Mark spent his youth in Southern California where he began taking violin lessons at the age of four. Soon after, he studied classical piano for six years before picking up the guitar. At the age of twelve he began instruction under the tutelage of guitar great Rusty Anderson (current guitarist for Paul McCartney as well as studio guitarist for Elton John, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Willie Nelson, Santana, Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, and more). At this time, Mark became serious about music and began writing and recording music on a Fostex 4 track machine.

After playing in various blues, rock, and experimental bands, Hamrock co-formed the Rock-Fusion band Solomon Grundy in 1991, which gained a large following of loyal fans throughout the US. Mark studied jazz theory and composition for three years with Alan Rowe (Stan Kenton Orchestra, Keith Jarret) before attending the University of California, Irvine, to study classical guitar and baroque lute. Here he had the opportunity to study with and play for many prominent International classical guitarists, including David Tanenbaum, Scott Tennant, Ricardo Cobo, Andrew York, and John Schneiderman. After graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree, Mark focused his abilities on writing music and touring internationally. Hamrock performed with and shared the stage with various acts, including Jazz Legend Larry Carlton, Tim Reynolds (Dave Matthews Band), and Dave Mason with Traffic.