Mark Bingham

Biography

Mark Bingham, born in 1949 in Bloomington, Indiana, began his musical journey as a teenager, signing a publishing contract with Elektra Records in 1966 and recording a single as a solo artist in Los Angeles. While attending Indiana University in the early 1970s amid the anti-war movement, he co-founded the Screaming Gypsy Bandits, a 10-piece theatrical psych rock band influenced by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, featuring future jazz luminaries like Mark Dresser and John Clayton. Bingham produced albums for band singer Caroline Peyton and guitarist Bruce Anderson's punk outfit MX-80 Sound, while launching his indie label Bar-B-Q Records.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

In 1976, Bingham relocated to New York City, immersing himself in the No Wave and avant-garde scenes, forming the minimalist art-punk band Social Climbers with Jean Seton Shaw and Dick Connette. He produced Glenn Branca's debut, contributed to Allen Ginsberg's The Lion For Real, and drew stylistic influences from Archie Shepp's Fire Music and The Incredible String Band, steering him away from traditional singer-songwriter paths toward chopped-up, experimental compositions. By 1982, he moved to New Orleans, founding The Boiler Room studio and later Piety Street Recording in 2001, producing diverse artists across punk, jazz, Cajun, and pop genres.[1][2][3][5]

Bingham's style spans psych rock, No Wave, jazz-rock fusion, and roots music, reflected in his solo albums I Passed For Human (1989) and Psalms Of Vengeance (2009, delayed by Hurricane Katrina). A 2021 Offbeat magazine Lifetime Achievement in Music Business Award recipient, he has arranged for R.E.M.'s Out Of Time and worked with icons like John Scofield, Marianne Faithfull, and Allen Toussaint. Recently returning to Bloomington after decades in New York and New Orleans, Bingham continues composing and performing, with over 60 years in the industry.[1][2][3][4]

Fun Facts

• As a teenager, Bingham won a high school band battle in Bloomington, leading judges to sign him to a record deal where one of his songs was given to The Everly Brothers.[4]
• He watched The Doors record at Elektra Studios in the late 1960s and was trained there as a producer from the ground up.[5][6]
• Bingham's Bar-B-Q Records releases, like Bill Wilson's 'Stardust Train' and Caroline Peyton's albums, achieved national radio play on 150 stations in the 1970s.[5]
• Piety Street Recording survived Hurricane Katrina but delayed his album Psalms Of Vengeance until 2009; the studio hosted John Fogerty, Elvis Costello, and Allen Toussaint.[3][4]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Archie Shepp - Stylistic influence who inspired Bingham's shift to chopped-up experimental songs (Fire Music (1965)) [late 1960s]
• Frazier Mohawk - Producer who worked on Bingham's early Warner Brothers single (Unreleased solo record) [1969]

Key Collaborators

• Screaming Gypsy Bandits - Co-founder, guitarist, singer, producer (In the Eye (1973), Caroline Peyton's Mock Up (1972) and Intuition (1977)) [1969-1974]
• Social Climbers - Founder, guitarist (Band albums) [1975-1980s]
• Mark Hood - Frequent collaborator and co-founder of Bar-B-Q Records (MX-80 Sound's Out of the Tunnel, Bush Tetras' 'Too Many Creeps') [1970s]
• Glenn Branca - Producer and occasional band substitute (Glenn Branca's first album) [late 1970s]
• Allen Ginsberg - Guitarist and composer (The Lion For Real) [1970s-1980s]
• R.E.M. - Arranger for horns and strings (Out Of Time (1991)) [1991]

External Links

• Spotify