Mark Sandman
Encyclopedia
Mark Sandman was an American singer, songwriter, musical instrument
inventor and multi-instrumentalist.
An indie rock
icon and longtime fixture on the Boston
/Cambridge
music scene, Sandman was best known as the lead singer and slide
bass
player of the band Morphine
. Sandman was also known as a prominent member of the Boston
blues-rock
band Treat Her Right
and the founder of Hi-n-Dry
, a Cambridge
, Massachusetts
-based recording studio and independent record label
.
family in Newton, Massachusetts
. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, then worked a variety of blue-collar
jobs, including construction, taxi driving, and commercial fishing. Sandman once noted he would often earn considerable overtime
pay, which allowed him to take leave of work and travel outside of New England
to places such as rural Colorado
-- the setting for a number of Treat Her Right and Morphine songs penned by Sandman, including "Thursday," "The Jury," and "I Think She Likes Me."
Two tragic events impacted Sandman's life and would later influence his music - he was robbed and stabbed in the chest during a robbery in his cab, and his two brothers died. These events would later be recounted in the Treat Her Right song "No Reason." His mother, Guitelle Sandman, has self-published a book about the loss of her three sons entitled, "Four Minus Three A Mother's Story."
Few details are publicly known about Sandman's personal life. Fans have often speculated that many of Sandman's songs were autobiographical
, which to this day remains unconfirmed. Although Sandman served as an unofficial spokesman for Morphine, he avoided answering questions about his personal life or his professional experiences outside of the music business. Sandman was reported to have been particularly secretive about his age, becoming angry with any reporter who expressed an interest in revealing it publicly. Some speculated that Sandman was sensitive to the fact that he was generally 10 to 20 years older than most of the indie rock figures popular during the 1990s. This was most notable in a famously contentious interview conducted by journalist Seth Mnookin
for the now-defunct online music magazine Addicted to Noise.
, Sandman, Candy Bar, the Hypnosonics, Treat Her Orange, Supergroup (with Chris Ballew
), and the Pale Brothers. He also performed as a guest with the Boston jazz
band Either/Orchestra.
His instruments were extensively altered and sometimes built by hand to create unique sounds. In Morphine, he played primarily a two-string slide bass guitar
usually tuned to a fifth, but he also was known to play a unitar (named after the one-stringed instrument in American blues tradition), and three-string slide bass with one bass string and two unison strings tuned an octave higher (usually A). He sometimes paired bass strings with one or two guitar strings, creating the "basitar" "tri-tar" and "guitbass." The guitbass and basitar were later used by the band The Presidents of The United States of America
, with whom Sandman was close friends.
For Sandman, the result was a murky, slurring sound that, particularly when paired with the baritone saxophone
of Morphine's Dana Colley
, created what Sandman termed "low rock
." His baritone singing completed the sound. "We're just baritone people," he once told an interviewer. "And the cumulative effect of all these instruments is that it sounds really low, but you can still hear what's going on between the different instruments. It hits the body in a peculiar way that some people like a lot."
As a lyricist, Sandman's songwriting was influenced by the gritty styles of pulp fiction writer Jim Thompson
and crime writer James Ellroy
.
During Morphine's active years, the band released five albums and one B-sides compilation. They toured extensively, both domestically and internationally, and became the second act signed to Dreamworks Records
.
During the 1990s, Sandman continued to expand his Cambridge-based home recording studio with second-hand instruments and equipment, calling the studio Hi-n-Dry
. Hi-n-Dry became Morphine's unofficial home and they recorded many of their signature tracks using Sandman's unique homegrown production methods.
balls of twine who form a band, become successful, break up, and later reunite.
The Twinemen comic also showcased Sandman's signature technique of combining a simple pen or pencil drawing with watercolor paints
. Sandman's art and photographs were showcased on the official Morphine website and later featured in a DVD released with the Sandbox box set.
Colley, Treat Her Right and Morphine drummer Billy Conway, and singer Laurie Sargent would later adopt the Twinemen moniker for their own band
as a permanent homage
to Sandman.
