Dynamo Pro Wrestling’s Mark Bland has had his hands full in 2014 with Ricky Cruz, Jake Dirden, Jeremy Wyatt and Brandon Espinosa, but when he is not trying to maintain order he is the host of one of the hottest radio shows in St. Louis, The Q.
BEST AM RADIO PERSONALITY.
Before we can declare the winners in over 250 categories of music, food, drink, goods and services, we need you to do it yourself: Fill out our annual Readers’ Poll and decide your pick for Best CD/Record Store, Best Coffee, Best Local Politician, to name just a few. The listed nominees for each category received the most nominations in the first phase of our contest. You can start your ballot now, save it, and come back as many times as you like until the deadline. Voting ends on September 15 and any partially completed ballots will be submitted as they are.
Please take the time to vote for him as the Best of St. Louis contest for AM Radio Personality here.
Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Mark Bland has been entertaining the St. Louis television and in radio scene for many years. Beginning as an actor in his early youth, Bland graduated high school and went on to Community College in St. Louis which ultimately led him to his afternoon gig at the schools college radio Station, 89.5 FM, on which he hosted and produced the #1 weekly afternoon talk show, “The Friday Night Drive.”
The show lead to a shot at a local public access TV show in the fall of 1997, where he began to find popularity as the host of “Video Jukebox” (1997), a music video show that featured upcoming artists and interviews with national celebrities. He hosted three seasons of the show and after finishing the popular underground series, Mark was hired to do another music video show in the same capacity named “Mega Music” (2001). This lead to a breakout shot as the host of “Audaphobia” (2004) on the local Warner Brothers TV affiliate WB-11. On Audaphobia, Mark had the pleasure of interviewing artists like Kanye West and honing his skills in front of live audiences in St. Louis music venues.
Through his connections over the years, Bland was able to also find success on the business
side of music. He started handling small PR projects and development for artists with Universal Records, Warner Music/Rap-A-Lot artist Raw Resse and The Ben Hill Squad (“Do Yo Dance on that Oh”). In 2006, Mark moved into the management realm of music garnering him a slot with Nordic Talent U.S. where he handles the US management of 1990’s Top 40 group “The Rednex” (Universal/Well Done), as well as some up and coming artists in the country music and pop scene.
From 2006 – 2008, Mark’s music and entertainment background earned him a shot on the St. Louis Television Show “Junior Stars” (2006 – 2008). He judged on the show which was a clone of the popular show “American Idol”, where young contestants battle in singing competition to declare who is the “Junior Star” of St. Louis. The show was produced and shown on the local St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOV.
Mark formed Syndicate Entertainment Group based in St. Louis, MO. Syndicate is Mark’s base company for the music business. It focuses solely on artist management, independent label operations, and consultation. The company’s first group/artist is a group Mark co-manages named Flight Case for Sushi, who he was able to get signed with Akon’s record label KonLive Distribution. KonLive was also home to Flight Case’s label mate Lady Gaga as well as Colby O’Donis. He also returned to radio… In 2008, he started hosting a UFC/Pro-Wrestling radio show on the Fox Sports radio affiliate in St. Louis, Team 1380 AM. The show, Absolute Wrestling Radio, focuses on the current news stories within the Mixed Martial Arts and Sports Entertainment communities. He also started doing play-by-play for a nationally syndicated MMA TV show named “Combat Showcase”. Combat Showcase is played in over 23 million homes each week nationwide through traditional TV stations (WRBU 46 in St. Louis) as well as the MAV network on satellite and cable.
Missouri Wrestling Revival 