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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 |
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Seguin singer sizzles during Vegas contest
Published January 7, 2009
SEGUIN — Although they might not admit it, most people don’t really know a whole lot about jazz music.
For some folks, their knowledge of the art form is only twofold — beginning with Louie Armstrong and ending with “Bleeding Gums” Murphy from “The Simpsons.”
But now, Seguinites have no excuse to add at least a third name to their list, that of Dean Mark — known on stage as Big Daddy Dean.
Mark, a Seguin resident himself, recently won first place in the solo singing competition at the USA World Showcase Talent Competition in Las Vegas. Mark bested around 27 competitors and took home the trophy for “Jazz Singer of the Year.”
He admits that his past experience in the art of crowd-pleasing paid off for him in a big way.
“I knew what to do what I went down there,” Mark said. “Everybody else was singing this new type of stuff, and since I was in Vegas, I did Vegas types of songs. I did Frank Sinatra — ‘Summer Wind’ and ‘Come Fly With Me.’”
The competition was essentially a showcase for different talents, including singers, actors, and models. And if that sounds at all comparable to NBC’s hit show “America’s Got Talent,” it’s a good sign for Big Daddy Dean.
He happens to be scheduled to audition for the program at either the end of the month or early February.
“I’ll be auditioning in Austin and they’ll e-mail me to let me know when I go,” Mark said. “I’m confident that I will make it past the auditions and onto the main stage.”
Part of his confidence comes from the fact that performing has been a part of Mark’s life ever since he was in grade school. He claims that no matter how big the stage, he never gets too overwhelmed to display his vocal ability.
“I’ve been singing since I was 7 years old,” Mark said. “The first time I sang in front of my first grade class, I did a Tom Jones song, and I’ve never had stage fright since then.”
Born and raised in San Francisco, Mark began his career by singing some blues and R&B.
From there, he got into gospel, which is what he was doing exclusively when he moved to Seguin.
While he never stopped writing music of all genres, it was a chance encounter with a jazz band in New Braunfels that got him back into performing at venues other than area churches.
“I went and saw a jazz group at the Gruene Onion Grill,” Mark said. “They had an alright singer, and I got the itch when they got a break and came to my table. I said, ‘Look, can I sing a little? I’d be more than happy to sing a song with you.’
“I did that song and it got a standing ovation, plus everybody in the dining room came out to see who this was singing.”
That led to an offer from the band to let Mark take the stage as a permanent singer, which he did for a short period of time. Then, however, he decided to break off and form his own band — Big Daddy Dean and A Touch of Jazz.
“The rest is pretty much history,” Mark said. “But I think I got the itch to start singing again when I went into the Gruene Onion and I started singing with that band.”
Mark currently performs at various locations in South Texas, including Saturday nights at the Faust Hotel in New Braunfels from 9 p.m. until closing.
Big Daddy Dean — with his band or as a solo act — is also available to book for all sorts of events, and can be reached at (830) 556-5694 or by e-mail at deanmark45(at)yahoo.com .
He also has two Web sites on which he displays his different styles of singing — www.bigdaddydean.biz and www.myspace.com/bigdaddydeanandatouchofjazz .
“If you go to the MySpace page, it’ll be something I wrote,” Mark said. “On my Web site, I’m singing a lot of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ray Charles — those kind of songs.”
Mark encourages local residents to also tune in to the new season of America’s Got Talent, as he’s confident that he will be able to represent the Seguin area in front of a national audience.
And if he wins, he’s planning on sharing the wealth.
“If I win America’s Got Talent, I’m going to throw the biggest party Seguin has ever seen,” Mark said. “And everything’s going to be on me.”
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