By Esther Sanchez
I didn’t spend much time speaking with musician and desert music scene veteran, Mark Gregg, before I realized that he has a lot more going for him besides what he can do with a guitar. Trust me on this one, people……he definitely knows what he is doing with a guitar. In addition to sharing stages with some of the most iconic musical acts of our time, the frontman of, “Palm Springs’ #1 rock and roll party band, Dude Jones,” is also an inventor and entrepreneur. He is the owner of Mangus Innovations LLC, maker of the Ultimate Attenuator and the Silverbucking line of vintage style humbucking pickups. In layman’s terms, Mark is the inventor of specialized, mechanical guitar components that are utilized by musicians internationally.
Mark Gregg the entrepreneur is on the brink of opening an exciting new restaurant/club/concert venue in Palm Springs within the next few weeks. With a top-of-the-line stage and sound set-up combined with a swanky, hip environment, WTF is slated to be one of the premier entertainment destinations in the valley. Stay tuned to CV Weekly for more on WTF in future issues.
My first memory of Gregg is from some years back when I was a 21 year-old server at the Village Pub in Palm Springs. As the bar’s headliner and entertainment director for over a decade and half, he became a downtown staple and accumulated the experience to know what it takes to rock the crowds. In all actuality, he has been making music and entertaining for most of his life and he has a list of over 2,000 songs in his repertoire to cover just about anyone’s taste.
Continuing his reign as the king of downtown entertainment, you can check out Gregg’s performances every Thursday at Sullivan’s Steakhouse and Fridays at Palm Canyon Roadhouse. Also, Dude Jones and special guests will be featured at B.B’s Annual Halloween Bash on the 31st at the Hard Rock Hotel. Other than that, according to Gregg he usually, “…splits Saturdays between crime-fighting and various gigs.”
This past weekend, Gregg joined a crew that included some of the Coachella Valley’s most popular musical artists at Schmidy’s Tavern for the 8th Annual Concert for Autism which was a 2 day, all-ages event with the purpose of raising funds for Lumpy’s Foundation for Autism.
Gregg: I am very optimistic about the growth of Palm Springs in particular and the eclectic scenes emerging as a result. I also enjoy the spirit of respect and cooperation amongst valley artists and it all becomes very evident when we come together for worthy events such as this. I have family members on the Autisim spectrum so I was very happy to perform at this charity concert.
Whether we are talking music, business, or life in general, Mark Gregg is a guy full of creativity and ambition who is going full-speed ahead with no intentions of slowing down. He is a friend to us at CV Weekly and to the desert in general and for those reasons we intend on keeping you posted on what he has planned for us all.
