Mark Gus Scott (Trixter, Solo)

Episode #15 - Trixter Drummer Mark Gus Scott returns in studio to discuss more Trixter and his solo career. 

00:00 - Intro
01:45 - Welcome Mark Gus Scott
02:25 - Warrant
03:45 - Jani Lane Rumor 
05:55 - Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot Drummer)
07:45 - Trixter and Management
10:22- Trixter Early Touring Days
11:05- Future Plans for Trixter
11:40- Motivational Speaker and Success 
14:20 - Making It In The Music Business 
15:50 - Dealing With Trolls and Haters
21:35 - How "With You" Came About
23:00 - Genre Dilemma
24:30 - Songwriting Process 
26:35 - Song Engineering Process 
28:50 - Mystery Song Dedication 
30:52 - Fan Reaction to "With You"
33:15 - Phoenix Musicians
35:00 - Wrap Up 
37:55 - LIVE SONG "With You" 

Mark Gus Scott Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/markgusscott/

Chuck Shute Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chuck_shute/

Hope for Kids International:
https://www.hope4kidsinternational.org

Transcript

Chuck Shute: 0:22

Welcome to the Chuck Shute podcast. So excited to have Mark Gus Scott back in studio today. He is here to promote his new single with you. Um, we did a previous episode number, episode number three. He was my second guest. Um, that interview got some attention. Uh, we got five articles on the sleaze rocks website. Um, so a lot of traffic there, very popular episode. He's got some great stories that really, um, span his whole career. Um, I went through that whole thing in the, in that other previous episode. So today we're going to kind of fill in the gaps, um, kind of see where we pick up, where we left off. We'll talk about his new solo career and you actually get to hear him play his new single live for the first time ever. Um, and if you want to you can check out the video version of that, of him playing the song on YouTube. All my musical performances of people playing their songs in studio or on YouTube. So if you want to check out those video versions, um, I think you'll be really be enjoy this episode. And he's got some more great stories and he's just such a super nice guy and very talented musician. So hope you enjoy Marcus Scott drummer from Trixter and solo artist. Okay. My guest today is known for being the drummer of the arena rock band Trixter, where he sold roughly a million records.

Mark Gus Scott: 1:38

on the first one.

Chuck Shute: 1:39

Yeah. And then we have a solo career. Currently. He has a new single out"With You", where he sings and plays piano. Please welcome Mark Gus Scott and.

Mark Gus Scott: 1:47

You are the king.

Chuck Shute: 1:48

How you doing?

Mark Gus Scott: 1:49

Chuck, Always great to see you, my friend. How you doing?

Chuck Shute: 1:50

Got good. Good, good.

Mark Gus Scott: 1:51

Thanks for having me. Yeah, well let's recap. I mean, we had a great interview. The second episode of my solo podcast... got a little attention that one... God bless...

Chuck Shute: 2:01

we got a few articles or so. Um, but uh, yeah, five articles on sleaze roxx and so it's like they just kept coming and it was like every day I was like, there's another Oliver, the guy from the sleaze rocks. I love that guy. So, um, please check out that episode if you haven't heard that one already. Uh, you'll have a comprehensive look at Mark's entire career in history. Um, but so yeah, so since that we had that, uh, interview come out, I saw you at the Warrant concert.

Mark Gus Scott: 2:27

That was fun.

Chuck Shute: 2:28

and that was a lot of fun. Then they actually called you and Pete, um, Pete Loran, the singer of Trixter, they called you guys up on stage and you got to sing cherry pie with Warrant. That was pretty cool.

Mark Gus Scott: 2:38

Yeah. Yeah. I, you know, back in the day when we, uh, did the blood, sweat and beers tour was us firehouse and a warrant every night. Janie made a point to get all three bands out on stage and play something together at the end of the night. So like every show was like the last show, you know what I mean? Normally most bands do that thing at like the last leg of the tour or something like that. We tried to make it like end of times every night. Like the rush is going to end, well let's do it right. So we did that every night and it was great. So I think a rod Mason now has now carried on their tradition. You know, particularly we got friends in the crowd. You bring them up mean nuts. That's how you freaking make it a great show. And that's the best part of the show. Everybody has fun watching you guys. We talked about this last episode, but you guys would do fight for your right to party. Exactly. What other songs that you guys do? We did touch by a ZZ top Oh five for your right. And we'll see another, it was primarily those two. I'm trying to think of, I forgot one more, but yeah, primarily those two. Sounds fun. Yeah, we had a good time. Another thing, speaking of war Jerry pie and we do cherry pie. I'll just see. Yeah, that's the big one. But um, speaking of warrant, um, I got to ask you about this. So in our last episode two, we talked about Janey lane and we talked and you said that like he was dealing with some demons. And I heard this, what? I didn't say anything. Um, and you could tell me if I'm, I'm out of line here, but I heard this on another podcast.

Chuck Shute: 3:55

Um, and tell me if there's any truth to this. I don't know if it's just a rumor, but, so Bobbi Brown, who he was married to, she wrote a book and in her book she wrote about that he was possibly molested by an older musician. Did you ever hear anything about that? Cause I am never,

Mark Gus Scott: 4:08

I was not older than Janie lane. I want you, I want you to know that. Right?

Chuck Shute: 4:13

That is so terrible...

