Roots Guitar Heroes: Mark Karan

(Mark Karan and blues legend Hubert Sumlin onstage at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco in 2010. Photo courtesy of Susana Millman www.mamarazi.com)

Mark Karan has played with a host of acclaimed artists over the course of his illustrious career. He has logged time in the studios of Los Angeles and loaned his distinctive skills to the likes of Huey Lewis, The Rembrandts, Paul Carrack, Dave Mason, Delaney Bramlett and Jesse Colin Young. He became known to fans of the Grateful Dead through his work with The Other Ones and then RatDog with Bob Weir. Among other things, he is a cancer survivor and an inventive guitarist whose style reaches from soul and pop to blues, jam and beyond. Lately he has been hitting the road with Terrapin Flyer and Melvin Seals and playing with various formations of musicians at Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads, The Sweetwater in Mill Valley and at venues all around the San Francisco Bay Area, Hawaii and wherever the sound takes him.

How are you doing?

I’m feeling good man.

You live in Marin County. Is that where you grew up?

We lived in a few different places when I was growing up, so it kind of depends on what period of my life we’re talking about. Technically, I was born in Los Angeles, though I only lived there for three months after my birth. We moved around a bit within the city, but if I had to say I grew up somewhere, I would say San Francisco.

How’d you first get into music?

Well I’ve always loved music. My dad was a jazz trumpet player and we always had music around the house. I couldn’t really imagine a life without it. I played folk guitar as a kid and I listened to the early rock ‘n roll stuff on the radio, including groups like The Ronettes, The Shirelles and The Chiffons. I loved the popular music of the early ’60s. But when I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time I had a flash. I was like, “Yeah, I’ll be doing that all my life.” (laughs)

At what age did you first pick up the guitar?

When I was about 9.

What kind of guitar did you have?

It was a horrible guitar called an Orpheus (laughs). My parents bought it for me. Of course they had no idea it was horrible, they just wanted to buy me a guitar. They found out later that it wasn’t that their kid was whining and didn’t want to practice. My guitar teacher tried to play the guitar and was like, “Uh, we’re gonna have to do something about this.” (laughs).

Do you have any particular technical approach to playing guitar — be it for soloing or rhythm playing?

I’m really not a very technical and/or trained player. At my age, I’ve learned a lot by osmosis. If I had an over-arching approach or philosophy, it would be that less is more. I go for subtlety and passion over raw chops. I try to serve the song, not my ego, and listen when jamming with others. I look for motifs and themes and ways to play off of what the other folks who are playing are up to. It’s not about standing on stage wanking away to show the audience what you practice while the band acts as a backdrop for your awesomeness (laughs).

How often do you practice?

(Laughs). I love it. Truthfully, I NEVER practice. My musical knowledge and playing growth come from actively playing with other folks and noodling around creatively at home. I definitely don’t have a practice regimen or anything.

You’ve been playing a bit with Melvin Seals and the band Terrapin Flyer. How has that been going?

It’s going pretty well. We usually go out for about three to five days at a time. Most of the gigs are around the Midwest and we also get to places like Colorado. It’s a Dead cover band based out of the Chicago area. One of the guys in the band, the guitarist Doug Hagman, originally reached out to Melvin several years ago and brought him in. And then about three years ago Doug asked me to go out with them too. We tend to lean towards JGB [Jerry Garcia Band] material because Melvin knows more of that. It’s definitely fun to get out and honor my connection to the Dead with these guys and I love any project that allows me to play with Melvin.

In terms of Dead covers, I’ve heard you remark that “All roads lead to The Other One.” Was that a joke?

It was a joke in a way, but also not. Something about the African-based cadence of that jam and the open musical architecture of it makes it so that any groove that you’re having could wind up going there. It doesn’t matter what key either. It doesn’t have to be in E. I’m specifically referring to the jam part of the “The Other One.”

What other Grateful Dead songs really resonate with you?

