Mark grew up listening to U2, Prince, Peter Gabriel, The Alarm, The Waterboys, Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Robertson, Marillion, Aimee Mann, among others.  By college, he decided he'd rather play music instead of just listen to it. One summer home from St. Lawrence University, he learned that 3 of his closest friends had also decided to learn guitar. That summer, they practiced every night in Mark's family basement and 3 months later "Pure Dirt" had their first show. Taking the name from an "imaginary" band they had formed in 6th grade, the group spent the next 10 years performing all over the Northeastern U.S.  During the time the band were together, they won several top National unsigned band & songwriting awards from industry giants such as Musician Magazine, Billboard Magazine, IRS Records, Ticketmaster, and many more. Tired of the late night smoke filled bars, Pure Dirt called it quits in 1999. It was 3 years later when Mark decided to form an acoustic group and sent an email to a local cover band singer, Debbie Gabrione to see if she knew anyone interested. Debbie said, "Me," and during the 15 months that followed, the project grew into what Ten Year Vamp is today.