Skipping Girl Vinegar’s Mark Lang returns to the music scene with a gritty slice of honest rock, his latest single “Ride On.” That return almost didn’t happen though. After three albums with Skipping Girl Vinegar Mark found himself at a crossroads, wondering whether he had anything left to say with music.
“The band had decided it was time for a collective hiatus and my wife and I were emerging from the wake of a cancer recovery. I was in a personal and musical pit unsure of where to go next when I received an invitation to tour solo into the US. It was something to hold onto so on a whim took it up to see where I landed,” he recounted.
Driving through Missouri late one night, he saw the familiar flash of police lights in his rearview mirror. The officer ran his license and checked his visa before the conversation turned to music, family, and the U.S. election campaign.
“It was a surreal experience sitting on the other side of the world swapping stories of unfulfilled dreams and new beginnings with an officer of the law,” he remembers. “Somehow that conversation helped me understand where I wanted to go next giving me the confidence to step forward and not look back.
The cop let Mark off with a warning and a final piece of advice. “As I stepped from the car I thanked him, he looked me square in the eye and said, “It’s okay son, ride on.”
And so a song was born.
Mark Lang will spend most of this year touring North America and Europe, but he’s currently back in town to promote “Ride On.” Catch him at the following shows.
22 April 2018 – Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, Brisbane
28 April 2018 – Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne
11 May 2018 – Portland Arts Centre,
Image used with permission from Maths and Magic