It was very lucrative back then. There were no machines at that point. If you were going to record some music, there was a room full of musicians there. But at that time there weren't that many bass players that could read and play with some soulfulness, so I was able to start getting work in New York, and it got real crazy. So I came to my dad for the second time and told him that going on the road with a band was one thing, but this studio musician thing was pretty serious, and I was losing so much money running back and forth between the studio and school and I felt I needed to let school go, and he was cool about that. He said, "We'll watch it, and if we need to, we can get you back in school." But the work never died off.

Jake: I'm sure it's interesting to look back at that decision by your dad and see it with new eyes at this point being a dad yourself. With the industry the way it is now, that scenario might be a tough one to handle. Marcus: Yeah, I know. My oldest son is a freshman in college now, and he's taking business courses. And his younger brother is dead-set on being a musician. So you've just got to watch it, and try to keep it balanced. Stay in school until there's absolutely no question. Jake: The son becomes the father. Marcus: Oh yeah. I agreed with my father back then. He didn't have to spend a lot of time convincing me because I completely understood what he was saying. So it was like, dad, let me go, and he held his ground and said. "I can't,"... we'll have to figure this out. Jake: Speaking of family, I know you've stated how your family, your wife and four children are your foundation. Once again mentioning Victor, I know he takes his family with him on the road a lot of the time. With your schedule being as busy as it is, how do you complete as much as you do musically and still find time to be "Dad"? Marcus: You know, it's pretty crazy... I'll wake up early, get to the studio and work till about 4:00 or 5:00, and then go home and be with my family until about 9:00 or 10:00, and then go back to the studio and work till around 2:00. I try to break it up. I'm on the phone all the time, and on the road a lot of the time as well, and doing my homework over the Internet. You have to do everything you have to do. The first tour I wanted to do was with Lenny White. Lenny invited me out on the road when I was a freshman in college. I convinced my dad to let me take a semester off so I could do that gig. I had an unbelievable time, but I came back to school after that. Once I was back, I started doing gigs around New York and started to get a name for myself, and began to get into the studio scene. Being in the studio scene was really cool--- everybody was trying to get in.