Mark Farner on his renegade nature, forgiving old bandmates and the overall power of love

By Andrew Daly

Dating back to his days as the bare-chested screamin' demon out-front for Grand Funk Railroad, Mark Farner has always walked to the beat of his own drum.

Alongside drummer Don Brewer and bassist Mel Schacher, the original Grand Funk overcame the odds, terrible management deals, and a recording contract that nearly sunk them to rise to the top of the heap on the backside of classic records like Closer to Home (1970), and We're an American Band (1973).

If you ask Farner, he'd openly tell you that he "wrote 92% of the Grand Funk catalog." The specifics of that are murky, but one thing is sure: Grand Funk's bedrock, at least early on, was solidified by Farner. But despite their '70s success, the band fell apart in 1976 and had come back together with and without Farner in the years that followed.

Infamously, during an original lineup reunion era in the late 1990s, Farner was ousted, leading to a polarizing lineup and 20-plus years of sparring. Fans—and Farner—have long clamored for a reunion, but to date, it hasn't happened. To Farner's credit, he remains open to it and speaks openly about his feelings of disappointment, which he couples with heaping loads of forgiveness.

Some believe Farmer was done dirty, which isn’t uncommon in the music business. Others side with Brewer and Schacher, which is fair as see no evil, hear no evil is easier than admitting that your heroes are potentially in the wrong—or the reason why an iconic rock group can’t get back onstage together.

Regardless, we'll never know exactly what went down between the original trio, but what we do know is that while what's left of Grand Funk sinks deeper and deeper into legacy band/weekend fly-date status, Mark Farner has been busy creating new music.

That leads us to his latest, Closer to My Home, which, yes, sounds a whole lot like early Grand Funk, but that's not what's driving him. "It's about the positive," Farner tells Goldmine. "My positive outlet and ability to sincerely forgive is what it's about."

He explains, "When you take things seriously and implement forgiveness toward anything that's been bugging you, I don't care how many years it's been; there is a reward that comes from doing that."

As for how he plans to move forward, knowing that the shadow of Grand Funk and the hopes of a reunion loom, he says, "The reward is love. When I have an opportunity to forgive something, I forgive it. Reward isn't the motivator; the motivator is getting it off your chest, out of your mind, and reinforcing who you are as a person."

"You can't sidestep," he insists. "You can't avoid that. If love is given, and you demonstrate your belief in it, it's always going to be a complete circle. All of this is a complete, round circle, man. That's what we're in, and we can never get back to the beginning. And I wouldn't want to.”

GOLDMINE: As I understand it, Mark Slaughter played a significant role in your new record, Closer to My Home.

MARK FARNER: Well, Brother Slaughter sent me a copy of his last album from a few years ago. I listened with critical ears because I love Mark, and I loved the album. He and I, from the moment we met, knew that we were brothers. I mean, not only because of the Native American blood but because of what we live for.

GM: Specifically, what does that mean?

MARK: It's about what our perfect life would be, you know? When I listened to his record, I was impressed with the production, the sounds, and how professional it came off. I wrote back to him and explained that to him, and he hit me back, saying, "Listen, if you have any music you want to record, I will do it for you."

GM: Just like that?

MARK: Yes. He said, "I will produce it. If you like the sounds you're hearing on my record—yours can be better." I went, "What?!" He said, "And it won't cost you anything." That's how much he loves me. He really appreciates my contribution to the total rock and roll scene.

A lot of people don't know about my music, you know, younger people… unless somebody mentions it. And if they do, they'll say, "Oh, you know, he's got that Mark Farmer from Grand Funk Railroad sound, and blah blah blah." But the younger kids always go, "Oh, well, who's that?" If you don't say, "Check him out" or "Look him up," they don't know.

GM: Considering you wrote many of Grand Funk's iconic songs, it's odd that you'd be underrated.

MARK: I'm thinking it's a timing thing. It's just not my time yet. But I have people that have speculated that there's a conspiracy against me. They don't want, you know ... the mainstream doesn't want a guy who is a renegade, and I'm definitely a renegade rocker.

GM: But would you say that's to your detriment?

