Mark Bacino We haven't actually reviewed Pop Job yet, but you can visit Mark Bacino's website or buy his music at Insound.

What band did you listen to most during the eighties? Do you still like them?

Mark Bacino: Hall & Oates. Of course I still like them. Doesn't everyone?

What is your worst memory of elementary school? Of high school?

Mark Bacino: People making fun of me because I liked Hall & Oates.

You're about to -- ahem -- get lucky. What album is playing in the background? Why'd you choose it?

Mark Bacino: H2O by Hall & Oates. I find "Maneater" always seems to wet, ahem, the appetites of the foxes. What ever you do, stay away from "Did it in a Minute".

What was the first thing you ever shoplifted? Why did you take it?

Mark Bacino: H2O. I was trying to get lucky. Did you go to your high school prom? If so, who did you go with?

Mark Bacino: Yes, but I feel funny telling. Okay, I'll only give the initials: J. O.

For reasons we won't bother going into right now, you're going to be locked in the back of a truck for a sixteen hour drive between gigs. If you could have any musician, past or present, back there to keep you company, who would it be?

Mark Bacino: Again, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Okay, I'll give the initials: D. H.

What is your strongest, most unshakeable belief?

Mark Bacino: That the mighty Hall & Oates will rise, rise like a phoenix and retake the charts with their otherworldly blend of rock n' soul, baby.

What's the worst band you've ever heard? Why do they suck?

Mark Bacino: The New Radicals...They suck because they're trying to sound like Hall & Oates but no one, I repeat, no one can make music so majestic as the largest selling duo of the rock era, Hall & Oates.

If you were a porn star, what would your "porn name" be?

Mark Bacino: Whole Oates. Catchy, isn't it? Funny you ask, because it's an industry I'm just trying to break into. Ya know, it's a lot like the music business, I find, only the people are a bit more...what's the word? Respectable?

You're on your way to a show, and all of a sudden you find yourself in the middle of a huge four-way battle between pirates, ninjas, robots and intelligent apes from the future. Your only hope of getting to your gig is to pick a side. Who do you join, and why?

Mark Bacino: I'd have to go with the pirates, not so much for their cute little outfits but more because the play in Pennsylvania, the birthplace of... well, you know.

What's wrong with Rolling Stone these days?

Mark Bacino: Not enough coverage of music that speaks to me. Where's the love, ya know? I mean, rock n' soul is still a viable genre, isn't it?

You've traveled back in time and met yourself, age sixteen. What do you think?

Mark Bacino: I'd be like "Damn, who's the fox with the cheesy mustache and the feathered back hair? Sweet."

The US government is considering far more aggressive regulation of leather pants. Under the new rules, who should or shouldn't be allowed to wear them?

Mark Bacino: I'm not sure, but you know, denim and leather go good together and really, who are we to not set the spirit free.

What, in your opinion, is the best porn?

Mark Bacino: Well, not to be tooting my own horn, but like I said before, I'm breaking into the business, so I'd have to say the best porn is my new film Private Size. It's sort of in the '80s classic style. I'm also scoring.

How many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man?

Mark Bacino: I'm not sure how many, but ya know, the thing about me is I'm willing to try them all.

Everyone's replacing their least-favorite body parts with cybernetic ones. Which part(s) of your body would you replace?

Mark Bacino: Everything but my head. They say it's really the most impotent organ.

What topics or statements would inspire you to call in to a talk radio program?

Mark Bacino: The usual stuff I suppose, I'm pretty traditional, ya know: Hall & Oates, porn, rock n'soul -- the normal stuff that gets everybody all pumped up.

What album(s) should everyone be given on their eighteenth birthday?

Mark Bacino: That's easy, Tapestry....or H2O, I guess.

Why are frogs amusing?

Mark Bacino: I guess because if you kiss them they turn into handsome princes, and whether we care to admit it or not, in today's society it's better to be good looking then amusing. Actually, I can't take credit for this, G.E. Smith really said that.

From popjob.com, Bacino's web site:

"The first thing I think about is the song. I love catchy melodies; and if people don't go away humming the songs after the first listen, then I haven't done the job right." Someone's doing his job right... Writing songs for close to fifteen years, singer/songwriter Mark Bacino's knack for the "hook" is unique amongst his contemporaries. Guided by the pop muses of the mid to late '60s, Mark's songs continue in the tradition of pop's favorite songwriters. The studio is where Mark's songs truly begin to "pop n' glow"... Radio friendly, Mark's studio productions achieve a sheen and polish without losing the humanity and spark that make a record a classic. The intricate background vocals on tracks such as "Inside" and "Gone" (from Mark's album Pop Job) perfectly complement the relaxed feel of the rhythm section and the jangle of the guitars. It's the voice, though... Although Mark is a skilled multi-instrumentalist (guitar, piano, bass), his voice proves to be his most versatile instrument. There are as many as 15 simultaneous vocal tracks (all sung by Mark alone) adorning the aforementioned recordings. Time consuming but worth it. So... If you're a consummate or casual fan of pop music and catchy melodies, give Pop Job a listen and be prepared to "go away humming the songs", but also be prepared to come back...wanting more.