Mark S. Berry
Encyclopedia
Mark S. Berry is a music producer
who has to his credit 36 international Gold and Platinum record awards. He is also chairman of Attack Media Group (a Toronto
-based privately owned media and entertainment company).
The Grammy and Juno nominated artists he has worked with include David Bowie
, Duran Duran
, Billy Idol
, Boy George
, Yes
, Joan Jett
, Cameo, Kool & The Gang
to name a few. Soon to come...
His Canadian productions have included I Mother Earth, 2 Platinum albums for The Headstones, The Killjoys
, Nothing In Particular, Fence, Burton Cummings
(The Guess Who) Platinum solo effort, Up Close & Alone and many more.
, Mark began his music career at the Institute of Audio Research
(IAR) in New York City in 1972. At the young age of 17, Mark was commuting into Manhattan at night, learning the inside ropes of making records and recording up & coming basement bands. After graduating from IAR, Mark was drawn to the Brit sound and flew to London
, England, where he soon arrived on the doorsteps of AIR Studios, one of the world's most popular recording facilities co-owned by Sir George Martin
. "I just flew over and started walking the streets of London looking for a job, stopping in every studio that I took off the back of my favorite albums," he remembers. Mark soon met Nigel Walker
, who was working as an assistant to producer, John Punter
, on an Allan Clarke
(lead singer of The Hollies
) solo project at AIR. "That ended up being my first job in the business, working with John Punter. Getting cigarettes and coffee for the guys and just watching and listening in the background, absorbing everything." Not only did Mark gain a considerable amount of expertise in engineering and mixing records but also invaluable experience in classic rock production and orchestral techniques working as an assistant to Sir George Martin. Sir George was responsible for producing arguably the most influential band in the history of rock 'n' roll, The Beatles. Working with George started out simply recording classical records in the different cathedrals around London for the chamber choir group The Kings Singers. He soon began setting up and assisting on various George Martin and Paul McCartney
sessions.
Mark's experience led to his first major assignment; Carly Simon
's No Secrets album, which included the worldwide smash, “You're So Vain
”, and would be his very first engineering credit. Hanging out with Mick Jagger
for the background vocals on Your So Vain and then going over to Olympic studios for the mixing of their live ‘72 tour tapes was certainly the highlight of his early years, and all before the age of 19. However, this was only the beginning for Mark. "I'd say the most amazing session had to be "Live and Let Die
". Performed by Paul McCartney
and Wings, "They had a 63 piece orchestra in there and I felt like I had emptied every ashtray known to man before the end of that one." (In fact, Live and Let Die is one of the very few songs from the Bond films to be nominated for a Best Song Oscar.)
Mark also assisted and worked on several projects such as the groundbreaking Roll Over Beethoven for Electric Light Orchestra
, Grand Hotel for Procul Harum, Climax Blues Band and Live - Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple
. During his tenure at AIR studios, Mark worked under the tutelage of renowned British rock engineers/producers such as Bill Price (Sex Pistols), John Punter (Japan, Reflex, Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music), Steve Nye (Roxy Music), Alan Harris (T-Rex, Marc Bolan, Mott The Hoople), Geoff Emerick (The Beatles), Chris Thomas (Elton John, The Pretenders, Pink Floyd, INXS), Jeff Lynne (ELO, Tom Petty, Traveling Wilburys), Martin Birch (Iron Maiden, Deep Purple) and Tony Visconti (David Bowie) to name a few.
While at Vanguard Studios, Mark continued to engineer and mix projects for several of New York's top dance/pop producers and became heavily involved in the early 80’s New York hip-hop movement working with artists and producers such as Soul Sonic Force (Looking For The Perfect Beat), Planet Patrol (Play At Your Own Risk), Awesome Foursome (Funky Soul Makosa), New Edition (Candy Girl), Jellybean, Arthur Baker, Freeze (AEIOU), Eddie O’Loughlin (Next Plateau), John Robie, C-Bank (One More Shot), Tommy Silverman (Tommy Boy Records), Importe 12 Records, Man Parrish (the groundbreaking Hip Hop Be Bop) and many more.
