about MARK

For Mark, music has always been a constant companion and the source of peace, inspiration, reflection, perspective, and art. A hobbyist music collector and amateur pop culture historian with love and appreciation of all types of music and all things music. Mark spent hours upon hours in record stores from San Diego to Seattle, reading about music, watching music documentaries, attending concerts, talking about music with friends, and also working security at famous music venues throughout Southern California. In spite of Mark’s interest and passion for music, he abandoned pursuing learning to play instruments and the opportunity to form a teenage punk rock garage band with friends to continue his athletic pursuits. A regret that has lurked around for about 30-plus long years until he decided to join his daughter, Danielle and brother-in-law, Todd in picking up a guitar for the first time in decades. Mark believes strongly that music and art should never be a choice of the “or” (i.e. sports or music) but should be the “and” (i.e., sports and music) for the well-lived life. Besides at some point, the body forces you out of your competitive sports while music is for a lifetime. 

It is this mindset that is one of the core values of RiverCity Rock Star Academy in that both Mark and his wife, Karen want to provide an opportunity for all to make music part of their lives forever wherever you are in life’s journey. Even if you are Mark with no apparent rhythm and unable to count to four consistently, music is life. As many parents and adult students have commented, if there would have been a place like RiverCity when Mark and others were growing up, life would have even been richer. When Mark is not helping run RiverCity, he’s a family business consultant, public speaker, author, educator, and researcher for Mark Green Family Business Consulting and the Pacific Family Business Institute.