Mark started auditioning guitar players in his basement, and then fate took a hand. Local guitarist Tom Principato had moved to Boston, and had talked the D.C. based Crawlin’ Kingsnake Blues Band into moving up and joining him under the name Powerhouse. Part of this plan resulted in leaving 19 year old Crawlin’ Kingshake guitar prodigy Jimmy Thackery behind. Mark’s friend Charlie Hubel told Mark about this turn of events and introduced him to Jimmy within 24 hours.

Mark and Jimmy had an immediate rapport. They both knew the songs of Little Walter and the Jukes, the 4-piece blues band from the early ‘50s, as well as the Junior Wells Blues Band with Buddy Guy, a blues band with a funky beat that had become popular in the late ‘60s. This gave them an instant repertoire and style, and they decided to start a band. It would take them a couple years to settle on a rhythm section, but the basic four piece blues band approach that would carry them through the ’70s and would quickly start to fall into place. They decided to make their name a tribute to a blues and guitar legend, Robert Nighthawk—and The Nighthawks were born.

Mark and Jimmy did one gig as a four piece group with Larry Bolet—on loan from Bobby Ratcliff’s band—on drums, and Jimmy Lacomb on bass. Lacomb had other commitments, so Mark, Jimmy and Larry got Don Monihan to play bass. Don had worked with Roy Buchanan and was helping Bill Holland start the band Rent’s Due. Bill Holland joined in on keyboards, and Don and Bill stayed long enough to help establish the band’s sound.

Exploiting the Bobby Ratcliff relationship, The Nighthawks made their debut at one of his strongholds—the Far Inn on Connecticut Avenue in D.C. They played regularly on Monday nights in late 1972. They started to draw a following, and when Bobby Radcliff left town they moved into his Tuesday & Wednesday slots.

In 1973 the lineup of the band changed—Mark and Jimmy were still up front, but now were backed up by guitarist/keyboardist Peter Bonta, drummer Lee Smith and bass player Anton Hansmann.

Starting in February and for most of 1973, the band played three nights a week at the club Graffiti in D.C. These regular appearances are where the band really started to pull in a loyal following. Then they moved on to regular weekend gigs at a club called the Reading Gaol. At a “Best of the Hoots” competition at D.C.’s famed Cellar Door, they got another break when they won. As their prize, they got to open for Linda Rondstadt at the Cellar Door, and this led to an opportunity to do the same for blues legend John Hammond.

It was also at the Cellar Door where Mark would be able to build relationships with famed bluesmen Muddy Waters and James Cotton. In 1972 and 1973, Mark, Jimmy and Charlie Hubel would go to every show when Muddy Waters would play two shows a night for five nights in a row at the Cellar Door. Little did they know that by 1976-77, The Nighthawks would always open for Muddy and James at the Cellar Door, as well as for B.B. King at Carter Barron Amphitheater and at virtually every blues show in the mid-Atlantic.

In 1974, there were still more personnel changes that would solidify the lineup for years to come. Mark and Jimmy held auditions, and found two very talented locals to join them. The new bass player was Jan Zukowski, who had played with Cherry People, a national act in the late 60s, and whose father was a classical cellist. And the new drummer was Pete Ragusa, a great R&B drummer who had pursued a music degree at the University of Maryland and played with the group Razz, which played rock in the style popular with British bands at the time. This lineup would play together for the next 12 years. With their great music and hard work, they would achieve considerable notoriety.

The band also put together a tight support group. This included Glenn “Bosco” Kern as sound man, Don Shaw as road manager, Hudson Harris to handle the merchandise, and Deborah “Stella Dior” Givens as business manager. PR and promotion activities were handled by Bob Sheldon. Managers during this period included Tom Carrico, who later worked with Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Lou Sordo, who owned the Psyche Delly."

To better understand the starting point for The Nighthawks growing success through the ‘70s, it’s helpful to know a little bit about the D.C. music scene. It was a very lively and fertile time in the area. Radio stations WHFS and WGTB were playing rock and a variety of other music that wasn’t to be found on more mainstream, hit oriented radio stations. Clubs like the Cellar Door, Desperados and the Psyche Delly were packed with crowds who liked the same type of music that these stations played.

Lou Sordo of the Psyche Delly collaborated with many others to create several “Washington Home Grown Music Festivals” at the Warner Theater and Lisner Auditorium that featured acts such as The Nighthawks, The Rosslyn Mountain Boys, Danny (Gatton) and the Fat Boys, Powerhouse and Root Boy Slim. While some of these acts never got the national recognition they deserved, they had dedicated followings in the Baltimore-Washington area and beyond in the Mid-Atlantic region.

And close to home for The Nighthawks, the studios of WHFS and the Psyche Delly club were then located right across the street from each other in Bethesda. The band had the hometown connection, and they were establishing a growing local following with their strong performances. So it was only natural that they got airplay on WHFS and performed frequently at the Psyche Delly as well as clubs all over the D.C. area.

These places and players were all a big part of The Nighthawks lives in the years to come.