Mark Winters holding up his guitar
Arts

April 26: Mark Winters at the Heriot Bay Inn

Mark Winters will be performing in the Heriot Bay Inn, on Quadra Island, at 3:00 PM on Sunday, April 26th. 

The Texan based singer/songwriter recently told Cortes Currents,  “I picked up music a little later than most, in my adult life after I got a degree in aerospace engineering, of all things. Music has always moved me as a listener, and I wanted to do something musical. In 2011, I picked up a guitar to play a song for my wife for our anniversary. It was the most joyful experience I’ve ever had in my life, and I became obsessed with the feeling of connection you get when you perform live for others.

“I’ve learned a lot about how you build a tour. Last year I did a spring and a fall tour, and both of them had Canadian legs. So I played a show in Vancouver, and that part of the country is phenomenally beautiful. I took a run along the little bay that wraps around up to the Children’s Museum up there, and I felt like I was running in paradise. Then I heard about the island and the live music scene there—the Heriot Bay Inn has such a great vibe. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk to the booking people there to play a show, maybe write a few songs while I’m there enjoying the Bay.”

(Songs in podcast: All in the Rhythm-3:34-6:02; Man in the Sky-6:31-9:01; What Does It Mean to Be Human? -9:39-13:34)

Three Mark Winters songs

Cortes Currents: You sent me a bunch of songs—are there three in particular?

Mark Winters: “Yes. One of them is a new song that I’m releasing this coming Friday—the kickoff song of the tour. It’s called ‘All in the Rhythm,’ and I wrote it when I was hiking in Zion with my wife.”

(‘All in the Rhythm’ plays in the podcast only.)

Cortes Currents: Give me another song.

Mark Winters: “I have a song about the place I go in the morning when I wake up. Before I pick up my phone, before I end up getting assaulted by the world, I really enjoy watching the sunrise and having a cup of coffee. I wrote a song about the feeling I get in that moment and how that carries through into the rest of my day. It’s called ‘Man in the Sky.‘”

Cortes Currents: One more.

Mark Winters: “One of the more thoughtful pieces, given where we are today. It’s called ‘What Does It Mean to Be Human?‘ The scientist in me sees the shiny features of artificial intelligence helping me do these things, and the philosopher in me asks what I’m supposed to do if AI makes the steps and the research easier. What does it mean to be human? If that happens, it’s a thoughtful piece about AI making the world a little too easy for us, leaving us in a quandary about what we’re supposed to do.”

Thoughts about AI

Cortes Currents: Do you use AI?

Mark Winters: “I use AI for a lot of repetitive tasks—logistics planning when I’m figuring out driving between tour stops and where to stay. I have a small RV trailer I pull behind my SUV, and I have to find spots along the way that are in a national forest, state park, or other public land. It helps me find those places, which is pretty phenomenal. It also helps me do research on the communities I’m going to.”

Cortes Currents: I usually find what I want through AI programs much faster than most search engines, but you can’t trust what it says. Someone working with it for medicine told me AI sometimes hallucinates; it can make up facts as it anticipates what you want. You always have to check the source to make sure you’re getting the correct information.

Mark Winters: “It’s insane. That’s another thing—when I’m directing it and I say, ‘Okay, find me a spot to stay for the night on the way to New York City, from this location to that location,’ if I hadn’t done lots of that myself and it gave me a crazy answer, I could be driving in circles for a week. It’s funny when you catch it and tell it like a child, ‘Hey, that’s wrong.’ It says, ‘Oh, you’re right. I should have given you this.’ You have to delete the chat and start over again, because once it starts lying, it just keeps lying. Okay, who programmed that? I don’t know, man.”

New Communities

Cortes Currents: Let’s get back to your concert on Quadra.

Mark Winters: “I love playing in new communities. This show is a late-afternoon appearance, and I’ll get a chance to connect with the community. For me, playing in beautiful places has an amazing appeal. I write about the beauty of the location, and I usually find many people who are there for the same reasons I am—to enjoy the beauty of the area. That connection is a pretty strong through-line for my music.”

Cortes Currents: Any last thoughts before we go?

Mark Winters: “I would just say, find some extra protons in your day. If you don’t have any, come see a show with me and share them with your friends and neighbors to make the world a little brighter. That would be my call to action for everyone who hears this and is interested in being a little more positive.”

Links of Interest:

All photos courtesy Mark Winters

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