Mark Mulcahy is an American musician and front-man for the

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

-based band

Miracle Legion Miracle Legion was an American college rock band formed in 1983 in New Haven, Connecticut. They earned modest renown, especially in their native New England region, but also in the UK, where they were feted by music media such as ''NME'' and ''Mel ...

. The band earned modest renown, especially in their native

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

region, but disbanded after a sad turn of events with their record label, Morgan Creek Records. Mulcahy soon formed

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude th ...

, a

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

for the mid-1990s alternative television series ''

The Adventures of Pete & Pete ''The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' is an American comedy television series created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi for Nickelodeon. It centers around two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley, and their humorous and surreal adventures in suburbia ...

'' (1993–1996). They are perhaps best remembered for the song " Hey Sandy" featured in the opening credits of each show, and for nostalgic tunes such as "Waiting for October" and "Saturnine". Following the cancellation of ''Pete & Pete'', Mulcahy found himself playing his own shows in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and rebuilding his career. Mulcahy has opened for notable artists, including

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

and

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

and received homage from

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass ...

frontman

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been descri ...

, who dedicated a song to Mulcahy at a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

show. Mark is working on his solo career today via his own label Mezzotint.com. An essay on Mulcahy's song "Hey Self-Defeater" (from the album ''Fathering'') was featured in

Nick Hornby Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir '' Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work ...

's book '' 31 Songs''. In 2003, Mulcahy was invited to sing a Haiku poem, "Haiku Three In The Museum Garden", by Nobel Laureate

George Seferis Giorgos or George Seferis (; gr, Γιώργος Σεφέρης ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiades (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important G ...

, on the international release of Electronica band

Sigmatropic A sigmatropic reaction in organic chemistry is a pericyclic reaction wherein the net result is one σ-bond is changed to another σ-bond in an uncatalyzed intramolecular reaction. The name ''sigmatropic'' is the result of a compounding of the long ...

''Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories'' (Hitch Hyke , Tongue Master , Thirsty Ear) which also featured the likes of

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming pa ...

Laetitia Sadier Laetitia may refer to: Mythology and religion * Laetitia (goddess), a minor Roman goddess of gaiety * One of the 16 geomantic figures, primary symbols used in divinatory geomancy Other uses * Laetitia (given name) * 39 Laetitia, an asteroid ...

(

Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repeti ...

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...

Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk ...

Mark Eitzel Mark Eitzel (born January 30, 1959) is an American musician, best known as a songwriter and lead singer of the San Francisco band American Music Club. Biography Eitzel spent his formative years in a military family living in Okinawa, Taiwan, Ohi ...

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth (guitar and vocals). In 2004, ''Rolling ...

(

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of t ...

Howe Gelb Howe Gelb (born October 22, 1956, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer based in Tucson, Arizona. Projects Gelb's approach to music is collaborative and he has recorded with a number of s ...

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

amongst many others. A subsequent limited edition 12-inch by Sigmatropic the following year, ''Could That Be The Voice?'' (Tongue Master Records), featured Mulcahy on two featured alternate remixes, "Haiku One" and "Haiku Four", as well as contributions by Edith Frost & Carla Torgerson (

The Walkabouts The Walkabouts were an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984. The core members were vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the line-up changed occasionally, for most of the time ...

). He also composed the music for and performed in Ben Katchor's 2004 musical, ''The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island, or, The Friends of Dr. Rushower''. Mulcahy also co-wrote the musical ''The Rosenbach Company'' with Katchor. Mulcahy recorded a cover version of

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

's "From This Moment On" for

Engine Room Recordings Engine Room Recordings is an independent record label with a roster of indie rock and alternative rock musicians. Beyond marketing and distribution for its artists, the label does booking and artist management. Engine Room Recordings is part of th ...

' compilation album ''

Guilt by Association Guilt may refer to: *Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard *Culpability, a legal term * Guilt (law), a legal term Music * ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims * "Guilt" (The Long B ...

'', which was released in September 2007. His song "Cookie Jar" was used in the 2008 movie ''

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

'' over the closing credits. A tribute album titled '' Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy'' was released on September 15, 2009, featuring contributions from

Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. F ...

, The National,

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ( ...

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...

, Juliana Hatfield,

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were David Berkeley, Frank Turner. The album also serves as a benefit for Mulcahy, whose wife Melissa died in 2008.Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe on Mark Mulcahy Tribute Album
Pitchfork.com, Thursday, June 25, 2009 Mulcahy re-emerged in 2012 with a reunion show with Polaris at Cinefamily's Everything is Festival III on August 28. Following the performance, a

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

page for Polaris appeared. Mulcahy played a four-date tour in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in early December, including a performance at the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

festival. In addition, Mulcahy's single "Low Birthweight Child/The Cottage That We Rented Had a Name" was released on December 10 by the UK-based Tongue Master Records. In 2013, he released his first full-length album in eight years, ''Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You'', and undertook a minor tour in the U.S. Mulcahy appeared on

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo arti ...

' (Dinosaur Jr.), ''Tied to a Star'' (2014), singing on two tracks. Miracle Legion reformed in 2016-2017.

Partial discography

* ''Fathering'' (1997) CD on the Mezzotint Label/

Loose Music Loose is a British independent record label based in Ladbroke Grove, London. In 1998, Loose was formed from the vinyl only record label, Vinyl Junkie, which was set up in 1994 by Tom Bridgewater. Loose Music - About Since 1998, Loose has rele ...

* ''C.O.D.'' (1999) 7-inch vinyl on Lissy Records * ''I Just Shot Myself in the Foot Again'' (2000) EP on Mezzotint * ''Smilesunset'' (2001) CD/LP on Mezzotint/

* ''In Pursuit of Your Happiness'' (2005) CD on Mezzotint/

* ''Love's the Only Thing That Shuts Me Up'' (2005) EP on Mezzotint * ''Low Birthweight Child ‘ , ‘The Cottage That We Rented Had a Name'' (2012) - 7-inch vinyl on Tongue Master Records * ''Dear Mark J Mulcahy, I Love You'' (2013) on Fire Records/Mezzotint * ''The Possum in the Driveway'' (2017) on Mezzotint * ''The Gus'' (2019) on Mezzotint * ''Franks And A Flag'' (2020) on Mezzotint

References

External links

Mark Mulcahy

Mezzotint record label website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulcahy, Mark American rock songwriters American rock singers American rock musicians Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Year of birth missing (living people) Loose Music artists American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Connecticut