Exclusive: Interview with Mark Levin

Read Time:5 Minute, 51 Second

Sean Forbes is currently hosting a Pledge Music campaign to help him attend K-12 high schools across the country and share his story of overcoming obstacles and achieving his goals, and inspiring over 20,000 kids in the process. Pledgemusic.com is a crowd-source funding website that focuses solely on bands and music. This past winter Sean and crew went out on a five week tour across the northeast and midwest, attending 20 K-12 schools and spoke to over 10,000 students. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and we’re looking to do that again. Some of the schools we attended, the students have never met a Deaf individual before, so we were able to expose a whole new culture and community to some of these students. You can learn more about the Pledge Music campaign and see some of the awesome rewards for pledging here: www.pledgemusic.com/projects/seanforbes.

Those that pledge will also be able to see an exclusive NEW unreleased music video for Sean’s song titled “Watch These Hands”, directed and edited by Adrean Mangiardi, Assistant directed by Mark Levin, and cinematography from Wayne Betts Jr. Sean also released a new music video titled ‘We Interrupt This Program’:

Now read more about Mark Levin!

Losing his hearing at age 3 never slowed Mark down. Growing up in Chicago, Mark was inspired by his brother and friends to pick up a guitar at 12 years old, and he never looked back. Graduating in 2008 with a B.A. in Arts, Entertainment & Media Management from Columbia College Chicago, Mark moved to Detroit to work with Sean Forbes & D-PAN. He is inspired by life and traveling, and loves all aspect of the entertainment industry. Beyond just playing guitar, he also plays bass and drums, DJ’s, has worked with Adrean Mangiardi on over 15 music videos, been involved with theatre, film, and music festivals, and he shows no sign of slowing down.

Serious Questions:

At what point did realize that you wanted to do music for the rest of your life?

Every time I step on stage. I go to tons of concerts and music festivals all the time, and I see the joy that it brings people, and I want to remain a part of that.

What is your best performance that you’re proud of so far?

There’s many, but one of my favorites is probably last summer in August (of 2012) where we played a local music festival and opened up for headliners Mayer Hawthorne and G.Love & Special Sauce on the main stage. It was an awesome show, with awesome energy.

If you could give a young musician/ actor advice based on your experiences so far, what would you recommend that he/she should do?

Never stop learning, and never give up. There are a lot of ups and downs in this industry, you need to have thick skin and learn how to handle it. Oh, and always carry hearing aid batteries with you, and have a back-up pack stashed in your belongings (if you wear hearing aids).

What is the most craziest fan moment you/or your band have ever experienced?

It would probably have to be in Las Vegas last summer (’12) at the World Deaf Expo. There were 20,000 Deaf from all over the world, and every time we went out somewhere, fans would flock Sean. We were never able to go 5 ft. without someone coming up for a picture or conversation. It got to the point where we had to surround Sean to hide him and just keep moving, we felt bad, but it was happening so often, and we had places to be and a schedule to follow.

What are your future plans?

I plan to release an EP of my own original music at some point, and get my own band going. I love doing what I do now, but I’m always itching for more, and always looking for new experiences. I also look forward to making more music videos with Sean and Adrean, and maybe one day do a feature length film.

Completely Silly Random Questions:

What is one thing you could tell us about yourself that others would be shocked to know?

I wrestled for 7 years, and did gymnastics for 3 years. I was involved in many sports, but people are always shocked to find out that I was a wrestler and a gymnast.

If you had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?

Release an album to immortalize me, and then spend the rest of time with my family and friends, and hit the remaining 6 states I have left to visit in the US.

You have the choice to live with a gorilla who knows sign language or a dog who sings lullabies, which do you choose?

A gorilla who knows sign language. Oh the adventures we could have, and if we’re living together, I’m pretty confident they could pull their share of the rent with that awesome talent.

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

My superpower would be the ability to pick up a new skill-set immediately. It’d help me in the daily human world, and then also help me in the superhero world. By day, I could do any job, and by night I can fight crime with my newly learned martial arts skills I just picked-up 5 minutes ago.

If you were a car, what kind would you be?

Hrmm…I’ve never thought about this. Probably a Jeep Wrangler, decent for the roads, even better for the off roads.

My favorite part: The questionnaire concept was originated by French television personality Bernard Pivot on his show Apostrophes, after the Proust Questionnaire.

The ten questions Lipton asks are:

What is your favorite word?

Wanderlust

What is your least favorite word?

No.

What turns you on?

Intelligence and Independence

What turns you off?

Entitlement

What sound or noise do you love?

The pop of the cork from a wine bottle.

What sound or noise do you hate?

High pitched squealing.

What is your favorite curse word?

Shit.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter.

What profession would you not like to do?

I’d like to avoid the porto-potty business.

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

Welcome. The stage is over there, plug in…everyone’s been waiting.

About Thomsen Young

Thomsen Young is the founder of The Silent Grapevine.You can follow him +Thomsen Young or via Twitter @yadudesup. You can also follow The Silent Grapevine via Twitter so you will never miss the latest news from The Silent Grapevine! If you like this post LIKE it and share it with your family and friends!