Damon Marks
Encyclopedia
Damon Marks is an Italian American
professional rock and roll
guitarist
, songwriter
, record producer
, and philanthropist
.
, Marco Mendoza
, Bruce Kulick
, Bret Michaels
, and Chris Caffery
.
In early 2010, Damon also played guitar for R&B recording artist Jermaine Paul
, the opening act for Alicia Keys
"Freedom Tour". As a part of the tour, Damon played in numerous world-renowned arenas such as Madison Square Garden
, the Prudential Center and the Trump Taj Mahal. In February 2010, Damon also collaborated with J Records recording artist Elle Varner
at the Highline Ballroom on a performance of her single "Welcome Home."
Damon is nationally known as the founder of the Traveling Guitar Foundation
, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which provides equipment and support for school systems that are struggling to finance their music education programs.
Damon is also sponsored by ESP Guitars
and Mogami Cable.
winning recording engineer and Multi-platinum producer Mike Plotnikoff. Damon also helped orchestrate the worldwide release of, Skin Deep. Skin Deep was also distributed nationally in both Walmart and Best Buy
stores.
In support of the album, Lipstick Magazine undertook a national tour in which they opened for heavy metal icons such as Bret Michaels
, Sebastian Bach
, Extreme
, Ratt
, and Winger. During the tour, they also performed at the Rocklahoma Festival.
. The Traveling Guitar Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to ensure that school children have access to high-quality musical instruments and instruction during a time when school systems across the country are facing budgetary restraints. Initially, the Foundation established a substantial presence in the New York tri state area. However, the Foundation's profile has recently grown on a national level, with clinics taking place in California and Georgia. Moreover, superstar athletes such as Allan Houston
, David Tyree
, and Dikembe Mutombo
have also taken notice of the Foundation’s mission and work.
By way of background, the Foundation accomplishes its mission in two ways. First, the Foundation travels to schools whose music programs are in jeopardy and give music educational clinics for the benefit of students. At each event, the Foundation enlists the help of both younger and established artists, such as SWIZZ BEATZ
, Miranda Cosgrove
(ICarly) and Darryl McDaniels
of Run-DMC, to help showcase the power of music as an artistic platform, cultural force, and enjoyable activity. In these clinics, Damon interacts directly with school children, providing them with musical instruction and emphasizing the importance of attaining an education.
Second, the Foundation donates guitar kits and other instruments directly to the school's music program to help them sustain their musical education programs. After each clinic, Damon, as well as other members of the Foundation, check back with the school's administration and music faculty to make sure that the donated instruments are being used properly, and regularly, for the betterment of children's intellectual and creative development.
In support of the Foundation, Damon has appeared on the television stations WABC TV NY,NJ12 TV, WPIX CW11 Morning News. He has also appeared on the radio stations KTU cares, Q104.3, Z100 (Elvis Duran and the Morning Show
), and Power 105.1 FM NYC. The Foundation's main sponsors include Line 6
, Mogami Cable and Dean Guitars
.
In 2011, Damon also plans to release a Traveling Guitar Foundation compilation album featuring various nationally-known recording artists as well as younger musicians and students who have benefited from the Foundation.
NBC Nonstop Sound: Traveling Guitar Foundation
TGF on Z100
WPIX PIX11
The Traveling Guitar Foundation: Come Together | The Aquarian Weekly
Caring For Congo Awards Dinner And Benefit In (Atlanta, GA February 26, 2011)
Line 6 Blog about the Traveling guitar Foundation:
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
professional rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Background
Influenced by his father, Tony Marks, an original member of Frankie Valli's first group, The Four Lovers, Damon began playing the guitar passionately when he was ten years old. Since a young age, Damon has utilized his musical abilities in tandem with his impressive business acumen to achieve tremendous success in the music industry. Throughout his career, Damon has performed with a diverse range of rock artists including Tommy AldridgeTommy Aldridge
Tommy Aldridge is a veteran heavy metal and hard rock drummer. Aldridge is noted for his work with numerous bands and vocalists, most notable being Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesnake, Ted Nugent and Thin Lizzy.Self taught, Aldridge was inspired by Cream,...
