I quickly got to know the band members so when their host and lead singer quit they asked me to take over and also asked if I could help promote their shows since they knew I was a graphic designer. I went back whenever the band played, signing up and singing whenever I could. Already a fan of karaoke myself, this energetic experience would place people singing in front of a live band which played mostly hard rock & heavy metal hits. One night I stumbled upon a dive bar in Birmingham called THE NICK that had a “live metal karaoke” show. Granted this wasn’t for all runners, but for those that took part, it was a new and fun way to be both fit and social. I was elected “Social Chair” and eventually “President.” In doing so, I made it my mission to help the group become more social by adding events like “pub runs,” where members would run from pub to pub, enjoying a brew at each stop. I took up running as a hobby and got involved with the Birmingham Track Club. In that time, I became very proficient in being able to produce top-notch graphics in a short amount of time due to the constant looming deadlines that come with working at a daily newspaper. Two years later I relocated to Alabama to be closer to my family and landed a full-time job as a Graphic Artist at ‘The Birmingham News’. After graduating from college I moved to Boston where I worked as a Graphic Designer for The Boston Beer Company (brewer of Samuel Adams beers). These would be the foundation I’d continue to build on for decades to come. There I learned the basics of computer design programs like Adobe Illustration, Photoshop and QuarkXPress.
Although we only produced a few dance parties before graduating, it was just enough for me to get a taste of showing others a good time.Īs a kid I excelled in most anything art related, so I majored in Graphic Design at James Madison University in Virginia. I’d hand draw the promotional posters we’d put up in the hallways and rent a basic PA system so we could connect our two cassette players. A friend and I DJ’d “sock hops” after home football games in the school gym. My first attempt at producing events can be traced back to the late 1980s when I was a senior in high school. Mom wanted to make sure we stood out during our elementary school’s Halloween costume contests and that we did. From then on making our Halloween costumes was a must, as it was the mid-1970s and the only Halloween costumes you could find were the ones in boxes with hard plastic masks with tie-on outfits. Other years she helped make me a King Tut costume and even a Wolf-Man costume. She made me a Spider-Man costume when I was about seven years old, using hair nets to make the webbing on the red and dark blue bodysuit that she sewed by hand. I can trace my love of costuming back to my Mom. This always added a fun, interactive element to the parties and photos. Having ‘Smokey The Bear’ make an appearance at our parties happened a few times over the years because Dad worked for the US Forest Service and could pull strings to get a co-worker to put on the mascot-style outfit. Birthday parties and photos were a big deal for my two siblings and I. When I was quite young, my Dad almost always had his camera with him.
When thinking back on the origins of Markster Con Productions and the geeky community it has created, I first have to give credit to my parents for instilling in me a love of parties and costuming. Mark, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Baggett.
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