, Latium
, Italy
(near Rome
) while performing with Morphine. He was soon pronounced dead of a heart attack
at the age of 46. Sandman was survived by his girlfriend Sabine Hrechdakian
, his parents Robert and Guitelle Sandman, and his sister Martha Holmes. Morphine immediately disbanded following his death, though the surviving members briefly toured with other musicians, creating Orchestra Morphine as a tribute to Sandman and in support of the posthumous release, The Night. His death has been attributed to his use of cigarettes, heavy stress, and the temperature of over 100 degrees on the night of his death.
Following Sandman's death, Hi-n-Dry became a commercial record label and studio, recording and releasing the work of Boston-area artists. The label and studio are managed by Sandman's former Morphine bandmates Conway and Colley. Hi-n-Dry issued a retrospective box set of Sandman's music called Sandbox in 2004. Another four disc Morphine box set has been compiled but has not been released due to the sale of former Morphine label, Rykodisc
, to Warner Brothers.
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
inventor and multi-instrumentalist.
An indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
icon and longtime fixture on the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
/Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
music scene, Sandman was best known as the lead singer and slide
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player of the band Morphine
Morphine (band)
Morphine was an American alternative rock group formed by Mark Sandman and Dana Colley in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1989. They disbanded in 1999 after frontman Sandman died of a heart attack....
. Sandman was also known as a prominent member of the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
band Treat Her Right
Treat Her Right
Treat Her Right is a blues rock group formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1984. The band originally featured Mark Sandman on guitar, Billy Conway on drums, Dave Champagne on guitar, and Jim Fitting on harmonica. Singing and songwriting duties were shared by all but Conway...
and the founder of Hi-n-Dry
Hi-n-Dry
Hi-n-Dry is a Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA-based independent record label and recording studio. Founded by the late Morphine singer and bassist Mark Sandman, the studio and label are currently managed by former Morphine bandmates Dana Colley and Billy Conway along with Laurie Sargent and Andrew...
, a Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
-based recording studio and independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
.
Early life
Mark Sandman was born into a Jewish AmericanAmerican Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
family in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, then worked a variety of blue-collar
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
jobs, including construction, taxi driving, and commercial fishing. Sandman once noted he would often earn considerable overtime
Overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:*by custom ,*by practices of a given trade or profession,*by legislation,...
pay, which allowed him to take leave of work and travel outside of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
to places such as rural Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
-- the setting for a number of Treat Her Right and Morphine songs penned by Sandman, including "Thursday," "The Jury," and "I Think She Likes Me."
Two tragic events impacted Sandman's life and would later influence his music - he was robbed and stabbed in the chest during a robbery in his cab, and his two brothers died. These events would later be recounted in the Treat Her Right song "No Reason." His mother, Guitelle Sandman, has self-published a book about the loss of her three sons entitled, "Four Minus Three A Mother's Story."
Few details are publicly known about Sandman's personal life. Fans have often speculated that many of Sandman's songs were autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, which to this day remains unconfirmed. Although Sandman served as an unofficial spokesman for Morphine, he avoided answering questions about his personal life or his professional experiences outside of the music business. Sandman was reported to have been particularly secretive about his age, becoming angry with any reporter who expressed an interest in revealing it publicly. Some speculated that Sandman was sensitive to the fact that he was generally 10 to 20 years older than most of the indie rock figures popular during the 1990s. This was most notable in a famously contentious interview conducted by journalist Seth Mnookin
Seth Mnookin
Seth Mnookin is an American writer and journalist.As of 2006, he is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair ; before that, he was a senior writer for Newsweek. He wrote the 2004 book Hard News : The Scandals at The New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media...
for the now-defunct online music magazine Addicted to Noise.
Music career
Along with Morphine, which he formed in 1989, Sandman was also a member of the bands Treat Her RightTreat Her Right
Treat Her Right is a blues rock group formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1984. The band originally featured Mark Sandman on guitar, Billy Conway on drums, Dave Champagne on guitar, and Jim Fitting on harmonica. Singing and songwriting duties were shared by all but Conway...
, Sandman, Candy Bar, the Hypnosonics, Treat Her Orange, Supergroup (with Chris Ballew
Chris Ballew
Christopher "Chris" Ballew is a member of the alternative rock group The Presidents of the United States of America and performs as a children's artist under the pseudonym Caspar Babypants....
), and the Pale Brothers. He also performed as a guest with the Boston jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
band Either/Orchestra.
