We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mark Cross. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mark below.

Mark, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

A part of me wishes that I had taken music more seriously from a younger age. I was always obsessed with music and performance in grade school. It wasn’t until around the 8th grade that I realized I had an affinity for playing guitar and singing. On the other hand, I like to believe that my music journey has been playing out exactly as it should. I definitely view myself more as a songwriter than anything else. The path I walked has influenced my creative choices and allowed me the opportunity to continue to follow my passion. If we all walked the same path, we’d all reach the same conclusion. Which, in my opinion, would be incredibly boring.

Mark, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Most of my youth was spent playing baseball in the suburbs of Los Angeles. My dad would drive me to games and show me his favorite CD’s on the way. For me, listening to music in the car was more significant than the actual baseball game. My dad played bass in punk bands growing up so there were always instruments around the house. I didn’t really feel the urge to try creating music until I was in middle school. It was so fun learning pop punk covers with my friend. My interest became more serious in my sophomore year of High School. That year, I wrote my first song “Float Away” and started recording acoustic demos on my computer at home. After writing and learning about 30 minutes’ worth of acoustic songs, I decided it was time to play a show. There were no real music venues in my town. So, I would reach out to pizza places and coffee shops to try and host Friday night events (shout out to Lamppost Pizza and Java Kai). These ended up being pretty successful and eventually led to meeting some band members. It felt like the sky was the limit. I started getting asked to play gigs instead of coordinating them. I felt like I was really doing something right. So, I rolled with it. Our band played all the popular spots on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood including The Whiskey a Go-Go, The Viper Room, and even The Roxy. At the end of High School, we found a manager who planned a month long US tour for us. After returning from that tour, my focus completely changed. I became more than obsessed with pursuing a career as a songwriter and performer. However, the band broke up after our second tour (about a year after our first tour). I was fairly upset about the situation and took a little break from writing. During this time I really focused on why music was important to me and what genres of music really resonated with me. I wasn’t really playing all that much to be honest. I worked at a sushi restaurant and was going to community college. One day, a friend of mine told me he was applying to work at a new Guitar Center that was opening a few cities over. I figured, why not apply? It wasn’t a job I was too keen on working at first but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get more information. I ended up getting the job, quitting the sushi job, and loving every minute of my time at Guitar Center. People may have different opinions of working sales for music’s biggest corporation. I loved talking about music every day. I loved learning about music every day. I loved being surrounded by musicians every day. I think working at Guitar Center was really the catalyst that rejuvenated my passion for songwriting and gigging. I basically gave every paycheck I made back to them to buy music equipment. I was able to build out my little home studio which has since gotten more…cluttered (lol). After work, I would come home and demo out some riffs I had in my head during the day. These tunes swayed away from the singer-songwriter approach and leaned more into a surf-psychedelic rock approach. I’d show some of the songs to my coworkers and we’d play them at house parties but it was never a very serious project. That is, until I got fired from Guitar Center for accepting a tip from a customer. Apparently, that is a big problem for them. Go figure. With the new gear, new songs and connections I made from working that job, I was ready to hit the ground running with a new project. I enlisted a few friends, began practicing a more legitimate set and performing at our local open mic. This new group, three/\sides, really leaned into that surf-psychedelic rock vibe. We played a whole lot of gigs, had a whole lot of fun and made some incredible memories. Most notably, we opened for Foxtrax at the Roxy in Hollywood and had a feature on 95.5 KLOS’ “Stay or Go” segment. We crushed the segment with a resounding “Stay”. I ended up on tour with Foxtrax and Barns Courtney as a roadie for a few weeks around that time. Three/\sides, unfortunately, broke up shortly after. I was working at a recording studio when the pandemic was just starting and the band was splitting up. This kind of brings me to where I am today. With the extra free time, I was able to hone my performing, writing and producing skills and start my current project “Those Animals”. My goal is to write lyrics and melodies that evoke emotion in a subtle and nostalgic way. I’ve practiced a little more patience with this project. Sometimes I’ve felt that I’ve rushed a really good idea by surrounding a chorus with verses I’m unhappy with and vice versa. I’ve done a couple shows as a full band under this moniker, but now that I have more original music, I feel confident booking shows and getting the ball rolling again. I hope you enjoy the music I’ve released so far. I can’t wait to share the new music I’ve been working on.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, anyone showing appreciation, true appreciation, for what I do is rewarding. If I see someone singing along to one of my songs or they reach out and tell me they really connect with a song I’ve written, it really really means a lot.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think it would be difficult for non-creatives to understand that pursuing music feels like a divine obsession. It’s a lot of hard work and requires almost all of my free time. But, there is something so unexplainable about the feeling of writing a new song and performing for others. It quite literally feels like I’m being possessed or guided by a higher power. It would be impossible for me to try and explain that feeling to someone.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thoseanimalsmusic/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thoseanimalsmusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thoseanimals805
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTI5Rh2r6ypbdrhNFsK9Ziw
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thoseanimalsmusic

Image Credits
Matt Villa, CT Photography, Jamie Stone.