Mark Gus Scott: 4:13

So, no, that's number one. Honestly, no, I don't know about that. I really, I really don't. And it may be true, it may be not. I really don't. If Bobbi says so I don't think she's lying. Right. I am not in the knowledge on that..

Chuck Shute: 4:23

That's just crazy, If that came out like that explains, cause I think a lot of people think that he went down that pathway and he just made some bad decisions and blah, blah blah. But it's like it's not, it doesn't necessarily excuse some of his behaviors, but it definitely explains a lot or things like that's something that obviously would not have been his fault.

Mark Gus Scott: 4:39

You know, you know, there's something else too. Uh, everybody tries to look for the root cause of something. You know, sometimes what makes an airplane more often than not, what makes an airplane crash is not one thing going wrong, it's a series of things going wrong. So sometimes it's a combination of things a re things that you can't just necessarily put your finger on. And sometimes even just a little event over time, repeated problems, you know, s omething can happen. I'm not saying this is what happened at Jani. and What's not, y ou k now, it's hard to speculate outside. And I'll be honest with the times that I spent with them, they were great times. I can't say I've been through thick and thick with the man cause I, I was not, I was riding on some very high times, which, and we had a lot of fun. So I can't really say I know him throughout his whole life. I really don't, you know, I have a lot of love and respect for him. And I g otta tell y a, if there was one guy that gave his all every night to fricking doing the show, it was him. You know, so I, you know, he, someone I truly respect.

Chuck Shute: 5:32

Absolutely. Me too. And I didn't mean any disrespect. I just wondered if if it, cause no one talks about that and like I was like, is this just a rumor or something? So I didn't know if you,

Mark Gus Scott: 5:43

I honestly don't know. I don't, and it's sad to think that that may be part of something, but I really don't know.

Chuck Shute: 5:49

Crazy. Well, I again, I have nothing but respect for the guy, but I'm also another, not to get too much on a downer here, but since our last episode, Frankie Banali now how do I say his name but not, Banali. Yeah, you heard about him. He, he got stage four pancreatic cancer. Did you ever get a chance to work with him? Or...

Mark Gus Scott: 6:06

I only met him more recently, uh, just to go, I don't know, three years ago maybe we did a festival in, I'm trying to think where it was a very sunny outdoor place,

Chuck Shute: 6:16

He's the drummer for Quiet Riot for those who are not aware, but, and a big one,

Mark Gus Scott: 6:20

a very nice guy, very nice fellow. And now the thing that got me, when someone says they're stage four, that sounds like it's very far progressed.

Chuck Shute: 6:28

Right.

Mark Gus Scott: 6:29

And my father died of pancreatic cancer, so.

Chuck Shute: 6:31

I didn't know th at. Ye ah,

Mark Gus Scott: 6:32

Once he was diagnosed, he was gone relatively fast. So when then I heard that he's going out to play shows I'm like"YEAH FRANKIE!", You know, how awesome is that? So I hope, I don't know what advances h ad been made in that area. Y ou k now, since, you know, I, I've had my dealings with my father, but, u h, it's, it's k inda weird to think that he's back out doing something. I mean, I think that's awesome, but is he getting better? I hope that's the case.

Chuck Shute: 6:59

I don't know. Because yeah, that's when I read about the article. I didn't know this either about pancreatic cancer, but basic, well I think I kind of did know that it's usually by the time they found find it, it's reached stage four. There's no way to test and find it in stage one, two or three. I don't think

Mark Gus Scott: 7:12

Oh, I didn't know that either.

Chuck Shute: 7:13

I don't think so. It's hard to find it.

Mark Gus Scott: 7:15

Honestly. Most guys probably blow it off and told they feel, Oh, I've been to go see the doctor. And by that time it's too late. I mean, that's my guess. Uh, I know there's a lot of successful seed implantation and stuff like that that has combated, but again, I don't know. I really don't know. But it's a very good sign to me if he's up to going out and play out, you go, boy,

Chuck Shute: 7:36

he's only got so much time left that he wants to live that time and do what he loves doing.

Mark Gus Scott: 7:41

God bless him. More power to him. That's very cool.

Chuck Shute: 7:43

So, um, there was another question I wanted to ask you that I don't think I talked to too much about with Trixter. Um, so you guys have kinda been on and off for like basically like 30 years, right?

Mark Gus Scott: 7:53

Yeah.

Chuck Shute: 7:54

I mean it's never really, you guys never really broke up like you, you've kinda gone on hiatus I.

Mark Gus Scott: 8:00

Yeah, I guess. Yeah. That has not been an official statement issued saying"we are broken up", so no, no, I guess that's true.

Chuck Shute: 8:06

I mean, you had no lineup changes. Um, like I said, it's more like you took a hiatus. So how did you guys deal with disagreements? Cause there had to have been some times where you disagreed about creative differences about a song or maybe an album picture or who to tour with or, I mean, was there someone that just kind of made those decisions? And.

Mark Gus Scott: 8:24

I'll tell, I'll tell you right off the bat, number one, back in the old days we had very good management. That's, that's number one.

Chuck Shute: 8:30

Yeah. You haven't mentioned that before.

