Mark Steiner & His Problems

Bio:

Mark Steiner "This World" music video
Features Cam Butler, Rosie Westbrook, Lilith Lane, Stevie Hesketh & Peter Luscombe
Filmed by Mark Steiner & E. Gast, Oslo-Australia, September 2008
Edited by Mark Steiner, Oslo, August 2009






Mark Steiner & The Fallen Birds "Wallspotting" music video
Filmed by Arnaud Soulier, Sound by Boris Melinand, Paris, February 2007
Edited by Arnaud Souiler & Mark Steiner, Paris, July 2007

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STAGGER HOME MUSIC features songs by Norwegian-American artist MARK STEINER

After a recent successful second tour of Australia to promote his new full-length album, "Broken," available on both limited-edition 12" vinyl and as a 2-CD which includes "Fallen Birds") on Australian label Z-MAN RECORDS, Mark Steiner is now promoting his more "international" solo project on both sides of the big pond. "Broken" was recorded and overdubbed with a complete cast of characters in Melbourne (Australia), New York City, Dortmund (Germany), and Oslo (Norway).



"Beautiful Thief" 10" vinyl record with gatefold cover
b/w "Sea of Disappointment (revisited) featuring Tex Napalm
cover photo by Caroline Nerbøvik
Stagger Records Stagg007



Mark Steiner's 2007 debut solo release was a CD Mini-LP called "Fallen Birds," as well as a limited edition 12" 180gram vinyl EP, aptly entitled "Little Fallen Birds." Recorded in Paris, New York, Oslo, Dortmund and Florida, these releases available through STAGGER RECORDS feature musicians Dimi Dero (DIMI DERO INC), Lisa Barel, Tex Napalm (IRON COBRA ORCHESTRA), Amelia S. Deva (ELECTRA JEAN) and Delphine Ellis (DELPHINE THIRTEEN, YOUPI YOUPI YEAH!), as well as Christopher Mele (PIKER RYAN), Peter Mele (PIKER RYAN), Eric Wolter (KUNDERA), Susan Mitchell (KUNDERA), Eivind Schau (SERENA MANEESH), Dag Stiberg (MY MIDNIGHT CREEPS), Raymond Jensen (MY MIDNIGHT CREEPS), Eirik Bjarghov (ex-VIDAR VANG), and Kenneth Simonsen (SHIT CITY).


Since the debut release of "Fallen Birds" in August of 2007, MARK STEINER has played both solo and with various incarnations of his band, including a mini-tour of Norway, as well as several gigs in NYC, Paris, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen and Australia (Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart & Sydney, promoted by LANCE ROCK PUBLICITY / TOURS). He continues his hard work at both playing and planning numerous shows in 2008 and 2009, including in Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Iceland, and the USA. In "Oz," the land down under, he was joined on stage by the fabulous Lilith Lane (BLACK PONY EXPRESS) on piano and vocals, the ever-so-lovely Rosie Westbrook (MICK HARVEY band) on bass, the illustrious Cam Butler (SILVER RAY) on guitar, and the magnificent Pete Luscombe (PAUL KELLY BAND) on drums, as well as BILL McDONALD on bass in those gigs outside of Melbs! ...And in Brisbane he was backed live by members of that extraordinary die-hard drinkin' gang also known as THE GIN CLUB!





Mark is also known for his work in the New York City area with now near-legendary and not-quite-sober PIKER RYAN (formerly known as PIKER RYAN'S FOLLY) and later with KUNDERA. PIKER RYAN played a European "reunion" tour in the fall of 2006 with ALICE TEXAS, double-billing the evening as "A Night of New York Noir."

PIKER RYAN'S FOLLY were a gang of debaucherous Lower East Side vagrant musicians who took the area by storm in the late nineties. Inspired largely by the history of 19th Century Lower Manhattan as described in books such as "The Gangs of New York" (Herbert Asbury, 1928), and "Lowlife" (Luc Santé), co-founders singer/songwriter Mark "Piker" Steiner and Belgian-born guitarist Phil "The Tremelo King" Vanderyken used the "take-out menu" of a notorious thug named Piker Ryan as the foundation of the band's name, and a number of various members came and went with this gang of drunken troublemakers. The track, "EAT 'EM UP JACK!", was written in homage to Jack McManus, chief mayhem specialist at the popular Bowery dive McGurk's Suicide Hall, whose job was to bounce those who took the name of the venue just a bit too seriously.

