marklane has been a part of the growing Pittsburgh original acoustic music scene for over two years now. Five months after walking into his first open stage, he released his debut album, "all the hills echo" to very positive reaction. Encouraged by the musicians and audience of Pittsburgh, he has spent time on stage in various coffee shops, restaurants and bars in the area developing his music and acquiring a fan base of all ages. marklane is currently booking shows to promote his forthcoming twelve song album, "concrete & abstract," scheduled for release in the late summer of 2004. ----------------- CD Review marklane - "all the hills echo" Independent release on Karmanel Records After listening to the seven cuts offered up to me from marklane's debut CD "all the hills echo", I can't get the idea out of my head that Lennon or Tom Petty may have lost some of these tunes in the folds of their brain some late night in a mellow rock-n-roll era from the past. These songs have the feel good pop sound of the mid to late 60's (or Mr. Petty now). Jangly acoustic guitars, smooth easy going bass lines, and some extra percussion like congas and tambourine on top of the Ringo style drums, an organ here, some strings there, a little harmonica and throw in some psychedelic sounds with the simple but good songwriting and you've got yourself a pretty good collection of endearing listener friendly songs. They make me want to take a lazy summer stroll or perhaps just lay and watch the sky with a cutie pie. Singer/songwriter marklane is from western Pennsylvania, around the Pittsburgh area. I've seen him at some coffee shops and small clubs, I'd love to see him expand on his live band. He is definitely taking the steps towards becoming a working artist, and from what I can tell, his performance, songwriting and lyrics keep getting better. The same certainly holds true for his recorded material. His second upcoming full length album will be called "concrete & abstract" and is scheduled for release in late August 2004. Like "all the hills echo", this next disc is being recorded at HomeGrown Records studio, outside of Pittsburgh, in the hills, echoing I'm sure. I'm betting he offers some more of this fun, mellow-tronic rock. Check out his website for more info at www.marklanetunes.com. Reviewed by Rodan Weikert -Director of MGO media, producer, musician, and collaborator with 3 Grammy award winners.