Marc Ford
(born April 13, 1966 in Los Angeles, California), is a guitarist/singer/songwriter, and the former lead guitarist of the rock and roll jam band The Black Crowes.
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MARC FORD TICKETS
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History
Burning Tree
Ford began his career with the
blues-rock outfit
Burning Tree in the late 1980s. A power trio featuring Ford on guitars and vocals, Mark Dutton on bass and Doni Gray on drums, Burning Tree released their self-titled debut album on
Epic Records in 1990. A commercial failure but a critical success,
Burning Tree
allowed Ford and Co. to tour extensively throughout most of 1990 and 1991. Despite opening slots for such notable acts as The Black Crowes, the band failed to gain the attention Epic Records was looking for and was dropped from the label soon after.
The Black Crowes
In late 1991, Marc Ford sat in several times with The Black Crowes in-concert, performing
The Allman Brothers Band's classic hit, "Dreams." When The Black Crowes severed their relationship with their original guitarist Jeff Cease, Ford was asked to fill the vacancy. Ford agreed and he was quickly tossed into the mix for the band's 1992 second album,
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
, which hit Number 1 on the
Billboard charts and earned a double platinum certificate for sales. Ford would go on to perform on the next two Black Crowes releases (1994's
amorica.
and 1996's
Three Snakes and One Charm
), two unreleased albums (1993's
Tall
and 1997's
Band
; later released together as
The Lost Crowes) and a slew of concert tours. His addition to the Black Crowes sound, which features a healthy dose of slide guitar and southern twang, helped define the band as one of rock music's premiere acts. His fluid and soulful technique connected with Black Crowes fans worldwide, and his lead playing resonated up and down the Black Crowes song catalog. Ford's ability to adapt to core songwriter,
Rich Robinson's music and crunchy rhythm guitar sound, solidified he and Robinson, as arguably, the preeminent guitar duo of the 1990s.
[1]
Ford was dismissed from the Black Crowes in the fall of 1997, following the band's stint on the summer-long Furthur Festival tour, leaving fans wondering what direction the Crowes might be headed. Black Crowes leaders Chris and Rich Robinson cited Ford's excessive drug use as the reason for his firing, but Ford himself was quick to note that he was not the only one with a drug problem. His absence from the Black Crowes was noticed with the band's 1999 release
By Your Side
, which lacked his guitar flourishes that defined a large part of their overall sound.
Solo and collaborations
After his departure from The Black Crowes, Ford formed a solo band, Marc Ford and the Uninvited, and continued to make live appearances in the United States for the rest of the year. In 1998, Ford sat in numerous times with renowned
jam band Gov't Mule before joining the Chris Stills Band for a summer tour. Upon the conclusion of that tour, Ford quit the Chris Stills Band to form Federale, a joint venture between himself and
Luther Russell. The band gained attention from minor label
Interscope Records, and a record deal was almost immediately in the works. Federale toured briefly, opening for acts like Gov't Mule, but disbanded after Interscope Records was bought out by
Universal Music Group and their commercial viability was called into question.
During 2000, Ford joined the
Pink Floyd blues
tribute band , which originally featured
Allen Woody (guitar, bass), Matt Abts (drums),
Johnny Neel (keyboards) and Berry Oakley Jr. (bass). Providing their own bluesy take on Pink Floyd standards, Blue Floyd was a great success and allowed Ford to remain the public eye while he contemplated his next move.
Ford left Blue Floyd at the close of 2001, opting to again to go solo. In January 2002, during one of his many regular appearances at the Malibu Inn in
Malibu, CA, Ford welcomed
Chris Robinson to the stage for a set of obscure-yet-memorable covers. This performance marked the first time Ford and Robinson had performed with one another since Ford's dismissal from The Black Crowes nearly five years prior. Robinson again joined Ford at the Malibu Inn two weeks later, confirming that they had made amends. Ford even co-wrote "Sunday Sound," a track featured on Robinson's solo debut,
New Earth Mud
.
[2]
Following his acoustic-based stint at the Malibu Inn, Ford decided to form a full-fledged electric band. Featuring fellow Blue Floyd member Berry Oakley Jr. (bass) and newcomers Gootch (drums) and Chris Joyner (keys), Marc Ford and The Sinners hit the road in early 2002. During the tour, Ford would often take time out (with and without The Sinners) to record tracks for his highly anticipated debut effort entitled ' It's About Time', which was released on Anko Records in the fall of 2002. In 2003, Marc Ford and The Sinners gained some helpful attention from country/rock singer
Lucinda Williams, who became somewhat of an ambassador for the group. She secured the band a deal with
Lost Highway Records and Ford began finalizing his material for the sessions.