KUNDERA came into existence as a side project during the first demise of PIKER RYAN'S FOLLY, and moved into the spotlight after The Tremelo King's escape to the city of New Orleans. MARK STEINER sobered up, picked up his guitar, and grabbed the nearest people he could find: pianist ERIC WOLTER and the ever lovely SUSAN MITCHELL on violin, as well as help from THE DOG SHOW'S JEROME O'BRIEN on string bass. The song "The Chimney Sweeper" was originally recorded in 2000 for a SUFFERING CLOWN tribute compilation CD dedicated to William Blake's "Songs of Innocence & Experience," which has yet to be released. This previously unreleased recording of this song perhaps best represents Kundera's lounge-noir approach.

Mark also has appeared live on stage with Norwegian rockers MADRUGADA (N) and on recordings with MIDDLE PILLER PRESENTS New York City darkwavers THE MIRROR REVEALS (on the songs "Moon's On Fire" and "The Undying Man.")

MARK STEINER has also appeared with the following artists... go check 'em out, if you can find 'em! MADRUGADA (N), FATAL SHORE (AUS/UK), PHIL SCHOENFELT (UK), SIDI SANTINI & THE DECADENTS (CZ), JACK MARTIN (of THE DIMESTORE DANCE BAND, NYC), BLISS BLOOD (of THE MOONLIGHTERS, US), THE MIRROR REVEALS (US), THE SOFT REBELS (N), THE LOVE CONNECTION (N), WILLY B (N), SARA LANDEAU (of MERCURY STARRS), EIVIND SCHAU (of SERENA MANEESH (N)), KNUT FRØYSNES (of GOO MEN, HOWL (N)), PETTER SVEE (of GOO MEN, THE GRAVES (N)), TORGEIR KJELDAAS (of THEE UNMIST, INFIDELS FOREVER(N)), LARS KRISTENSEN (of THEE UNMIST, INFIDELS FOREVER(N)), ANDERS MALMBERG (NORTHERN APPLES (S)), SOFIE NAVELSAKER, and SUSANA MELENDEZ of AUTODRONE (US)...

He has played support, both solo and with his band, for many an artist, including ex-SWANS member MICHAEL GIRA (US), KID CONGO POWERS & THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS (US), DEVENDRA BANHART (US), MADRUGADA (N), and many more...

For further information, please go to www.StaggerHome.com



....This profile was edited with Thomas' myspace editor™ V2.5

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..View Mark Steiner's EPK

Members:

MARK STEINER & THE BROKEN BIRDS
(AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2009)
Spencer P. Jones (Beasts of Bourbon, The Johnnys) - guitar (Melbourne)
Julitha Ryan (Silver Ray, Hugo Race & True Spirit) - piano, vocal (Victoria & Tasmania)
Cam Butler (Silver Ray, The Coralinas) - guitar (Victoria)
Thomas Borge (Halph, Saudade) - bass, vocal (Melbourne)
Michelle Dilevski - bass (Victoria & Tasmania)
Alan "The Mallet" Murphy - percussion (Victoria)
Loene Carmen - vocal & guitar (Sydney)
Pange Niemoeller (King Daddy) - drums (Melbourne)
Sean Brady - percussion (Tasmania)

