Album Notes

Forget the prefab corporate airbrushed sound of contemporary American "rock" music. TRICK FICTION is the real deal: twanging, overdriven guitars over relentless grooves and some of the best blues lyrics written by anyone, anywhere. The latest CD from NYC-based PAUL MARK & the VAN DORENS reaffirms the band's status as one of today's premier practitioners in the roots rock/blues medium.

TRICK FICTION contains 11 new songs by Paul Mark, including the instant swamp classic "Big Glass Building", a sound solution to global warming. Included as well is the big-time blues lifestyle proclamation titled "Fritos, BBQ & Scotch" which Albert King might (repeat, might) smile over. And take a listen to the soulful instrumental groove of "Stake Out", where Booker T meets Kenny Burrell. For those given to over-indulgence consider the rollicking, cautionary tale called "30 Lbs. in 30 Days". A cover version of the Pomus/Shuman gem "Suspicion" takes a dark, late-night turn. And Mark includes here a solo piano interlude, "Small Heaven", which might be the best ballad he's ever penned in his long career.

But the final track, "Riverside Diner", is where it all comes home. A rawcuss train on a righteous track towards salvation through a world that's cast out its heroes and instead relies on the folly of fools. TRICK FICTION ain't for fools...it's where the train stops. This is the real deal.


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. The band delivers an unsurpassed roar, a sloppy southern blues approach that slams into gear and violates every rule required for MTV rotation.

Mark's top-drawer, finely-crafted songwriting is unsurpassed in the blues/rock idiom. Fierce guitar tones, reckless rhythms that relentlessly churn, caveman vocals that stop you in your tracks, these guys are rough, live and real.