Meet Mark & Margo Gusick | Wild Rust – Acoustic Band

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark & Margo Gusick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark & Margo, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
MARK: Dating back to when we first met, Margo and I would always sing together for the sheer fun of it. Then, when we moved into a mountain cottage up in the foothills north of LA, I’d find myself picking up the acoustic guitar more and more. We’d sing and play music for hours. After our wedding day, because of the encouraging feedback we received from our guests after performing an acoustic set during our reception, we decided to book some studio time and produce a record. This kicked off our musical journey together, and we began meeting and collaborating with some of the most fantastic musicians I’ve known. Two EP’s, and a couple of guest spots as backing vocalist for a few local LA bands later, we formed our current band Wild Rust. Now we are finally locked-in on making precisely the kind of music we want to make – in the way we want to make it. Without art, life would be unbearable to me. So until the day I die, I will be playing music, singing, writing, designing and doing whatever else which fuels that creative spark inside myself and in each and every one of us.

MARGO: As far back as I can remember I’ve loved to sing whether it be alone in the shower or within a larger choir group. When singing, especially harmonizing, I have always gotten a feeling of joy that not many other outlets provided for me. As has been said by many, music is something that everyone in the world can relate to, enjoy and feel. I would consider music first and foremost an emotional outlet which is something that my career as a nurse does not provide me. When I first met my husband Mark almost 15 years ago and found out that we both loved music, we began to realize that we could actually make something beautiful to share together, beyond just being a hobby. We hope others feel the enjoyment of listening as we do singing with each other.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Over the past 5+ years, I have literally spent hundreds of hours writing vocal harmonies. Considering Margo’s experience as a trained vocalist it makes sense that we would want the band to be focussed on strong close dual-harmony vocals. Although I always figured we should put an acoustic band together, one who’s instrumentation could best be described as bluegrass, it started to become a reality in late 2019. After building a repertoire of 40+ songs, we’ve refined our process, saving us time and enabling us to deliver the best harmonies possible. To her credit, Margo has loads of natural ability, unlike myself – where if I didn’t practice regularly, I would sound like a frightened cat shrieking.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We live in La Crescenta which is adjacent to the north end of Glendale. Coincidentally, a close friend from my hometown of Chicago will be visiting next month, so we’ll likely take him to Honolulu Avenue in Montrose, a quaint stretch of restaurants, gastropubs and mom and pop shops. I’m sure we’ll want to hit In-N-Out Burger. Plus, we’ll take a couple of day trips to Point Dume in Malibu and then maybe Redondo Beach Pier. Since we both love local live music we’ll probably check out some bands at Cinema Bar which is relatively close to where he’ll be staying in Marina Del Rey. We’ll also frequent the many watering holes in and around Venice like Hinano Cafe – and would definitely hit Santa Monica pier, naturally, considering it’s the farthest point on Historic Route 66 from its opposite end in Chicago.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
MARK: My late friend and renowned South Pasadena multi-instrumentalist Tim Fleming was a huge inspiration for me personally. It’s always amazing when I jam with a musician who, to my ear, sounds so incredibly good – and then they tell me how good Margo and I sound to them. It sort of lets me know that we are on the right track. At that point in his life, Tim had been playing music for 50+ years and had even once graced the Saturday Night Live stage in the 80’s – so I put a lot of stock in his opinion. In addition, one group of folks I’d like to recognize are the North Hollywood bluegrass players at Lawless Brewing Co. whom I’ve been jamming with over the past year. These people have definitely been inspirational and furthermore has forced me to up my game.

MARGO: We always have to thank our parents don’t we? But in all seriousness, I would actually recognize my parents for the multitude of singing classes I took as a child and for my first karaoke machine that had a plug-in microphone and eight track tapes where I could sing Olivia Newton-John songs at the top of my lungs. Along those same lines, I would thank them for putting up with me wailing away every day without a noise complaint. They were the people that introduced me to my first concert experiences. The first one being in the 1970’s. My parents took my siblings and I to see Kiss. I remember sitting on my dad’s shoulders watching the stage explode with fire and the following day I would be dancing with him in the living room to Nat King Cole. I always remember music permeating throughout our entire home. Eventually, my father owned a record store in Hawaii in the early 80’s where I would listen to music for hours. This is where my brothers and I would listen to groups like Kraftwerk and Devo. While my dad slept in the back of the store we would run that place with free reign of the music choices. Also, it would be silly not to recognize my husband and co-collaborator Mark, since he was the next huge musical contributor to my life. I want to thank him not only for introducing me to music that I never would have known or even heard of without his influence, but for being that person who chooses to sing with me every day.

Website: linktr.ee/wild.rust

Instagram: instagram.com/wild.rust

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@WildRust-xb3mj?si=fk4EotPJS3r8ObiE

Other: Newly Released Official Video https://youtu.be/q6ZADiC5C7I?si=qpHr7WePCVb9Qgov