Singer/songwriter Mark Oproiu and his mononymous named band – featuring Chris Tondreau (lead/rhythm guitars, production); Calvin Beale (bass guitar); Michael Farina (drums/percussion); and Joel Joseph (keyboards) have released their debut single “Need Your Love.” The incessant, groove-oriented rock pastiche finds Mark Oproiu snarling over a tribal beat while guitars are ablaze. The band perfectly emulates the raw emotion and drive that Mark dreamed of as a child.
“Need Your Love” – YouTube “Need Your Love” – Spotify
He discovered his calling when he received Queen’s ‘The Works‘ and KISS’ ‘Creatures Of The Night‘ albums for his eighth birthday. Recalls Oproiu, “I couldn’t stop listening to ‘Creatures Of The Night.‘ (KISS) were not just any rock band, but one that would ultimately become mentors as I began my journey as a singer/songwriter and entertainer…I was transfixed on how music made me feel, and I wanted to make others feel the same.”
Oproiu continues, “I started teaching myself how to play the guitar with instructional videos and a lot of practice. At 17 I started taking private vocal lessons, and continued until I was 21.” It was then that he started playing in bands and playing in clubs. Then Grunge exploded and nearly wiped-out Hard Rock as a genre. Oproiu’s band members at the time soon started to get married, and have children. “In 1997, upon the completion of our 2nd LP – a hard rock album – I too made the decision to walk away and have a family. And so that’s what I did.”
But it wouldn’t be the end of Mark Oproiu’s vision, “It was in my 2nd year of university that I met Orlando Cicchello. He had graduated from the Music Institute of Guitar in Los Angeles at the top of his class. (I told him) my experiences with music, and my passion for songwriting. We built a 16-bit home studio, and started recording together. Orlando would lay down riffs and progressions, while I arranged them and wrote lyrics and melodies, and off we went. We worked like this for the better part of 18 years.”
That brings us to the present where OPROIU, the band, has realized Mark Oproiu’s musical vision on the new ‘Rock Lives’ 4-song EP, and its dynamic new single “Need Your Love.”