I have about two dozen Dead-related songs that I really like to cover. But just off the top of my head, a few songs that I feel a strong connection to include “Deal,” “Easy Wind,” which I liked enough to include on my last album, “Friend of the Devil,” which I really enjoy singing, “Death Don’t Have no Mercy,” “Turn on Your Lovelight,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Loser,” “Ship of Fools,” “Sugaree,” and “New Speedway Boogie,” of which I do an interpretation.

What is it about those songs that draws you to them?

It’s usually that the chord progression, the melody and the lyrics move me. A good song will capture my attention. Something where the progression provides a font of ideas for my guitar playing and the singing is in my wheel house. For me, that applies to music by anyone. If I like a song and I can connect to it, I’ll do it, whether it’s by the Grateful Dead, Joe Jackson, Peter Tosh or whoever.

Do you ever feel limited by your association with the music of the Grateful Dead?

I believe in making art that is unique, and I definitely don’t like to be pigeonholed or typecast as someone who plays just one kind of music. I like a lot of different kinds of music. When I first started playing with The Other Ones, I actually hadn’t played a bunch of Grateful Dead music since I was a kid and was learning to play with friends who were Deadheads. I’m never gonna be the kind of guy that is a hundred percent satisfied playing someone else’s songbook and mimicking someone else’s musical style, but I love the Dead’s material. I find it especially fulfilling to play Dead music when I’m playing with members of the Dead, because they are the guys who created it and it’s fun to be a part of developing their sound. I’m thrilled that I have a connection to that world. My years with RatDog were fantastic. More recently I have loved playing with Phil (Lesh). We’ve played a bit together since he opened Terrapin.

Indeed, you’ve been playing at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael and the Sweetwater in Mill Valley quite a bit over the past few years. Can you share some thoughts about those venues?

I think both Phil and Bob did great jobs with their venues. And since they have opened their places, a few other live music spots have cropped up in Marin County as a result. They’ve really done a good thing for the local music scene. They both put a lot of time and energy creating cool spaces with a good vibe and good sound systems. They’re just really fun places to play. I enjoy the Grate Room at Terrapin quite a bit. Phil completely re-did the sound there and made it into one of the best sounding rooms in which I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. And of course the Sweetwater is a blast too and has its own special vibe.

Are you still playing in the band that covers Dylan, The Ghosts of Electricity?

Yeah, with Stu Allen, Robyn Sylvester, Greg Anton and Mookie Segal. It’s always a blast to play with those guys and dive into the Dylan songbook.

How many guitars are you holding these days? Any cool new additions to your collection?

It’s been a while since I counted. I’ve got about 20 or 30. I’ve let a couple go over the years. I have a bunch of older American made instruments. I like the way they look, feel and sound. I don’t so much have top of the line collectible guitars, but more what are referred to as “player guitars.” I do have some nice older ones, but I’m not a collector per se. I buy stuff that’s been refinished and re-fretted as well as ones that have had breaks and been repaired and thus aren’t technically something collectors might want. My guitars are beat up because they’ve been loved. I got a cool Kay guitar (1960 Barney Kessel “pro” model) a few years ago that was a fun addition.

Could you tell a little bit about your musical career before you got involved with the members of the Grateful Dead — such as your first bands and any highlights or particularly memorable moments from your studio work in L.A.? 

Oh jeez. That’s a long and winding road to go down (laughs). I was already in my 40s when i connected with “the boys,” so I’d played A LOT of shows, had been on a few tours and done many, many recording sessions. A quick overview would be that I started playing in bands at about the age of 12 or 13. The band I was in during the Haight-Ashbury era was called The Joyful Watermelon (laughs). I spent years in the ’70s & ’80s playing around San Francisco and Marin in lots of different bands that were looking to become the next big thing, as well as doing lots of what folks used to call vanity records, which are records by unfunded artists that are paid for out of their own pocket. That’s what started me to learn about recording. Then in the very early ’90s, I moved to Southern California to check out the studio and touring opportunities there. I never loved L.A. as a place to live, but I learned a TON about recording and producing, got some tour work in, and played in several bands that were going for it until 1998, when i was contacted to play with The Other Ones and then later invited to join Bob Weir and Ratdog. As to stories, I can rarely think of any to share when asked, but I definitely enjoyed the few records I did where I got to work in some of the top studios in the world, with players like Jim Keltner and Lee Sklar as well as meeting, recording and performing for several years with the amazing Delaney Bramlett.

