Bryan was born in Silver Spring, Maryland. He attended Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, Maryland, and received his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of South Carolina in 1989. While attending the university, he collaborated with Darius Rucker to create an acoustic duo band called The Wolf Brothers. From there they grew to form a new band named Hootie & the Blowfish with friends Dean Felber and Jim Sonefeld.
Hootie and the Blowfish is an American rock band formed at the University of South Carolina by Darius Rucker, Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld, and Mark Bryan in 1989. As of July 2010, the band had charted sixteen singles on various Billboard singles charts and recorded five studio albums; and their 1994 debut album, Cracked Rear View, was the 16th-best-selling album of all time in the U.S., having been certified platinum 16 times. They have sold over 21 million albums in the United States alone. Cracked Rear View went on to earn the Billboard's Band of the Year Award in 1996 and the RIAA's Diamond Award for sales of 10 million units. Cracked Rear View remains the 12th best selling album in music business history, and all albums combined have moved over 25 million worldwide.
The band has since gone their separate ways, however Hootie & the Blowfish still perform together numerous times each year. Bryan is a consistent participant in the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament. All proceeds from this tournament go to the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation which makes donations to education and junior golf charities. Hootie & the Blowfish also holds Hootie HomeGrown, an annual event in which they perform a concert to benefit area schools.

Return to Mark Bryan Autograph Profile