Timeless Old Time With Charlie Marks
Photo by Sam Ray-Johnson.
Charlie Marks is the kind of person that could cheer up a whole room just by walking in. If there’s anyone who screams ‘main character,’ it’s them. Donning a wide brimmed hat, impressive beard and impeccable indie style, Marks fits the part of roots music to a T. But there’s much more to this OC than meets the eye — not only is their musical talent rich and diverse (I mean, they can play four instruments), but they’ve got a down-to-earth sense of humor too.
“I always wanted to play music,” Marks said. “When I was growing up, people would tell me I sounded like Bob Dylan and what they meant was ‘please stop singing.’”
Marks says roots music is a mixture of sound from the British Isles, slaves in the South to what eventually became blues and soul — but they would argue it stands as an enduring American tradition no matter the location. It’s a genre that feels familiar, yet transports you to a different place and era at the same time. Fun and upbeat here, a little sad and nostalgic there, Marks perfectly captures the mood of folk in a whimsical way that anyone can enjoy.
“Even though a lot of us don’t listen to [old time songs] anymore, we know what they feel like because the music we listen to now is so informed by it,” Marks said. “I guess it shouldn’t be regulated to the past.”
As Marks played their tunes inside the open, warehouse space of The Generator on Thursday, it was hard not to get drawn in to their warm, welcoming nature. Roots is the kind of music that one can bear their soul to, and as a person who loves to share their art, Marks was able to work with the venue beautifully. As chaotic as the audience was with children zooming around on scooters, creators putting together giant slabs of metal for a project and volunteers running to and fro to assist groups of attendees, as soon as Marks started playing — the crowd seemed more at ease. Their twangy, soaring voice carried across the workshop, sweeping us up into a gentler daydream that reminded me of trail riding in the desert, whiskey with friends and stories around a campfire.
Marks’ originals included a few sweet, honey dripped love songs here, a few adventurous storytelling narratives there, but they said the piece that means the most to them is about the discomfort of leaving home, when it’s the right thing to do:
“We get a lot of values from society at large and sometimes they aren’t good for us,” they said. “You have to learn to release them so you can be the person you want to be.”
While Marks has lived along the 395 for about eight years, they are about to embark on a tour across the East Coast and they say they’ve been humbled by the following they’ve received. Their humility shines through their passion for the tunes, but they say they do wish the scene was a bit larger in Reno.
“A lot of the traditional music is something a lot of people [are] familiar with, even if you don’t know that you’re familiar with it,” Marks said. “There are a lot of songs out there that everyone has heard or might know and it’s always been my hope that someone would actually take me up on coming up and just playing with me, because that’s kind of the spirit of it.”
Maybe the next time you get to see Charlie Marks play their old timey music, you’ll jump up there to strum along? As long as you can keep up, of course. Marks stands out as a truly gifted musician, but there’s big things coming their way in the future — sometimes, you can just tell.
To listen to Charlie Marks, visit their Spotify profile here.
To follow them on Instagram, visit their page here.