Mark Gus Scott: 8:31

And I gotta tell you, some people don't necessarily understand the value of management. People look at it, let's say a pie and how many slices of that pie you're going to give away and how much you're going to keep. There's a hell of a lot more to it than that. Just one direction. One, one piece of competent direction from a manager can change your revenue earning stream substantially. So, you know, good management is worth its weight in gold, poor management. That's when you got to start worrying about slicing up your pie and crap like that, you know, but with the right guy, with the right direction, with right vision and able to keep a band playing, getting them to play at a higher rate of frequency at higher dollar value. But that's the job of manager. Create the lengthy, you know, a term, uh, of, uh, of longevity at, at, at, you know, the best price and also that you could possibly get. And, and, and at the end of the day make a successful brand. You know? So those are the true, you know, I had to go about doing that can vary from philosophy to philosophy. From manager to manager that has a vision for.

Chuck Shute: 9:31

So if you guys had any issues, you just, you kind of take it to management or did you work it out amongst your selves or...

Mark Gus Scott: 9:35

I'd take it to the managers to make sure they get involved when it comes to that sort of thing? Number one, to avoid conflict within the band to maintain focus on what the short term and the longterm goals ought to be.

Chuck Shute: 9:46

You know, cause that's pretty amazing that, I mean even at the time, the stretch from when you guys started and so when you kind of disbanded, like I said, a hiatus in 95 I mean there was no lineup changes. There was no, you know, you guys stuck together. The only reason you just ban it is cause you know the grunge thing happened. You kinda, it was like, all right, well let's, we got to do something else for awhile. But I mean that's pretty impressive. Right? And then now you got back together and it's again, it's all four original members. You guys made a couple new albums and.

Mark Gus Scott: 10:10

yeah, that's true. Yeah. You know what, when we put it back together in 2008 I don't think anybody wanted to do it without the original lineup. You know what I mean?

Chuck Shute: 10:19

That's cool.

Mark Gus Scott: 10:19

And I, yeah, and, and you know, look dude, well we did this back in the day. Do you know freaking cool it was to like, you know, go on the road with your best buddies from high school. How ridiculous is that? I mean,

Chuck Shute: 10:29

Oh, that'd be amazing. I can't imagine.

Mark Gus Scott: 10:31

PJ just got out of high school.

Chuck Shute: 10:34

Right.

Mark Gus Scott: 10:34

You know what I mean?

Chuck Shute: 10:35

Didn't you say he was 16 when he signed the contract?

Mark Gus Scott: 10:36

When he saw me sign the recording contract, he was 16 years old.

Chuck Shute: 10:39

Yeah, that's crazy.

Mark Gus Scott: 10:41

How nuts is that? He, when we record this even better, we recorded the first record. He had to have our producers sign off on his gym requirement for school. He did X amount of bass, X amount of hours of bass playing to satisfy his, his physical education requirement. How Funny is that?

Chuck Shute: 10:58

That is hilarious. So is there any new movement on the Trixter front? Any new shows playing?

Mark Gus Scott: 11:03

Yes, I had a movement this morning at approximately 10:35 AM.

Chuck Shute: 11:06

I mean within the band. Are you going to do any more shows? Are I.

Mark Gus Scott: 11:11

right now? I'm going to be honest with you. There are no plans for, for the original line of to get back.

Chuck Shute: 11:16

So Nothing's changed. I.

Mark Gus Scott: 11:17

unfortunately not know, but that's not to say we'll see what happens. I don't know... You know...

Chuck Shute: 11:22

You know, cause I think we talked about this last episode, the 30th was at the 30th anniversary of the blood, sweat and beers is coming up. So.

Mark Gus Scott: 11:29

it is 2021 will be the 3 0th.

Chuck Shute: 11:31

Oh ok so 2021. Okay. So we got to, you've got some time to plan it then...

Mark Gus Scott: 11:34

Yeah, I'm with y ou. I'm planting seeds right now. Play along now Shutey...

Chuck Shute: 11:40

So speaking of goals and stuff, like I didn't think I brought this up last time, but you are a motivational speaker actually. And you started doing that in 91 on the scorpions tour.

Mark Gus Scott: 11:50

That's where it started. And uh, I gotta tell you something, there's something really satisfying about too. I really dig it, uh, offering. I mean, honestly to me it may be every day I get to do the show, get to do this[inaudible] and that's wonderful. But people, you know, there's a lot of, I guess got Tomo is what they call, you know, people have a dimness of vision of what, what's really going on behind the curtain so to speak. And then when you live back there it's like, no, it's no big deal. But you know, I guess it's a big deal for what you don't know. So to offer some insight as to what life was like, uh, how we got the attention of record companies, how you get on MTV, how we have success, what it's like to do this, and what steps should I do to follow in that footstep, you know? And how do you take up principles that I've learned and let's say global marketing with MCA records. How do you use that in a real life application and a job that you might do at the grocery store, something like that. You know what I mean? I think that's the kind of thing that I find very interesting. And I learned through myself, trial and error. When I left the band in 95, I bought a house, got married, got cars, and then I said, Oh, now what am I going to do now? And I had to take that knowledge and do something with it. So I started working with amusement parks, doing marketing and stuff like that. And a lot of the stuff I learned at MCA, I was able to apply in a regional sense to make amusement parks flourish. And it was really cool. And then that caught the attention to people at the Dave and Buster's corporation and then started doing work with them. And uh, I was very fortunate, did very, you know, did very well. And uh,

Chuck Shute: 13:12

no, you had a good point. It was something about, uh, how I think just just, uh, attaining that success, um, is like basically believing that it's going to can happen. Because a lot of people just say like, Oh, I could, I could never be in a band and be in tour. And then if you think that, then I'll be, I mean, it sounds kind of cheesey but...