His instruments were extensively altered and sometimes built by hand to create unique sounds. In Morphine, he played primarily a two-string slide bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
usually tuned to a fifth, but he also was known to play a unitar (named after the one-stringed instrument in American blues tradition), and three-string slide bass with one bass string and two unison strings tuned an octave higher (usually A). He sometimes paired bass strings with one or two guitar strings, creating the "basitar" "tri-tar" and "guitbass." The guitbass and basitar were later used by the band The Presidents of The United States of America
The Presidents of the United States of America (band)
The Presidents of the United States of America, commonly referred to as Pot USA or "PUSA" or The Presidents, are a twice Grammy-nominated American alternative rock band. The band formed in Seattle, USA, in 1993. The three-piece group currently comprises vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew,...
, with whom Sandman was close friends.
For Sandman, the result was a murky, slurring sound that, particularly when paired with the baritone saxophone
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
of Morphine's Dana Colley
Dana Colley
Dana Colley is an American musician, best known as the baritone and tenor saxophonist in the alternative rock band Morphine.-with Three Colors :...
, created what Sandman termed "low rock
Low Rock
Low Rock is a low rock surrounded by foul ground, lying 1 nautical mile southwest of Stranger Point, the south extremity of King George Island, in the South Shetland Islands. An unnamed rock in essentially this position appears on a chart by David Ferguson, Scottish geologist aboard the whaler...
." His baritone singing completed the sound. "We're just baritone people," he once told an interviewer. "And the cumulative effect of all these instruments is that it sounds really low, but you can still hear what's going on between the different instruments. It hits the body in a peculiar way that some people like a lot."
As a lyricist, Sandman's songwriting was influenced by the gritty styles of pulp fiction writer Jim Thompson
Jim Thompson (writer)
James Myers Thompson was an American author and screenwriter, known for his pulp crime fiction....
and crime writer James Ellroy
James Ellroy
Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black...
.
During Morphine's active years, the band released five albums and one B-sides compilation. They toured extensively, both domestically and internationally, and became the second act signed to Dreamworks Records
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...
.
During the 1990s, Sandman continued to expand his Cambridge-based home recording studio with second-hand instruments and equipment, calling the studio Hi-n-Dry
Hi-n-Dry
Hi-n-Dry is a Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA-based independent record label and recording studio. Founded by the late Morphine singer and bassist Mark Sandman, the studio and label are currently managed by former Morphine bandmates Dana Colley and Billy Conway along with Laurie Sargent and Andrew...
. Hi-n-Dry became Morphine's unofficial home and they recorded many of their signature tracks using Sandman's unique homegrown production methods.
The Twinemen
In addition to his work as a musician, Sandman was also an amateur photographer and artist. He created a comic entitled The Twinemen, starring three anthropomorphicAnthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
balls of twine who form a band, become successful, break up, and later reunite.
The Twinemen comic also showcased Sandman's signature technique of combining a simple pen or pencil drawing with watercolor paints
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
. Sandman's art and photographs were showcased on the official Morphine website and later featured in a DVD released with the Sandbox box set.
Colley, Treat Her Right and Morphine drummer Billy Conway, and singer Laurie Sargent would later adopt the Twinemen moniker for their own band
Twinemen
Twinemen is an alternative rock band based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA created by former members of the bands Morphine and Face to Face. The group includes Dana Colley , Billy Conway , and Laurie Sargent...
as a permanent homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to Sandman.
Death
Sandman collapsed on stage on July 3, 1999 at the Giardini del Principe in PalestrinaPalestrina
Palestrina is an ancient city and comune with a population of about 18,000, in Lazio, c. 35 km east of Rome...
, Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(near Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
) while performing with Morphine. He was soon pronounced dead of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at the age of 46. Sandman was survived by his girlfriend Sabine Hrechdakian
Sabine Hrechdakian
Sabine Hrechdakian is a literary agent and book reviewer for the Boston Phoenix. She was acknowledged to be the girlfriend of Boston-area alternative rock musician Mark Sandman with the public announcement of his death.-External links:*...
