The Contender

posted in: Artist Features • Rock

The road to a successful career in music is paved with false starts and pitfalls, and oftentimes requires a reinterpretation success at a certain point. Consider the case study of Mark Renk, a Santa Monica musician and songwriter and creative force behind You Are I Am. Starting off as a touring musician, Renk soon made a name for himself as a writer, producer and arranger for acts ranging from Helmet and Daughtry to Gavin Rossdale, Three Days Grace, Evanescence and Kara DioGuardi. It was after a near brush record deal with Columbia that Renk took a step back, recalibrated and formed You Are I Am with drummer Jesper Kristensen, bass player Mik Heimburger, guitarist Thomas Hjorth and guest guitarist iZLER. With Renk manning acoustic guitar and piano, the group churns out emotionally-charged rock melodies that range from swooning psychedelia (Here Comes the Rainbow) to spare piano balladry (Gravity) and crashing, strident rockers (What A Pity). I Am You Are is now signed to CBS Records (yep, they have a music label) so there is a happy ending to this story. And, if you’ve never listened to these guys before, consider this a happy beginning for you.