MARK WELSFORD
Instructor Bass, Guitar, Ukulele, Garage Band
Styles: Rock, Blues, Reggae, Funk
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate,
Influences: Smashing Pumpkins, The Beatles
“I was around 16 yrs old and my younger step brother picked up a guitar and I wanted to be better than him! It sparked an instant competition…but my step dad bought me a fretless bass and I fell in love with it. I had never seen a bass in real life, let alone knowing it even existed. But the moment I heard it, touched it, played it… I knew the guitar could wait”
“Sitting in my parents basement watching Saturday Night Live with my step brother Dave. The Smashing Pumpkins performed Cherub Rock. Our jaws were on the floor watching Billy Corgan’s guitar solo”
“If you asked me about 5 years ago, I would have said alternative rock is my favourite musical style. Today, I can’t give you a solid answer. I have my students to thank because they have opened my musical taste to everything under the sun.”
“If you ask any of my students, they wil tell you that I am constantly going through my iPod saying “Listen to this part! …listen to this part!” I find it hard to pinpoint a specific part or piece, but it’s these moments that inspire you to keep going, to keep setting the goal of getting better, higher and higher. A few that come to mind are the guitar solo in Cherub Rock by the Smashing Pumpkins, the vocals on the Beatles A Day n the Life, the bass in Bob Marley’s Waiting in Vain/ Natural Mystic and EVERYTHING in Under the Bridge by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers”
“Every musician goes through moments where they feel their inspriration is gone. Always seek out new and exciting pieces to remember why you picked up your instrument in the first place. Allow others to introduce you to something you may not have given a chance on your own.Like I always say to people when I take them snowboarding for the first time – once you get it, you’ll always have it”