Nick Marks
I am a local pianist who teaches piano, composes original instrumental music, collaborates with other musicians/bands, and regularly performs.
When composing, my artistic vision is driven by a desire to push the boundaries of experimentation while still sounding and appearing engaging and accessible, such that the average listener would detect no hint of experimentation. In other words, I strive to simultaneously effectuate and mask experimentation.
The primary way in which I approach this goal is to write songs in odd time signatures (unusual rhythms). While these rhythms might otherwise sound foreign or perhaps even disjointed or just weird, I strive to make them sound completely normal by layering smooth, emotionally evocative, engaging melodies over them. The best real world example of my style would be Penguin Cafe Orchestra, who are undoubtedly my biggest influencers. As such, I consider my style as avant-pop.
In terms of teaching and collaborating, I engage in many different genres such as classical, blues, jazz, rock, and pop.
