On Oct. 23, Porter’s Pub came alive to the toe-tapping music of special musician Mark Goffeney during one of its regular open mic sessions. Goffeney’s performance was not only a musical delight but a visual spectacle as well, as he played the bass guitar with his toes.
Making music: Mark Goffeney of Big Toe performs for students in Price Center. Unlike ordinary musicians, he uses his feet to strum the strings on his guitar.
Goffeney, who was born without arms and consequently relies entirely upon the strength and flexibility of his legs and toes, is truly an inspiration ‹ not to mention easy to chat with ‹ partly due to his talent and partly because of his laid-back personality.
At Porter’s Pub, the musicians that played with him loved him.
“”He’s great to play with; such a talented musician. I can’t believe he has such strong muscles in his toes,”” said Joe Knox, a guitarist and senior music major at Eleanor Roosevelt College.
There are another four members in his musical ensemble, and together they make up the band Big Toe. The group travels all over California, playing at a variety of functions and venues. Sometimes Goffeney gives a short presentation before he plays, particularly if he is a guest at a function, but other times he just performs his music to those that come to hear it.
“”I prefer to play in a regular venue when awareness happens without saying anything,”” Goffeney said. “”There’s something great about playing to a whole bunch of people just enjoying the atmosphere.””
This year Big Toe hopes to travel to Europe, where Goffeney perceives a significant amount of social distancing from disabled people.
In these places there is “”a greater class divide where people at the lower end of the social spectrum are getting shunned,”” he said.
He explains that he doesn’t encounter such indifference here in the United States and has had no problem living a normal life.
“”It’s more the older generations that are the problem, in particular those over 60, because physical disabilities were more taboo in earlier decades. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had to hide his disabilities, caused by polio, so that it wouldn’t tarnish his appearance as a great leader,”” he said.
Goffeney explained that even one of his grandmothers automatically assumed that his mother would terminate the pregnancy in 1969 ‹ even during a period of extreme liberalism ‹ due to his disability.
Goffeney visited UCSD last month at a more formal performance as part of the UCSD Disability Awareness Month celebration. The awareness month focuses on providing information about disabilities to stimulate a better understanding and appreciation. Barry Niman, the campus program director and rehabilitation counselor, has been organizing these events for years and has worked with Goffeney many times.
“”The students are usually pretty intrigued and stop to listen,”” Niman said. He found that hosting the event at Price Center was a better idea since UCSD students are so busy that they often cannot make time to go and listen to a concert. But if the music is made more accessible to them, students get to appreciate the performance when they stop for lunch or as they pass by.
“”I stopped to listen to him and ended up staying half an hour, and I almost missed my lecture,”” Earl Warren College senior Joanne Mitchell said.
Goffeney doesn’t take long to attract a crowd of people around that soak up the atmosphere.
Goffeney explains that he is also more focused on the musical aspect now, and just enjoys playing for a lively crowd. Before, speaking about disabilities was always a prelude and means to perform, whereas now he believes that it’s not as necessary.
“”It’s not necessary to go back to basics. Everyone knows all that stuff. The performance speaks for itself,”” he said.
He also prefers the informal conversations he has after a performance where he can relate to the students on a one-to-one level. After the Price Center performance, Mark stayed for over half an hour chatting to musicians and students that seemed interested in asking questions and showing appreciation.
“”He was so fun to watch ‹ everyone was amazed by the performance and how talented he was. It was completely crazy. I didn’t leave for ages,”” said Eleanor Roosevelt College junior, Lisa Hayward.
Goffeney has, in fact, managed to overcome any setbacks he initially experienced with his disability to live a comfortable life. He loves his lifestyle as a musician and has three children ‹ Elizabeth (age 14), Luke (12) and Amanda (six).
He is a single dad and adores parenthood, despite finding it demanding at times. Although his children have not inherited any disabilities, Goffeney claims that they do have their father’s musical talent.
Goffeney’s own childhood was more difficult. In kindergarten he was sent to a special school and put with children who had all kinds of disabilities, including children with mental disabilities.
“”I couldn’t relate to them. It wasn’t long before I ruled the place,”” he said.
It was also an educational disadvantage for him, as he wasn’t learning fast enough. In 1973 the Rehabilitation Act was passed, which aimed to integrate schools for disabled children and make them much more mainstream. Not only could Goffeney transfer to a public school, but he was found to have an exceptional IQ and in first grade was transferred to a gifted school.
“”I never had any problems making friends. I was even elected school president, but the news reporters were a little overwhelming when I first arrived,”” Goffeny said.
Despite his determination to appear to have had a normal childhood, Goffeney did get involved in some televised charity work that elevated him to celebrity status. From the age of four he was learning to read cue cards for television during overnight fundraisers and telethons.
By 16, Goffeney had become too old to be a child celebrity and his lifestyle of limousines, flights to Los Angeles and extravagant hotels had stopped. Although he admits that he suffered from feeling downcast like many child stars do, he said he appreciated the experience.
“”It was good while it lasted,”” he said. “”I learned a lot about the showbiz lifestyle and Hollywood phonies.””
People were swarming around and cheering at Porter’s Pub. Even the people at the back of the room that couldn’t appreciate the visual performance experienced the ambiance.
“”We were just standing there thinking how great the music was. We didn’t realize he was playing with his feet,”” said Revelle College junior, Sophie Lebrach.
Indeed, Goffeney considers his feet to be as vital as hands would be. He’ll use his magical toes again for an upcoming event at Balboa Park on Nov. 16.