MARK STEINER & HIS PROBLEMS (GLOBAL)
(LIVE GUEST MUSICIANS, 2007-present)
Celile Güzelce (Stillephonema) - vocal (Oslo)
Steven Riis Sellick (The Sellick Maneuver) - guitar (Oslo)
Ketil Vestrum Einarsen (Jaga Jazzist) - flute (Oslo)
Pavel Cingl (Southern Cross) - violin (Prague)
Phil Shoenfelt (Fatal Shore, Southern Cross) - guitar, vocal (Prague)
Einar Stenseng - guitar, vocal (Berlin) Lucie Rejchrtova - piano (Prague)
Thomas Borge (Halph, Saudade) - bass, guitar, vocal (Copenhagen)
Tobias "Tex" Lange - drums (Copenhagen)
Rosie Westbrook (Mick Harvey band) - bass guitar (Melbourne, Australia)
Lilith Lane (Black Pony Express) - piano & vocal (Australia)
Cam Butler (Silver Ray) - guitar (Melbourne, Australia)
Pete Luscombe (Paul Kelly band) - drums (Australia)
Stevie Hesketh (Jet) - organ (Melbourne, Australia)
Bill McDonald (Paul Kelly band) - bass (Australia)
Ben Salter (The Gin Club) - guitar & vocal (Brisbane, Australia)
Bridget Lewis (The Gin Club) - cello (Brisbane, Australia)
Conor Macdonald - (The Gin Club) - bass (Brisbane, Australia)
Scott Regan - (The Gin Club) - percussion (Brisbane, Australia)
Bruno Adams (Once Upon a Time, Fatal Shore, Crime & the City Solution) - guitar (Berlin)
Chris Hughes (Fatal Shore, ex-These Immortal Souls) - percussion (Copenhagen, Berlin, Prague, Brno)
Ricardo Poças Marques - electric contra bass (Portugal, Brussels, Paris)
Azalea So Sweet - vocal (Prague & Copenhagen)
Peter Mavrogeorges (Bellmer Dolls, The Vanity Set, Alice Texas) - lead guitar (NYC)
Hannah Fairlight - vocal (NYC)
Tricia Warden (ex-Liarface) - vocal (NYC)
Jason Kanter (ex-Unified Division) - bass (NYC)
Roderick Miller (Bee & Flower) - piano (Berlin)
Ann Sung-An Lee (Cables, ex-Serena Maneesh) - vocal (Oslo)
Odd Johansen (Oddpopp) - harmonica (Oslo)

MARK STEINER & THE FALLEN BIRDS
(STUDIO / LIVE, 2007-present)
Mark Steiner - vocals, lyrics, music, guitar
Lisa Barel - piano, vibraphone
Dimi Dero (Dimi Dero INC, Youpi Youpi Yeah!) - percussion
Amelia S. Deva - (Electra Jean) vocals
Tex Napalm (The Iron Cobra Orchestra) - bass / guitar
Delphine Ellis (Delphine Thirteen, Youpi Youpi Yeah!) - baritone guitar
Eivind Schau - cello
Susan Mitchell - viola
Christopher Mele - drums
Peter Mele - bass
Eric Wolter (ex-Hellpop) - studio piano (on "Drunk" & "Gone")
Dag Stiberg (My Midnight Creeps) - studio saxophone (on "Drunk")
Eirik Bjarghov (ex-Vidar Vang & the Northern Men) - studio bass (on "Cigarettes")
Kenneth Simonsen (Shit City) - studio drums (on "Cigarettes")
Raymond Jensen (My Midnight Creeps) - guitar (on "Cigarettes")
Rosie Westbrook (Mick Harvey band) - bass guitar (Melbourne, Australia)
Lilith Lane (Black Pony Express) - piano & vocal (Australia)
Cam Butler (Silver Ray) - guitar (Melbourne, Australia)
Pete Luscombe (Paul Kelly band) - drums (Australia)
Stevie Hesketh (Jet) - organ (Melbourne, Australia)

MARK STEINER "Silver Chain" (by Genevieve MckGuckin & Rowland S Howard)
Mark Steiner - vocals, guitars, piano, percussion, recording, engineering

PIKER RYAN (2006 European tour)
Mark Steiner - vocals, lyrics, music, guitar
Christopher Mele - drums
Peter Mele - bass
James Babbo (The Mirror Reveals) - guitar
Peter Mavrogeorges (Bellmer Dolls, Alice Texas) - additional lead guitar

