Cory Marks is unique and unboxed. I described Cory as a guitar slinging, storytelling, hockey playing, plane flying, Canadian Rush geek (like me) and that didn’t even scratch the surface.
Cory’s 2020 release “Who I Am”, introduced him to the rock audience. The first single 2019’s “Outlaws and Outsiders” paired him with Ivan Moody (Five Finger Death Punch), country superstar Travis Tritt, and former Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars. It was a chart topper on both country and rock radio.
In 2024 his single “Make My Country Rock” from his album “Sorry For Nothing” teamed him again with Travis and Mick. They added a vocal pairing with Godsmak’s Sully Erna and ended in the top 20 at rock radio.
Thankfully for music, Corey is back with “Sorry For Nothing Volume 2”. The record is a blast of 10 new songs drenched in storytelling, soaring guitars and honky tonk vibes.
I spoke with Cory on my Carr Stereo Podcast the day before he left to open up for “Sevendust” on their “Southside Doublewide acoustic Tour”. We chatted about his new release, the pressure of having to “choose a lane”, Tik Tok stars, hitting the heavy with Producer Kevin Churko and his Canadian “obsession” with Bryan Adams!
Hanging with Cory is like reconnecting with a long lost High School pal. He’s the ultimate buddy to talk music with.
TC: You have a great country sensibility with your songwriting and storytelling. You’ve also got a heaviness to the music that I think comes from your roots, and working with Producer Kevin Churko (Five Finger Death Punch, In this Moment, Papa Roach, Disturbed, Ozzy Osbourne) who’s a heavy guy and really knows how to bring that out. He’s been a real crafter of your sound.
Do you feel the pressure to be one or the other? I think that this collection is a perfect blend of everything that you are.
CM: Well, I thank you for that. I think there needs to be more people like you in the music industry, because I’ve been saying this a lot in my interviews. In the word “artist”, there’s a three-letter word that really pops out that makes that whole thing, and that’s ART. I think it’s very important. I find that’s missing a lot, especially in the country community. It just feels like a lot of it sounds the same. You’ve got to stick to a lane, and look, act, and sound a certain way.
Therefore, I find in music in general, lately, it’s missing some magic. I’m hoping I’m bringing that magic with the great stuff that I grew up on from Merle Haggard to Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings to Eric Church, Brad Paisley, Bryan Adams, and then into the Rush, Deep Purple, Grand Funk, and then heavier with Pantera, Lamb of God, Arch Enemy, and Metallica.
I just love music, melody, and rhythm. It’s got to have a beat and a feeling. I think once I started songwriting, you mentioned Kevin Churko, we’ve talked about this before. I remember listening to the Ozzy Osbourne record “Black Rain” that Kevin produced and thought “Imagine a country record with more of a country vibe in the storytelling and vocals, but with this kind of production musically and melody like Black Rain?”. Fast forward 10 years and I’m working with Kevin.
TC: Did you tell him that?
CM: Yeah, I told him. He knows all that. He has been a great crafter. I mean, my country music was Merle Haggard. Kevin’s is Steve Earle. That was his country side, right? But we’re both Ozzy, and also huge Mutt Lange fans, which is ACDC, Def Leppard, Shania Twain, so there you have it.
I think most importantly, and back to your question of “do I feel pressured”? No. I’m writing songs and music for me that I love, the way I want to do it and how I want to do it. I think it’s great or hope it’s great and just hope that when people hear it they go, ‘yeah, I like this sh—t’. That’s all.
There’s never really any pressure for me because I don’t want to put anything out there that’s half-assed or isn’t me, or like, “it’s not that good, but let’s get it out”. I love both of these records, Sorry For Nothing Volume 1 and 2. I love all these tracks and a lot of people ask me, “what’s your favorite song to play or what’s your favorite song on the record”?
They all have their own stories. They come from different places, whether that’s a party anthem, heartbreak or whether that’s something like “Tough To Be Strong”. I wrote that one with Kevin and Kane Churko at Mount Charleston back in 2021. It’s about a dear friend of mine that kind of got lost down the wrong path. With everything going on these days with mental health and addiction, “Tough To Be Strong” is literally Cory looking over that friend and knowing that there’s way more people than me dealing with that. Some are worse off.
It’s for anyone struggling with that kind of thing. I talked to Kevin just last week and he said ”that’s such a f’ing good song”. I’m so proud of that song. That’s like our Bryan Adams song.
TC: I know you LOVE Bryan. He’s your guy. You are the Bryan Adams kid who grew up with his music. Bryan’s a great storyteller. It’s always six degrees of Bryan Adams with you!
CM: His songs are 40-45 years old and they’re still amazing. He is singing better than ever. We just saw him in Toronto a month ago. I was supposed to be in Nashville with hopes of meeting him and doing some writing just last week.
My old manager, Louis O’Reilly, sent me a picture in Nashville. He’s with Bryan Adams backstage and I’m like, ‘you son of a bitch’. Louis says “You have met him right?”? I’m like, “Never. I haven’t met him yet”. I said to meet him is one thing, and I would be forever grateful for that opportunity, but if he was ever down to write and maybe work together at some point on that front, I mean, that would be, wow. I’d just love to learn from him and be in a room during that process. That would just be so great.
TC: You talk about being an artist and sequencing your record, having it be who you are and telling your story. I’m hearing this from so many artists. It’s so hard to stay true to yourself and so important, more now than ever, because you’ve got labels and managers looking for those next TikTok stars, which is mind blowing to me. I had an artist on with me a couple of weeks ago who I think is just so spectacular. He said, off the record, “they don’t know what to do with me because I’m not on TikTok every day getting 20 million TikTok views. That’s just not who I am. I’m a guitar player, songwriter, and a storyteller.”
CM: I’m glad you brought that up. There’s more days that I’m almost discouraged than proud of some of the work I’ve done because, you know, that’s just it. “Did you send them the song”? “Yeah, but they’re asking about your TikTok.” It’s like, are we allowed to swear on here, by the way?
TC: Yup.
CM: I’m an f’ing artist, a musician, and a songwriter. We’re in the music business, not the TikTok business.
There’s so much stupid stuff on there where people get their big break. Good for them. Honestly, I’m thrilled for anyone who gets to live out the dream and have the success that they work for and dream for, whether that’s TikTok or not. However, I know that this might sound old school, and personally no disrespect to anyone but it shows when you see them live.
Some of these cats have never played bars. The first time they ever played a festival or tour, they’re in arenas or playing the biggest stages, and let’s say something goes wrong, it’s panic mode because they’ve never experienced no monitors. They’ve never experienced their mics dead. “What do I do now”? It’s like, “run over to your bass player’s mic and just use it till it’s figured out”. Hell, there’s still times where you still play in rooms that hold 400 and have 60 people in there. It’s just part of the experience.
Final Words
There is nothing like the live experience. Absolutely nothing. And it doesn’t sound “old school “because Cory Marks isn’t old. He’s in his thirties. If Cory comes your way in 2026 go see him! He has a killer band and on his current tour it’s just him and a guitar opening for Sevendust, telling his stories.
Oh and here’s hoping for that collab he’s been waiting for since he’s nine years old with his musical hero Bryan Adams. I’m waiting for it too. Come on Bryan!
Check out my full interview with Cory Marks on my Carr Stereo podcast on YouTube, my website or wherever you get your podcasts.
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