Mark Geary

Mark Geary is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician born in Dublin, Ireland into a large family with ten siblings, one of whom is actor Karl Geary. In 1992 he emigrated to New York City after being called up for a lottery-won green card. Living in New York's East Village, Geary began playing the local circuit, in venues such as the Sin É alongside Jeff Buckley, and other artists. Geary also worked in popular New York bar The Scratcher. ^[1]

Career

When Geary arrived in New York he had the chance to jump right in at the famous Sin-é bar, however his lack of experience in front of an audience was intimidating. "It was a huge amount of pressure," said Geary. "I walked in and saw Jeff Buckley, Katell Keineg, Sinéad O'Connor." Humbled, Geary packed up his guitar and began seeking out gigs at less exalted local spots. He built a reputation playing at Sidewalk Café and won a regular slot at the Pink Pony. Eventually, Geary worked his way back to Sin-é, where he found himself on a regular bill sandwiched between Keineg and Buckley.^[2] Geary released his first album Mark Geary in 1999, but the record label went out of business before it could properly find an audience.

In 2002, his “new” debut album, 33¹⁄₃ Grand Street was released on SonaBLAST! Records. His second album, Ghosts, released in 2004, brought him critical acclaim in Ireland and the States and was voted Album of the Year (2005) by the Irish Voice. The album also features songs with guest vocalists Glen Hansard and Josh Ritter.^[3] The album also came in at number 68 in the HotPress readers' poll for the Top 100 Greatest Irish Albums. Geary’s next studio recording, Opium, was released in 2008. Following this, Geary released a live recording Live, Love, Lost It – NYC that took him back to his New York roots and features songs recorded at various shows performed in the summer of 2009.

Geary’s latest studio recording, songs about love, songs about leaving, was released in 2012 and features vocals by Glen Hansard and Jenna Nichols.

Geary regularly tours throughout the year all over Europe, the US and Australia. In August 2005, Geary played at the Kennedy Center. He has supported major artists all over the world, in 2008 he supported the Oscar winning duo, The Swell Season on their European tour. In 2010 he supported Glen Hansard on Hansard's European solo tour. Other acts he has played with include, Josh Ritter, Bell X1, The Frames, Coldplay, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders and Joe Strummer. He is currently touring throughout Europe in support of his latest record songs about love, songs about leaving.

Movie & TV Soundtracks

Geary has composed the score to three films, 2005's Loggerheads and 2006's Steel City.^[4]

Most recently he composed the score for a new film, Sons of Perdition, featured at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival^[5] and chosen as one of the first films included in the OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Documentary Club.

Geary's songs have been featured in various films including the 2006 movie, The End of Silence.^[6] The film features Geary’s song 'Hold Tight' over the closing credits. His songs have also been featured on television including the One Tree Hill,^[7] which featured his songs South (season 2) and Angel (season 6).

Discography

Studio albums

• 33¹⁄₃ Grand Street (2002)
• Ghosts (2004)
• Opium (2008)
• songs about love, songs about leaving (2012)

Live albums

• Live, Love, Lost It – NYC (2009)

Singles & EPs

• America (revisited) (2003)
• Tuesday (2008)
• Christmas Biscuits (2013) duet with Glen Hansard

Compilations

• Even Better Than the Real Thing, Vol. 3 (2005), "All I Want is You"
• Independent Music for Independent Coffee Drinkers Vol. 1 (2007), "Here's to You"

Soundtracks

Full Movie Scores

• Loggerheads (2005)
• Steel City (2006)
• Sons of Perdition (2010)
• Angel (2011)

Movies With Featured Songs

• Vito After (2005)
• The Hermit of Manana (2006)
• Mentor (2006)
• Ben's Plan (2007)
• Toxic Soup (2009)
• The Dish & the Spoon (2011)

Television Soundtracks

• One Tree Hill (2 episodes, 2005–2009)
  • "Angel", Episode: Show Me How to Live (2009)
  • "South", Episode: Between Order and Randomness (2005)
• Bones (1 episode, 2005)
  • "Hold Tight", Episode: The Girl in the Fridge

Acting Credits

• 'The Eternal'
• Lock 'N Load (Dennis Leary)

References

External links

• Official Mark Geary web page
• Mark Geary Facebook Fan Page
• Mark Geary on Twitter
• Mark Geary MySpace Page
• Mark Geary at the Internet Movie Database
• Mark on Irish Music Central