Mark Gus Scott: 13:29

Number one point I think people themselves is probably the worst enemy they have. It's not the people who are egging you on it. It's the lack of belief in yourself. That's number one above all else. And that's sometimes a very hard thing to face. You know that to think that, you know, the guy in the magazine is like an untouchable, not, it's not real. It's 100% real pal. You know what I mean? We're just some dumb kids from New Jersey, you know? But we had a plan and we forged a plan with the people that had some power and were able to help us. We didn't do it ourselves. We had a lot of help along the way. That's, you know, but that, you know, if we didn't believe in ourselves, we would have thrown in the towel before we even got some help.

Chuck Shute: 14:07

Right. You said that your secret to your success was pure determination and persistence. So you just kept going out..

Mark Gus Scott: 14:13

yeah, no, and I'll even go so far as to say some of it was stupidity. Because the odds are against you. Yes. And you know, you've got to have, it's either balls or complete stupidity to keep going forward, but if you do it because you love it, then it's not effort. Right. It's like, dude, we're going to play another gig. Another one. Holy crap, I'll pack the freaking cooler. Let's go.

Chuck Shute: 14:32

You know, when you start making money from it, then it's like, well then of course.

Mark Gus Scott: 14:37

I got to tell you what, you can't do this kind of gig. You don't get into it for the money. Right. I mean, we, you know how many times we played shows and we didn't make money by the time you, you know, pay for gas, uh, pay for guitar strings, drums, I broke a symbol. I mean, you don't get any from money and they're say you need help, you need support to make it happy. How much we spent on demo tapes and crap. Like when we signed with our management company, shark entertainment initially they put a bunch of money into us for equipment and stuff like that to get new recordings. I needed brakes on my car, you know, stuff like that, you know. So the club gigs didn't pay for that man. I did not. You know. So we look, we had a stronger vision in mind of what we wanted to do, what our goal was.

Chuck Shute: 15:17

It's kind of like building any business. So you kind of take a loss at the beginning. Most of the time.

Mark Gus Scott: 15:22

for the most part,

Chuck Shute: 15:22

yeah it takes time to build it. And sometimes they never get built.

Mark Gus Scott: 15:23

And then there's different bands out there too. There's guys that like to make their living playing, let's say covers and you know, do they do they do the club circuit and make a lot of money. You know, if your plan is different, you know, some guys have different ideas and that's wonderful and you follow your plan and if you're happy then you know that's a win across the board. But in, at least for our vision, we weren't cared. We didn't care about, you know, being a club man, we wanted to conquer the world.

Chuck Shute: 15:48

Absolutely. So there are some people that obviously didn't believe in you and I noticed it when we had those articles on sleaze rocks, I'm reading the comments and there's just like a lot of trolls on the internet

Mark Gus Scott: 15:57

Laughs

Chuck Shute: 16:01

And so... you never heard of that term?

Mark Gus Scott: 16:02

I have, I have. It's just funny when you say it like that...

Chuck Shute: 16:04

It's weird because I'm thinking, I'm looking at his article, I'm so excited. I'm like, my name is in this article. You're, you know, you're in it and it's, it should be like a positive thing. But some people come in and they're like, Oh, Trixter sucks, blah blah, blah. And it's like, why do you take the time to, so how do you deal with the trolls? I mean before even before the internet, there was, maybe they weren't called trolls back then, but there were people that didn't believe in you that, that hated your band, that, I mean, how did you deal with that kind of stuff?

Mark Gus Scott: 16:25

You know, you bring in several things to my head right at, right at the get go. As far as going back to the old days, I remember rolling up to the gate at the Meadow lands arena and that was our big dream come true night. That's the metal ends in, in ether, East Rutherford, New Jersey. That was where we saw all of our heroes play on stage. Bon Jovi Kiss. Uh, you know, anybody who AC DC, all our guys, uh, you know, we said one day that's going to be us, man, where it's going to be right here. You know, that, you know, that's, that, that was the spot. So to roll up to those Gates in the limo and be like, Whoa, we've arrived, you know, we were really doing this now, absolutely letting us through. You know what I mean? And, uh, there was a crowd of people by the, uh, the, the limo gate, whatever it took to get into the arena. And uh, uh, they start to open a gate and there's a bunch of people saying hello and taking pictures and all that. And there's one guy comes up to me, says, I don't want to use the word. I effing hate you, you know? And I was like, Whoa, how weird is that? You know? So I took a step back. I'm like, you know, dude, dude, talk, come here, come here, come talk. Cause every once in a while I would have a guy that would come up and be really, you know, they, there was some real negativity from him, you know, pretty good, a lot, a lot of love. And then you had that coach. And for some reason, I don't know, particularly me as many people like me, there's that many people that don't like me also go figure, I'm just one of those guys. So I, I pull him aside, dude, that's all good. Tell guy that's all cool to tell me why, what is it that you don't like them? You know? And I, I did hit you with somebody the other day who said he used to freaking hate Trixter back in the day. And you know, and I, it's a weird thing. It's part jealousy and, and first off, everybody has a little something different about it, but I think there was some stigmatism because we were so young and that we made it look like it happened overnight and we were riding this wave and everything's wonderful and everybody else's it, it was a weird thing. I think some people had a weird way of processing that, you know, and it turned into, and I think maybe I was the guy that was, you know, at least exemplified as, as the one leading the party at times to be a little crazy. You know what I mean? So I was, I was riding that wave a little, little harder than most. So I don't know if they pinpoint me as the, as the target of anger or something like that. So it was funny, but I really, I really tried to connect with guy and he actually did start talking. It's like, you know, and he couldn't even put into words why, Hey, why you had this angst, why you had this anger, you know? But he was legit, you know, so it was kinda weird. I really try and I was supposed to be a big night for me too, so I didn't want it to be negative, but I really tried to talk down. I actually talked to him for about four minutes or so, you know, just trying to get an idea where his head was at, so to get the feedback and to see where it was coming from and the fact that he really had trouble putting it into words, you know? It was just this inbred jealousy. It was kind of weird, and I don't know if jealousy is the right word, but he was not digging it, you know? But he was standing outside the gate at the arena.

