Sorry to be warming up this old thread again, but I thought it was better than starting a new one.
Looking at the family tree, I saw that Mark's grandparents actually emigrated to the U.S., like Erwin's sister Olga. I had no clue he had family in the United States!
Maybe that's one reason why he's always loved America so much.
Imagine Erwin had joined his parents in the U.S., then Mark would maybe have formed a band with Springsteen right from the start