Mark Lee Townsend is known best as guitarist for the Christian rock band dc Talk.
Mark's career started as a member/singer/guitarist/songwriter for the 80's Pop/Christian band Bash 'N The Code from 1986 through 1991. He played with dc talk from 1996 until their hiatus in 2001. In between dc Talk tours, he was a lead guitarist for the Christian artist Jennifer Knapp. He creatively added more life to her already well-written songs. At the Cornerstone Festival 2000, he appeared doing an acoustic act where he ended his show with a rendition of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. During his time with dcTalk, he and other members of the band formed the band, Zilch, and made the album "Platinum" for Gotee Records.
After dc Talk went on an extended hiatus, Townsend took to producing. He produced in 2006, as seen on jenniferknapp.com, as well as producing and engineering two full-length albums for the Christian rock band The Wedding. He also produced The O.C. Supertones' 2004 album "The Revenge Of The Supertones". He is also the producer of seven albums and multiple smaller releases by Relient K, and also produced three tracks on their fifth album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago, as well. Townsend and Relient K have been quoted as being like family, as Relient K guitarist Matt Hoopes is married to Townsend's daughter. Mark has been a Gibson guitar endorser and was featured in the article below, although he openly expresses that Fender is a much better guitar.
A sideman's greatest asset is the chameleon-like ability to adapt to a variety of musical genres as well as imitate the signature sounds of other players. On the other hand, a session player has truly reached the top of the profession when he's in demand to add his own signature sound to a recording or live tour.
In May 2006, Mark started his own music label called Brave New World Records. He initially signed two Christian Rock artists (The Wedding and Deas Vail) and produced initial recordings for them, but the label seems to have gone into hiatus as the official website has not be updated since 2009. Deas Vail has gone on to release new music via Relient K's label Mono vs. Stereo Records.
Famous quotes containing the words mark, lee and/or townsend:
“Fences, unlike punishments, clearly mark out the perimeters of any specified territory. Young children learn where it is permissible to play, because their backyard fence plainly outlines the safe area. They learn about the invisible fence that surrounds the stove, and that Grandma has an invisible barrier around her cabinet of antique teacups.”
—Jeanne Elium (20th century)
“When that kid looks into your eyes and you know it’s yours, you know what it means to be alive.”
—Anonymous Father. Quoted in When Men are Pregnant, by Jerrold Lee Shapiro, ch. 15 (1987)
“When other helpers fail and comforts flee, when the senses decay and the mind moves in a narrower and narrower circle, when the grasshopper is a burden and the postman brings no letters, and even the Royal Family is no longer quite what it was, an obituary column stands fast.”
—Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893–1978)