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Mark Patton

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POMFRET CENTER, CT
Rock
Bass guitar
4606
Verified

Started playing music in the early 60s, first on drums, then guitar and finally settling in on bass guitar. Later in the 60s I gigged with a NE CT band called The Roadrunners, then moved on to Beverly Tomato, a blues and psychedelic rock band. In the late 60s, the band became more politically motivated and we changed the name to Congorilla. We were a featured act on the UConn campus. Later, the band returned to using the name Beverly Tomato and added a female vocalist. in the very late 60s, Pete Gamble, the guitarist, and I decided to create something a little different, and formed a new band with Frank Busse on drums and Glenn Flodstrom on guitar and keys. We focused our efforts on covering more vocal oriented material by bands like the Beatles, the Byrds and others. Our 3 part harmonies were pretty impressive, and we did the whole side 2 of the Abbey Road album. In the early 70s, Frank was determined to make it in LA as a studio musician, and Glenn was starting to pursue his profession as a college professor, so the band disbanded. Pete, having become disillusioned with the scene, decided to move he and his family to Chapel Hill, NC, where he lives today. At that point Gerry Pechie approached me to take over bass in the Stacy Leeds Band. I joined and remained with them for 5 years playing club dates in downtown Hartford and the vicinity and opened some large concert dates at U of Hartford and UConn. Notable shows were Hall and Oates at U of Hartford and outdoor festivals in Hartford and New Haven. The Stacy Leeds band provided me the opportunity to meet and play with one of the most talented guitar players anywhere. Art Millette was a monster guitar player and a man possessed. Eventually, he and I became enamored with different styles of music that we could not satisfy in the Leeds Band, so we left and joined forces with some other local musicians who we thought would work well. It was a good experience but did not gel, so I left the band. From about 1980 till January of 2012, I did very little musically. I mostly focused on finding a career outside of music, and tried to find a place for myself in the "real" world, inasmuch as there is one. Around the end of 2011, my old friend Glenn was back from Manassas, VA to do a show at the Village in Putnam with a band called The Receivers. I attended that show, and while there, I bumped into an old friend, Larry Parquette. We had a great conversation and he mentioned something about a possible opening for a bass player in his band, Relative Sound. After explaining a little how the band got its name; he, his brother Will and his son Brian (obviously all "relatives") and Tuzzy Navarro (maybe a relative - but if you believe in creationism, I guess we're all related) were the principals in the group. After attending several live shows, I decided that the band was a good fit for me. All the guys are great musicians, with no egos or drama. Consequently, on Feb. 3 2012, I did my first gig with Relative Sound, ironically at the Village, and hope for a long and successful tenure with the band.

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