Grand Funk’s “Captain” Mark Farner and the Mutiny of the American Band – Part Two

Yesterday we talked to former Grand Funk frontman Mark Farner about the band’s early days. Today, we examine the changes the group experienced in the ’70s, the band’s breakup and the acrimony that followed — as well as where Mark Farner is today and what he’s working on now.

REBEAT: You did those first four or five albums, and then about that time there came a shift towards a more commercial sound. You’d been selling millions of albums before that, and maybe that’s why I always think of early Grand Funk, the group I grew up on, as being more of an album band as opposed to a singles band. At that point you hadn’t had even one record break into the Top 20, yet in terms of sales you were one of the biggest — if not the biggest — rock act in the United States. So why the change to a more mainstream singles-oriented band
MARK FARNER: I was outvoted, that’s why, brother! I didn’t want to change, but Don [Brewer] did, because he wanted to write more music — I believe this was his motivation — and I wasn’t giving him enough jams that I didn’t already have an idea for lyrics. I think that’s why he and Mel [Schacher] voted to have a keyboard player join the band, and I was outvoted.

So with Don writing more of the band’s songs and adding Craig Frost on keyboards, the music certainly did change, and it resulted in a lot of Top 10 songs including two #1s — about six Top 20 records over the next two years. Yet after being together for so long, after the single success, a couple of years later you broke up. Why?
Don walked into the studio — we were rehearsing — and he was late. He was never late, but that day he was, and he walks in and says, “Well, I’m over it. I’m going to find something more stable to do with my life.” And I sat up in my chair and said, “What did you just say?” He says, “I’m over it man, it’s over. We’re through.” And I went, “Okay, if that’s the way you really feel. Do you really feel that way?” And he got pissed off and said, “Yeah.” So as soon as he left, I got on the phone and started calling people. And I had a solo band together in one day. We started rehearsing that next week, and I put two albums out on Atlantic records.

But you got back together again?
Well, we didn’t get back together to do a reunion until 1981. Then in ’82, our manager died, and that was the end of that reunion tour. We didn’t get together again until about ’96, just Mel, Don, and myself, the three original founding members. That went pretty well for a couple of years, and then one day, Brewer came to my hotel room after the show and said we needed to all sign our individual ownership of the Grand Funk trademark into the corporation where it would have this protective umbrella. I didn’t finish high school, I don’t know anything about the law — and he had gone to law school. So I figured he’s looking out for the band, he’s my friend, so I’m gonna go with his recommendation.

So I said “Okay,” and he said, “I’ll go to my room and get the papers.” So I’m thinking as he left, “Why didn’t he just bring them with him?” It didn’t dawn on me, Rick, what might be going on because I thought he was my friend. I didn’t think they’d stick it up my butt, but that’s what they did. I got a notice I was no longer the president of the corporation, and I was no longer eligible to be an officer in the corporation. Man, that’s when I kind of woke up to what I did and kind of slapped myself. Those are the mistakes you pay for. But I had to forgive those guys because that would have ate my lunch just thinking about it.

I’d say that’s a pretty forgiving attitude. You’re certainly more gracious than I would be!
I just feel so bad for the fans, because though Don and Mel go out and perform and call themselves Grand Funk, they don’t tell the fans that the guy who wrote and sang 90-some-odd percent of that music ain’t gonna be there. So it’s very dishonest I think, but its legal. They took me to federal court, and I can only use “formerly of Grand Funk Railroad” in my advertisements, and it has to be presented a certain way. It has to be like 50% of [the size of] the “Mark Farner” font and only the first letter can be capitalized. If it’s not followed to the T, then that’s a violation of the permanent injunctive order that’s been put against me by a federal judge. It’s a hateful thing and dishonest, too. Because they were dishonest with me and tricked me into signing my ownership of the corporation away, they can be dishonest by deception. They deceive the audience by saying that they’re Grand Funk.

So how do they perform the songs you were lead on?
They got three guys to take my place. It’s now Don and Mel and three other guys. I’ve tried to get Don and Mel to put the band back together, because I’ve told them neither one of us is giving the fans what they want as long as we’re apart. The fans want us together. Lets bury the hatchet and get back together for the fans’ sake. I remember thinking when the Beatles split up, “Man, why don’t they get back together for us, for the fans? Get over it! Give the fans what they want.” But they won’t have any part of it.

