Rubel, Mark (1958-2024) | University of Illinois Archives

Name: Rubel, Mark (1958-2024)

Historical Note: Mark Rubel (1958-2024) was an audio engineer, rock musician, and founder of the Pogo Studios in Champaign, Illinois. Rubel grew up in Urbana, attending Urbana High School. He earned a bachelors degree in English at the University of Illinois in 1979. In 1980, Rubel founded the band Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets, playing bass guitar in the ensemble for more than twenty years. In the same year, he founded Pogo Studios, where he recorded over 1,000 albums and singles by musicians such as Hum, Alison Krauss, Fallout Boy, Poster Children, Ludacris, Rascal Flatts, Adrian Belew, and local ensembles like the EIU Jazz Ensemble and Amasong. From 1985 until 2013, he served as Instructor and Audio and Recording Director at Eastern Illinois University. From the early 1990s to 2013, Rubel also taught audio engineering courses at Parkland College. In 2013, Rubel and his wife moved to Nashville to serve as the Director of Education at the Blackbird Academy of the Blackbird Studio. Rubel died in 2024.

Note Author: Nolan Vallier