May you all have as much love as you need, as much peace as possible and plenty of joy throughout the new year and beyond.
The Mad Maggies turn 20 this year. Look out for new tunes and shows.
“However Improbable” is a confection of ska, border polka, country, dance and brass band. The tune, written by yours madly, is a perfect example of the Mad Maggies “Hard to Describe, Easy to Love” style.
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
-– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, stated by Sherlock Holmes
Watch the video However Improbable on our YouTube channel.
The video features fantastic, detailed illustrations by Montreal artist Daniel Fiorito.
For a high quality audio file, go to our BandCamp.
Will Shirley ever notice Sam?
Will they fall in love?
To find out, watch the video now.
The video features whimsical sketches by artist Mason Fernandez.
If you’re like me and have some word nerd in you, you will enjoy the homonyms, internal rhymes and expressions.
And with the handy onscreen lyrics, you can sing along.
For a high quality audio file, listen on the Mad Maggies BandCamp.
Mixed and Mastered by Wally Sound at the Wally Sound, Oakland, California
After so much warm, humid here in Montréal, it is hard to believe that the streets were covered in snow just a few months ago.
Enjoy a very snowy, wintry trip through the streets of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montreal, Quebec while listening to The Mad Maggies’ release Groove d’Hiver* (Winter Groove), a dub-infused instrumental.
Listen to a high quality audio file on our BandCamp.
The Streets of Montreal. I had big fun filming the hood during snow storms. Each shot had to have snow falling.
The streets I wandered looking for video shots for Groove d’Hiver are specifically the streets of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (Ho-Ma) and Viauville, two neighbourhoods on the eastern side of the island of Montréal which border the St. Lawrence River.
Before the Europeans came, Iroquois inhabited the area. By the early 1800s, it was a rural village, then a working class slum, then a busy manufacturing district. By the 1980s, the manufacturing sector had shrank and the economic decline hit the area hard. There is some rebound now because of the affordability of the real estate.
All this history makes the area’s urban landscape a hodgepodge of blight and gentrification. There’s Beaux Arts architecture from its glory days, remnants of factories, blocks of condos, empty storefronts and plenty of graffiti. Alleyways thread through the backs of most streets, some rough and ignored, some family friendly and “greened”. Copper-clad church steeples are everywhere.
I haven’t been letting a pesky pandemic stop me from writing and producing music. 🙂
We — the Mad Maggies — have been recording tracks remotely and sending them to Wally Sound in Oakland, CA for mixing.
In December ’21, we released “Within the Wyrd“, a cool groove with shades of first wave ska.
Enjoy the danceable, retro feel. Kick off your shoes, turn up the volume and shake what you got.
Mixed and Mastered by Wally Sound at the Wally Sound, Oakland, California
Johny Blood: tuba
Ray Fernandez: saxophone
Ian Luke: drums
Maggie “Mags” Martin: accordionist, composer/arranger
Mark Nemoyten: trumpet
Tim Sarter: bass
Ned Stone: trombone
Gary “GDub” Wium: guitar
Why Wyrd?
In Norse mythology, under the huge tree of life, Yggdrasil, there is a well. This well is called the Well of Wyrd (Well of Urðr). Three Norns tend to Yggdrasil every day by bringing water from the well to the tree to keep it green and healthy.
These beings of time, Urðr (what was), Verðandi (what is) and Skuld (what will be) are said to spin our destinies.
I think of the “Wyrd” as the twists and turns of our lives, a weaving of experiences — some ordinary, some extraordinary. We’re all in this tapestry of life together.
Music from everywhere flows around and through us. It flows from the past to the future. In Within the Wyrd, the sounds flow from the Caribbean to the Northern realms to the west coast of California.
🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶
A New Release!
The Mad Maggies’ new song Reva’s Revelation is now available in high quality audio download from our BandCamp: https://musicshop.themadmaggies.com/track/revas-revelation
I named the tune for the main character in the wonderful Swedish movie “Border”. This fantastical tale of self-discovery by director Ali Abbasi is a must-see.
Over the last ten years, my love Gary and I have crossed the North American continent twice by train and over 7 times by car, besides several times by plane.
I especially love the open road and videotaped many stretches along the way.
You can see some of that footage in the video.
Enjoy!
A NEW TUNE & VIDEO
I am pleased to present the Mad Maggies’ latest single: “Un Jaguar en el Agua” – a dance groove with a good dose of Californiana.
I wrote the tune inspired by the strength and beauty of the largest wild cat in the Western Hemisphere.
The imagery is inspired by the joy-filled skeletons of el Dia de Los Muertos. These calacas – a colloquial Mexican word for skeleton – are whimsical celebrations of those on the “other side”.
Listen to it in hi-fi quality at our BandCamp.
Kick off your shoes and get ready to shake your self-isolating booty!
Watch on YouTube, give it a like, share it far and wide and be sure to click the subscribe button.
Creating this video is what’s been keeping me busy these last few months.
My ability to draw is in strong inverse proportion to my songwriting talent. I can see how I want a story to look but even stick figures are a struggle. Happily illustrator Dale Horstman was up for working with us again. Dale illustrated our albums “Skull & Magpies” and “Shake Those Bones“. The man has got talent galore.
His drawings for “Un Jaguar en el Agua” are perfectly quirky.
To be able to create a good story with the 2D images and have some fun with effects, I had to get up to speed on a non-linear video editor. DaVinci Resolve 16 has a free version that is very powerful. I recommend it if you have an interest in going beyond simple apps like iMovie.
If you haven’t already, subscribe to our YouTube channel so you’ll know what we’re up to, especially now. We plan on bringing you more musical treats … from a safe physical distance.
Happy Spring!
We have just released a new single. ☠️🎶☠️🎶☠️🎶
“Blue Ska” is our version of an early Ska classic from Jamaica. We recorded and mixed the tune at Wally Sound in Oakland, California.
Listen to it for free on our BandCamp page. Throw in a dollar and you can download your own hi-fi file.
This is a very danceable groove that will surely please your endocannabinoid system. 😉
That’s right. Researchers have discovered that when we’re in motion, we release Anandamide the body’s naturally occurring cannabinoid that is similar to THC. This clever neurotransmitter (aren’t they all?) relieves anxiety.
So, lifting your legs will definitely lift your spirits. And, like the good musicians we are, we’re here to help.
Cue up “Blue Ska”, picture a warm beach with blue skies and start shaking that booty.
🍀🎶💚🍀🎶💚🍀🎶💚🍀🎶💚
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!
Bain sult as na foinn seo agus tú ag caitheamh siar ar Éirinn.
Happy St. Patricks Day!
Enjoy these tunes while tipping one back for Ireland.
🍀🎶💚🍀🎶💚🍀🎶💚🍀🎶💚
Drunken Sailor’s Hornpipe
Teach Tábhairne Mhaillí Ní Dhuibh – Molly Black’s Tavern
Musical Priest S
Morning Star
Sleepy Maggie
#Gaeilge #StPatrickDay #theMadMaggies
February 14, 2019 was the band’s 15th anniversary of making beautiful music together.
We celebrated by releasing a new single. “All in a Day” is light-hearted polka, perfect for lifting one’s spirits in heavy times.
Crank up the tune, grab a partner and dance around the house with wild abandon!
You can listen to it here on this player. If you drop a buck in the hat at BandCamp you can download a hi-res audio file.
Why crystal?
Well, according to those who know these kinds of things, the traditional anniversary gift at 15 years is crystal to represent sturdiness and clarity.
And, Death thinks crystal skulls are really cool. So there’s that, too.
(This crystal skull is from a collection of the British Museum in London.)
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