A reader of Parade Magazine once submitted this question to the magazine’s Personality Parade section: “Are The Smothers Brothers and Dr. Joyce Brothers related?” The answer, surprisingly enough, is North Dakota.

Being brothers and having the last name that sounded like that of a legendary comedy troupe, Wayne and Craig Marks would often be asked, “Where’s Groucho?” They would respond, “We left him in a shallow grave...wanna see?” said with much good nature but apparently not enough to keep them from being hauled downtown.

Perhaps spurred on by those queries, the Brothers Marks have also ventured into comedy. Their collaborations span nearly half a century, beginning with Flip Flop (1971), a cautionary fable on the horrors of prescription drug abuse that was later used in Power Salad’s angry rap song “Fear Me at Your Own Peril.” Craig is, in fact, the non-performing half of the comedy group Power Salad, which, thanks to the infinitely talented Chris Mezzolesta (the other half), have brought forth much weirdness onto the land. (See “My Cat is Afraid of the Vacuum Cleaner.” Or hear it. Your choice.)

In college, Craig and Chris, along with Mike Crooker, formed the radio comedy group Zot Theater. Their work appeared on the Dr. Demento Show, most notably with the parodies “Mayberry Beret” and “The Ballad of Jim and Tammy.” Also heard on the show was their commercial parody, “Violin,” featuring a young fiddler being berated by Yehudi Menuhin, played by Chris. (“You are very bad, child. Become a bricklayer before you hurt someone.”)

That young fiddler was Wayne Marks, and now you know the rest of the story, or you would have, had this been a story. It’s barely an anecdote.

Wayne, unlike his brother, was actually infused with musical talent, and can sing, write and play several instruments. The youtube video for his “Wiener Dog Song,” recorded under the name Yet Another String Band, has 870,000 views, and his song about the Cleveland Indians’ 1974 riot (“The Ballad of Ten-Cent Beer Night”) is another hit. He is also the fiddler for the Celtic rock band The Mickeys.

For more information on The Brothers Marks, you can submit a question to Personality Parade, but I’m really doubtful you’ll hear anything back.

For more information on The Brothers Marks please visit the artist's web site at: http://ceasite.com/brothersmarks