Album Notes

PAUL MARK & the Van Dorens/"GO BIG OR GO HOME" (Radiation 5861)

The band's powerful first CD, recorded in Memphis and produced by Grammy-winner Jim Gaines. All Mark originals along with a killer rendition of Merle Travis' Sixteen Tons. The CD that put the band on the map, it's a roots rock diamond in the rough and a rawcuss portent of things to come. Includes "The Drinks Are on Me", "Only Man in Leavenworth" and "What I Learned from You", some of the band's most requested numbers. A cool and twisted debut from the streets of New York City.

BAND BIO

Barroom tested and road-weary tough, PAUL MARK & the VAN DORENS carry on the tradition of live, no-holds-barred blues rock with a difference: original songwriting that goes beyond my-baby-left-me-clichés to cover contemporary turf. Biting, witty and ironic, Mark's original lyrics are head and shoulders above the hackneyed toss-offs of most contemporary acts.

Hailing from New York City and touring up and down the East Coast for years in a beat-up van, PAUL MARK & the VAN DORENS are unforgettable to the thousands of fans who've seen them perform. Their first CD release, "Go Big or Go Home" (RDTN5861) set the stage with a rumbling beat and quick-witted lyrics. That was followed by "Metropolitan Swamp" (RDTN5801) and then "Disposable Soul" (RDTN5821). In between Paul Mark released a solo collection, "Roadside Americana" (RDTN5851). The band embraces elements of the traditional blues band approach but updates it with a hip, knowing - and maybe just a bit twisted - sensibility. The band's rafter-shaking fourth release is titled "IndigoVertigo" (RDTN5891).

Oh, and did we mention? The band delivers an unsurpassed roar, a sloppy southern blues approach that startles in and violates every rule required for MTV rotation. Fierce guitar tones, reckless rhythms that relentlessly churn, caveman vocals that stop you in your tracks, these guys are rough, live and real. Forget the global promotions, bloated studio budgets and airbrushed images of major label acts; check out a real band: PAUL MARK & the VAN DORENS.