Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Pagano.
Hi Mark, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I have lots of memories of singing songs to myself as a child, but when I was 14 years old, I found a vehicle to help me make my music come to life. There was this old guitar in my cousin’s basement. It had two strings, and I played those strings until one of them broke. Then I got it all restrung and started taking lessons. I was hooked on music from then on. I played in rock and roll bands in high school, wrote cringe-worthy songs, and finally started singing them when I got to college, where I used my music to make friends in the dorm. My first job out of college was in a preschool classroom where I played music for two-year-olds. When I moved back to St. Louis, I started my original rock and roll band, FIRE DOG, with my longtime musical pals Celia and Brandon. We toured the country, sleeping on couches and living the DIY indie rocker dream. All the while, I continued to play music for little ones, and people always said, “you should make a kid’s album.” As independent artists, we’re always searching for our audience, and over time it became apparent that kids like my music.
So when I became a father in 2014, I rebranded FIRE DOG as a kindie (kids-indie) rock band. With support from a grant Regional Arts Commission, we put out our “For the Kids” album, which followed up with two other kindie albums. And we started playing school assemblies, museums, and libraries. As time went on, I was playing more and more solo library shows. So I decided to call up a producer I met at KindieComm, a national conference I attended in 2015. With another grant from Regional Arts Commission (RAC), I worked with Grammy Winning producer Dean Jones to release my debut solo album, “Mammal Music,” under the moniker Marko Polo. Because of the pandemic, we did the entire album remotely, sending audio back and forth from my home studio to his. It worked so well that we’ve already started working on a follow-up album with a water theme. The single “Walrus Sings” is set to release at the end of November.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have certainly been struggles along the way. The path of an independent artist is always complex. We’re always trying to find the next step, always trying to stay inspired, always trying to balance the art we make with the money that comes from it – always trying to stay true to ourselves. When I moved to the city after college, I was fortunate to connect with a nurturing community of artists. There was always so much creative energy to feed off of and arts events to experience that it kept things interesting and flowing. The special thing about St. Louis was that so many artists were working in the community. The Regional Arts Commission was important to me. They introduced me to the world of community arts and supported my efforts as I moved into the kindie music world. It wasn’t just the money to fund these projects but also the vote of confidence in the idea that this was a valued project for the community, which helped me follow through with my idea. There’s always been encouragement along the way that has allowed me to continue doing what I love making music and engaging with the community, especially young people.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
With Marko Polo Music, I have focussed on networking with other national and international kindie artists. My first album, “Mammal Music,” was produced by Grammy Winning Dean Jones, who lives in upstate New York. It was released this past spring and awarded Best Kids Album by the Riverfront Times. Jones and I have started working on a follow-up album with a water theme, which will feature collaborations with other kindie artists worldwide, including Claudia Robin Gunn from New Zealand. The album will be released in June of 2023.
I also continue to work with FIRE DOG, whose hit song “Hellbender” was recently used by the Missouri Department of Conservation as they celebrated the release of the 10,000 Hellbender Salamander back into the wild. We’ll bring our Endangered Species Day concert back to South Grand in May 2023. We also plan to record a new salamander song, “Axolotl,” written with fifth graders at Gateway Elementary as a part of my Music Maker program. I feel fortunate to continue to write, record, and perform my original music, featured on JUMP radio, Musical Merry-Go-Round, Radio Active Kids, Zooglobble’s More Weird Review, Electric Kids Music, and Playtime Playlist. I am proud of how I’ve been able to balance my work as a teaching artist with my work as a performer and a recording artist.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories was when my dad came home from Best Buy with a box set of CDs, Billboard Hits 1966-1970. I was 8 years old, and I remember several songs from that collection. But I remember hearing “Born to Be Wild” and just loving it, dancing and singing into my pantomimed microphone, rocking out! I think I knew then that I wanted to be a rock star when I grew up.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.markopolomusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marko_polo_music/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markopolomusic1/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_Q-4-zUaqa275Km_-_rJw
