The Mark Gennarro Band

The 1990's
The Mark Gennarro Band is an aural tour de force originally formed in Whitehorse Canada. The lineup currently features Mark Gennarro on drums and vocals, Abe Epstein on guitar, and Grover on bass guitar. The band formed in 1990 with the intentions of making a name for themselves in the fledgling prog-metal scene in the early 1990's. The original band consisted of thirteen members. The ensemble was formed of two bass players, one drummer (Mark), two percussionists, a keyboardist, six guitarists, and a bouzouki player picked up from Mount Athos during the Pan-Grecian Folk-Metal Festival in 1991. They gained cult status by touring the Yukon countryside, staying true to their underground roots by playing music deemed "not radio friendly." The band grew accustomed to their stomping grounds, touring from bar to bar, traditionally playing to the same five or six loyal fans. It was one day when playing a gig at Stony Tony's Pub and Grille, the famous producer and underground radio DJ Jeb John discovered the band. With the enthusiasm that he was so renowned for (needs citation) Jeb encouraged the band to bring their massive body of work to the mainstream. Unfortunately, Jeb was musically immature and lumped the Mark Gennarro Band in with the alternative rock scene and were unable to make a mark.

Portland, Maine
In the late winter of 2005, Mark Gennarro got word of a blues rock band based in Portland, Maine that was in need of a drummer. He jumped right at the chance. Shards of Fire was a guitar-drums-bass trio. They set out to do many shows in the Portland area and began production on their first album, In Stereo (Where Available) though it was never finished (the few recorded songs still exist along with live recordings). The trio was short lived and broke up that September.

Mark was not ready to leave the Portland music scene after seeing the potential it had for his musical "talent." One day Mark was out looking for a building to record and rehearse with his new band. He was looking at an old Jewish Temple when he saw an average sized bearded janitor. Abe Eptstein. Mark knew just by looking at him that he could shred like a bastard on the guitar. It turns out Abe was taught in Israel by Ishmael Johnson, an Israeli Blues legend. Mark invited Charles Hanson (Marks left over bassist from the early days) and Abe over to Blindman Studios for a jam session. The trio jumped into a minor I VII chord progression that would soon be known as "Snazzy Shoes Blues", the title track of their first record in several years, Snazzy Shoes.