(Mark at the Sunshine Daydream Festival in Terra Alta, West Virginia, 2005. Photo courtesy of Lori Pedemonti and Kristin Byorick.)

Can you tell me a little about the envelope filter (guitar) pedal that you helped create a few years back?

Sure, my friend Theo Hartman’s company (Hartman Electronics) makes the pedal. It was a really cool project that we got together on. Filter pedals held a real appeal to me. I thought the envelope filter was a great pedal to work on as the market isn’t completely crowded with them. I’ve always really dug certain things about certain pedals and envelope filters have always had a few drawbacks. So, we took a couple of features from the Electro-Harmonix Qtron that were different from the original Mutron, which was what Jerry used, and we took the basic circuit of the original Mutron and put some of the feature sets from the Qtron on it and modded some of those feature sets to be more functional for me. For example the filters usually open up or down on the old Mutron. There’s a switch, and you have to lean over and redo the controls depending on which position the switch is in. One of the cool things about this pedal is that we put the switch for up or down on a foot switch, so you don’t have to reach down and flip the switch on the pedal, and we designed the controls such that they change direction if it’s opening or closing. They work for either position. So you don’t have to reach down an change all the settings — which is unusual.

Where can these pedals be purchased?

Hartman sells them online at www.hartmanpedals.com and they can be bought through my website, www.markkaran.com. I offer a special deal for people who buy through my site.

You’ve had the opportunity to play with some of the absolute greats, including Pinetop Perkins, Dickey Betts and Warren Haynes. That’s got to feel good. 

Well, all of those opportunities were blessings frankly. The fact that I played with Delaney (Bramlett) was huge for me. I was a monstrous Delaney and Bonnie fan growing up. Not to compare myself, but the people who were in that guitar chair before me included Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Mason and George Harrison, to name just a few. Delaney had some pretty good guitar players in that band (laughs), so I was flattered that he included me. And you mentioned Pinetop. I was on stage with Pinetop Perkins at the Great American Music Hall in 2010 with Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and Hubert Sumlin [from Howlin’ Wolf’s band]. These were three of the greatest bluesman in history and I got to share a stage and sing “Wang Dang Doodle” with them. A year later they were all dead. I feel so blessed to have met them and privileged to have actually played music with them. That was a huge standout for me. And obviously first meeting the guys from the Dead was a thrill for me. Getting to play with them on and off for the past 14 or 15 years has been a joy. Some of the people who have sat in with RatDog over the years have been amazing. You mentioned Dickey Betts, that was awesome. And Warren (Haynes) and I did some serious playing together during our RatDog and Gov’t Mule run. We became appreciative and respectful of each other’s playing. I’ve gotten to do a lot of stuff. Dave Mason was one of my childhood heroes. Touring with him was incredible. I’ve been really blessed in that way. I’ve played with a lot of people who mean a lot to me.

You have had some profound, and what might appear to be almost life-changing, moments on stage. What do you take away from that? Has it changed you?

It would be hard not to change you. Like a lot of people in the world, I have had some personal bugaboos in my life, including self-esteem issues, and other stuff that I have struggled with. Having given my entire life, from the age of about 10, to pursuing music and then, in my 40s, stepping into The Other Ones and RatDog — that was an incredibly validating experience. I had gotten to a point in my life where I was like, “Well I’ll always play music and this is a lot of fun but it’s time to let go of my dream of becoming a rock star.” And then all of a sudden the guys from the Grateful Dead said come play with us and I was like,“Uh maybe it’s not so much time to let go of that dream.” (laughs). These experiences give me a lot of hope and faith in life.