Chuck Shute: 19:15

See, that's what doesn't make any sense. Yeah. It's like if you don't like that kind of music, then I understand, but just don't go to that concert or.

Mark Gus Scott: 19:20

I think it's not the music, you know what I mean? Something else. Okay, so how weird is that, dude? What are you doing here? Yeah. If you're not digging it, what are you going to lie?

Chuck Shute: 19:29

No, I think it's funny too. And then in the internet, because people will troll and then somebody else will stick up for you and don't, you saw that one comment or somebody was, was ripping on you and then somebody else said call back guy a twat waffle. You laugh at that one. That was never heard that term before.

Mark Gus Scott: 19:45

You know, every once in a while I get that sort of thing and sometimes I know it's preplanned. Uh, other times you have those people stick up. But honestly, rarely do I respond. I think on one of them I responded pretty strongly.

Chuck Shute: 19:56

Oh did you ok?

Mark Gus Scott: 19:56

yeah. And you know, people can go read it. It's all fun. I don't really care. But I think also there are a certain, not all people, there's a certain segment of the demographic that tends to want to be an authority on a certain site. You know what I mean? And if it doesn't fall within their parameters of liking or if they have that little negativity thing about Trixter or something like that, then they're g oing t o, you know, attempt to let us have it. So I'm not always going to stand idly by. I w ill put u p a very strong defense. And you know, i t w as funny after I said my p iece, I didn't hear anything else back from those guys.

Chuck Shute: 20:32

Oh, I think I did see that. Yeah, no, I know because it's so stupid of those people to comment because you don't know who's reading it. And there's a lot of times where even some of the bigger names have jumped in and started, you know,"what did you say?" Like Sebastian Bach will, he'll go back forth with people all the time on Twitter. I see. So it's like I wouldn't mess with him.

Mark Gus Scott: 20:51

And at the end of the day, you know what, by them doing, you know, being vocal about that sort of thing, if there's really no basis to it and they truly do make themselves a target. So yeah,

Chuck Shute: 21:01

they make themselves look really stupid.

Mark Gus Scott: 21:01

They don't look at it from that point. So yeah, they, they, they are at a disadvantage by at... dude If there's something of substance and you've got something to say, this is America, it's fine. If you just want to be a Dick about it, you know, then that's how you get fucked. S.

Chuck Shute: 21:16

So yeah, you're right. They make themselves a target. So yeah, on a more positive note, um, let's get to your new song. I want to hear, um, hear what it's called"with you". It's a single only, right? There's no full length album planned at this time, but maybe some new songs coming out later or.

Mark Gus Scott: 21:32

Maybe... Maybe... Yeah, I'm in a bit of a quandary. This is, and this is what's really weird. When I first started this song, I didn't plan on doing this solo thing. I really didn't. I just wanted to write the song. And then,

Chuck Shute: 21:43

So you thought maybe you could use it even for a Trixter album or something, or,

Mark Gus Scott: 21:46

I'm going to be honest with you. The only reason why, you know, out of all the solo stuff I did, whether it's classical stuff from the movies, uh, web or the Christmas thing that I did, or the new song with you, it all started because I had nothing to do. It's not like I said, Oh, I have to take a break from Trixter, go do more solo stuff. Now it's like I would live in lieu, sit around with a thumb in my ass, and I said, well, now what am I going to do? Twiddle thumb. Maybe I'll do this, maybe I'll do that. Yeah. That's really what happened. So when it came to this song with you, I really, it was just a personal thing for me that I was screwing around with and I was like a, you know, well now what? And I didn't even know I was gonna sing on it. I really didn't have the confidence that I was going to sound that good, you know? So I didn't know until I did the first day of Vocals Then I said, Oh my God, this sounds good. I got it. You know, we got to do this, we got this. And then when the song was done, I was like, Oh my gosh. And then I put out a press release and it really got picked up. So I didn't start by saying, this is my plan for world domination. You know? Wasn't that. Yeah. So it's kind of weird because if I had a better plan going in, I probably would have made greater strides. But here, here's, here's ultimately the dilemma that I'm facing.... And I say dilemma, loosely. U h, the song"With You" is not a rock song. Realistically, it has hints of a p ower ballad and has hin ts of so me classic rock stuff. And that's cool. But it's really an adult contemporary song. So the target market is not necessarily a Trixter market, you know? So to make a song like that succeed, you have to break new ground or ga ther new constituency of fans or address markets that we really haven't conquered, you know, so it's new ground, absolute number one. So if I go to conquer this market, what else do I have besides the one song to throw at the m? I got nothing. Right? So that's a weird thing. And how much money am I gonna put into building a new market with just one song to blast at them? And what happens when I go on the road? I'm going to have one song. And then what do Trixter cover songs? It's kind of a conflict of, of audiences, right? So I, you know, it's good point, right? So if you're taking Mark Gus Scott the solo artist and really attempting to to forge forward with what that is. I have to define what that is first. You know? So again, I haven't really put, I decided.

