The Playlist: Mark Vollelunga

Mark Vollelunga from Nothing More on the Eagles, cooking with Trent Reznor and why every party needs Toto

The song that got me into music… Ifieverlosemyfaithinyou – Sting

“Gosh! This was when I was like nine or something, but I really liked Sting. The first album that I bought with my own money was Sting’s Ten Summoner’s Tales, and I just loved If I Ever Lose My Faith In You. Sting is a phenomenal artist; in songwriting, theory, everything. He always stands out and he has just grown and grown every single year, every single album he puts out.”

The first solo I learned... Fadetoblack – Metallica

“I remember that being the first guitar solo I ever learned so therefore it was like, ‘Oh, man! This song is amazing. I can’t believe I can play this. I’m so proud of myself [Laughs]!’ I went through a big Metallica phase when I first started to learn the guitar.”

The first song that spoke to me as a story was… Hotelcalifornia – Eagles

“It was just this really cool, haunted hotel that really pulled you into the story. Where is this place? What is Don talking about? And I want to know more about this haunted hotel and these people; did they make it out [Laughs]? And talking about guitar solos, yeah, that’s one of the best of all time in my opinion. I love Don Felder and Joe Walsh. And Glenn Frey, too. God rest his soul. They are incredible guitar players and songwriters.”

The tune that set politics to music… Brokenlungs – Thrice

“I am such a big Thrice fan and on their later albums I feel like their lyrics have gotten a lot more poetically political, and the one that comes to mind talks about the Twin Towers, Broken Lungs. The first line of the song spells out what the song is about, ‘Woke up to a brand new skyline’ and it’s talking about the two towers and how we are going to respond to this. That song really pulled me in.”

The song that reminds me of home... Fadein/fadeout – Nothing More

“That song is about my father and my son. I started writing it when my wife was pregnant. One night we were staying at a friend’s house, and I just woke up in the middle of the night and these lyrics came to me. Fast forward a few years, I remember visiting my parents and seeing my father for the first time in a long time. And it was really evident to me that, ‘Wow, this man is not immortal like I always thought he was.’ And death is a real thing. That song definitely reminds me of those two experiences, and home is where my family is.”

The best song for cooking to…. Somewhat Damaged – Nine Inch Nails

“I love cooking. In a lot of ways, cooking is like songwriting for me. There’s a lot of improvisation. Somewhat Damaged is kind of industrial. There’s all these random noises that are included in the loop, and that song is so neat. It’s in 9/8 and goes back to 8/8 later in the song. It’s probably my favourite Nine Inch Nails tune actually.”

The ultimate party anthem…. Africa – Toto

“Honestly, if it’s a party song and you want everybody to sing along, that jam is huge. It’s such an epic song. It’s neat to see it come back and have a lot of people gravitate towards it and fall in love with it again.”

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