Album Notes

"Wilson Marks has a live quality for which I yearn on the recordings of many other artists. His voice has the quiet crackle of distant thunder". -

Wilson Marks is one of those quirky folk stylists whose influences are vast and whose talents are many. His cd, "Tricycle" contains 11 songs that are gutsy and thumpy, like the opening tune, "N'awlins," to the tender and ruefully sublime, like the brokenhearted but hopeful "Light Enough."

The best artists are the ones that navigate an emotional minefield, in the course of a record, sometimes within one song. Wilson Marks is that sort of artist. His songs are the crazy, surreal, TRUTH nobody wants to talk about, but everybody wants be in on. Not the confessional variety of truth - Anyone can put their diary entries down, throw a little music on top, and call it truth. But how many of those can write a song about a love triangle between a Mafioso, his wife, and a plumber, and make you feel as though you knew the three? So, wonder of wonders, people are listening! From New York to North Carolina, Illinois to Austin, Texas, Wilson Marks isn't just playing songs for these folks, he's winning converts.

A little bit of background. While still in his high school, somewhere deep in the Texas Hill Country, Wilson started absorbing pop music, jazz, progressive rock, country, folk and whatever else was lying around the house (whew!). Say what you want about Texans, but they loves them some good music. A year or so in New York, turned into a year or so in Austin TX, with a lot of miles and clubs in between the two. Wilson was a busy man while in Austin, going by how few free nights he had during that time. Wilson was in very high demand, not just as a songwriter and performer, but also as a guitar player.

The kind of player that made people feel like they were in on something special. They were. There were a few more trips through the South and East Coast, as well as 3 years in a row performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival. This guy doesn't slow down. Which brings us to Portland Oregon. I mean, come on, someone this much in love with songs is going to keep looking for them, right? Wilson doesn't tell it like it is, he tells it like HE sees it. And by end of the song, you'll see it that way too.