Chuck Shute: 24:02

And well you do have other stuff. You have the Christmas album.

Mark Gus Scott: 24:05

Yeah, yeah, true. True. Yeah.

Chuck Shute: 24:07

Avi. Avi. Marina.

Mark Gus Scott: 24:08

Yeah. So that, yeah. So there's stuff, but it's not necessarily congruent marketplace. I mean, maybe the Christmas thing with the new single perhaps. But by the same token, if I want to do something... I love rock man, so get out there, kick some butt t.

Chuck Shute: 24:22

True.

Mark Gus Scott: 24:23

So there's some talk about maybe making with you into a power ballad.

Chuck Shute: 24:26

Ah... that would be fun.

Mark Gus Scott: 24:29

We'll see what happens. And.

Chuck Shute: 24:30

how long did it take you to write with you? Was there a lot of like rewrites and tinkering with it?

Mark Gus Scott: 24:37

You know, the next thing is I didn't make it a project to, Oh I got a good, just don't want to go record it. It started as like a little thing. It started like, you know, just my own personal thing and then turned into this song idea, you know, and it took, I'll be honest, it took a lot of time. Cause honestly I don't think I was a great songwriter. I really, really did not. This is one of the first real songs I think that I've written that I'm really proud of that I really like that has gotten a very good response.

Chuck Shute: 25:06

Did you not co-write some of the Trixter songs?

Mark Gus Scott: 25:08

Some, but I'm not as a major part of it.

Chuck Shute: 25:11

So You co-write. How does that work? When you co-write with a Trixter? Do you bring like a piano thing, like a riff to the band or you bring a guitar riff or you bring a drum beat or all those things are.

Mark Gus Scott: 25:21

every different song. Could be, it could be different.

Chuck Shute: 25:23

Okay.

Mark Gus Scott: 25:23

But Steve and Steve, even PJ more so now and Pete were the, they were the primary writers in the band. So a, they would have, they would have the, I've gotta give them credit, man, I got to tell you how they have so many ideas and that they sound so good. They have so many, uh, melody lines that are hooky. Uh, you know what I mean? Great riffs. You know, I got a couple, these guys got a couple hundred. So you know, I gotta tell you, so, you know, when Steve came to me and says, we're going to do a new record, and I'm like, Oh. And he starts playing me demo tapes.. I'm like, Holy crap, it really sounds good. You know? That's awesome. You know, I don't have a lot of, I mean, I have a few ideas. I real, not the, not the, the, uh, not the rate of frequency that he does, you know?

Chuck Shute: 26:06

Or do you, do you suggest things when you're, when you guys are producing,

Mark Gus Scott: 26:10

it's a, it's a democratic thing too. If one guy thinks it's fantastic and three guys think it's suck, guess what? It's not getting used. If, if one guy hates it and three guys say it's freaking fantastic, it's going to get you[inaudible].

Chuck Shute: 26:23

another, it goes back to how you guys are getting along and you, cause you don't have management now, right? You don't, you guys kind of manage yourselves. Yeah. That, that's one topic I think we should address. But you know, we're on hiatus now so, sure, sure, sure. But how many hours do you think you spent like writing, recording and engineering just for this one song? Like how long does that typically take? Cause it seems like it's been in the works for awhile, right?

Mark Gus Scott: 26:45

Not that I worked on a full time every day, but I gotta tell you, just the, a mixing alone was a challenge. There was like 80 plus tracks on this song, which is a little crazy. Yeah. There's a lot of, particularly on the dance mix, that's the thing. They added the dance mix. I'll be up blowing out hard. I don't know if I'll do it before the holidays. We'll see. That's not out yet. Right. It's for sale on, on the, uh, on the, on the CD. But, uh, it's really, eh, I think I can get it on iTunes, you know, but, uh, it's, it's not what I'm really focusing. I was the ballot that I was really, you know, pushing. Uh, but I did this whole big orchestration thing. That's what got a little crazy. Uh, and I did six tracks of drums. I did, you know, a lot of violins, a horn sections since, uh, it's, it's substantial. You know what I mean? That sounds great. Yeah. But to be honest, it to mix on line, that is like a complete pain in the ass, you know? And then you're also working around engineer's schedules and stuff like that. So it's not just me, you know, I have to take on the, I didn't do the project alone, that's for sure. You know, I might've written it alone, you know, for the most part, you know, uh, I had some help, but it's a lot of stuff. I really did. Did you, uh, is that, did I thought, I know I'll have a great year, but I thought, did I hear Pete maybe saying a little bit of background vocals in that eye or is that all you had a background. Vocals are about 80%. 75, 80% me. Okay. Bye. It was between Pete and Lou pick a DACI. Okay. Buddy of mine who uh, who has got another studio in the Phoenix area and Oh yeah, he's fantastic.

