By Ella Wen
Mark Athanasiadis is a local drummer, teacher, and member of the Markham Arts Council (MAC). Growing up in a melodic household, he was exposed to many musical influences. He began his musical journey by trying out some of his childhood friends’ drum sets and soon wanted to get one of his own which his mother gifted to him in Grade 6.
Since then, he has focused solely on learning how to play the drums other than a bit of piano during High School. Through the years, he taught himself how to play by performing along to songs. However, it was only when he went to Grade 10 did he take drumming seriously and began to refine his skills. To improve his technique as a drummer, he began to take lessons in both technique and theory and believes that taking the proper training was an integral part of his improvement process in honing his skills.
“If you want to go the extra little step for proper training and learning, lessons are the necessary way to go,” says Mark who studied fine arts at York University for a year and also a Bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Music from Humber College.
Mark has taken inspiration from many different musicians, like Led Zeppelin and Bono, to get better at his drumming skills. He also began to seek out more opportunities and even joined bands.
During his career as a drummist, he has been in multiple bands, such as the Accolades, the Chris Molyneaux Jazz Trio, and the Toronto All-Star Big Band, which mainly focuses on sounds from the 30s-40s. Being a part of these bands created a lot of opportunities for him to perform, especially before the pandemic. His favourite experience playing Live was the Beaches Jazz Festival in Toronto.
In addition, he has travelled to the East Coast with his band, the Accolades, and performed shows in the United States and Southern and Northern Ontario. His drumming style is incredibly versatile, and he has a lot of experience in playing many different genres, ranging from heavy metal to soft jazz.
Aside from his ongoing bands and gigs, Mark currently gives out private drumming lessons at Long McQuade and Tone Labs Music. The experience of teaching others has helped him further improve his skills.
If he had to give advice to any aspiring drummist or musician, he would say, “If you love it, if you got a feel for music … or just something about it that speaks to you or makes you feel a certain way, go for it.”
Having a passion and love for music, has helped Mark get to know more people and has become a huge part of his identity.
“Drumming and music was like my calling and a way for people to get to know me … It was my way of talking with people,” says the MAC member who was introduced to the organization after playing with a fellow musician and member of MAC at the Rouge River Brewery.
“From what I hear about the Markham Arts Council, they’re great at with what they do, with supporting live music and making sure artists have a voice and a place to play,” he says.
In the future, he hopes and plans to play with his band at the Beaches Jazz Festival again this year.
