The Journey Back

I met Randy back in 2015. He was in full panic mode right before going on stage at an open jam I had been hosting for 12 years. Something wasn’t right with his amp, and he couldn’t figure it out. I walked over calmly and said, “No problem, buddy — I’ll fix it for you.”

After that, he stuck around and watched the house band. When we finished, he came up to me and asked a simple question: “Do you write songs?”

That question hit me harder than he probably realized.

I grew up in Canarsie, Brooklyn — a tight-knit neighborhood filled with great people and lifelong friends. I picked up the guitar in my early teens and was lucky enough to be surrounded by some incredible players who showed me the ropes. A lot of those guys went on to become world-class musicians.

For me, it took about 15 years of grinding before I finally caught a break.

My last band, Rockaway, landed a major label deal. Our album Sound Force One Eleven was released, we toured overseas, and for the first time, it felt like everything was lining up. The record did especially well in Scandinavia, and we were gearing up to tour with two well-known acts.

And then it didn’t happen.

For reasons I still don’t fully understand, it all fell apart before it really took off.

That kind of disappointment sticks with you.

I stepped away from music, packed it up, and focused on raising a family. Nearly 20 years went by without picking up a guitar.

Then one night, I decided to check out a local pub. That’s when I stumbled back into the world of open mic nights. Slowly, I started getting my chops back. Not where I was 20 years ago, but enough to feel something again. Enough to remember why I loved it in the first place.

So when Randy asked me, “Do you write songs?” my answer was simple: “Yes, Randy — I do.”

He told me he was getting married and wanted to create a ’70s-style album filled with love songs. I hadn’t written an original tune in over 20 years, but I got to work.

The process was different this time. I laid down most of the music acoustically, and Randy built the lyrics and melodies around it. Then things really started to come together.

He brought in an incredible group of players. Pat Klein, his longtime partner, came in to produce and co-write, and somewhere along the way we became tequila buddies — and still are. Then my good friend Mike DiMeo came in on keys and elevated everything. Randy also had a great idea: why settle for one great vocalist when you can bring in several? So we did, and the voices we brought in turned the project into something special.

The result was Gentlemen’s Academy – Joy, named after his wife.

We even had Steve Augeri from Journey lend his voice to one of the tracks, which made the whole experience feel like things had come full circle.

Now we’ve got more music coming, and the best part has been reconnecting with so many musicians from my era. Once you step back on stage, it’s funny how fast the groove comes back.

I’ve been invited to sit in with some incredible bands across New York and beyond, and I’ll tell you straight — it feels really good to be back.

I want to thank Randy and Hyperspace Records for giving me the opportunity to return to what I love. And to everyone who knows my story and has come out to support the music, it means more than you know.

To my fans, friends, and family — thank you.

You never know what might happen next.

Keep rockin’.

Love, peace, and happiness,

Mike Marks