Chuck Shute: 28:19

So there is, okay. I know, cause it was subtle. I was like, I think that's Pete singing in the background. Like it's very subtle, but I was like, okay,

Mark Gus Scott: 28:25

so and then, uh, yeah, honestly with the higher ones, I like the pass that off. I could fake it. Okay. But I want it to be done right. You know what I mean? And that was it. The whole thing with this song I like, I, like I said, I wasn't sure I was going to sing it. I didn't know if I had the goods, you know, and the above all else. I wanted the song to be great. It wasn't an ego project, you know, it was, it was something I felt strongly about it. I'd rather it be done. Right. And just me.

Chuck Shute: 28:50

So you wrote the song purely to tell one person how you felt. And so the last we spoke, she wasn't aware the song was about her and he said, and you said like, well when it comes up she'll find out. So now the songs out. So what was the reaction of this girl? Did it work?

Mark Gus Scott: 29:03

I did not talk to her.

Chuck Shute: 29:05

What?! Does she know or s he's, t his is still in the dark?

Mark Gus Scott: 29:11

I don't know.

Chuck Shute: 29:12

Huh? So you put the song out and you're thinking that maybe she knows it's about her, but you haven't told her like, did you like this new song, it's about you...

Mark Gus Scott: 29:20

I will say this if she didn't hear the song as of yet when she does, she'll know.

Chuck Shute: 29:26

Oh, she'll know.

Mark Gus Scott: 29:27

Yeah. So again, just because I haven't gaged her reaction doesn't mean she's not aware.

Chuck Shute: 29:32

Is this a previous girlfriend or a female friend or.

Mark Gus Scott: 29:36

It was an acquaintance...

Chuck Shute: 29:36

Acquaintance. Okay. I t never got to that next w hile you were in the friend zone. I.

Mark Gus Scott: 29:41

It was more remote than that.

Chuck Shute: 29:47

Okay. Wow. So, all right. Well.

Mark Gus Scott: 29:49

yeah, it was uh, eh. Yeah. You know, it's weird. I'm the kind of guy, I'm kind of open. I like telling everybody everything, but when it comes to other people, I think you have to respect space on other people's parts.

Chuck Shute: 30:04

Sure.

Mark Gus Scott: 30:04

So that's why I'm hesitant to say.

Chuck Shute: 30:06

no, you don't have to say her name. I'm just curious if she, if there was any, I mean, it's like you put all this time and effort into a song. I mean, yeah, it was partly for, you know, for your own enjoyment and for fun and to help other, you know, to share with the world...

Mark Gus Scott: 30:17

it wasn't done for fun. It was done. No, I, it's funny, like at least this song, I couldn't help but to write it. It was a, I, I, it was one of those things I felt so strongly about that I wanted to find. I, I just couldn't help not writing it. Yeah, that makes sense. I.

Chuck Shute: 30:33

It just like poured out of you like it almost, you have the drive to[inaudible].

Mark Gus Scott: 30:37

I don't know about poured out of me, but I had to yank it out of me, you know, that was, I wanted her to know. Okay.

Chuck Shute: 30:43

Well I hope she listens. I hope she, maybe she'll hear this interview even, who knows?

Mark Gus Scott: 30:47

Maybe.

Chuck Shute: 30:47

So what about the reaction? I know obviously there's some trolls on the sleaze rock sites, but reaction of other people, like friends, family fans, has it mostly been positive?

Mark Gus Scott: 30:57

I mean, yeah, I mean quite honestly. Yes. Thank God, you know? Okay. Let me tell you something. I didn't do it to appease other people, you know what I mean? Uh, I did it as a product for myself too, cause again, a, I had nothing to do and I ha, you know, I really wanted to, you know, get the feelings out sort of thing. So, and I was glad to deal it. It was a great project. You know what I mean? I'm, I'm proud of it. I love it. Yeah. But again, it's not geared towards a rock audience, you know? You know, so it's different.

Chuck Shute: 31:26

I like it cause I, I like all sorts of different kinds of music and I was actually amazed, like it's very catchy and so I don't know.

Mark Gus Scott: 31:34

Well, good!

Chuck Shute: 31:34

I mean if that was part of your goal or if like I know, um, you know, that's kinda, that is something that is similar to Trixter in that way. I think a lot of the Trixter songs are very catchy, poppy and so it is. I mean, yeah, it's not as hard as some of the Trixter songs. It's a ballad. But I mean I think it, it's somewhat relatable for some of the fans I think.

Mark Gus Scott: 31:53

I think it can be, if i t's produced slightly different, I think i t can be even built into that.

Chuck Shute: 31:58

Like you said, if you, if you made it an arena rock version,

Mark Gus Scott: 32:01

I just may do that. So we'll see.

Chuck Shute: 32:03

And then you do a whole album, well, may Vega, could you, do you think you would want to sing like the more rocking songs too? I mean, I,

Mark Gus Scott: 32:11

I'll say this, if in fact an individual becomes a solo artist, more often than not, the, that individual should be the focal point of the project and should command the front of the stage and should not, should not necessarily be. Now that's kinda fun cause I love playing drums both, right? You could play drums and sing like look exactly the, the example I was going to give. You know what I mean? Kind of done. Absolutely anything can be. I always think that's really impressive. Have you ever tried to, well, he must of Saint backup vocals when you play the drums. And honestly, I'm not the best at it. I guess if I practice that I'm lagging better, but you know, I can do it. Uh, the quite the quite the question is, you know, to be the solo guy, uh, you know, I, I believe conquering the front of the stage is a, is essential. To have that direct connection with the audiences is, is very, very important. That's something you want to try your hat at. Then we shall see. Oh, be excited. Well, I'll definitely come support you. I appreciate that. Especially if you want to go, you sure there'll be a show guest list, baby. Tell you who else. Who else on the guest list? So you, cause you're friends with Robert Mason from Warren, Mick Brown from Dawkin, obviously Pete from trickster. And then you introduced me to the guitars from Rach. Is it Jordan? Jordan, Jordan Ziff yeah, he seemed really nice.