MARK: Well, what I say is what I feel in my heart. That's what I put out there. I've been doing that since 1969, and I'm kind of spoiled by doing it this way. And Brother, some of the speculation people have said was, "Hey, they just don't like what you're saying, so you don't get the airplay that other people get." They're playing this stuff that's mindless, but it's a got a beat. It's not saying much, but they've got great production behind it.

GM: Considering your renegade nature, I suppose chasing hits doesn't appeal anyway.

MARK: I've heard songs like that, but I always kind of thought of my songs as my kids. I'm leaving them behind in a world that they could influence because there's love in there. Love is the number one ingredient. For my whole career, I have made pleas to the people through my songs, and I have said things from the point of love. It's not like I'm saying, "Get out there and kill somebody." There's a lot of that bullshit that's already happened that gets played in the mainstream.

GM: Is it just the mainstream against you or people you've worked with?

MARK: I aways come back to love because I serve love, man. There is no other master in my life. Love is it. I refuse to allow anything else. I'm not going to get so pissed off… people have come to me and said, "What the heck? Why aren't you doing something? The other guys took advantage of you?" I say, "Well, they made their bed. They can lie in it." I'm OK. I forgave them. I have to keep reminding myself, and when people ask, I say, "Life has got to be about forgiveness." That's real, true, ultimate love.

"It's about the positive," Farner tells Goldmine. "My positive outlet and ability to sincerely forgive is what it's about."

GM: I assume you're referring to your old bandmates in Grand Funk. So, you've forgiven them, but does it weigh on your mind as you're trying to create new music knowing what could have been?

MARK: Well, it's just disappointing, I cannot let myself get angered over it. I can't fight the disappointment that somebody would actually do that, you know, using my songs to have a career. I wrote 92% of the Grand Funk catalog. They couldn't be out there if they weren't doing my songs. People know that, and they get infuriated. But, I guess, you know, when I died in 2012, a lot of that left my consideration.

GM: When you died?

MARK: When I died, man, it was peaceful. I died twice on the table in an emergency room in 2012. And then, they put a pacemaker in me. But when I was on the other side, in that state of being, all things on the way back, you know, the re-entry into this bone suite, brother, I was shown the debt of consciousness is the plague of mankind.

GM: Ah, so your near-death experience back then allowed you to find forgiveness for your old bandmates.

MARK: The debt I'm talking about is not just a financial thing; it's about the unfulfilled expectations of other people of you. It's the regret that we hold ourselves accountable and responsible for, though we really should let ourselves off the hook. We've got to learn how to not hold ourselves in debt to anyone else. We've got to forgive people with the same measure that we expect to be forgiven with. It's a very simple concept.

GM: Though not everyone seems to be following the same path as you, which has led to a lot of hardships and rough dealings, yeah?

MARK: Well, the attitude that I have is that I'm letting myself free. Every day, I'm setting myself free. It is my intention before I slip my feet out of that bed and onto the floor to have the full armor of God, which is the breastplate of righteousness, and the truth, which is the sword and the helmet of salvation. But it's a full-frontal battle, so I have to be prepared.

GM: Prepared for…

MARK: The only part that's vulnerable, considering this is the full armor of God, is the back. There's nothing to cover your back. But that's the purpose… the purpose is, "Hey, don't back up. Go forward. So, I go forward with that armor. That's what I'm doing. It's love, man. Love is driving me. I have to forgive those guys. But anyone I talk to says, "How can you do this? How the hell do you just let go of something like that." But it's rewarding, dude. To truly let it go and not let it bother you—that's my power.

GM: So, in a sense, you've taken control of how your former bandmates' actions impact you.

MARK: Yes. When you're in control over your power, you're operating at peak performance. And something will happen where you can exercise that power through your control over yourself, and maybe, just maybe, you can be a witness to somebody who needs to know that it can and has been done.

GM: Would you say the fellas in Grand Funk haven't achieved that state of being, and perhaps that's what's guiding their actions toward you over the years?

MARK: Yes. And it's not about money. Just think about the kind of money that could be generated. There's something besides that keeping us apart. I have always, you know, I've said over the years, "If they want to get back together, if they ever did, I would do it for the fans." That's because I am a fan. I'm a music fan.

