Mark Winegar
Mark Winegar
I'm a singer/songwriter who enjoys covering a good song regardless of where it's been.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
I started singing with garage bands and in coffee houses back in the late 60's. I stopped in 1973 when I enrolled at Michigan State University. I picked up the guitar to learn a few songs to entertain my grandchildren back in 2001. Since then, I've been playing music every chance I get.
My first exposure to folk music was singing along with Grover Heyn and his 12-string Gibson. It was the late 60's. We'd just walk around town doing our music and being a couple of hippy kids. We eventually opened a coffee house in the basement of the local YWCA in Saint Joseph, MI. We called it Grover's Landing. We didn't make any money at it but we had a lot of fun!
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
I love performing my music. I play in coffee houses, bars, concert halls... I've even played in a few churches. My motto is "have guitar, will travel."
Your musical influences
My greatest influences would have to be Eric Clapton, Pete Seeger, and Bob Segar & the Silver Bullet Band.
What equipment do you use?
My guitars are a Martin DM and a Martin J12-16GT. I also play a mandolin from the Mid-Missouri Mandolin Company mandolins and a handmade Native American flute. The flute was a gift from my lovely bride and was handmade by a Lakota friend who lives on the reservation.
Anything else?
I teach Computer Science at Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota. I'm serve as the President of the Vermillion Area Arts Council in Vermillion, South Dakota. I also host a monthly coffee house at the Washington Street Arts Center in Vermillion, SD.