Chuck Shute: 33:28

Are you still hanging out with all those guys?

Mark Gus Scott: 33:29

She had just saw Jordan last weekend. Uh, we deal, they're all Arizona guys too, so that's what's funny. You know, there's a lot of rockers out here and so those guys,

Chuck Shute: 33:42

so cause our, their, their bands aren't based in Arizona though, are they? Like, I don't think the rest of Warren doesn't live in Arizona or the rest of the rattling.

Mark Gus Scott: 33:48

Steve sweet. The drummer from Arizona, he was living up drummer charge on the drummer from Warren. He was living in Arizona for a while with his wife. And uh, I think they're having a new home build California. So, uh, I believe that's correct. Okay. Uh, so yeah, I mean there's a lot of guys out here. It's kinda funny. You know.

Chuck Shute: 34:06

Brett M ichaels i s, do es h e sa w t h e S cottsdale concert this Saturday? Are you going to that? Yes, I am. Of course. Of course you are. That'd be fun.

: 34:14

I'll probably see Mike Bailey tonight. Who's that? The drummer from Michael's bed. Oh yeah. Cause he's got his own soul. Who else is in his solo band that the players Rob the keyboard player. We got Pete evec on guitar. Eric Brittingham from Cinderella. That's the one that I, that was kind of a bigger name. And then I heard just recently that poisons they're doing a, they're gonna get back together and do a tour and 2020. I heard that too. That's going to be wild. That'd be cool. Yeah. Tricksters could open it up for them again. Hey, well I love this quote. Um, somebody get a copy of this to Brett Marie. Yeah, right. I'll talk to him tomorrow. Are you going to see him? I'm going to put a 20 in his pocket. See what he says? 2020 pounds.

Mark Gus Scott: 34:57

What did he say when he got there?

Chuck Shute: 35:00

I love this quote that how you said, I don't think achieving something for yourself necessarily helps the greater good. Do you remember saying that? It's really cool. So, and I think we talked before about um, your charity hope for kids international. That's the charity that you're involved in, your new single with you as available everywhere, right? iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, all nine yards and user. And before we go, obviously we're going to have you play. We're going to have you play the song, right? Hopefully it works with this.

Mark Gus Scott: 35:30

Does not, does not necessarily satisfy the greater good. It's not a balance. You have to thing. That's another thing. You know, this whole solo artists, adult contemporary solo artists thing, I love being a part of a band. I love a smashing the crap out of those drums. There's nothing that makes me feel okay. There's very little that makes me feel better than that.

Chuck Shute: 35:50

It's probably a couple of things.

Mark Gus Scott: 35:52

I'll tell you, it was always cool to be a part of a band and move forward as a unit, as Haute saying. You know what I mean? I say it funny and joke because I can't get to joke that you know it, but you, by the same token, if you want to be Madonna, you want to freaking be Michael Bolton. Ain't nobody getting out of that limo in front of you. Right. So get the fuck out of the way. It's not. So there's a fine line between having a strong ego, having a strong brand and being an asshole. You know what I mean? So it's understanding where that line, and you said, we were talking about gene Simmons and how he sometimes blurs that. That is correct. A little, but yeah, I think that's cool.

Chuck Shute: 36:34

And if you do the solo thing, you could still have a band, but you'd be in charge of it, which would be kind of cool to have all of this creative decisions and stuff. It'd be your band. Like that'd be kinda kinda neat.

Mark Gus Scott: 36:43

You know what, that's the thing. And I think once I focus what I'm really going to do and I have direction, then I'll be able to drive it hard. You know? Absolutely. Till I really make that decision. What I'm gonna do. Cause honestly, I never wanted to, I never had a great desire to be that brand, to be that strong ego. I'd love to being, I love being the drummer and trickster, you know what I mean? And I love those guys. I love playing that music and I love beating ever-loving crap out of those drums.

Chuck Shute: 37:13

Have you thought of ever just like being in a different band, like a, like rat or something?

Mark Gus Scott: 37:18

If they asked him like the Marco Scott solar project. So that's an option too, but, or would you ever be in just like, like if if rats like, Hey, we need a drummer. I mean, you're friends with Jordan or, or if something happened to Steven or he couldn't he quit Warren or something, would you, would they. love to play with any of those guys? Absolutely. I, you know, I love the genre. I love the music, you know, uh, absolutely. Sure. Good people. Good music I'm in.

Chuck Shute: 37:42

Absolutely. All right. Well, definitely before we go, we're going to have you play, but otherwise, check us both out on, we're all on social media, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, all that good stuff, right? So, all right, so ready to play. God bless you. Let's do it, brother.

Mark Gus Scott: 38:35

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Chuck Shute: 43:14

[inaudible] nailed it. Awesome. Thank you.