MARK STEINER & THE DEBAUCHERY (NORWAY, 2005)
Mark Steiner - vocals, lyrics, music, guitar
Eirik Bjarghov (ex-Vidar Vang & the Northern Men) - bass
Kenneth Simonsen (Shit City) - drums
Knut Frøysnes (Goo Men, Howl) - guitar (live, & on "Reason")
Raymond Jensen (My Midnight Creeps) - guitar (on "Cigarettes")
Kenneth Furre - additional guitar (live)
Thomas Denstad - additional guitar (on "Broken Man" live)
Behzad Farazollahi (My Midnight Creeps) - additional drums (live)

MARK STEINER & THE BROKEN MEN (NORWAY, 2004)
Mark Steiner - vocals, lyrics, music, guitar
Thomas Denstad - guitar
Torgeir Kjeldaas (Infidels Forever) - bass
Lars Kristensen (Infidels Forever) - drums

HORSEFEATHERS ("Divine Whore" live, NYC, 2004)
Susana Melendez - vocals, lyrics, music
Mark Steiner - music, guitar
Frode Jacobsen (Madrugada) - bass
Simen Vangen (Madrugada) - drums

MARK STEINER & THE BROKEN MEN (NYC, 2004)
Mark Steiner - vocals, lyrics, music, guitar
Susan Mitchell - violin
Eric Wolter (ex-Hellpop) - piano
Jerome O'Brien (The Dog Show) - string bass, electric bass
Sara Landeau (The Mercury Starrs) - drums

CHIMNEY SWEEPERS (NORWAY, 2003)
Mark Steiner - vocals, lyrics, music, guitar
Petter Svee (Goo Men) - guitar
Thomas Denstad - guitar
Torgeir Kjeldaas - bass
Gunnar Motland (Goo Men) - percussion

KUNDERA (NYC, 2000-2002) "The Chimney Sweeper"
Mark Steiner - vocal, guitar
Eric Wolter - piano, programming
Susan Mitchell - violins
Jerome O'Brien - string bass (on other songs)

PIKER RYAN'S FOLLY (NYC, 1998-99)
Mark "Piker" Steiner - vocals, lyrics, music
Phil "The Tremelo King" Vanderyken - guitar
"Pick-pocket" Peter Mele - bass
Chris "The Butcher" Mele - drums
Eric "The Heretic" Wolter - piano (live)

Sounds Like:

REVIEWS - MARK STEINER

“Imagine if Nick Cave could sing instead of sounding like a bull in a phone box…”
- British rock journalist Mick Mercer

"Mark Steiner's special brand of 'Lounge-Noir' will have you reaching for the booze and the 'replay' button."
- SwamplandZine.com

“Anyone who even has a passing interest in brooding, dark, underground rock… should start paying attention to Mark Steiner.”
- Rip It Up Magazine (Australia)

“Euro Lounge in a dark and dank place.”
- The I-94 Barman’s Top Ten List of 2008 (Australia)

“Mark Steiner sounds like an optimal mixture of Nick Cave, Stuart Staples and cult figure Kim Salmon… He’s an artist who stands out with heaps of honesty and authority. Broken is Mark Steiner’s step up to the musical elite of rock…”
- Nordlys (Norway)

"Better than The Rolling Stones..."
- Sidi Santini's mother, Prague

"Mark Steiner's «Fallen Birds» is the best Norwegian indie release we have heard in awhile." - Dagsavisen (Norway)

"Cool Voice. Somewhere between Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Alan Vega and Lou Reed. Cool classy music, too."
- Thirteen

(Mark Steiners) "...profound creative process is obscure but lounge, swamp but groove in the same high with other scorched of soul poets, like Nick Cave, Steve Dietrich, Stuart Staples, Jeffrey Lee, Hugo Race"
- Merle Leonce Bone, French Swamp writer

"If you like Paal Flaata and Madrugada, or for that matter Tindersticks or Nick Cave, Mark Steiner should be right up your alley."
- Aftenposten Aften (Norway)

