Mark Todd and Cindy Carpenter met twelve years ago and have been performing together ever since. Mark, who has an incredible voice with uncanny range, can crank hard rock from his electric guitar or deliver softer tones from his 12-string acoustic guitar. Cindy's rythmic acoustical guitar skills compliment Mark well, as does her strong, soulful singing. Referring to her energy on stage, a fan once playfully described Cindy as, "the cheerleader from hell." Cindy also provides percussion for the team and, more often than not, engages audience members to participate. One cannot help but feel invigorated and happy after spending an evening with Soho Band. |
| CINDY Cindy exploded into this life at the same time Kilauea was erupting the short distance from the hospital where she was born in Honolulu. Music, dancing and modeling were always a part of her life growing up in Hawaii and then Southern California, but her first hiatus came shortly after high school to marry and raise her two young sons. At home with her children, Cindy spent every spare minute playing her guitar and banjo, sometimes falling asleep with her head on her guitar after putting her children to bed. The neighbors told her they loved to listen from their backyards to her practicing. Performing came quickly and she did a solo act in the Southern California music circuit while working at Caleb’s Guitar in Redlands, California. At Caleb's, she had the rare opportunity to teach with and learn from incredible musicians, including banjo virtuoso, Craig Smith, Neil Diamond’s former guitarist, Danny Nicholson, and jazz maestro, Jody Fisher. During this time, Cindy also found time to make the short drive up to Snow Summit in Big Bear Lake in the winters, after dropping her boys off at school for the day, to fulfill another one of her loves -- ski instructor. To sum up all her incredible adventures into one paragraph before moving to Colorado with her sons, Cindy had been “discovered” and performed a solo tour through the Orient, sang with the USO Show out of Hollywood, harmonized on radio jingles for Los Angeles’ then popular KNX-FM, while working on the “other side” of the business with many famed recording artists at the rehearsal studio of the stars, S.I.R., and in the music department of William Morris Agency. Somehow during this time, Cindy became lost with herself and her expression of music in the face of such great talent and good people that were her friends -- being draped with the overall fame and business aspect, the “L.A. Scene” became overwhelming to her and she needed to clear her head and her heart. Where else to go but the glorious and healing serenity of Colorado's Rocky Mountains and, of course, the unbelievable skiing. After much therapeutic soul searching, Cindy re-ignited the flame with the love of her life - her guitar. Having experienced so many challenges, she now plays from and for the heart with unbridled enthusiasm to share her love of music. E-Mail Cindy |
| MARK (and obviously written by Mark) The more talented and better looking half of Soho, Mark came screaming into this world in Ann Arbor, Michigan during the early 1960s. His mom bought him his first guitar when he was ten and got him started taking lessons, but like most young men who dream of becoming a rock star to get chicks, he soon discovered that learning to play guitar required practice, so he lost interest. Mark spent the first 12 years of his life in Michigan before moving to Virginia when his stepfather, an FBI agent, was transferred to Washington D.C. At age 14 he took up guitar lessons again and succeeded in putting together numerous high school garage bands, but still didn’t get any chicks. Although you’d never guess it now, Mark was relatively quiet and shy during most of his youth, and never really expressed an interest in live performance until his college years at Virginia Tech. It was there, with a roommate who was part of a barber shop quartet, where Mark worked on his voice and stage skills in open mike nights and talent shows. After college came six years in the Air Force as an aircraft maintenance officer. It was an experience that took him from Illinois to California, to Alaska, and finally to Miami. When Mark wasn’t supervising wrench-turners, he was taking more guitar lessons, working on his vocal range (much to the chagrin of his roommates), writing and recording songs. He also had many opportunities to hone his performing skills during Air Force banquets and parties as the entertainment coordinator/performer. It was also during his stint in the Air Force that Mark got the performance opportunity of his life. In 1987, after placing second in a nationwide Air Force talent contest, he was selected to tour with the Air Force “Stars of Sound,” a 26 person traveling musical road show. For over three months, Mark ate, slept, and traveled around the country on a tour bus to different bases and sites entertaining the troops. It was an incredible experience that helped him to appreciate the hard work of being “on the road.” And in spite of the fact that he was able to further improve his stage and vocal skills, at the end of the tour Mark was still dancing very much like a white boy (and still does today). These days, since Mark has aquired a very nice car, and has five children to raise as a single dad, he may not perform for his living, but he is living for his children and performs for the love of music. E-Mail Mark |
 |
| (Click Picture to Enlarge) |
| (Click Picture to Enlarge) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|