Mark Evans comes by his love of drumming honestly. As a child he was enchanted by the playing of Buddy Rich in an episode of I Love Lucy, and began taking lessons at age 7. Five years later, fate thrust him into his first performance before a large audience: When the band at a Democratic fundraiser found themselves short one musician, Mark's father told him, "I bought you drums, now play!" It was the release of Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Welcome Back..., however, which introduced him to his greatest love: progressive rock.
By the time he reached high school, Mark Evans was always in one band or another. He recalls playing in his school's basketball band then, after half-time, being driven to his night gig in a bar band. In both high school and Western Michigan University, he played in a wide variety of ensembles: Marching band, percussion ensemble, orchestra pit, musicals, jazz and rock and roll. In 1981, Mark received his degree in musical performance.
Prior to joining House of Usher, Mark Evans was a founding member of the heavy progressive group Tiles. At the end of 1996, he completed a three-CD recording stint with the band, playing on their releases "Tiles" (1995), "Fence the Clear" (1997) and "Presents of Mind" (1999).
When he joined House of Usher in the beginning of 1997, he was happy to find more music into which to immerse himself. "There's always ten to twelve ideas flying"...usually at the same time!
While he's a big fan of bands like Yes, ELP, King Crimson, Jethro Tull and UK, Mark Evans remembers his roots, and continues to enjoy a variety of music ranging from jazz to classical to world music.
October 2005 saw the return of original drummer Mark Evans to Detroit-based rock band Tiles. Soon after Tiles started arranging material for their fifth CD and entered the studio in early 2006 with producer Terry Brown.
