Mark W. Doyon (born October 4, 1962) is an American author, recording artist, and creative director. He has led the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

bands Arms of Kismet, Wampeters and Waterslide, and produced tribute albums to

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic an ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

and

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer and songwriter. His most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". All t ...

. He is the founder and principal of the record label and media company Wampus Multimedia.

Life and career

He was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and grew up in northern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He began recording himself using

double tracking Double tracking or doubling is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or bigger sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument ...

by the age of 14, and formed high school bands playing the music of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

bands such as the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

and

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

. He studied American literature at The College of William & Mary, graduating in 1985, Mark Doyon CV at LinkedIn.com
/ref> before forming the

rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

Wampeters, with Eamon Loftus and Scott Goodrick, in 1987. The band took its name from a fictional religious concept in the

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

novel ''

Cat's Cradle ''Cat's Cradle'' is a satirical postmodern novel, with science fiction elements, by American writer Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut's fourth novel, it was first published on March 18, 1963, exploring and satirizing issues of science, technology, the p ...

'', Todd E. Jones, Interview with Mark Doyon, Indie Music Reviews & Interviews, January 2004
/ref> and released seven albums between 1987 and 1999. He then set up Arms of Kismet as a solo project. Described as "indie guitar rock with a slight psychedelic side," Arms of Kismet has released five albums—''Eponymous'' (2004), ''Cutting Room Rug'' (2005), and ''Play for Affection'' (2010), all recorded with engineer

Jon Astley Jon Astley (born 1951) is a British record producer and mastering engineer. He is best known for his co-production work with Glyn Johns on the Who's eighth studio album ''Who Are You'' (1978), and later remastering supervision for all of the grou ...

, and ''The Helium Age'' (2016) and ''Ballast and Bromides'' (2018). ''Cutting Room Rug'' was described at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

.com as "not recommended for bipolar people." ''Play for Affection'' won the title of Independent Album Of The Year at the ''Daily Vault'' review site, where it was described as "playful, literate, melodic, idiosyncratic, exotically memorable and memorably exotic." The album featured vocals, piano, organ, loops, guitar and bass by Doyon, with Evan Pollack on drums and percussion. Wampus logo

In 1989 he launched a literary magazine, ''Friction Quasi-Quarterly'', which published 18 issues until 1994. A collection of his own short stories, ''Bonneville Stories'', was published by Pocol Press in 2001. His tragicomic debut novel, ''Deep Fried,'' was published by Wampus in 2024. In 2002 he founded the independent media company Wampus Multimedia, which has published the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

recordings of his own bands and other artists, including tvfordogs, Amateur God, Cafebar 401, and Kowtow Popof.Ben Ohmart, ''In Tribute: Wampus Multimedia Sings Unsung Praises'', MusicDish.com
Doyon has also produced three various artists

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

s: ''If I Were a Richman: a Tribute to the Music of

'' (2001), Joe Viglione, Review of ''If I Were a Richman'' at Allmusic.com
/ref> ''After Hours: a Tribute to the Music of

'' (2003), and ''Hurry Home Early: the Songs of

'' (2005).Mark Doyon studio productions
/ref> In 2005, Wampus established the reissue imprint Foldback Records. Naomi De Bruyn, interview with Mark Doyon, November 2008, LinearReflections.com
/ref> Doyon has also produced records for folk songwriters Casey Abrams, Alice Despard and Johnny J. Blair, and for other artists using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Mitch Renault." Between 1989 and 2002 he worked as a communications and marketing director for the Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA), the National Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (NARF), and the National Rehabilitation Association (NRA). In 2008 he was named a Vice President of BoardSource, an organization that supports non-profit organizations. He received a master's degree in arts administration from

Shenandoah University Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools and colleges. Shenandoah University is one of five Unit ...

in 2009.

Discography

Wampeters

* ''Screen Test'' (1987) * ''Folk Medicine'' (1989) * ''Pagan's Nest'' (1990) * ''Bloodline'' (1993) * ''Look What's Left'' (1994) * ''Hey Judas'' (1997) * ''Murder Your Darlings'' (1999)

Arms of Kismet

* ''Eponymous'' (2004) * ''Cutting Room Rug'' (2005) * ''Play for Affection'' (2010) * ''The Helium Age'' (2016) * ''Ballast and Bromides'' (2018)

Waterslide

* ''Lincoln Signal'' (2012) * ''Flicker EP'' (2019) * ''Ray EP'' (2022)

As executive producer

* ''If I Were a Richman: a Tribute to the Music of Jonathan Richman'' (2001) * ''After Hours: a Tribute to the Music of Lou Reed'' (2003) * ''Hurry Home Early: the Songs of Warren Zevon'' (2005) * ''Modern Rock & Modern Folk'' (2007) * ''Poetic Licensing'' (2010)

As producer

* Casey Abrams, ''Like a Mirror'' (2005) * Simone Stevens and Jordan Zevon, ''Warm Rain'' (2005) * Johnny J Blair, ''Treadmarks'' (2005) * Alice Despard, ''Vessel'' (2005) * Rance Wolfrey, EP (2008) Discobibliography at Wampus.com

Bibliography

* ''Bonneville Stories'' () (2001, ebook 2007, audiobook 2011) * ''Deep Fried'' () (2024)

References

External links

Mark Doyon official site

Arms of Kismet official site

Wampus Multimedia official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doyon, Mark 1962 births Living people American indie rock musicians American rock singers American music industry executives College of William & Mary alumni