Bryan said that, over time, he came to realize that it doesn’t matter how much time or effort you put into recordings if you don’t have an effective way to release them. He started thinking more about how to release songs in a way that would set them up for success.
This year, he established Stone Point Records in collaboration with Vere, a music marketing and distribution company headed by Harmon. Bryan records and produces the songs, Vere handles the marketing and release, and the artists retain ownership of their music.
A variety of instruments sit in Mark Bryan’s studio on Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Awendaw.
Grace Beahm Alford/Staff
A creative tornado
Even while juggling his many ventures, Bryan is a voracious songwriter.
He writes what moves him in the moment, he said. Sometimes it starts with a musical lick; other times it begins with a lyric or concept.
“One thing I learned a long time ago is that part of the artistic process is just letting it happen, not trying to force it too much. So I’ll just sit and play for a long time, sometimes until I find something that really hits me,” he said.
Other times he’ll be struck with an idea out of the blue. On July 23, he stopped speaking for a moment and picked up his phone to play a voice memo. Bryan’s voice drifted from the speakers, punctuated by tapping, as if he were drumming his hand against a steering wheel to keep the beat.
“Tryna get to you, but I can’t get through,” he sang.
Mark Bryan, guitarist for Hootie & the Blowfish, in his studio Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Awendaw.
Grace Beahm Alford/Staff
At first, the song is about being stuck in traffic. As it progresses, it becomes about cluttered, claustrophobic online spaces and the breakdown of communication in modern society.
Bryan doesn’t know if he’ll ever do anything more with the audio recording, but he won’t abandon it quite yet. He tries his best to develop a song before scrapping it, he said.
“You gotta try, and then if it goes nowhere, go on to the next one. That’s kind of how it works,” he said.
Lipton, bassist for the Screaming Trojans and one of Bryan’s closest friends, said Bryan has always been determined.