During this time Mark felt the explosive pulse of New York City street rhythms and his A&R skills directed him to discovering and producing up & coming dance acts such as Alisha, who after enormous success with Vanguard Records went onto sign with multi-national labels RCA and MCA/Universal, respectively. Deals that Mark put together for her. Mark's hit productions for Alisha included the #1 dance singles “All Night Passion” and “Too Turned On” along with the international pop smash “Baby Talk,” which went on to become a worldwide chart-topping hit, remaining on the Billboard pop charts for over four months. Alisha became the most successful Pop/Dance act on Vanguard, selling in excess of 2M units worldwide. The 80's: Dance Re-mixes & Rock Productions Mid 80's.
Mark moved into the area of 7" & 12" dance and rock mixing and re-mixing for major multi-platinum artists such as David Bowie, Duran Duran, Talk Talk, Toto, Yes, Billy Idol, Boy George, Kool & The Gang, Stephanie Mills, Jimmy Barnes, Animotion, Joan Jett, to name a few. During this time, Mark's “ahead of the times” engineering and mixing skills contributed significantly to the international success of these acts.
Mark’s New York entertainment attorney and longtime friend, Paul Schindler (Madonna, Joan Jett, Kiss, Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons, Def Jam Records) of Grubman, Indursky & Schindler put a meeting together with Michael Gudinski. At that time Michael was president of Australia’s largest independent record company, Mushroom Records. Mark went onto produce and mix multi-platinum records for some of Australia’s biggest acts including; Kids In The Kitchen, Pseudo Echo, Jimmy Barnes, Indecent Obsession, Eurogliders, Machinations, The Chantoozies and many, many more.
Mark also discovered and produced I Mother Earth (EMI) and was the man behind their instant signing buzz that brought 11 international A&R people to Toronto in the fall of 1991 in a bid to sign the emerging band, all based upon a little 5-song master that Mark produced at Metalwork’s Studios. IME went onto become one of the biggest alternative bands in Canadian rock history. This rock production brought him to a chance meeting with Hugh Dillon, lead singer for Canadian rock outfit, The Headstones and Mark went onto produce 2 platinum albums, Picture of Health and Teeth & Tissue for the band through MCA/Universal. Burton Cummings, lead singer for the Guess Who then tapped Mark to produce and mix his live solo unplugged effort for Universal, Up Close & Alone, another multi-platinum awarded production.
Mega Canadian rock manager Pierre Paradis from Montreal tapped Mark to produce & engineer the critically acclaimed Outer Limits (MCA/Universal) for Voivod recorded entirely in Los Angeles. Arguably one of Mark’s most compelling productions with the 17 minute opus Jack Luminous. The mid 90’s saw the advent of the Internet. This got Mark to thinking that it was control of media content that would determine the future of the entertainment industry. I guess he was right… With start up capital from a small publishing company controlled by Canadian media giant Alliance Atlantis, he went on to release, via Attack, some of the very records he was hired to produce, along with securing them insertions in some of the biggest TV shows and feature length films in the entertainment business. While creating quite a buzz with his new talent (that the majors were as usual ignoring) Mark was putting together international licensing and insertion deals for masters that he was involved with either as a producer, co-publisher or master owner. Present Day – Having a lot of fun building his own company.
Mark is presently at the helm of the Attack Group of Companies. Attack is a fully independent media company with an international mandate for signing new & emerging artists and film/DVD content on the international scene. Literally starting in his bedroom 6 years ago, Attack’s rock and urban record division has over 40 masters that are distributed in Canada, U.S. and/or internationally.
Attack Filmworks has just completed post-production of its first 80 Minute feature length film, Road To Nowhere, co-starring Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway). DVD and soundtrack release is coming soon. Attack Filmworks recently signed Canada's up and coming producer/director team, the Butler Brothers to a 2-picture deal. Slacker classics Alive & Lubricated and Bums coming to DVD in summer, 2004. Both films have associated soundtracks from Attack artists and Attackin Tunes co-publishing clients. Ambition Withdraw DVD is slated for release this summer as a rockumentary on the Tennessee 70’s punk outfit, The Unsatisfied. An award winning film at many indie film festivals across North America.
Attack owns and controls the international audio, video and merchandising rights to 144 audio CD masters through its children’s division, KidzAttack Entertainment LLC called THE ELLERY MYSTERIES featuring the goofy dog character named Ellery and his sidekicks, guiding kids through a mystery that they must solve. Also included is a coloring book w/crayons. This series is the in-flight children’s entertainment with some of the world’s largest airlines. An animation series is currently in development.
