Damien Mark Harrigan

Damien Marks Style Damien Mark is the icebreaker. He likes to open the show and introduce the band to the audience. The talker, yarner and big laugher in the family, Mark has a spontaneous style and an infectious laugh. He says, " You can usually hear me before you see me". A self-confessed " risk taker with no shame", he says he loves to sing, tell stories and make people laugh. Damien writes some of the songs. He says being a good listener and talking to people are great inspiration for writing songs. " I would rather get a story straight from a person, so I can get all the expressions and the emotions".

First Gig
Damien Mark always loved singing with his brothers, aunties and cousins. His first performance was at a country music talent quest in the Hopevale Rodeo when he was 15.

He became serious about getting involved with Country Unknown when he was 18 at his first real gig at big brother, Bruce's 21st birthday party.

Musical Influences
As with the whole family, Damien Mark grew up on country music. He loves George Jones and Wayland Jennings.

Damien Mark learned singing hymns from the elders of the community, hymns that were sang at church and special occasions. These days Mark loves singing with his uncles and aunties around a campfire.

School Life and Looking After Grandfather Roy
Damien loved school. Damien played basketball and was also especially good at swimming. He says he loved the water and loved swimming carnivals.

He topped his class in Arts and wanted to be an art teacher. He remembers his art teacher being an incredibly helpful mentor. He credits his teacher for recognising his art, helping him with his portfolio and encouraging and helping him have his own art show at Cooktown Arts and Crafts.

After achieving high marks in high school, he looked into studying Arts at James Cook University. However, once he learnt that Grandpa Roy was diagnosed with diabetes, Damien decided to live in Hopevale to look after him.

Damien was there for three years and because of it, Damien became the most "in touch" with the Hopevale side of the family. He says he is the most fluent at speaking the language out of all his siblings. Of the family, he is the "Red Soil" boy.

Before his 21st birthday, Grandpa Roy convinced him that he was well enough again and that Damien should go out and see the world. Damien then travelled around Australia. He visited Clifford in Adelaide and travelled to Sydney. He then decided to live in Brisbane for one year to experience life in the city. There he joined the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts doing voice and acting and "fell in love with the camera".

Arts
Damien was involved in creating a very significant ceramic monument on the foreshore of Cooktown called the Milbi Wall. The Milbi ("Story") Wall tells of the story of Cooktown and the Endeavour River from the Aboriginal people's perspective. It is said to be an outstanding monument to reconciliation and the local area's indigenous history. He created this along with two other local artists and two Aboriginal elders. Damien also created a mural at Hopevale with his godmother, Auntie Marie, a local artist, in 1995. During his time in Hopevale, Damien focused on his art. In particular, he learned about his ancestors' stories and depicted them in his work.

Family and the Important Things
When he was young, Damien used to "muck around" with his brothers, especially egging the three little ones on. In their room, they would pretend they were in a band playing in front of a big crowd.

Until now, he says it is "no effort" to be in the band. He works all week at the office but loves playing music. He never thinks of missing out on a gig because he enjoys it and credits the whole family for supporting each other. This attitude of support that comes from the family, he says, makes it not such an effort to travel for miles to play.

"Nothing else matters in the world when you're on stage. Your brothers are there and we're making good music. Then I know it's going to be a good night."

"What I learnt from Mum and Dad was: Always keep your head high. Always know what you've got. Be strong and be proud of who you are".

Damien dreams of getting the band's music out to the rest of Australia and representing Cape York. Home is paradise to Damien.

Being A Role Model for Kids
"Because we enjoy ourselves on stage, the audience enjoys the music. We do this not to show off but for the love of the music. Now we are role models for kids and that's important".

Damien believes in having a balance between helping yourself and helping others, "It's important to be yourself and enjoy what you do and to help others as well".

Damien's Other Job
Damien works as an administration and payroll clerk at Gungarde. He previously worked at the Commonwealth Bank in Hopevale for three years.