, his parents Robert and Guitelle Sandman, and his sister Martha Holmes. Morphine immediately disbanded following his death, though the surviving members briefly toured with other musicians, creating Orchestra Morphine as a tribute to Sandman and in support of the posthumous release, The Night. His death has been attributed to his use of cigarettes, heavy stress, and the temperature of over 100 degrees on the night of his death.
Following Sandman's death, Hi-n-Dry became a commercial record label and studio, recording and releasing the work of Boston-area artists. The label and studio are managed by Sandman's former Morphine bandmates Conway and Colley. Hi-n-Dry issued a retrospective box set of Sandman's music called Sandbox in 2004. Another four disc Morphine box set has been compiled but has not been released due to the sale of former Morphine label, Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
, to Warner Brothers.
Memorials and tributes
- The intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Brookline Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts' Central SquareCentral Square (Cambridge)Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered on the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street and Western Avenue. , formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street and Main Street, is also considered a part of the Central Square area...
is named in Sandman's honor. This square is right outside the Middle EastThe Middle East (nightclub)The Middle East is a live music venue, bar and restaurant in the Central Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Having featured a huge variety of musicians since 1987, the establishment, with its upstairs and downstairs rooms, "is the nexus of metro Boston's rock-club scene for local and touring...
, a music club/restaurant frequented by Sandman. - The Mark Sandman Music Education Fund was established by his friends and family in order to give children in the Cambridge and Boston area an opportunity to learn musical instruments. As of 2008, this foundation has been re-named the Mark Sandman Music Project. Housed in the newly renovated Armory Arts Center at 191 Highland Ave. Somerville, the Project hopes to continue Mark's legacy. The Project is a community based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing children and music together to foster educational, recreational and artistic goals and experiences. The Hi-n-Dry community will be the driving force behind this project which believes in that creative collaboration creates community. Donations are needed and welcomed. More information can be found at: Myspace.com/marksandmanmusicproject.
- Following Sandman's death, Chris Ballew, Dana Colley, and Billy Conway recorded and released a tribute song entitled "Gone Again Gone." It was available online as an MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
file for a limited time and a version of the song is on Chris Ballew's second solo album, The Days are Filled With Years - As a fellow bassist who admired Sandman, Les ClaypoolLes ClaypoolLeslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
had an audience chant some "Yo Ho's" in honor of him at a show with Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog BrigadeColonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog BrigadeColonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade is one of many musical projects involving Primus bassist Les Claypool. The original band was formed in summer 2000 and consisted of: Les Claypool , Todd Huth , Jay Lane , Jeff Chimenti , Skerik , and Eenor...
, which can be seen on his DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
5 Gallons Of Diesel5 Gallons Of Diesel-Extras:-External links:* at the...
. Claypool also has a Sandman sticker on his bullet microphoneMicrophoneA microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
. - La Scalinata Mark J. Sandman, Giardini Del Principe, Palestrina, Italy - is a staircase named in his honor. There is a stone tablet with his name at the first stair-step of the stairway.
- Mirror with plaque, Cambridge Music, Cambridge.
- Tom BarmanTom BarmanTom Barman is a Belgian musician and film director.Barman studied at the film school of St.-Lucas in Brussels, but didn't finish his studies because of he wished to pursue a career in music. He began by forming the rock band, Deus in Antwerp, in 1989...
, a friend of Sandman and frontman of the Belgian band dEUSDEUSDeus is a rock band based in Antwerp, Belgium, whose only continuous members up to the present day are Tom Barman and Klaas Janzoons...
whom with Dana Colley collaborated on their second studio album In a Bar, Under the SeaIn a Bar, Under the SeaIn a Bar, Under the Sea is a 1996 album by Belgian band Deus. The cover art was designed by guitarist Rudy Trouvé. The original Belgian release was by Bang!, with the only difference that track 14 is simply named "Roses", like the single....
, dedicated "The Real Sugar" to Sandman. The song is to be found on the band's 2005 effort Pocket RevolutionPocket RevolutionPocket Revolution is the fourth album by Deus, released in 2005. The cover art is based on The Von Neumann-Machine, a story from Don Lawrence's Storm series of graphic novels....
. - An American band, BrazzavilleBrazzaville (band)Brazzaville is an indie pop band founded in 1997 by David Brown. Brown was at one time Beck's saxophonist and took part in recording of Odelay and Midnite Vultures...