"I dont know about your mate, Jim. That Norwegian-American guy from New York who we met here in Oslo. I dont know about him"
- Artist Nick Cave to Bad Seed percussionist James Sclavunos, after listening to an entire CD of Mark Steiners work on a nightliner from Oslo to Stockholm, 2004

"PIKER RYAN (US/Stagger Home) : Jazz / Punk. Une combinaison de punk et de jazz qui donne à ce groupe, à son air crooner et à la voix de son chanteur, un petit côté Nick Cave (Eat’ Em Up Jack). Emergeant à New York à la fin des années 1990, ils sont aujourd’hui connus pour être appréciés dans tout ce qui s’apparente à un pub ou à un saloon. C’est dans une tournée européenne de débauche qu’ils accompagneront la diva country, Alice Texas."
- La Fleche D'Or, Paris

MARK STEINER Nordmannen og eks-New Yorker Mark Steiner brukte et år på å lage sin første solo.skive "Fallen Birds", spilt inn i Paris, New York, Dortmund og Fort Meyers. Nå skal dette endelig feires med releasefest i Oslo og Stavanger. Steiner er kanskje mest kjent i Norge for sitt arbeid med Madrugada, som han har både varmet opp for - og sunget for. Hans eget arbeid har tatt ham til Portugal, Island, Paris og New York. Mark Steiner spiller både gamle og ferske låter med noen av sine norske kolleger kjent i fra bl.a. Serena Maneesh, My midnight Creeps, Vidar Vang & The Northern Men, og sine franske og tyske musikere; Dimi Dero, Tex Napalm, Lisa Barel og Amelia S. Deva. Dette blir en uforglemmelig opplevelse for de som liker musikken i gatene der Tindersticks, Nick Cave og Lehonard Cohen befinner seg.
- Tou Scene, Stavanger, Norway

"Soloartisten Mark Steiner er en singer/songwriter/musiker fra New York, som har bosatt seg i Oslo. I tillegg til å synge solo og jobbe med andre band som f.eks Madrugada, så har han eget band under navnet "Piker Ryan". Torsdag 8. mars kl 20.00 spiller han på Cafe Stenersen (ved Museet i Vika). Steiner har akkurat kommet hjem fra studioinnspilling i Paris, og har i tillegg til gamle låter mye nytt materiale. Liker du litt dyster og melankolsk musikk som Nick Cave og Leonard Cohen, så er dette virkelig noe for deg."
- Utelivsguiden.no

"Mark Steiner er en norsk-New Yorker som flyttet til Grünerløkka for et par år siden i fra Manhattan, der han var i mange år både vokalist og låtskriver i "lounge-noir" prosjektene Piker Ryan's Folly og Kundera. Nå kjører han på under eget navn, og sammen sitt back-up band "The Broken Men" har nylig spillt support for artistene Madrugada or Devendra Banhard (US). Under Øyafestivalen klubbdagen får fans av Tindersticks, Nick Cave og 16 Horsepower muligheten å oppleve Mark Steiner solo her i bakgården på Garage Oslo! for mere info, sjekk www.StaggerHome.com"
- www.garageoslo.no

"Mark Steiner (& band) varmet opp med enorm overbevisning. De spiller en mørk, melankolsk rock, ikke så langt unna Madrugada (de turnerte også med Madrugada i USA nå nylig). Allerede fra første tone viste dette bandet seg som ekstremt profesjonelle og i tiden som kommer vil de nok være et band å regne med, om ikke for de store scenene akkurat. Dette er, i likhet med Madrugada, rock for sene, mørke kvelder."
- exact24.no

