| Mark Stuart | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mark Allen Stuart |
| Born | April 14, 1968 Owensboro, Kentucky, United States |
| Genres | Christian rock, Rock |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1987-present |
| Associated acts | Audio Adrenaline, Know Hope Collective |
Mark Allen Stuart (born April 14, 1968 in Owensboro, Kentucky) is a Christian rock musician, and is best known for being the vocalist for the now-retired Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline.
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Mark Stuart was born to missionary parents Drex and Jo Stuart. His father is an ordained minister. When Mark was younger, his parents spent four years in Haiti as missionaries. Mark also has an older brother named Dave, and a younger sister named Kelly.
Mark attended Kentucky Christian College where he obtained a degree in Secondary Education for Science and Math. Mark says "I can teach physics, calculus, and chemistry." Originally, he was planning to pursue his goal of becoming an aeronautical engineer.
Mark Stuart met the original guitarist and bassist for Audio Adrenaline, Barry Blair & Will McGinniss, while attending Kentucky Christian College (now known as Kentucky Christian University). Barry Blair was Mark's roommate for three years. They founded the band in 1986 under the name of A-180. However, they temporarily disbanded the next year when Mark went to Haiti for a semester. When he returned to Kentucky, the band reformed and recruited Bob Herdman, who brought them two songs to record. After they did, they changed their name to Audio Adrenaline and signed a deal with Forefront Records. After more than twenty years of success with the band and eight studio albums, Stuart and the band decided to retire on January 2006. The primary reason cited was Stuart's "ongoing vocal challenges" stemming from vocal cord damage after years of performing.[1]
Mark Stuart and Will McGinniss have recently started a project called Know Hope Collective. The project will feature a changing group of musicians that will sing worship songs and present testimonies.[2]
Stuart married Kerri McKeehan, sister of Toby McKeehan, in 1995.[3] They divorced in 2005. Stuart married his current wife, Aegis, in February 2007. They live in Franklin, Tennessee with two children they adopted from Haiti.
Stuart has visited Haiti consistently to help with missionary efforts. He started the Hands and Feet Project in 2004 along with Audio Adrenaline.
On January 12, 2010, Mark, his parents (Drex & Jo), and his wife Aegis were working at the Hands and Feet Project in Jacmel, Haiti when the earthquake struck Port-au-Prince. None at the Project were injured by the quake, and Mark was able to get the word out about the plight of the residents of Jacmel via multiple Skype interviews with media outlets such as CNN, MSNBC and BBC, among others. He assisted with relief efforts in Jacmel until he returned to the U.S. on January 22, when he continued to assist by raising funds through continued coordination of relief efforts and organization of benefit concerts.[4][5][6]
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