Attack Group controls the worldwide master rights to the very first Frank Sinatra single called Our Love recorded in 1939 at the age of 19. With broad ancillary rights associated with the master, Attack Filmworks has a feature length MOW in development with one of Canada's most respected directors.
Attackin Tunes, Attack Group music publishing division has a co-publishing agreement with one of the world's largest independent music publishers, Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Inc. (Black Eyed Peas, The Passion of The Christ, Dreamworks, Icon Productions [Mel Gibson], John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Elvis Presley catalog, John Denver catalog, NFL Films, NASCAR). Attack’s music can be heard in major network and cable TV programs such as Dawsons Creek, Roswell, MTV, ESPN, Fox along with the high profile features Gang Tapes (Lions Gate) featuring Coolio, Harvard Man (Lions Gate) with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Poolhall Junkies (Gold Circle) featuring Christopher Walken and many more. Attackin Tunes does the theme music along with “bumpers” and “stingers” for Girlz TV, Bang TV, Teens Dating and Health & Beauty TV, internationally. They have done an extensive amount of music insertions in the extreme sports programming area for major cable & television networks, like ESPN. Attackin Tune’s client MDM can be heard in The Making of The Matrix Reloaded in the DVD and the accompanying TV special in the Freeway Chase Scene.
Mark is the executive producer of GTV (Graffiti Television) and controls a 10 volume DVD/VHS series on the worldwide phenomenon of Graffiti. Attack TV recently partnered with a major television production network in Canada to produce this very exciting international urban lifestyle cable series coming in September ‘04.
Mark’s latest venture is AttackTrax.com, an interactive website for worldwide music supervisors and filmmakers. The entire Attackin Tunes music publishing catalog (along with joining subscribers) is available on the internet and all insertions can be handled and licensed online like the very first Frank Sinatra single ever recorded, the first Biohazard album or the entire Eddy Grant (Electric Avenue) Caribbean music publishing catalog. AttackTrax inserts hundreds of songs into feature length films, short films, documentaries, television/cable programs, extreme sports DVD’s, exercise DVD’s and many more that require music behind a client’s visual content. Some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry come to AttackTrax including ESPN, MTV, Sony, Tri-Star, Disney, FOX, Warner Brothers, WB, Alliance Atlantis, plus many more.
A few days a month Mark hits the road with his Lecture & Workshop series to speak at some of the most prestigious universities and colleges talking about his position as producer/engineer/A&R scout combined with his role as president/CEO of a fledgling media company. A must for any up and comer in the music & film business filled with unbelievable stories of becoming an entrepreneur in the business, the pitfalls along with the massive successes. He has also spoken as a panelist and moderator at many of the world’s most distinguished music conferences like NXNE (North by Northeast), CMW (Canadian Music Week), Music West and Millennium Music Conference.
Since the fall of ‘98, Mark has attended the University of Toronto, Innis College, undergraduate program and is specializing in Cinema Studies to further assist him in his move towards feature length film production.
MarkBerry.com is intended as a resource guide to one of the most innovative music and film entrepreneurs around. Always opinionated and controversial, the facts speak for themselves; Mark S. Berry is a master of today’s high tech equipment with vivid stereo and vocal images, strong bass and hard direct rhythms. With an eclectic variety of indispensable skills, Mark is one of only a handful of producers who can truly take a project from concept to completion and expertly handle all of the steps along the way. His experience and artistry have combined not only to create current top chart hits all over the world, but first and foremost to create state-of-the-art MODERN MUSIC. He is currently conquering the eardrums of record executives with his latest international productions.
" * " = Top Ten Billboard Dance
THEME FROM DUNE - TOTO (Polygram)
Mixed the title theme from this David Lynch film; performed by the pop-rock band TOTO and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
MANNEQUIN - "Do You Dream About Me" -ALISHA (BMG)
Produced and Mixed this Dianne Warren song for the main dance sequence in this blockbuster film.
KNIGHTS OF THE CITY (New World) - Musical Supervisor and soundtrack producer for this feature length film.
Soundtrack included artists such as Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder.
GOTCHA - JOAN JETT (Sony)
Mixed the title theme for this feature length film. Co-mixed with song producers Jimmy Iovine (Interscope Records - CEO) and Kenny Laguna.