The Lost Highway deal did not come to be, however, as the band's representative at the label was fired and things subsequently fell through. The Sinners still had an opening slot on Lucinda Williams' ongoing tour, a slot that was fairly open-ended. Without a label backing them up, however, it was almost financially impossible for The Sinners to hit the road. Instead, Ford accepted an invitation to join
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, relegating The Sinners to an indefinite hiatus.
Ford toured with Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals for the majority of 2003, from which their live EP
Live at the Hollywood Bowl
was drawn. Ford continued his association with Ben Harper and his band through the close of 2004, featuring on Harper's collaboration with
The Blind Boys of Alabama,
There Will Be a Light, when he was called to rejoin The Black Crowes for their "All Join Hands" reunion run.
Black Crowes reunion
After a three-year hiatus, the Robinson brothers reformed the Black Crowes in early 2005 for a series of gigs and (later) a new album. This reunion would serve as the platform for one of the greatest rock and roll comebacks in recent years. It would be the first time Ford would take the stage again with the band and Black Crowes fans were beyond ecstatic when the news broke in March 2005. Ford never severed his ties with Harper, however, appearing on his 2006 album
Both Sides of the Gun
and performing a handful of shows in support.
On September 5, 2006, two days before he was due to hit the road for the fall leg of the ongoing Black Crowes reunion tour, Ford's lawyer notified the Black Crowes management via fax that, effective immediately, the guitarist would no longer be a member of the band.
[3] The following day, Ford put out a press release announcing that he had left the Crowes in order to protect his hard-fought sobriety and that he had recently produced albums for emerging artists The Pawnshop Kings and Ryan Bingham.
Ford confirmed in a November 2006 interview with "Hittin' the Note" magazine that he is contractually prohibited from discussing his time in the Black Crowes during the period of 2005-2006. He can speak of his time in the band prior, but only on topics that have been widely documented and discussed. At the time of the interview, it was unclear how long this gag order was in place for the guitarist. In a later interview with the magazine, Ford revealed that the contractual limitation was "in perpetuity."
Solo again
Shortly after his sudden departure from The Black Crowes, Ford reunited with his Burning Tree bandmates for three gigs at The King King in
Hollywood, CA. Following the impromptu dates, Ford enlisted Doni Gray to be his bandmate, along with Muddy and his son Elijah Ford, for a new studio album he had begun preproduction on. Touted by the guitarist as a more guitar-based recording,
Weary and Wired
was released March 13, 2007 on Shrapnel Records subdivision Blues Bureau. Coinciding with the release of
Weary and Wired
was Ford's feature interview on the cover of jam-band oriented music magazine Hittin' the Note (Issue #52).
Throughout 2007 Marc Ford hit the road in support of his new album, with bandmates Mark "Muddy" Dutton, Elijah Ford and new drummer Dennis Morehouse in tow. The tour found the band performing across the United States, as well as select dates in Spain, Germany, Russia and at a handful of European festivals. During later dates on the tour, Ford unveiled as many as six new songs, hinting at another album on the way. The tour continued through the end of 2007, upon which Ford took a short break.
Recent
Early in 2008, Ford played sporadic shows on the West Coast, some with his Fuzz Machine band and some with a new venture, Jefferson Steelflex. In addition, Ford and son Elijah joined Ryan Bingham for several dates on his tour, performing songs from the Ford-produced album
Mescalito.
Ford played slide guitar on Bingham's appearances on
The Tonight Show and
Late Night with Conan O'Brien in the Summer, 2008.
Ford is currently producing
The Steepwater Band's next studio effort, an LP tentatively titled "Grace & Melody" slated for release in late summer or early fall 2008, at Compound Studios in Signal Hill, CA (recording began the first week of May 2008). Marc first met the Chicago-based power trio when their bands shared a festival bill in Bilbao, Spain (summer 2007). Ford joined the band on stage to jam on a pair of songs including a cover of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer", following a sit-in by his bandmate/son Elijah.