(Mark, right, performing with Ratdog at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado in 2004. Photo courtesy of Tony Stack)

Do you have a life philosophy?

Do you have a few hours (laughs)?! For the last eight or nine years I’ve been focused on spirit and energy work and personal growth. Of course my bout with (oral) cancer ramped that up and gave me some pretty amazing insights. And truth be told RatDog going away did the same thing. Also, a few years ago, my wife and I split up. I’ve had a few things happen where there has been an option to rail against the universe or God, or whatever, and say it was unfair and get angry and get hurt and curl up in a little ball and disappear. But I’ve decided to take these events as growth opportunities. The things that I learned from cancer serve me well. To begin with: what is is what is. You can bitch and moan and complain, but that won’t change things. Whereas, if you can accept life on its own terms then you are empowered. I try not to lament and live in fear around things. I just try to say oh that’s what is, now what? And the other thing is that it’s all about self love. It’s trite, but you can’t love anyone else until you love yourself. We as humans project our true beliefs about ourselves in all kind of ways. So if you don’t love yourself, it’s hard for the for the universe and the people in it to love you.

How did you develop your vocal style? Who were some of your influences?

When I was a kid I was in the San Francisco Boys Chorus. I’m not sure that experience had a direct impact on what I do now in terms of singing, but it provided a starting point for using my voice. I sort of wear my influences on my sleeve — singers like Ray Charles, Delaney Bramlett and Lou Rawls. I love their voices and their phrasing. And any of the Stax Records artists or Muscle Shoals singers. My vocals are rooted in blues, R&B and soul.

Does that love of the blues, R&B and soul extend to your guitar playing?

Definitely. My guitar approach is informed by those influences, but at the solos I jump off the boat entirely (laughs). The classic old songs generally have a little eight-bar solo that supports the vocal, but when I solo I like to build things up and really explore the nuances of a given progression.  I like to adopt the policy of the good ol’ Grateful Dead and stretch it out. 

Are there any contemporary musical artists that you are into?

Oh yeah, the world would be a boring place without new music. I tend to like the older stuff I will admit, and when it comes to the newer stuff my new likes tend to be of artists that are rooted in the older stuff. But off the top of my head, I like bands such as Wilco, Radiohead, Alabama Shakes and The Civil Wars.

What’s the latest in your musical world?  How are things coming along with your second album?

I have a lot of irons in the fire right now. In addition to retooling my live band lineup and exploring musicians that will be more able to travel and play with me consistently, which is a really fun process of meeting new people and exploring our musical chemistry and tastes, I’m at about the halfway point on my second record and looking to finish it in very early 2016. It’s been an amazingly cool thing to work on. It combines my old pals from Jemimah Puddleduck and musicians from my first record [Walk Through the Fire] — Bob Gross on bass, JT Thomas on the keyboards, and my more recent drumming pal, John Hanes.

We recorded at a beautiful location in Stinson Beach overlooking the ocean, and got some great sounding/feeling tracks together. I’ve added the lead vocals and am now working in additional guitar, fiddle, background vocals — you know, all the fun frosting on the musical cake. It’s been an interesting journey getting this record completed. I had a record deal for a bit, but things happen sometimes and that changed, so I’m about to launch a pretty unique crowd-sourced funding campaign to get the finances together to finish and self-release the record. I’m also helping my primary co-writer, Deb Grabien, record her album, The Bucket List, with her husband, Nic Grabien and their friend Larry Luthi. They have a band called The Sound Field and they asked me to help them round up some players and get the studio and tech end of things together while advising them around arrangements, approaches, etc.  It’s been a fun project. I’m also in the fairly early stages of working on the second release by Go By Ocean, a young San Franciso-based  Indy rock band I’ve been playing in alongside my good friend and bandmate Danny Eisenberg. So I’m staying busy.