Mark Andrew Pontius is an American musician who is best known as a founding member and drummer of the American

alt pop Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band

Foster the People Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members are singer Mark Foster, guitarist Sean Cimino, and keyboardist Isom Innis. Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending several years in ...

; he left the band in 2021. Prior to joining Foster the People in 2009, Pontius was part of Los Angeles indie pop band

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are n ...

Early life

Pontius was born on January 3, 1985, in Florida to Harriet and Lawrence Lee "Larry" Pontius. Growing up, Pontius drummed in garage bands and community groups. Pontius graduated from Lyman High School in

Longwood, Florida Longwood is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 15,087 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Longwood is located at . According t ...

in 2003. After graduating high school, Pontius moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to study

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

. He attended and graduated from

film school A film school is an educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training ...

but pursued a career in music after graduation. In 2004 and 2005, Pontius appeared on the GSN show

Extreme Dodgeball ''Extreme Dodgeball'' is an American game show based on the game of dodgeball that aired between 2004 and 2005 on the Game Show Network. The series ran for three seasons, each of which featured six to eight teams of five to seven players. The f ...

, competing for the Silent But Deadly Mimes in one season and the Reef Sharks in the second season.

Career

2003–2010: Malbec and early musical contributions

After moving to Los Angeles, Pontius joined the indie pop band

which was fronted by Pablo Signori and included music producer

Speakerbomb Sidney Miller III (born September 24, 1980), also known by his production name of Speakerbomb, is an American record producer and keyboardist. He was a founding member of the Los Angeles-based band Malbec (band), Malbec, and was also a keyboar ...

. Besides being the band's drummer, Pontius also directed and edited all of their music videos. Pontius left the band in December 2009 and subsequently formed

. Malbec disbanded the following year.

2010–2021: Foster the People

Around the fall of 2009, Foster recorded the song "

Pumped Up Kicks "Pumped Up Kicks" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It was released as the band's debut single in September 2010, and the following year was included on their EP ''Foster the People'' and their debut album, ''Torches''. "Pu ...

" at his workplace and it was released as an early single for the band. In May 2010, the band was signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

imprint Startime International for a multi-album deal due to the song's increasing success. "Pumped Up Kicks" was officially re-released as the band's first single on September 14, 2010; it was labeled as a "

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...

" due to its slow rise in popularity and eventually peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 starting with the week of September 10, 2011. It was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this category ...

in February 2012. On May 23, 2011, the band's first studio album, ''

Torches A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...

'', was released and earned the band their second Grammy Award nomination, one for

Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

. It also peaked at number eight on the ''Billboard'' 200. Three years later, the band released their second album, ''

Supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...

'' on March 14, 2014. It is currently their highest peaking studio album on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number three. On July 21, 2017, Foster the People released its third album, ''

Sacred Hearts Club ''Sacred Hearts Club'' is the third studio album by American indie pop band Foster the People, released on July 21, 2017, through Columbia Records. The album was preceded by the extended play ''III'', which is composed of three tracks from the a ...

'', an album influenced by the global issues of the current times, which featured the single "

Sit Next to Me "Sit Next to Me" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. The song is featured as the third track on the band's third studio album ''Sacred Hearts Club'' and was released as the record's third single by Columbia Records on July 13, ...

." In 2017 and 2018, Pontius worked with

Gabe Simon Kopecky (formerly the Kopecky Family Band) is an American indie-rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2007. The band consists of Kelsey Kopecky (vocals, keyboards, and bass), Gabe Simon (vocals, guitar, and horns), Steven Holmes (guitar, lap ...

under the name Mr Gabriel. The two produced a series of tracks together, including "Holy Water," a song produced at Pontius' Tennessee studio, Fat Horse Ranch, which includes archival drums and bass performed by his late father. He decided to leave the band in 2021 to focus on his family.

Personal life

Pontius lives in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

Discography

Studio albums

;With

* ''Malbec'' EP (2006) * ''Keep It A Secret'' EP (2007) * ''Dawn of Our Age'' (2008) * ''Answering Machine EPs'' (2008–2009); 5 EP project ; As Delivery (solo project) * ''Takes My Time'' (2010) ; With

* ''

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2014) * ''

'' (2017) ; As suitnop/5uitnop (solo project) * "Made to Die" (2021) * "Blue Rock" * "Sirens" * "The Long Long Dark" featuring Larry Pontius

Singles

;With Mr. Gabriel * "Holy Water" (2017) * "Starlight" (2017) with

Jai Wolf Sajeeb Saha, known professionally as Jai Wolf, is a Bangladeshi-American, New York-based electronic music producer. He is best known for his singles, "Indian Summer", "Like It's Over", and "Starlight". He is currently signed to Mom + Pop Music ...

* "Help Me Out" (2017) * "Millennial Falcon" (2018) * "Tambourine" (2018) * "Civilized" Other credits * With Mark Foster, Stephan Altman, and Peter Barbee: "When You Find Love" (2015) for ''Little Boy''; co-artist * With Elephant Castle: "I’m a Loser" and "Life in Outer Space" (2020); drums credit * Original music for the podcast ''Awakening OD'' by Jessa Reed (2020)

References

External links

* (as musician) * (as filmmaker) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pontius, Mark 1985 births American male drummers American alternative rock drummers 21st-century American drummers Living people 21st-century American male musicians