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...
who has to his credit 36 international Gold and Platinum record awards. He is also chairman of Attack Media Group (a Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-based privately owned media and entertainment company).
The Grammy and Juno nominated artists he has worked with include David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
, Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
, Cameo, Kool & The Gang
Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...
to name a few. Soon to come...
His Canadian productions have included I Mother Earth, 2 Platinum albums for The Headstones, The Killjoys
The Killjoys (Canadian band)
The Killjoys were a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 1992.Their first album was Starry, released in 1994, followed by Gimme Five in 1996, and Melos Modos in 1997. In 1998 a live album was released entitled Onenight and a Morningafter...
, Nothing In Particular, Fence, Burton Cummings
Burton Cummings
Burton L. Cummings, OC, OM is a Canadian musician and songwriter.He was the lead singer and frequent keyboardist for the Canadian rock band The Guess Who...
(The Guess Who) Platinum solo effort, Up Close & Alone and many more.
The beginning
Originally from BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Mark began his music career at the Institute of Audio Research
Institute of Audio Research
The Institute of Audio Research, also known as IAR, is located in New York City. Students of IAR are offered a wide variety of academic programs in the field of music production and audio engineering...
(IAR) in New York City in 1972. At the young age of 17, Mark was commuting into Manhattan at night, learning the inside ropes of making records and recording up & coming basement bands. After graduating from IAR, Mark was drawn to the Brit sound and flew to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, where he soon arrived on the doorsteps of AIR Studios, one of the world's most popular recording facilities co-owned by Sir George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
. "I just flew over and started walking the streets of London looking for a job, stopping in every studio that I took off the back of my favorite albums," he remembers. Mark soon met Nigel Walker
Nigel Walker
Nigel Walker is a former Welsh athlete and Wales international rugby union player. He is currently National Director at the . He was born in Cardiff....
, who was working as an assistant to producer, John Punter
John Punter
John Punter is an English music producer and recording engineer. He has worked with many bands and musicians, such as Japan, Procol Harum, Roxy Music and Slade. His career in music spanned over 30 years and many different genres...
, on an Allan Clarke
Allan Clarke (singer)
Allan Clarke is a retired British singer who was one of the founding members of The Hollies. He retired in 1999.-Career:...
(lead singer of The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
) solo project at AIR. "That ended up being my first job in the business, working with John Punter. Getting cigarettes and coffee for the guys and just watching and listening in the background, absorbing everything." Not only did Mark gain a considerable amount of expertise in engineering and mixing records but also invaluable experience in classic rock production and orchestral techniques working as an assistant to Sir George Martin. Sir George was responsible for producing arguably the most influential band in the history of rock 'n' roll, The Beatles. Working with George started out simply recording classical records in the different cathedrals around London for the chamber choir group The Kings Singers. He soon began setting up and assisting on various George Martin and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
sessions.
Mark's experience led to his first major assignment; Carly Simon
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
's No Secrets album, which included the worldwide smash, “You're So Vain
You're So Vain
"You're So Vain" is a song written and performed by Carly Simon and released in December 1972. The song is a critical profile of a self-absorbed lover; Simon asserts "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you." The subject's identity has been the matter of speculation, fueled by...
”, and would be his very first engineering credit. Hanging out with Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
for the background vocals on Your So Vain and then going over to Olympic studios for the mixing of their live ‘72 tour tapes was certainly the highlight of his early years, and all before the age of 19. However, this was only the beginning for Mark. "I'd say the most amazing session had to be "Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (song)
"Live and Let Die" is the main theme song of the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die and was performed by Paul McCartney & Wings for the movie soundtrack and appears on the soundtrack album. The song was one of Wings' most successful singles, and the most successful Bond theme to that point...
". Performed by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Wings, "They had a 63 piece orchestra in there and I felt like I had emptied every ashtray known to man before the end of that one." (In fact, Live and Let Die is one of the very few songs from the Bond films to be nominated for a Best Song Oscar.)
