Mark Bland
Host - The Q
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 atthe 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.
In 2010, Mark saw a change in the air. Absolute Wrestling took a turn for the worse when the station he was on was bought and switched around. Without anything to work from, Mark decided to take this as an opportunity re-invent the direction of his media career. Mark had been playing with the idea of doing a new show that focused on politics and current events, but was from a poignant moderate/liberal view. Mark's show would not run from controversy, but would take it head on and get to the real issues involved in whatever discussion the show focused. Thus, THE Q was born in late 2010 and made its debut on the defunct VERN network. Mark quickly found a home and a new drive when the show was picked up and pushed by the 2guystalking.com network. Marks' thoughts were right...the midwest had no shows that focused on the moderate liberal view (especially in conservative St. Louis, MO) and quickly he garnered a solid fan base. In 2012, Mark made the move switching the show to the Iwatchradio.com network and bridging out in the hopes of setting up his show for syndication. Mark took The Q and put it on the weekends at 1280 KYRO St. Louis.
From there syndication came calling. Mark was able to take the Q and put it on multiple stations in the midwest and expand his range. Eventually moving from 1280AM to 1380AM, Mark was able to garner the interest of South African Idol judge and broadcaster, Gareth Cliff. Cliff decided to do something unprecedented; he would make Mark Bland the first overseas syndicated radio broadcaster on in Africa. No attempt had been made in the past and it would be a huge showing in a combined bi-continental relationship. The Q debuted in September 2015 on the CliffCentral.com network supplying broadcasting to the entire continent of Africa by way of South Africa. In 2022, the show came back to the airwaves of 105.3 FM/1280 AM KYRO. Going LIVE weekly, the show was able to gain another station in 2023...102.5 WIBH and build upon their past success.
As usual, the Q is unconventional in it's stylings and broadcast. Just like the show and its host, the world of radio is finally coming around to the idea that Mark Bland and his staff consistently put together some of the best content available in the world for consumption.
Follow Mark on twitter at @markbland
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.
In 2010, Mark saw a change in the air. Absolute Wrestling took a turn for the worse when the station he was on was bought and switched around. Without anything to work from, Mark decided to take this as an opportunity re-invent the direction of his media career. Mark had been playing with the idea of doing a new show that focused on politics and current events, but was from a poignant moderate/liberal view. Mark's show would not run from controversy, but would take it head on and get to the real issues involved in whatever discussion the show focused. Thus, THE Q was born in late 2010 and made its debut on the defunct VERN network. Mark quickly found a home and a new drive when the show was picked up and pushed by the 2guystalking.com network. Marks' thoughts were right...the midwest had no shows that focused on the moderate liberal view (especially in conservative St. Louis, MO) and quickly he garnered a solid fan base. In 2012, Mark made the move switching the show to the Iwatchradio.com network and bridging out in the hopes of setting up his show for syndication. Mark took The Q and put it on the weekends at 1280 KYRO St. Louis.
From there syndication came calling. Mark was able to take the Q and put it on multiple stations in the midwest and expand his range. Eventually moving from 1280AM to 1380AM, Mark was able to garner the interest of South African Idol judge and broadcaster, Gareth Cliff. Cliff decided to do something unprecedented; he would make Mark Bland the first overseas syndicated radio broadcaster on in Africa. No attempt had been made in the past and it would be a huge showing in a combined bi-continental relationship. The Q debuted in September 2015 on the CliffCentral.com network supplying broadcasting to the entire continent of Africa by way of South Africa. In 2022, the show came back to the airwaves of 105.3 FM/1280 AM KYRO. Going LIVE weekly, the show was able to gain another station in 2023...102.5 WIBH and build upon their past success.
As usual, the Q is unconventional in it's stylings and broadcast. Just like the show and its host, the world of radio is finally coming around to the idea that Mark Bland and his staff consistently put together some of the best content available in the world for consumption.
Follow Mark on twitter at @markbland