"Chimney Sweepers stod for underholdningen på Cafe Mono søndag kveld. Et band som dyrker tapt kjærlighet, whiskey og røykfylte barer. Chimney Sweepers består av medlemmer fra forskjellige Oslo-band, og norsk-amerikanske Mark Steiner er det naturlige midtpunkt med sin stilige psykotiske whisky-stemme. Sammen maner de fram bilder av tapt kjærlighet, ensomhet og kjærlighet til kong alkohol - alt levert på stødig vis fra en gjeng med dyktige folk. Stemmen til Steiner er nevnt, og den gjør seg ypperlig til den mørke sløye musikken, som heller mest i retning countryrock, men som også kan ta avstikkere innom bluesrock og litt standard rock..n roll. I tillegg fikk Johnny Cash sin naturlige hyllest gjennom den tradisjonelle amerikanske låta "Wayfaring Stranger". Bandets låtmateriale er veldig bra, men mengden er tydeligvis ikke spesielt stor. Ikke så merkelig når de fleste bandmedlemmene har fast tilhørighet i andre prosjekter. Det har vel gått en knapp time når bandet kaster inn årene, fordi de ikke har flere låter, men da har de allerede rukket å vise seg som et ypperlig akkompagnement for en mørk søndagskveld på Mono."
- Espen Hovelsen, i fra artikelen Mørke drikkeviser, Oslo/PULS

"Mark Steiner is a working-class hero."
- Runar Eggesvik, Café Mono, Oslo

"NYCs club scene has been exposed to a group of local musicians fabricating the mood for drunken, broken-hearted, lounge music. That band is Piker Ryans Folly its enough just seeing Mark onstage hammering out his almost criminally insane rants and raves Go see this band for all theyre worth! You think youve got problems?"
- The Aquarian Weekly

"This album (Bowery Blues) reeks of that bittersweet smell of bourbon and stale cigarettes Nick Cave comparisons aside, Steiners vocals can really deliver a wallop. Excellent musicianship from the band members, a keen sense of timing, create highly entertaining songs for all those desperate times when the only friend you need comes in a bottle."
- The Sentimentalist

"That Piker Ryan song Eat Em Up Jack is AWESOME!"
- DJ Terre T., WFMU radio, New Jersey

"Mark Steiner er (norsk-) amerikaner så godt som noen, men pakket kofferten sin og flyttet til Grünerløkka... Lounge-Noir er merkelappen på Marks mørke og forlokkende univers."
- MUTE Magazine, NORWAY

"Mark "Piker" Steiner, lead singer of Piker Ryan's Folly, promoted the show ("An Evening at McGurk's Suicide Hall"). His band (Piker Ryans Folly) was also celebrating the release of their new CD, "Bowery Blues". The ten dark, lounge-y, punk-ish cuts, with a little goth thrown in (especially with Steiner's deep, brooding voice), were recorded last year at CBGBs. Steiner likes the old, dirty, rough-and-tumble days of the Lower East Side, and wore a black Bowler hat at the gig. Some of the songs on "Bowery Blues" were inspired by the book Low Life, written by Luc Sante. The 1992 work recalls the days of McGurk's and waiter Short-Change Charlie and bouncer Eat-'Em-Up Jack McManus."
- Dead Whores, Debauchery, and a Killer Vibraphone. Just Another Friday Night Downtown: A Review of "An Evening at McGurk's Suicide Hall," by Lyle Deixler

"Front man Mark Steiner, who originally hails from Norway, the country that gave us existential angst, went on to sing deeply moving ballads about pain and suffering, as he put it, at least one in actual Norwegian! Steiners rich baritone was backed by accomplished virtuoso instrumentalists including the well-known violinist Susan Mitchell, playing in a style that was both classical and gypsy; keyboardist Eric Wolter who also served as vocalist for one number; and somber stand-up bassist Jerome OBrien. Steiner himself, whose music was reminiscent of Leonard Cohen or Nick Cave, played guitar during most of the set and took a turn on the accordion that added a more explicit European feel to the sound. Kundera was conceived in Y2K as a spin-off of the popular, but now-dormant Piker Ryans Folly, that was a heavy favorite at CBGBs because of its turn-of-the-century, alcohol-soaked, Bowery bar-room-brawler style. Some of Piker Ryans music has carried over to the new band, but Kundera's style is infinitely more philosophical, introspective and Nordic. It is less visually entertaining, but musically more satisfying, and deserves a listen by those that like melodious, emotionally-depressing soft rock."
- Dr. John, NEW DARK AGE