The Dance Music Community has lost a great Mark Thomas DJ Extraordinaire and all around nice guy

I've added links to this post about 10 times, keep an eye on it for more.

An amazing D.J. and a true friend.  Mark Thomas passed away Monday, January 26th.  He was always so generous and kind to me.  I feel pretty awful right about now.  We last chatted in Facebook on the 21st and it was a lot longer then usual but most importantly I felt close to him and I'm glad we had a chance to share.

A fellow Gemini Mark was born May 31, 1959.  Way too freaking young to leave us already.  Up until this past summer he was still spinning the yearly event Sun Dance in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  And always up for sharing.  Whenever I wanted something from his collection all I had to do was ask and a .wav file would appear for me within hours.

In the coming days I would like to share some of his mixes.  I'd especially like to post some of his mixes from The Saint or The Saint at Large.  So keep your eyes on this space as it will be updated.

Download this one with the link below.

our boy in Mykonos 1989

Mark began spinning at The Hippo 1980 and went on to even more D.J. fame at The Saint during it's duration from 1980 to the closing party in 1988 in which he was one of the featured DJ's. He was one of the house D.J.'s at The Hippo and Cignel in Baltimore.  I was also present during that great night when he spun New Years Eve for the Saint at Large on December 31, 1990 at The Roxy.

SOME MORE MUSIC COMING VERY SOON

THE SAINT TONIGHT 1984 MARK THOMAS

THE SAINT ON FIRE MAY 26, 1985
HEARTS 4 20 1985

IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME MORALES, MUNZIBAI AND MARK THOMAS DISCONET MIX
PRIDE '94
RED PARTY ZIP
AFTER DARK

Saturday March 16, 1985
The Black Party | Rites VI
Music: Chuck Parsons
Lights: Richard Tucker


Sunday March 17, 1985
Sunday Tea
Music: Mark Thomas
LISTEN TO THE BLACK TEA

SUNDANCE 2006 REHOBOTH BEACH

SAINT AT LARGE NEW YEARS EVE AT THE ROXY 1990-1991

SUNDANCE AUCTION 2009

Don't miss the download for this party just above the invite.

This is from the 12 gods party in Mykonos September 1996.  I was there but we weren't friends yet.  So I even have a memory that I didn't even realize was a memory.

From Mandate magazine in the mid 80's.

With a girlfriend in Maryland in the 80's.

When he died the record on the turntable was Divine's Shoot Your Shot.  It was still spinning when he was found.  I'd like to think he went with a smile on his face if this tune was on.

Popular DJ Mark Thomas dies

repost from The Washington Blade obituary for my friend Mark Thomas

February 16, 2015 | by Steve Charing

Popular DJ Mark Thomas dies

Mark Thomas died last month at age 55. (Photo via Facebook)

Mark Thomas, a longtime Baltimore and Washington, D.C.-area DJ, died Jan. 25. He was 55. The cause of death was not immediately available.

Thomas started his DJ career at The Hippo in 1980 and was a Baltimore and New York City resident when he died. Chuck Bowers, owner of the Hippo, fondly remembered giving Thomas his start.

“He would listen carefully to the work of other DJs at the time, listen to the music and become the best DJ he can be,” said Bowers. “He was a handsome man, but his personality exceeded even that.” Bowers brought Thomas back to the Hippo for special events and last saw him during Pride last year.

Thomas also worked at various clubs in Rehoboth during those early years, including the Renegade and the Strand. Murray Archibald from CAMP Rehoboth said, “From the Saint days, through the Strand years, and for 25 years of Sundance he was our music man.”

Thomas also played around the world in places like Mykonos, Greece and Sydney, Australia.

“I have known Mark since he was 19 years old, when I took him under my wing, some 36 years ago,” Lynda Dee, a Baltimore attorney and founder and president of AIDS Action Baltimore, told the Blade.  “We have been the best of friends since that time. He was really more like a son to me. While I will never get over his loss, I am comforted by this sentiment, which I received in a lovely sympathy card, ‘When I think of Mark, I remember all the people he made dance and be happy.’ What a beautiful legacy!”

Fellow DJ Jimmy P, a resident of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. added, “Mark was a down-to-earth and really fun guy. He was one of the Saint’s stable of hugely talented DJs. We became friends in the ‘90s and would meet Saturdays at the Eagle Nest NYC and spend time joking and laughing the night away. Sometimes he would come to hear me DJ on Fridays. I was so honored. His favorite expression was, ‘Doll’ this and that.

“Time and distance separated us but we reconnected through a music sharing group based in Fort Lauderdale and then through Facebook. I last chatted with him about two months ago. All I can say is: ‘Doll…you left your musical mark on many; you were a really great DJ, man and a good friend. Doll…you will be missed.’”

A memorial service for Mark will take place on his birthday, Sunday, May 31 at 4 p.m. It will be held at City Café, 1001 Cathedral St. in Baltimore with music by Sean Novak. May 31 would have been Thomas’s 56th birthday.

- See more at: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/02/16/popular-dj-mark-thomas-dies/#sthash.f0zGR7YK.dpuf