Mark Deffenbaugh
Mark Deffenbaugh is a composer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, who is currently obsessed with the steel guitar. He also composes, arranges, and does musical direction and production. Hailing from central Illinois, Mark began his professional career playing blues, jazz, R&B and Elvis covers - most notably on the chitlin’ circuit with Big Walter Horton and Homesick James. He fell into a lifelong addiction to African music playing both traditional and contemporary styles with Nigerian bandleader Oscar Sulley and others. Later he led his own bands in New York City (Jole Blonde and the Bedesmen), and played with many others in the downtown avant-garde scene (Samm Bennett and Chunk, Sonny Sharrock, David Soldier, the Kropokins, Bosho). In 1995 he began a long association with John Cale (of the Velvet Underground), recording, touring and working on a number of movie soundtracks. He does TV soundtrack and jingle work with several other composers like Nick Balaban (Blues Clues, Word World) and Ahrin Mishan (Ed). Â