, Marc managed to independently sell 8000 copies of his debut CD. One of these CD's ended up in the hands of a New York City jingle house, and Marc's voice was soon singing "This Bud's for you" on Budweiser's 2000-2002 TV and radio ad campaign.
Most recently, Marc produced & released his second studio recording entitled Free. Mixed by Crit Harmon, (Martin Sexton, Catie Curtis, Mary Gauthier) this album captures Marc Von Em's strong, sincere voice which complements his lyrically rich & expressive song writing. His unique finger picking & guitar style rounds out this album beautifully. To date, Free has sold more than 2000 copies. Since March of 2005, Marc has been circling the globe with Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty) as a back up vocalist and guitarist, playing theaters and stadiums throughout Europe, Australia and the United States. With Rob Thomas, Marc has appeared on The Tonight Show, Late Night with Dave Letterman, The View, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, & The Today Show. Marc also appeared on the 2005 "Fashion Rocks" at Radio City Music Hall, and was honored to perform for over a million people at Live 8 in Philadelphia this past summer. Marcs great style and songwriting have won him the opening slot for key Rob Thomas shows, playing to packed houses. "He was extremely well received by the audience, and his CD's were sold out before he left the stage" observes Rob's tour manager Dave Licursi. As one reviewer writes "... I can genuinely say if you haven't heard or seen him live, you're only cheating yourself."
This year, Marc will finish his tour with Rob Thomas and will begin recording his next solo album. As Marc Von Em puts it, "I like where I am, and I like where I'm going".
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