, Marco Mendoza
Marco Mendoza
Marco Mendoza is an American musician. He spent his formative years living with his grandmother in Tijuana, Mexico. He started playing the guitar at an early age, adopting the bass when he was invited to join a band that needed a player....
, Bruce Kulick
Bruce Kulick
Bruce Howard Kulick is an American guitarist, musician and a member of the band Grand Funk Railroad. Previously, Kulick had been a longtime member of the band Kiss....
, Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...
, and Chris Caffery
Chris Caffery
Chris Caffery is a heavy metal guitarist who is best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra...
.
In early 2010, Damon also played guitar for R&B recording artist Jermaine Paul
Jermaine Paul
Jermaine Paul is an American R&B/soul singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.-Early life:Jermaine Paul was raised in New York City. When eight years old, he began to acquire a reputation for singing while playing the drums at local churches and talent shows with his family...
, the opening act for Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
"Freedom Tour". As a part of the tour, Damon played in numerous world-renowned arenas such as Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, the Prudential Center and the Trump Taj Mahal. In February 2010, Damon also collaborated with J Records recording artist Elle Varner
Elle Varner
Elle Shellise Varner is an American recording artist and musician. She was raised in Los Angeles, California by her mother and father who both happen to be songwriters and publishers. At age six she began to play musical instruments, beginning with the flute, and later piano and guitar...
at the Highline Ballroom on a performance of her single "Welcome Home."
Damon is nationally known as the founder of the Traveling Guitar Foundation
Traveling Guitar Foundation
company_name = The Traveling Guitar Foundation | company_type = Non-Profit Organization founding = 2009| location = New Jersey | homepage = |THE MISSION:...
, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which provides equipment and support for school systems that are struggling to finance their music education programs.
Damon is also sponsored by ESP Guitars
ESP Guitars
, located in North Hollywood, California, is an American-based, Japanese-owned manufacturer of electric guitars and basses.- History :In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened a shop called Electric Sound Products in Tokyo. It provided custom replacement parts for guitars. In 1976, ESP gained a reputation...
and Mogami Cable.
Lipstick Magazine
In 2008, Damon helped launch the female-fronted rock band, Lipstick Magazine. Damon co-produced the band's debut album, Skin Deep, alongside Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning recording engineer and Multi-platinum producer Mike Plotnikoff. Damon also helped orchestrate the worldwide release of, Skin Deep. Skin Deep was also distributed nationally in both Walmart and Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
stores.
In support of the album, Lipstick Magazine undertook a national tour in which they opened for heavy metal icons such as Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...
, Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Bach is a Canadian heavy metal singer who achieved mainstream success as frontman of Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Since his departure from Skid Row, he has had many television roles, acted within Broadway plays, and leads a successful solo career.-Early life:Bach was born Sebastian...
, Extreme
Extreme (band)
Extreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Among some of Extreme's musical influences are Queen and Van Halen...
, Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...
, and Winger. During the tour, they also performed at the Rocklahoma Festival.
Philanthropy
In 2009, Damon founded the Traveling Guitar FoundationTraveling Guitar Foundation
company_name = The Traveling Guitar Foundation | company_type = Non-Profit Organization founding = 2009| location = New Jersey | homepage = |THE MISSION:...
. The Traveling Guitar Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to ensure that school children have access to high-quality musical instruments and instruction during a time when school systems across the country are facing budgetary restraints. Initially, the Foundation established a substantial presence in the New York tri state area. However, the Foundation's profile has recently grown on a national level, with clinics taking place in California and Georgia. Moreover, superstar athletes such as Allan Houston
Allan Houston
Allan Wade Houston is a retired American professional basketball player for the NBA, and currently the Assistant General Manager for the New York Knicks. He was one of the top 3-point shooters in the NBA until a knee injury forced him to retire...