, recorded a tribute song entitled "Sandman," which is available on their second album SomnambulistaSomnambulistaSomnambulista is the second album of Brazzaville.-Track listing:# "Air Mail"# "Foreign Disaster Days"# "Sandman"# "Boeing"# "Casa Batllo"# "Lazy, Flawed and Hopeless"# "Jane"# "Super Gizi"# "4 Am Osaka"# "Old Man Dub"# "3rd and Broadway"... - California band Honey White (their name taken from a Morphine song) recorded a tribute song entitled "The Sandman" for their first E.P. release My Band Rocks! in 2002.
- The band Collective SoulCollective SoulCollective Soul is an American rock band originally formed in Stockbridge, Georgia. Collective Soul broke into mainstream popularity with their first hit single, "Shine", which came from their debut album Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, released in 1993...
, in memorial of Mark Sandman covered Morphine's "You Speak My Language" on their Blender CD. - Canadian band The Watchmen dedicated a live radio performance of their song "Any Day Now" to Sandman on Australia's Triple JTriple Jtriple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
network. The band had heard about his passing while listening to news radio in an elevator on their way to the interview. - In September 2009, a silkscreen print of Mark Sandman was created by artist Joshua Budich, with proceeds benefitting The Mark Sandman Music Project.
- Two Morphine's songs, "Honey White" and "Super Sex", were featured in the Italian movie Viaggi di nozze. The director and actor Carlo VerdoneCarlo VerdoneCarlo Verdone is an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director.-Early life:Carlo Verdone was born in Rome to Mario Verdone, an important Italian film critic, and during his youth he earned a degree in Modern Literature at Sapienza University of Rome and a degree in Film Direction at the Centro...
is a fan of the band. - A documentaryDocumentaryA documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
"Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story" came out in 2011.
Albums with Treat Her Right
- Treat Her Right (1986)
- Tied to the Tracks (1989)
- What's Good for You (1991)
- The Lost Album (2009)
Albums with Morphine
- GoodGood (Morphine album)Good is the first album recorded by the Boston based alternative rock trio Morphine. It was originally released in 1992 on the Accurate label, and then re-released by Rykodisc in 1993.- Track listing :...
- 1992 - Cure for PainCure for PainCure for Pain was the second album released by alternative rock band Morphine through Rykodisc in 1993. The tracks "Sheila" and "In Spite of Me" were prominently featured on the soundtrack of the 1994 independent film Spanking the Monkey...
- 1993 - YesYes (Morphine album)Yes is an album by alternative rock band Morphine, released in March 1995.-Track listing:All songs written by Mark Sandman .# "Honey White" – 3:06# "Scratch" – 3:13# "Radar" – 3:28# "Whisper" – 3:28# "Yes" – 2:00...
- 1995 - Like SwimmingLike SwimmingLike Swimming is a 1997 album by the alternative rock band Morphine.-Track listing:All songs written by Mark Sandman.# "Lilah" – 0:59# "Potion" – 2:00# "I Know You Like Swimming is a 1997 album by the alternative rock band Morphine.-Track listing:All songs written by Mark Sandman.# "Lilah" – 0:59#...
- 1997 - The Night - 2000
Quotes
- "I was kind of a dreamy child—a Curious GeorgeCurious GeorgeCurious George is the protagonist of a series of popular children's books by the same name, written by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. The books feature a curious brown monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" to live with him in a big city.When...
baby. As a child, people told me they thought I'd grow up to be a poet. You have to wonder what kind of kid someone would say that to." - "The word 'Morphine' comes from the word 'MorpheusMorpheus (mythology)Morpheus in Greek mythology is the god of dreams, leader of the Oneiroi. Morpheus has the ability to take any human form and appear in dreams...
,' who is the god of dreams, and that kind appealed to us as a concept...I've heard there's a drug called 'morphine' but that's not where we're coming from...we were dreaming, Morpheus comes into our dreams...and we woke up and started this band...we're all wrapped up in these dream messages, and we were compelled to start this band."
External links
- Mark Sandman 1952-1999
- Exit the Sandman
- Hi-n-Dry
- Mark Sandman Music Education Fund
- Gatling Pictures, currently producing a Mark Sandman documentary