Mark also assisted and worked on several projects such as the groundbreaking Roll Over Beethoven for Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
, Grand Hotel for Procul Harum, Climax Blues Band and Live - Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
. During his tenure at AIR studios, Mark worked under the tutelage of renowned British rock engineers/producers such as Bill Price (Sex Pistols), John Punter (Japan, Reflex, Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music), Steve Nye (Roxy Music), Alan Harris (T-Rex, Marc Bolan, Mott The Hoople), Geoff Emerick (The Beatles), Chris Thomas (Elton John, The Pretenders, Pink Floyd, INXS), Jeff Lynne (ELO, Tom Petty, Traveling Wilburys), Martin Birch (Iron Maiden, Deep Purple) and Tony Visconti (David Bowie) to name a few.
Return to New York: The birth of hip hop to independent producer
With some celebrated credits in hand, Mark returned to the states in the mid 70’s. He began freelancing around New York at some of the top recording studios like Electric Lady, Record Plant and the Hit Factory. In 1977, Mark was approached with the position of Staff Engineer and in-house A&R/producer for Vanguard Records (Joan Baez, Buffy Saint-Marie, Country Joe & the Fish) where he worked for over nine years.While at Vanguard Studios, Mark continued to engineer and mix projects for several of New York's top dance/pop producers and became heavily involved in the early 80’s New York hip-hop movement working with artists and producers such as Soul Sonic Force (Looking For The Perfect Beat), Planet Patrol (Play At Your Own Risk), Awesome Foursome (Funky Soul Makosa), New Edition (Candy Girl), Jellybean, Arthur Baker, Freeze (AEIOU), Eddie O’Loughlin (Next Plateau), John Robie, C-Bank (One More Shot), Tommy Silverman (Tommy Boy Records), Importe 12 Records, Man Parrish (the groundbreaking Hip Hop Be Bop) and many more.
During this time Mark felt the explosive pulse of New York City street rhythms and his A&R skills directed him to discovering and producing up & coming dance acts such as Alisha, who after enormous success with Vanguard Records went onto sign with multi-national labels RCA and MCA/Universal, respectively. Deals that Mark put together for her. Mark's hit productions for Alisha included the #1 dance singles “All Night Passion” and “Too Turned On” along with the international pop smash “Baby Talk,” which went on to become a worldwide chart-topping hit, remaining on the Billboard pop charts for over four months. Alisha became the most successful Pop/Dance act on Vanguard, selling in excess of 2M units worldwide. The 80's: Dance Re-mixes & Rock Productions Mid 80's.
Mark moved into the area of 7" & 12" dance and rock mixing and re-mixing for major multi-platinum artists such as David Bowie, Duran Duran, Talk Talk, Toto, Yes, Billy Idol, Boy George, Kool & The Gang, Stephanie Mills, Jimmy Barnes, Animotion, Joan Jett, to name a few. During this time, Mark's “ahead of the times” engineering and mixing skills contributed significantly to the international success of these acts.
Mark’s New York entertainment attorney and longtime friend, Paul Schindler (Madonna, Joan Jett, Kiss, Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons, Def Jam Records) of Grubman, Indursky & Schindler put a meeting together with Michael Gudinski. At that time Michael was president of Australia’s largest independent record company, Mushroom Records. Mark went onto produce and mix multi-platinum records for some of Australia’s biggest acts including; Kids In The Kitchen, Pseudo Echo, Jimmy Barnes, Indecent Obsession, Eurogliders, Machinations, The Chantoozies and many, many more.
New horizons: the 90s
In 1991, Mark moved further towards rock production and signed with Steve Scharf for producer management in NYC and relocated to Toronto. In that same year, Mark re-mixed Glass Tiger (EMI) and produced the hit album Get Off for multi-platinum Canadian act Haywire (Attic Records).Mark also discovered and produced I Mother Earth (EMI) and was the man behind their instant signing buzz that brought 11 international A&R people to Toronto in the fall of 1991 in a bid to sign the emerging band, all based upon a little 5-song master that Mark produced at Metalwork’s Studios. IME went onto become one of the biggest alternative bands in Canadian rock history. This rock production brought him to a chance meeting with Hugh Dillon, lead singer for Canadian rock outfit, The Headstones and Mark went onto produce 2 platinum albums, Picture of Health and Teeth & Tissue for the band through MCA/Universal. Burton Cummings, lead singer for the Guess Who then tapped Mark to produce and mix his live solo unplugged effort for Universal, Up Close & Alone, another multi-platinum awarded production.