, David Tyree
David Tyree
David Mikel Tyree is a retired American football wide receiver and special teams player. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University. Tyree has also played for the Baltimore Ravens...
, and Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo , commonly referred to as Dikembe Mutombo, is a retired Congolese American professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the NBA...
have also taken notice of the Foundation’s mission and work.
By way of background, the Foundation accomplishes its mission in two ways. First, the Foundation travels to schools whose music programs are in jeopardy and give music educational clinics for the benefit of students. At each event, the Foundation enlists the help of both younger and established artists, such as SWIZZ BEATZ
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
, Miranda Cosgrove
Miranda Cosgrove
Miranda Taylor Cosgrove is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Her career began at the age of three, where she participated in television commercials. Cosgrove's film debut was in 2003, as Summer Hathaway in School of Rock...
(ICarly) and Darryl McDaniels
Darryl McDaniels
-Video game appearances:*The Warriors - Scopes*Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - Himself- External links :* * * * * http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/12/entertainment/la-et-people-speak12-2009dec12...
of Run-DMC, to help showcase the power of music as an artistic platform, cultural force, and enjoyable activity. In these clinics, Damon interacts directly with school children, providing them with musical instruction and emphasizing the importance of attaining an education.
Second, the Foundation donates guitar kits and other instruments directly to the school's music program to help them sustain their musical education programs. After each clinic, Damon, as well as other members of the Foundation, check back with the school's administration and music faculty to make sure that the donated instruments are being used properly, and regularly, for the betterment of children's intellectual and creative development.
In support of the Foundation, Damon has appeared on the television stations WABC TV NY,NJ12 TV, WPIX CW11 Morning News. He has also appeared on the radio stations KTU cares, Q104.3, Z100 (Elvis Duran and the Morning Show
Elvis Duran and the Morning Show
Elvis Duran and The Morning Show is the name of an American syndicated radio program hosted by Elvis Duran. The daily morning radio show currently airs on New York Top 40 station Z100...
), and Power 105.1 FM NYC. The Foundation's main sponsors include Line 6
Line 6
Line 6 is a manufacturer of digital modeling guitars, amplifiers and related electronic equipment. Their product lines include electric and acoustic guitars, basses, guitar and bass amplifiers, effects processors, USB audio interfaces and guitar/bass wireless systems...
, Mogami Cable and Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
.
In 2011, Damon also plans to release a Traveling Guitar Foundation compilation album featuring various nationally-known recording artists as well as younger musicians and students who have benefited from the Foundation.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Rock |
US Hd. Rock |
||||
| 2008 | Skin Deep
|
- | - | - | ||
Live albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Rock |
US Hd. Rock |
||||
| 2008 | Live in NYC
|
— | — | — | ||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Main. |
US Alt. |
US Rock |
|||
| 2008 | "Skin Deep" | - | - | - | Skin Deep |
Traveling Guitar Foundation Media Links
ABC NJ "VIEWPOINT" on May 9, 2010 (originally aired February 14, 2010)- http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news&id=6587508
NBC Nonstop Sound: Traveling Guitar Foundation
- http://www.nbcnewyork.com/around-town/events/Nonstop_Sound__Traveling_Guitar_Foundation_New_York.html
TGF on Z100
- http://www.z100.com/event_portal/view/calendar/calendar.html?type=2&page=4
WPIX PIX11
- http://weblogs.wpix.com/news/local/morningnews/blogs/2010/09/traveling_guitar_foundation.html
The Traveling Guitar Foundation: Come Together | The Aquarian Weekly
- http://www.theaquarian.com/2010/12/13/the-traveling-guitar-foundation-come-together/
Caring For Congo Awards Dinner And Benefit In (Atlanta, GA February 26, 2011)
- http://www.celebritycharitablenetwork.com/?p=160
Line 6 Blog about the Traveling guitar Foundation:
- http://blog.line6.com/2011/bringing-music-back-to-schools-with-the-traveling-guitar-foundation/
External links
- official web site
- [] at Allmusic