As published in the Saturday, May 31, 2008 GUIDELIVE Section of the Dallas Morning News:
"Songs For Grown-Ups"
ARLINGTON - Mark Wayne Glasmire won't play the age game. He's 53, he'll tell you without hesitation. He is also a singer/songwriter performing for adults older than 35.
In other words, he makes music for people of his generation - not for the coveted youth market.
"The highest demographic in this country are the baby boomers", he says while reclining on a tan couch in the family room of girlfriend Brenda Cubbage's home. "Fifty-five percent of our population is over the age of 35. This was in 1999. Of course, obviously that statistic is still true. That's who are market is. That's who I want to appeal to."
Mr. Glasmire gets all fired up. He takes a deep breath and keeps going.
"I can't relate to a 7 year old girl," he says. Hopefully she'll like my tunes and convince her mom to buy it. My target is the people in my age group to fill a void that was left by the departure of radio the way it used to be. That's what it comes down to. Guys like John Denver and Harry Chapin and Dan Fogelberg, as good as they were, they would have a hard time getting on the radio today. James Taylor, especially with the way he looks now, he would never get on the radio. It wouldn't happen because it is more about the package."
On his three independently released CDs - "All of My Heart", "Scrapbook" and "Now I Believe" - Mr. Glasmire sounds like a warm, genuine and melodic throwback to the days when songs were earthy and uncluttered. He makes pop music steeped in the traditions of folk and country. He sings about his life and the lives of those around him.
His rich, expressive voice cuts right to the heart. All he needs is an acoustic guitar. That talent and charm helped him win this years B.W. Stevenson Memorial Songwriter Competition at Poor David's Pub.
"I say what I'm thinking, and it's direct. This is what I believe. I would go back and do it all again. My parents' love still does remain," he says, paraphrasing two of his best compostions, "Our Love Remains" and "Do It All Again." "Things don't always go the way you want them to go. But the one constant is the love. No matter what else changes, I know that is true, that will be there forever."
He even has that nature-pure optimism so indicative of those '70s singer-songwriters who have influenced him. Mr. Glasmire's kept that positive outlook through his failed attempt at success in Nashville and the end of his 23-year marriage.
While living in Music City from 1995 to 2005, the Bethlehem, PA, native wrote songs with other artists in mind and was part of a harmony trio called Borderline. Nobody prominent has recorded his tunes yet, and Borderline never signed a major-label contract.
They were close, though. "We were a country version of Crosby, Stills and Nash," he says. "But then we were told: You guys are too old, you're too fat, you're too grey. You're to this, you're too that.' It was like Simon Cowell sitting there."
He packed his bags and moved to Arlington once his divorce was final in 2005. He met Ms. Cubbage two months after he arrived in North Texas. She was an attorney for Public Storage, where Mr. Glasmire still works full time. He's a construction manager in the company's Arlington office.
At first Ms. Cubbage represented Mr. Glasmire professionally. Then the relationship turned personal.
He's memorialized that union on "Brenda's Song" from "Scrapbook".
"There's a thread," he says about his tunes. "This is my life story. There are some parts that are missing, but a lot of it is there. I had a guy, a really good friend of mine, he said: "You know the funny thing about you is you look like Yul Brynner on the outside but you're like Mary Poppins on the inside. You got all these feelings that you're not afraid to talk about.' This is true. I'm not afraid to talk about it."
That honesty, he hopes, will appeal to fans young and old.
Mario Tarradell - GuideLive-Dallas Morning News (May 31, 2008)
