Mark Farner Of Grand Funk: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview

Mark Farner Interview

Photo courtesy of Moxy Publicity.

With Grand Funk Railroad, Mark Farner was an iconic voice, songwriter, and guitarist. Songs like “Closer to Home (I’m Your Captain)” are prime examples of Farner’s free-spirited approach.

Of course, Farner was also a member of Grand Funk for the We’re an American Band era, which skyrocketed the band to stardom but was spearheaded by drummer Don Brewer and led to Farner’s eventual exile and solo career.

That ended in the ‘90s, but not for long, as former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick took Farner’s place in a long-disputed (by both sides) sequence of events. Grand Funk has soldiered on as a legacy act since, while Farner has kept at it, releasing solo records and touring the world championing his era of Grand Funk.

To the former, Farner has a new record out, Closer to My Home, which was recorded beside hair metal icon Mark Slaughter, whom Farner refers to as a “brother,” adding, “I never worked so comfortably or competently on any other project.”

Considering Farner’s iconic classic rock resume, that’s a big statement. But then again, Farner isn’t cow-towing to a legacy; he’s moving forward. “Working with Mark on the sounds was an extra bonus,” he beams. I got lessons, Buddy! I’m an eternal student.”

Learning is one thing, but other themes are prevalent here—such as Farner looking within to bury the pain associated with his ousting from Grand Funk, memories of his fallen song, and wading through the general chaos in the world around us.

Farner explains, “No matter what bullshit is going down in the world around us, man, if we don’t find some forgiveness, we will never get peace ourselves. And we’ll never be able to issue it to anybody else. We’ve got to find that forgiveness, so that’s the theme throughout this album.”

Though Bruce Kulick departed Grand Funk in the fall of 2023, there’s been no contact between Farner and his former Grand Funk mates about a return. Fans would love it—and Farner probably would, too—but it’s not to be.

For now, Farner has a record to promote and a message of hope to spread. “There’s potential to wake people up with some of the themes prevalent throughout this,” he insists. “This music, it’s saying what we’ve been through. It’s talking about what we’re going through. If there’s one song I’d boil it down to, it’s one called ‘Surveilling Us.’ Among others, that’s going to speak to a lot of people.”

Tell me how your new record, Closer to My Home, got off the ground.

Well, [Closer to My Home producer] Mark Slaughter is a friend of mine, and he’s a big part of this. But Howard Stern had wanted me to come on and sing Grand Funk’s “Closer to My Home,” so I went on there, did it live, and Howard absolutely loved it. Mark Slaughter was there, sang it with me, and that was the first time I’d ever worked with him outside of meeting him a few times and bullshitting.

Was the connection between you two immediate during the Howard Stern performance?

You know, Slaughter stood about four feet away from me, was on the microphone, and as we were signing, I was like, “Holy shit, this guy can sing.” He was hitting the notes, not going sour or sharp, and I thanked him afterward. I said, “Dude, you were perfect. I want to thank you for that.”

How did that lead to Mark working with you on Closer to My Home?

Not too long after, Mark was working on new music, and he sent me some to listen to. I was blown away with the production and singing. I could feel the person in the music—that’s a whole other thing. Slaughter, you know, this dude, was coming out in the music.

I called him up to tell him I appreciated him sending the tunes, and he said, “I’m doing this all myself. I have all the equipment here. I want to extend to you the opportunity… if you’ve got any tunes, and you want to cut them, cut them here.” I said, “I’d love that. Are you shitting me?” He said he’d love to do it, and that’s how it started.

Your vocals and guitar sounds are very crisp here. Maybe the crispest since your days in Grand Funk. Do you have Mark to thank for that?

We’ve both got Native American blood running in us; we’re brothers on that level. But we’re also just brothers. We believe in love, God, the creator of all things. We work very well together, and we found that once I got down there, I was like, “Man, I’m home.”

What were some keys to your guitar tone on Closer to My Home?

We would record one rhythm track and then layer on another the same way. Mark would have me do two tracks of the same guitar; you’d really have to listen to tell it was two different guitars. I’d already rehearsed this stuff, so I played it tight, but hearing it back, Mark just made it sound huge! We didn’t have to push it; the sound of the guitar and the presence were all there.