I was a fan of The Beatles. I could never understand why they wouldn't get back together for the sale of satisfying our fans, you know? I wanted to see them all on stage. It wasn't just me being selfish—I really wanted to see them. So, with Grand Funk, there's only three people in the world that can make that noise, the genuine Grand Funk noise. As long as we're still sucking air, there's a possibility that it may happen. That's the way I look at it. I'm open to it, if they can ever get over it.

"I've said over the years, 'If they want to get back together, if they ever did, I would do it for the fans.' That's because I am a fan. I'm a music fan.” — Mark Farner on a Grand Funk reunion

GM: We've danced around it a bit, but from your perspective, what's keeping that from happening?

MARK: Yeah, man. It's something I've touched on, and we've talked about it even in this conversation today—it has to be related to forgiveness. Whatever that is, if it's generated from circumstances that are blown out of proportion, or some kind of vengeance, or vendetta, or something along those longs, it has to be about forgiveness.

I don't know… it could only be speculation, of course. So, rather than speculate on what it might be, I just keep myself open to it because I pray for those two guys, you know, those two individuals. The word says, "Pray for those who despitefully use you." That's a straight quote [from the Bible].

If you can genuinely do that, man, what a great feeling to know you're not letting it get to you and that you're setting yourself free. And if that's all that ever happens from here on out, brother, I'm good with it. I love being free.

GM: It probably helps that you've continued making new music while Grand Funk remains strictly a legacy act.

MARK: Well, yes. I appreciate that, and I thank you for mentioning it like that.

GM: To that end, I get the sense that Closer to My Home is about opening yourself up to who you are and letting go of old demons, maybe more than anything else.

MARK: Exactly. Yes. And I think people are going to, well, they'll identify with it. People are going to be happy that I haven't changed, and that I'm still the same guy, but even happier.

GM: Circling back to Mark Slaughter, you mentioned earlier than later generations haven't always given you a fair shake. Sure, you and Mark are both rockers, but there's a generational gap. Why do you think you've connected as you have?

MARK: I think there's a combined energy, and a concerted effort because we always speak to each other as brothers. We truly love each other; we embrace, and we don't care who the hell is standing around. We embrace. We show love to each other, and respect. That's genuine. It's the only thing I allow to happen, and we embellish it within itself and our relationship, which people can observe. The innocent bystanders can observe real love. That's what the world needs.

GM: What song from Closer to My Home best demonstrates Mark Slaughter's chops as a producer?

MARK: We did consider how this would sound for vinyl. I did a lot of takes on my cell phone, and I'd send it to Mark, one of which was a song called "Surveilling Us." I sent a version of that song from my cell phone, which I played on an acoustic guitar, and what he sent back, man, I went, "Holy shit! Are you kidding me?"

GM: It sounded that good?

MARK: Oh, yeah. He put drums on, some bass, and a screaming guitar. He only did like a minute and 45 seconds, just to show me what could be done with what he had to work with. But the sound was great. I didn't really have all the verses together yet, but I kind of knew what I wanted to say, and dude, he inspired me to write the song the way I wrote it.

And when I sent it back, he goes, "Where did you get all that?" I said, "That's you. All I did was cut and paste." He said, "Oh, my God. Man, this thing is rocking." So, that's kind of what we did. All the sounds and instruments on "Surveilling Us" are from the track that I got from Slaughter, which inspired me to finish the verses.

GM: "Surveilling Us" aside, is there a track on this record that you'd point to as a statement of intent?

MARK: Yes. There's a track called "Anymore," and that's the one. It's a song about who I am, hearing my voice, and identifying that by feeling and knowing who I am. I love the song because of the forgiveness that's in it. That's the power beyond any other power. That's it, man. That's the ultimate.

GM: Considering all you've been through, what's your outlook as you move forward?

MARK: To believe in the talent that the Creator deposited. If you have talent, it's not a gift. So many people give accolades and say, "Oh, you're so gifted." It's not really a gift; I don't see it as a gift. It's not really listed as a gift in the Bible. I see it as talent, and the one who gave us talent expects an increase on investment.

There's a parable about all this in the Bible. But because I believe it, I've seen it, and I've lived it, I'm walking in the reward of it. So, I would say to any young musician, "Hang onto your talent." Even if you're doing it for yourself just for your ears, and there's no one else around, just do it for yourself and edify yourself so you're always improving.

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