ShowsMark Farner
Rock 'n roll Music Legend June 12, 2019 Making his second appearance on Fish and The Flint Chronicles is the music man, the melody maker, the Guitar God, and Grand Master of the Grand Funk Railroad--Mr. Mark Farner!
There can be no doubt that Mark Farner is one of the greatest rock and roll, pop music, and singer/songwriters in American music history. His role in leading his biggest band, the Grand Funk Railroad in to creating an actual new form of music Funk Rock Fusion is legendary. The band sold out Shea Stadium faster than the Beatles in 1971, and Farner and the boys (Mel Shacter, Donnie Brewer, and Craig Frost) took the nation by storm with hits like Loco Motion, Bad Time, Closer To Home (I'm Your Captain), and one of the all time Billboard Greatest rock songs ever " We're an American Band". The music helped to define a generation during the post Vietnam era, and the group's sound was powered by the magnetic power of the triple threat Farner was, and is: 1) writing, 2) singing, 3) playing the band's biggest hits, wooing crowds with his rock God magnetism all over the world. While the band no longer tours or plays together (Brewer and Shacter have an off shoot group, and Frost is the keyboard man for Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band), the music they created together is timeless. Given that they are a FLINTSTONE band, and part of an incredible Flint musical legacy that includes people like Grammy Award winning Blues singer Doctor Ross, Motown stars The Velvelettes, Question Mark and They Mysterians, The Dayton Family, Dee Dee Bridgewater, MC Breed, Sherm Mitchell, Terry Knight and The Pack, Ready For The World, near-Flint band (Frankenmuth) Great Van Fleet, and radio stars Casey Kasem and Peter C. Cavanaugh, to name some of the most recognizable personalities. Among them all, Farner stands tall. Not just because of his legendary musical accomplishments, but also because of his loyalty, contribution, and humanity. Farner has consistently been willing to give back to his hometown of Flint, his state of Michigan, and his country. A staunch patriot, he's a huge supporter of our nation's veterans. And that's why he's going to be back in town (Durand to be precise) on August 17th to headline a concert to support and promote veterans causes. He visited the show with the leaders of that event, Bob Sager and Greg Martin, to discuss his role and what they hope to accomplish. Mark was gracious enough to stick around for the entire hour, and our interview delves in to the state of American radio today, Grand Funk's big stories, what's next for him and his Mark Farner American Band, some Flint band history, his thoughts on the band's inexplicable exclusion from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, his new project with Alice Cooper, thoughts on some of the Flint Detroit greats like Terry Knight and The Pack, Bob Seger, The MC5, Iggy Pop, and who he likes now from the Vehicle City (Greta Van Fleet gets a Mark Farner seal of approval), and the potential for a Grand Funk Railroad reunion. It's a heckuva hour with one of the legends of rock and certainly one of the king pins of Fish and The Flint Chronicles! 
Mark in Fish's studio between segments
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Mark's wife, Lesia, Fish, and Mark
Farner on guitar
Watch Mark sing "I'm Your Captain" during Grand Funk Railroad's performance at Shea Stadium in 1971.
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