The Steepwater Band's subsequently provided support for Ford's headlining gig at the Double Door in Chicago on July 26 2007; this time Jeff Massey and Tod Bowers (of
The Steepwater Band's) joined Ford's band for their encore. Soon after Ford approached the trio about producing their next effort.
On June 27, 2008, Ford sat in with
Widespread Panic during the first set of their concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO. This prompted Internet rumors that he would move into the band as a permanent member, but they never bore any truth.
In early August 2008, it was announced (via his record label) that Ford's new record would be available online and in stores on September 23, 2008.
[4] Entitled
Marc Ford and the Neptune Blues Club,
the record features entirely new material performed by the newest incarnation of Ford's band (himself on guitars and vocals, Mike Malone on keyboards and vocals, Anthony Arvisu on drums, Bill Barrett on harmonica and John Bazz on upright bass). This latest version of his band is a slight reconfiguration of the Jefferson Steelflex band, which performed earlier in the year prior to Ford's short stint with Ryan Bingham.
During the latter part of 2008, Marc Ford took up playing lead guitar at the Vineyard Community Church in Laguna Niguel, California. Via that gig, He produced and contributed guitar work to Vineyard Music artist Chris Lizotte's album, "Signal Hill Revue." The album saw release in early 2009.
More recently, Ford is spending time at Compound Studios working on his second record with the Neptune Blues Club. As of March 2009, no release date has been set. It is also unclear which record label will release the record, Ford's deal with Shrapnel Records' subsidiary Blues Bureau having expired after 2008's
Neptune Blues Club
.
In May of 2009, it was revealed that Ford would be joining the touring band for blues artist Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. & the MG's fame). Ford has been confirmed as the guitarist for June through September of 2009.
[5]
Discography
- Burning Tree
with Burning Tree (Epic Records, 1990)
- The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
with The Black Crowes (American Recordings, 1992)
- Tall
with The Black Crowes (Unreleased Album, 1993)
- Amorica
with The Black Crowes (American Recordings, 1994)
- Three Snakes and One Charm
with The Black Crowes (American Recordings, 1996)
- Band
with The Black Crowes (Unreleased Album, 1997)
- It's About Time
(Anko Records, 2003)
- The Lost Crowes
with The Black Crowes (Rhino, 2006)
- Weary and Wired
(Blues Bureau, 2007)
- Marc Ford and the Neptune Blues Club
(Blues Bureau, 2008)
- Untitled Neptunes Blues Club Project
(Label TBA, 2009)
Live Recordings/Collaborations
- The Scarecrows Featuring Marc Ford
with The Scarecrows (David Pedroza Music, 1988; released 2005)
- Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds
with Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds (Geffen Records, 1992)
- The Very Crystal Speed Machine
with Thee Hypnotics (American Recordings, 1994)
- Live... With a Little Help from Our Friends
with Gov't Mule (Sanctuary Records, 1999)
- Live at the Hollywood Bowl EP
with Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals (Virgin Records, 2003)
- Live at the Hollywood Bowl (DVD)
with Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals (Virgin Records, 2003)
- Lovers and Thieves
with Scott Thomas (Halfpipe Records, 2003)
- Songs From the Material World: A Tribute to George Harrison
with Various Artists (Koch Records, 2003)
- There Will Be a Light
with Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama (Virgin Records, 2004)
- Live at the Apollo (Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama)
with Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama (Virgin Records, 2004)
- Live At The Apollo (DVD)
with Ben Harper and the Blind Boys Of Alabama (Virgin Records 2004)
- Both Sides of the Gun
with Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals (Virgin Records, 2006)
- Freak 'n' Roll...Into the Fog (CD/DVD)
with The Black Crowes (Eagle Vision, 2006)
- Let's Rock
with Ariel Belont (Dreamland Music, 2007)
- Locksley
with PawnShop Kings (producer, Owen Brothers Publishing, 2007)
- Mescalito
with Ryan Bingham (producer, Lost Highway, 2007)
- Grace and Melody
with Steepwater Band (producer, Diamond Day Records, 2008)
- Road House Sun
with Ryan Bingham (producer, Lost Highway, 2009)
References
- Guitar World Online Interview 4/18/03
- http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fifwxqtaldje
- Marc Ford Quits Crowes
- http://www.shrapnelrecords.com/servlet/store?item=catalog&action=viewproduct&prodid=322
- http://swampland.com/posts/view/title:marc_ford_joins_booker_t_jones_touring_band