You’re obviously in new sonic territory with Mark, but you also have a classic sound to answer to.

I think we did a good job of capturing my older style but added some new processing to it. Overall, it’s a signature thing. I use some wah; I love the Cry Baby. It’s just a stock Cry Baby—that’s all it is. You don’t have to add anything to exaggerate it because the sound is there.

As far as guitars, you’ve been using lightweight Parker Fly guitars due to your back issues. Is that more or less what you used in the studio?

It’s mostly the Parker Fly stuff. And with those, I used a Kemper a lot because I could dial what I’d get out of an old Fender Deluxe, and I didn’t have to worry about setting up a mic. All that sounded good; it sounded ambient, and I added some nice reverb and a millisecond of delay. It sounded alive.

So, you’ve gotten away from tube amps entirely?

It’s all Kempers. Even when I played bass, I ran that through a patch I have in the Kemper. The goal was to make a great record, so we did what we had to do to make that happen.

Do you have any problem putting this record up against any of your classic works with Grand Funk?

I would. You know, the themes are generated mostly by what’s happening in the present moment. I write about what’s happening at a particular time, and actually, some of this stuff is older. So, the inspiration, or the process, hasn’t changed from back then.

What events were going on in your life while you wrote these songs?

A few years ago, my son Jesse, God rest his soul, died. He heard some of these songs and said, “I think these are hits.” He was a quadriplegic on life support, and he’s lying there, bless his heart, and he loved that these songs have forgiveness in them. That’s really where my heart lies.

Given the long-running circumstances in which you find yourself regarding your relationship with your former bandmates in Grand Funk, it looks like forgiveness has long been important to you.

As a matter of fact, it is. Slaughter and I had talked about it because he wanted to know where I was at with that, and I could talk to him as a brother, you know? There was no reservation of, “How am I going to say this,” so it just came out. If someone asks me a question, I give a straight answer, and as we worked on a lot of these lyrics, the words came out, and I had tears in my eyes. It was like, “Dude, that’s so fucking right. That’s right on.”

So, these songs are about forgiveness for your former Grand Funk bandmates, too?

The take on it, of course, was influenced by the frame of mind that I was in. That brings things out in me that I love hearing. When you’re performing, and you have your eyes closed, and you’re just imagining the song’s character and trying to act it out the way you speak it… Man, it was just there. The forgiveness is all there. So, I do seriously forgive those guys. I don’t think it’s right; I could never think it’s right. But hey, I do forgive them.

Considering the quality of your new music and the lack of new music from Grand Funk, one can’t help but wonder what could be.

They’re, in my opinion, off on their path for some reason. Hopefully, they can find their way back to the truth of who Grand Funk is. But on what you said, Slaughter and I have talked about this topic frequently. That same topic comes up a lot.

Bruce Kulick, who replaced you all those years ago, left Grand Funk in the fall of 2023…

I never had any hatchet to bury with Bruce. From the start of when he was taking my place, he came up to me, expressed his heart, and said, “Mark, man, I’m glad to catch you like this. I just want to let you know where I’m coming from… I gotta put bread on the table.” I said, “Bruce, I don’t hold anything against you, dude. This is not your doing. You’re a hired gun. If somebody hires me, I’m gonna play and do what I can to earn that money.” We gave each other a big hug, and that was that.

Is it safe to assume that there were no conversations about you returning?

Not at all.

That’s a shame. You’re as vibrant as ever; a reunion could lead to great things.

My secret is to marry a woman thirteen years younger than you. [laughs] People say, “Oh, this is my better half,” if I’m honest, she’s my best three-quarters. I sing around the house, always singing my heart out, man. She keeps me young and makes me love her more than anything. She cares about me and how I sound and tells me if it’s not quite right. I never want to get up there, and suck, dude.

You’ve got a lot to look forward to, but what excites you most about the future?

Of course, releasing this album, which will be out on the ninth of September. We’ll see what people think. I love to hear feedback, and I’m looking forward to seeing what people think of what Mark and I have done. I’m most excited about that and just how this record came about with Mark, who really has been and is a brother.

Mark Farner Interview

Photo courtesy of Moxy Publicity.

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Mark Farner Of Grand Funk: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview

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