Mega Canadian rock manager Pierre Paradis from Montreal tapped Mark to produce & engineer the critically acclaimed Outer Limits (MCA/Universal) for Voivod recorded entirely in Los Angeles. Arguably one of Mark’s most compelling productions with the 17 minute opus Jack Luminous. The mid 90’s saw the advent of the Internet. This got Mark to thinking that it was control of media content that would determine the future of the entertainment industry. I guess he was right… With start up capital from a small publishing company controlled by Canadian media giant Alliance Atlantis, he went on to release, via Attack, some of the very records he was hired to produce, along with securing them insertions in some of the biggest TV shows and feature length films in the entertainment business. While creating quite a buzz with his new talent (that the majors were as usual ignoring) Mark was putting together international licensing and insertion deals for masters that he was involved with either as a producer, co-publisher or master owner. Present Day – Having a lot of fun building his own company.
Mark is presently at the helm of the Attack Group of Companies. Attack is a fully independent media company with an international mandate for signing new & emerging artists and film/DVD content on the international scene. Literally starting in his bedroom 6 years ago, Attack’s rock and urban record division has over 40 masters that are distributed in Canada, U.S. and/or internationally.
Attack Filmworks has just completed post-production of its first 80 Minute feature length film, Road To Nowhere, co-starring Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway). DVD and soundtrack release is coming soon. Attack Filmworks recently signed Canada's up and coming producer/director team, the Butler Brothers to a 2-picture deal. Slacker classics Alive & Lubricated and Bums coming to DVD in summer, 2004. Both films have associated soundtracks from Attack artists and Attackin Tunes co-publishing clients. Ambition Withdraw DVD is slated for release this summer as a rockumentary on the Tennessee 70’s punk outfit, The Unsatisfied. An award winning film at many indie film festivals across North America.
Attack owns and controls the international audio, video and merchandising rights to 144 audio CD masters through its children’s division, KidzAttack Entertainment LLC called THE ELLERY MYSTERIES featuring the goofy dog character named Ellery and his sidekicks, guiding kids through a mystery that they must solve. Also included is a coloring book w/crayons. This series is the in-flight children’s entertainment with some of the world’s largest airlines. An animation series is currently in development.
Attack Group controls the worldwide master rights to the very first Frank Sinatra single called Our Love recorded in 1939 at the age of 19. With broad ancillary rights associated with the master, Attack Filmworks has a feature length MOW in development with one of Canada's most respected directors.
Attackin Tunes, Attack Group music publishing division has a co-publishing agreement with one of the world's largest independent music publishers, Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Inc. (Black Eyed Peas, The Passion of The Christ, Dreamworks, Icon Productions [Mel Gibson], John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Elvis Presley catalog, John Denver catalog, NFL Films, NASCAR). Attack’s music can be heard in major network and cable TV programs such as Dawsons Creek, Roswell, MTV, ESPN, Fox along with the high profile features Gang Tapes (Lions Gate) featuring Coolio, Harvard Man (Lions Gate) with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Poolhall Junkies (Gold Circle) featuring Christopher Walken and many more. Attackin Tunes does the theme music along with “bumpers” and “stingers” for Girlz TV, Bang TV, Teens Dating and Health & Beauty TV, internationally. They have done an extensive amount of music insertions in the extreme sports programming area for major cable & television networks, like ESPN. Attackin Tune’s client MDM can be heard in The Making of The Matrix Reloaded in the DVD and the accompanying TV special in the Freeway Chase Scene.
Mark is the executive producer of GTV (Graffiti Television) and controls a 10 volume DVD/VHS series on the worldwide phenomenon of Graffiti. Attack TV recently partnered with a major television production network in Canada to produce this very exciting international urban lifestyle cable series coming in September ‘04.
Mark’s latest venture is AttackTrax.com, an interactive website for worldwide music supervisors and filmmakers. The entire Attackin Tunes music publishing catalog (along with joining subscribers) is available on the internet and all insertions can be handled and licensed online like the very first Frank Sinatra single ever recorded, the first Biohazard album or the entire Eddy Grant (Electric Avenue) Caribbean music publishing catalog. AttackTrax inserts hundreds of songs into feature length films, short films, documentaries, television/cable programs, extreme sports DVD’s, exercise DVD’s and many more that require music behind a client’s visual content. Some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry come to AttackTrax including ESPN, MTV, Sony, Tri-Star, Disney, FOX, Warner Brothers, WB, Alliance Atlantis, plus many more.
