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Leaving New Zealand for Australian shores in 2001, Hamilton born Mark Dalbeth describes as the natural progression a musician needed to take in order to further their career. Mark completed a Certificate in Contemporary Music in Otara, and at the time was studying towards a Bachelor of Arts at Waikato University and playing in a couple of different bands in Hamilton. “There is an amazing scene in New Zealand full of talented artists and bands, however there are limited areas for bands to get the exposure they need to be constantly on radio rotation and to be regularly touring.” 

Influenced by the grunge scene, in particular by female fronted acts like L7, Hole, Bikini Kill and Skunk Anansie, in Melbourne Mark established his own female fronted heavy rock band – Bellusira.

Showing an incredible amount of tenacity and drive, Mark led the band into collaborations with well known musicians like Will Hunt from Evanescence, Koichi Fukuda from Static-X, and Lucius Borich from Cog. They also recorded with a number of notable producers/engineers including Ulrich Wild (Pantera, Deftones, White Zombie) and Dan Whittemore (Kendrick Lamar, Ne-Yo). 

Touring with big name bands like Halestorm and playing shows with the likes of Hellyeah, Seether, The Misfits, and Flyleaf, the band gained momentum and did really well, but even still, Mark became frustrated with the limited exposure available to them in Australia. “We played a lot around Australia, many tours and lots of great international supports but it ended up being a similar issue as with New Zealand, where there were limited radio stations that bands coming up had access to and as a result it was always an uphill battle. We would record these amazing records and pack out venues all across Melbourne but the main rock stations still failed to get behind the group."

Frustrated with the situation he was faced with again, Mark went on a mission to find their big break in America. Spending endless hours researching the right people, he eventually made a connection with a music management group that brought Bellusira out to Los Angeles in 2014.

“LA is a very difficult city to break through, it’s a place that can chew you up and spit you out pretty quickly. It was a very humbling experience coming from being well known in Australia to coming to the States and no one giving a shit about you. It was a complete reset, which was a big challenge, building things up from basically nothing.”

While Los Angeles offered the bigger exposure he was after, Mark was well aware that with a bigger city came a bigger number of acts all vying for that small piece of pie. “There are also a lot more venues, radio, press etc that can help your project, again it just comes down to having to spend that extra time looking through and finding the right help that you need,” he said.

“We did some great tours, and played some good shows and festivals here,” he said, but the band fell apart, and Mark is currently working on his own soon-to-be-released solo project under the name Rav Medic.

Taking a step back from his rock roots, with this album “We, The Wild Ones, Who Love + Never Let Go,” Mark is experimenting with an acoustic, folk, country vibe.  Struggling with life in Los Angeles and the dissolve of Bellusira at the time, Mark said, “the project was created at a time of necessity, so the inspiration for the record was life itself. Survival, getting through hardship and ultimately finding the good in challenging circumstances.”

Sticking with his love for female vocals, each of the six songs features a different female vocalist. The record boasts input from reputable musicians like Jeff Thal, the original drummer from Bumblefoot, who has recorded the drum parts from his studio in Florida. The cello parts are played by Callie Galvez, who Mark said he was fortunate to get on board, as she tours constantly, playing in a number of different orchestras and chamber music groups.

Plans to come home? “I definitely miss New Zealand, the people and lifestyle, so maybe down the road I can take my new family over there! I will always be a Kiwi, it’s in my blood, I couldn’t get rid of it if I tried and I’m proud to be a New Zealander, there isn’t much not to love about that country!”

Mark’s record “We, The Wild Ones, Who Love + Never Let Go” is due to be released in September. Follow the progress here: www.ravmedic.com