Damon Marks
American songwriter
title: "Damon Marks" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1971-births", "living-people", "20th-century-american-guitarists", "20th-century-american-male-musicians", "21st-century-american-guitarists", "21st-century-american-male-musicians", "american-hard-rock-musicians", "american-heavy-metal-guitarists", "american-male-guitarists", "american-male-songwriters", "american-people-of-italian-descent", "american-philanthropists", "american-rhythm-and-blues-guitarists", "american-rock-guitarists", "american-rock-songwriters", "guitarists-from-new-jersey", "american-lead-guitarists", "musicians-from-elizabeth,-new-jersey", "songwriters-from-new-jersey"] description: "American songwriter" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Marks" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American songwriter ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Damon Marks |
| image | Damon Marks2.jpg |
| caption | Damon Marks in 2016 |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. |
| occupation | Musician, songwriter, Philanthropist |
| instrument | Guitar, vocals |
| genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, R&B |
| years_active | 1990–present |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = Damon Marks | image = Damon Marks2.jpg | caption = Damon Marks in 2016 | image_size = | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = | birth_place = Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. | occupation = Musician, songwriter, Philanthropist | instrument = Guitar, vocals | genre = Hard rock, heavy metal, R&B | years_active = 1990–present | label = | associated_acts = | website =
Damon Marks (born October 6, 1971) is an American professional rock and roll guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist. Marks is the founder of the Traveling Guitar Foundation, a non-profit that supplies underfunded school systems with support and musical instruments.{{cite news | title = Traveling Guitar Foundation contributes to music education at Robert Morris School No. 18 in Elizabeth | work = NJ.com | date= 2013-03-14 | url = http://www.nj.com/suburbannews/index.ssf/2013/03/traveling_guitar_foundation_co.html}} He is a spokesman for Merida Guitars and has performed with such artists as Alicia Keys and Bret Michaels.{{cite news |last=Makin |first=Cheryl |title=Traveling Guitar Foundation sets groundwork for success |publisher = Courier News |date= 2015-04-18 |url=http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/middlesex-county/2015/04/18/traveling-guitar-foundation/25980289/
Equipment
Damon presently holds full artist endorsements with Schecter Guitar Research and EMG, Inc. Damon primarily uses the Schecter Banshee Elite-6 FR S with the new sustainiac supercharger pickup system and the Hellraiser Hybrid C-1 FR with EMG Pickups 57/66.{{cite web |title=Damon Marks |publisher = Schecter Guitars |url=http://www.schecterguitars.com/artists/42-damon-marks-traveling-guitar-foundation}}
He also endorses the hand crafted Mérida Guitars DG15-SPGACES Diana Series Guitar and the T25-CES Trajan Series Nylon String Guitar.
Discography (with Lipstick Magazine)
- Skin Deep – released August 5, 2008 via Nightmare Records
- Live in NYC – released April 28, 2008 via Lipstick Magazine
- "Skin Deep" – from Skin Deep, released 2008
Discography (with Livre')
- Jericho: Tribe of Joshua - released May 20, 2016, via Sony Music Entertainment
Traveling Guitar Foundation
In 2009, Damon founded the Traveling Guitar Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to ensure that school children have access to high-quality musical instruments and instruction. By partnering with such sponsors as Schecter Guitars, Merida Guitars, and Blackstar Amplification, the foundation donates new instruments to underfunded schools nationally and internationally.{{cite news | title = NJ guitarist donates instruments to local music programs | publisher = WPIX | date= 2017-06-09 | url = http://pix11.com/2017/06/08/nj-guitarist-donates-instruments-to-local-music-programs/}} By 2015, the foundation had equipped 70 schools and 30,000 students with musical equipment.{{cite news | title = David Tyree helps support music education | newspaper = New York Daily News | date= 2015-04-24 | url = http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/tyree-supports-music-education-blog-entry-1.2197973}}
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/T6Q4311.jpg" caption="Damon Marks talking with students about the importance of music education."] ::
In early 2013, Damon went on his first celebrity USO tour.
On October 24, 2014, Marks was presented with a street sign at a ceremony by Mayor Christian Bollwage of the city of Elizabeth, NJ where he grew up.
On May 13, 2016, Marks was presented with a second street sign at a ceremony by Mayor Barbara McMorrow of the city of Freehold, NJ recognizing him for his contributions to the education of our children through his foundation. Marks was also presented with a proclamation that on Saturday May 15, 2016, being declared Damon Marks / Traveling Guitar Foundation day.
References
References
- [http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Merida-Guitars-Names-Damon-Marks-New-Spokesman-20150316 Broadway World]
- "Damon Marks". EMG Pickups.
- "Damon Marks". Merida Guitars.
- "Traveling Guitar Foundation". Traveling Guitar Foundation.
- "Guitarist Damon Marks Reminds Troops and Their Families the USO is Always by Their Side during Morale-Boosting Tour to Germany". USO.
- "Street Dedication (temp) for Damon Marks/Traveling Guitar Found.". City of Elizabeth NJ – City Hall.
- (May 17, 2016). "Freehold Township Mayor Barbara McMorrow, Damon Marks and Michael Palmisano". Traveling Guitar Foundation.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::