A few days a month Mark hits the road with his Lecture & Workshop series to speak at some of the most prestigious universities and colleges talking about his position as producer/engineer/A&R scout combined with his role as president/CEO of a fledgling media company. A must for any up and comer in the music & film business filled with unbelievable stories of becoming an entrepreneur in the business, the pitfalls along with the massive successes. He has also spoken as a panelist and moderator at many of the world’s most distinguished music conferences like NXNE (North by Northeast), CMW (Canadian Music Week), Music West and Millennium Music Conference.
Since the fall of ‘98, Mark has attended the University of Toronto, Innis College, undergraduate program and is specializing in Cinema Studies to further assist him in his move towards feature length film production.
MarkBerry.com is intended as a resource guide to one of the most innovative music and film entrepreneurs around. Always opinionated and controversial, the facts speak for themselves; Mark S. Berry is a master of today’s high tech equipment with vivid stereo and vocal images, strong bass and hard direct rhythms. With an eclectic variety of indispensable skills, Mark is one of only a handful of producers who can truly take a project from concept to completion and expertly handle all of the steps along the way. His experience and artistry have combined not only to create current top chart hits all over the world, but first and foremost to create state-of-the-art MODERN MUSIC. He is currently conquering the eardrums of record executives with his latest international productions.
Discography
| ARTIST | CREDIT | ALBUM | LABEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burton Cummings | Producer/Mixer/Platinum | Up Close And Alone | Universal |
| Punch Buggy | Producer/Mixer | My Norwegian Cousin | Sour/Sony |
| Popgun Picnic | Producer/Mixer | Stinks Like Truth | Independent |
| Blasternaut | Producer/Mixer | Eden Pit | Attack |
| Vertical Creep | Producer/Mixer | Vertical Creep | Attack |
| Pop Cherry | Producer/Mixer | Straight Up | Deevel |
| Teenage Head | Producer/Mixer | Head Disorder | Loudrock |
| Headstones | Producer/Mixer/Platinum | Teeth and Tissue | Universal |
| Spirit Pushers | Producer/Mixer | Time, Light, Shine, Free | a-Rabian |
| Fence | Producer/Mixer | No Dumping | a-Rabian |
| Sisters Cherrie | Producer/Mixer | I Think Therefore I’m Fuct | a-Rabian |
| Bootsauce | Remixer | Bootsauce | Polygram |
| Voivod | Producer/Mixer | The Outer Limits | Universal |
| Headstones | Producer/Mixer/Platinum Album/Double Platinum Single | Picture Of Health “When Something Stands For Nothing | Universal |
| Michelin Slave | Producer/Mixer | Poised To Meet The Maker | Magada |
| Love Chain | Producer Mixer | Burn | Universal |
| Lee Aaron | Producer/mixer/Double Platinum Single | Emotional Rain “Odds of Love | A&M |
| Nothing In Particular | Producer/Mixer | Is That Right? | Kinetic |
| The Killjoys | Additional Producer/Mixer | Starry | Warners |
| I Mother Earth | Producer/Mixer | I Mother Earth | Indie |
| Joan Jett | Producer/Mixer | Good Music | Sony |
| Mighty Mighty Bosstones | 12/7" Mixer | Last Dead Mouse | Polygram |
| Talk Talk | Gold LP/U.K. | *Life’s What You Make It | EMI |
| David Bowie | 12/7" Mixer Platinum LP/U.S | *Never Let meDown | EMI |
| Duran Duran | 12/7" Mixer Platinum LP/U.S | *Meet El Presidente Proposition | EMI |
| Yes | 12/7" Mixer Platinum LP/U.S | *Rhythm Of Love – Big Generator | ATCO |
| Billy Idol | 12/7" Mixer Platinum LP/U.S | *Flesh For Fantasy | Chrysalis |
| Haywire | Producer/mixer | Get Off | ATTIC |
