I don’t know what ever happened to Mark French. I knew him in two different ways, before and after Blue Rodeo. Before, he had an incredible mystique fronting his groups Street Walkin’ Barbie and later The Cartwrights. He also had the most amazing claim to fame – he had auditioned for Big Audio Dynamite. It didn’t matter that he didn’t get the gig, the audition was a big enough deal. Just one step away from The Clash. That was too unbelievable. Being in Blue Rodeo didn’t make sense for him. As a front man he had the energy of Iggy Pop and now he was a sideman.\u00a0 Yesterday, reading more than one obituary for Dino Danelli, eventually I went to Youtube and poof, all I could see was the influence on Mark’s drumming. I don’t even know if this is true, since I don’t know what ever happened to Mark, but Dino’s physical energy in the Rascals, exactly what I remember about Mark’s style. There was a Cartwright show one time at the Paddock. I can’t put it in words but they played so perfectly and were so ambivalent about the dive and so hilarious in their personas of Marty Cartwright, Donny Cartwright and Marky Cartwright. A special favourite memory, Mark drumming while hanging from the pipes, Donny pouring beer possibly over someone’s head and Marty being solid.<\/p>\n\n\n
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