About
Marc Pisapia is a Session/Touring Drummer-Vocalist living in Nashville, TN
Marc has been playing in bands since the age of 12 when he started out singing for his older brother Joe’s grammar school band. After a few stints singing for bands throughout grade school, Marc eventually moved over to drums, the instrument that consumed his imagination. Spending the hard-earned wages he made working in his father’s Italian deli, Marc purchased his first drum set in 1984 and spent his high school years playing in a hard rock band.
During his years at Marist college in Poughkeepsie, NY, Marc met longtime rhythm section partner James “Hags” Haggerty and quickly formed a band that kept them “relatively busy and out of trouble” for their remaining years there together.
Upon graduating college, Marc busied himself in a few bands playing the clubs in and around Manhattan, until his older brother Joe invited him to make a record with him in PA. Those recordings (released a decade later as “The Pennsylvania Sessions”) opened many doors and eventually led the brothers to pack up and relocate to Music City.
Marc’s professional drumming career begins in Nashville, TN.
Not long after moving to Nashville, Marc and his brother Joe founded the critically acclaimed avant pop band Joe, Marc’s Brother and recorded the album “The Debut of Joe, Marc’s Brother” at Memphis’ renowned Ardent studios. The band toured regionally and garnered healthy radio play in the southeast. After a line-up change that saw the departures of David Mead for a successful solo career, and bassist Pete Langella to raise a family, Marc’s longtime college mate Hags was imported to TN to re-tool the organization and eventually record their tour de force “Around the Year with Joe, Marc’s Brother.”
Joe, Marc’s Brother built a solid fan base, received several awards, and toured the US opening for bands like college favorites Guster and indie-rockers Superdrag.
Outside of JMB, Marc found himself the choice of many of Nashville’s top producers recording with Peter Collins (Rush, Bon Jovi, Phil Collins), Richard Dodd (Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison), Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Paula Cole, Lou Reed) and Brad Jones (Butterfly Boucher, Jill Sobule, Marshall Crenshaw) to name a few.
In 2001, JMB goes on hiatus. After recording a couple of tracks for Josh Rouse’s “Under Cold Blue Stars” album, Marc & Hags begin a several year run with Josh as his touring and recording rhythm section. With Josh, Marc has recorded his last 4 studio albums including the critically acclaimed “1972” and “Nashville,” a live concert DVD and toured internationally with stops at major international festivals such as Glastonbury, Austin City Limits, and V Festival, as well as opening runs for John Mayer and The Jayhawks.
Marc continues to record and tour out of Nashville. Over the years, he has recorded and or performed with artists such as Kelly Willis, Chuck Prophet, Jessie Baylin, Radney Foster, Butterfly Boucher, Curt Perkins, Peter Salett, Thad Cockrell, Mathew Ryan, David Mead, The Pierces, Heather Eatman, Will Kimbrough, and Jeff Finlin.
Marc endorses C&C Custom Drums.