| Pseudo Echo | Producer/Mixer | 2X Platinum/Australia 1X Gold Canada Gold USA LOVE AN ADVENTURE "Love an Adventure" "Don't Go" "Living in a Dream" Also includes "Funky Town" Remixer (Top 5 U.S.) | EMI Australia BMG Int. |
| Kids in the Kitchen | Mixer Platinum LP/U.S | SHINE "Current Stand" (Top 10 AUS.) "Revolution Love | Mushroom/Aus. SIRE/USA |
| Animotion | Mixer Platinum LP/U.S. | *Obsession | Polygram |
| Indecent Obsession | Producer/Mixer | Gold Single/Australia Platinum/Australia SPOKEN WORDS "Say Goodbye" "Come Back to Me" (Top 5 Australia) | Universal |
| The Chantoozies | Producer/Mixer/Platinum Australia | Wanna Be Up (Top 5 Australia) "Kiss and Tell" (Top 10 Australia) | Mushroom |
| Joan Jett | 12“/Mixer | *Cherry Bomb | Universal |
| Jimmy Barnes | 12"/Mixer Platinum/Australia | Seven Days | Mushroom/Greffen |
| The Black Sorrows | 12"/Mixer Platinum/Australia | Never Let Me Go | Sony Australia |
| Jaki Graham | 12"/Mixer | *Set Me Free | EMI U.K. |
| The Eurogliders | Producer/mixer | Dreamin – If You Don’t Know | Sony Australia |
| Kool & The Gang | 12/7”/mixer Platinum LP | *Fresh-*Emergency-Mislead | Polygram |
| Love & Money | 12”/Mixer | River of People | Phonogram |
| Machinations | Producer/Mixer 12" Mixer | Cars & Planes-Do to you | Mushroom |
| Jayne Reyne | 12"/Mixer | *Inside a Dream | EMI |
| Boy George | 12"/Mixer | Rip It Up | EMI Australia |
| Until December | Producer/Mixer | *Secrets I Won't Tell | 415/CBS |
| The Kane Gang | 12/7" Mixer | Gold LP *Respect Yourself | London/UK |
| Scarlett & Black | 12/7" Mixer | * "You Don't Know | Virgin |
| Anabella (BowWowWow) | 12/Mixer | War Boys | RCA/UK |
| Ian Dury & the Blockheads | 12"/Mixer | Sex & Drugs" "Hit Me" "Wake Up | donnée L4-D |
| Nick Heyward | 12/7" Mixer | Warning Sign | Arista/UK |
| Mink Deville | 12"/Mixer | Italian Shoes | Polygram |
| Nona Hendryx | 12/7" Mixer | *Baby-Go-Go | EMI |
| Cameo | 12" Mixer | LP *She's Strange | Polygram |
| Stephanie Mills | 12/7" Mixer | Gold LP * Medicine Song | Polygram |
| Gwen Guthrie | 12/7" Mixer | Gold LP Nothin' Goin on but the Rent | Polygram |
| Rene & Angela | 12/7" Mixer | *I'll be Good | Polygram |
| The Bar-kays | 12/7" Mixer | *Sexomatic- *Your Place or Mine-*Dance your body | Polygram |
| Confunkshun | 12/7" Mixer | *Burnin' Love-*She's Sweet-*Tell me what I'm Gonna Do | Epic |
| Marilyn | 12”Mixer | "Sprit in the Sky" | Epic |
| Loose Ends | 12”Mixer | Gotta Get your Body Movin' | Virgin/UK |
| Freeze | Producer Mixer | 2-LP Cuts | Beggars/Banquet UK |
" * " = Top Ten Billboard Dance
THEME FROM DUNE - TOTO (Polygram)
Mixed the title theme from this David Lynch film; performed by the pop-rock band TOTO and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
MANNEQUIN - "Do You Dream About Me" -ALISHA (BMG)
Produced and Mixed this Dianne Warren song for the main dance sequence in this blockbuster film.
KNIGHTS OF THE CITY (New World) - Musical Supervisor and soundtrack producer for this feature length film.
Soundtrack included artists such as Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder.
GOTCHA - JOAN JETT (Sony)
Mixed the title theme for this feature length film. Co-mixed with song producers Jimmy Iovine (Interscope Records - CEO) and Kenny Laguna.
Executive producer discography
| ARTIST | CREDIT | TITLE | LABEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr.Spike | Executive Producer | Beer Can Alley | ATTACK |
| The Clockhouse | Executive Producer | Every Android That I Know | ATTACK |
| Adam & Eve (Feature Film) Soundtrack | Executive Producer | Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ATTACK/Lions Gate |
| Echoface | Executive Producer | Echoface | ATTACK |