In fact, I just brought it up again — I’m still a shareholder of that corporation…it doesn’t give me a say, but I can listen in on sessions and comment, and I do. On our conference call, I said, “Are you guys ready to get back together and give some value to that trademark? But they don’t want to because Don is making all the decisions now, and he gets to come out front, and he always wanted that. But its dishonest to the fans. Just like Journey. They go out with a singer [who is not Steve Perry] and don’t tell anybody, but it’s pretty obvious it’s not him. It’s just not ethical even if it is legal.

I interviewed original Buckinghams lead singer Dennis Tufano a few months ago, and it’s pretty much the same story. He can’t perform with a group as the Buckinghams, and has restrictions on how he can bill himself, too, even though he sang lead on every one of their Top 40 hits. People think they’re paying to get the real thing they heard on the records, but they aren’t getting that.
It’s just wrong. I told my attorney there should be a star rating for bands, a website you can go to that shows stars for how many original members of the band are in the group now. That would give fans an opportunity to really know. It would be very complicated, though. Face it, when money is the god, people become assholes.

Well, something like this happened early in your career, too, right? When Terry Knight was your manager he had that deal where he getting a lot of the money from your songs or something like that — 50/50 or something?
He took 100% of the publishing rights to our early music.

You’re kidding? So does that work now that he’s deceased? Is it yours now?
His daughter got everything. She’s the only heir to his estate, and she was 18 that time of his passing. She gets that money.

So those early songs that you wrote — you do not get that money?
Not for the publishing, no. The way royalties are split up, publishing gets 50%, the writer gets 50%. So I got my writer’s share, but not my publishing share. If you are promoting your own music the way I did in Grand Funk, you should also own your own publishing,. The way the publisher comes into the picture is that if they are out shopping those tunes and the individual or performer doesn’t want to perform them live, then the publisher gets people to cover them then they earn money for that.

Okay, so wait. After you split with him, a song like “Bad Time” for example, a song that you wrote and sang lead on, that’s all yours, right? Since it came later I mean.
100%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q7WahSP29s

Well, that’s good. I’m glad to hear that! Okay, so the other guys who were with you in Grand Funk, can they perform those songs you wrote and own?
They are, yes, they are. People have sent me emails and things about folks that were using the songs for Democratic Convention or something, and the songwriter had them cease and desist from using them because they owned the songs publishing rights. I wouldn’t do that because I’m not a vindictive or hateful person. I pray for them. The Bible says pray for those who spitefully use you. I do, I pray for them and hope they get saved. Right now, they’re serving the god of money.

Have they ever tried to keep you from doing your stuff? The songs you sang lead on?
Oh, no.

Speaking of your songs, I hear you have some new releases out. Tell me about them.
The EP [is] called Mark Farner 432 and “Take You Out” is the single. It will be downloadable at iTunes, but also available on CD for the people who want them. We also have it available for sale at concerts.

432?

Yeah, it’s about changing the tuning. A440 is the normal concert pitch, but there are other tunings around the world. With A440 at 100 decibels, if you put a sound system next to a pool it will make ripples and chop on the water. If you play A432 at 100 decibels it’s flat like a piece of glass. Its harmonic with the universe and nature. It just sounds so much better it’s just a natural analog sound. The first time I used it I thought, “Holy crap! This is working!” We use it onstage and we did it with “Take You Out.” It’s a different feel and kind of subliminal. It feels natural. Unfortunately though, they don’t make harmonicas in A432, so there are a lot of songs in the Grand Funk catalog that I can’t do in A432.

Your publicist sent me a copy of “Take You Out,” and it was great. Very true to that Mark Farner-era Grand Funk sound. And your other plans?

Touring and performing as always.

Find all of Mark Farner’s music, tour dates, info, and much more on MarkFarner.com.

Rick Simmons

Dr. Rick Simmons has published five books, the two most recent being Carolina Beach Music from the '60s to the '80s: The New Wave (2013) and Carolina Beach Music: The Classic Years (2011). Based on his interviews with R&B, “frat rock,” and pop music artists from the '50s, '60s, and '70s, his books examine the decades-old phenomenon known as Carolina beach music and its influence on Southern culture. His next book, The Carolina Beach Music Encyclopedia, 1940-1980, will be published by McFarland in 2018. He currently lives in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.