THE COLUMBUS FOLK MUSIC SOCIETY, INC.! FEBRUARY, 2015 Scottish Band Mad Maudlin to entertain at Feb. 28 Coffeehouse Interview by Bill Cohen With the energetic vocals and Cape Breton of Carter Jastram and the music as well. We are masterful piping of Glenn always looking for WHAT’S INSIDE: Mackie, the band Mad new music. Maudlin will have you MAD MAUDLIN Carter: We tend to FEATURED AT FEBRUARY 28 singing great Robert Burns alternate between FOLKSIDE COFFEEHOUSE PG. 1 songs, tapping right out of vocal songs and your chair, and dancing a instrumental tunes, Highland jig! Mad Maudlin drawing on the SONGS AT THE CENTER: is a 5 piece traditional Scottish tradition as COLUMBUS BASED SINGER- Scottish band which much as possible, but SONGWRITER PROGRAM PG. 1 brings more than just your utilizing the Irish normal Celtic fare. Mad Band members (clockwise starting at lower le): material we also know. ALL OF YOUR BEST Maudlin performs a great Glen Mackie – multi-instrumentalist; Dave Scardena – percussion; Rachel Motsinger – fiddle; Carter Jastram – guitar. Along with the fast LOVED FOLK SONGS PG. 4 blend of traditional jigs, Pete Dabaie (lower right) is currently not part of the music, there are some marches and reels, and performance due to health reasons. lovely slow airs and CALENDAR OF EVENTS great folk songs that are songs that we also AND ANNOUNCEMENTS PG. 5 sure to entertain! Bill Cohen interviews a few of enjoy. We consider the Tannahill Weavers to the band members in the following article. be the band for us to emulate. MOVIE REVIEW: THE Bill Cohen: For folks who've never heard Bill: Who is in your group? Tell us a little INSIDE OF Mad Maudlin before, how would you about their role and their background. LLEWYN DAVIS PG. 7 describe the kinds of songs you do? You’ve all been playing music (perhaps Glenn: Mad Maudlin describes itself as a separately or in other groups) for many MEMBERSHIP FORM PG. 8 Trans Celtic Folk Band. The band, at its years, right? roots, is Scottish. However, we play Irish See Mad Maudlin - page 2 Songs at the Center: Columbus based singer-songwriter program attracts quality talent Article by Eric Gnezda hear an even deeper richness when the song is sung solo by either co-writer, A song is usually sweetest when Mike Reed, or Allen Shamblin, sung by the person who wrote it. And accompanied only by their respective when that performance is stripped keyboard or guitar. down to one voice with an instrument, the song often rings with rare – and Simplicity. Intimacy. Power that raw - authenticity. travels a straight path to the heart. Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Over the past few years, Columbus Love Me,” for instance, may be among has been providing growing the greatest records of all time. Yet, we See Songs - page 3 CONTACT US AT: VOICEMAIL 614-470-3963! PAGE 1 A DIFFERENT STRUMMER FEBRUARY, 2015 Mad Maudlin - from page 1 same sense of where we want to go with band for a short time, we played one Glenn: The band consists of Carter our music. There are no egos, just afternoon at the former Espresso Jastram, lead vocals, guitars and friends making, playing and enjoying Yourself Music Cafe, and we could not bouzouki; Rachel Motsinger on fiddle; music. quite get in tune with each other. We Dave Scardena on bodhran and Glenn also were not as tightly together as we Carter: Music stirs the emotions and are now, so those two conditions led to a Mackie, border pipes and whistles. Mad affects the soul in ways nothing else can, Maudlin has been a band for over eight less than satisfactory afternoon, at least and sharing that experience with others – for us. years. The band has gone through band mates and audiences – multiplies personnel changes over the years; the effects. The challenge for performers Bill: What can people expect to hear however, the current line up is by far the is to find others of similar and and see from you when they come to the best yet. complementary skills and tastes, in order February 28th CFMS coffeehouse ? Carter: Specifically, Glenn, Dave and to blend well together, enhance and challenge each other, and share in Glenn: The folks at the CFMS Carter have coffeehouse can expect to have a great been together enjoying the overall results. We have time. They’ll hear a lot of solid for six years traditional jigs, reels and a hornpipe or this April, and certainly found that in one another. two as well as a few Scottish ballads and Rachel joined an original song written by me and us a year ago Bill: Tell us about one arranged by Carter. last December. of the best experiences Rachel, the that Mad Maudlin has Carter: We like to tell a few jokes along one who had and why you the way, as well as every so often lowers the consider it to be so provide an introduction and some average age of good. background to our material. Our finale the band, has should lift your spirits as it does ours. been playing Glenn: Wow, the best Mad Maudlin performs at the Dublin Irish Festival Irish tunes for experience? For me, it would be a toss up a number of Details for the upcoming years and has a wealth of session between playing the Shamrock Club experience. Dave’s bodhran skills are Music Festival or the Dublin Irish Coffeehouse: substantial; he is our metronome. As a Festival this past year. For both shows piper, Glenn has been involved in the we had some of the best audiences we Date: Saturday, February 28 local Celtic music scene for over 30 have ever experienced. People were really getting into what we were doing. I Place: FolkSide Coffeehouse years, and is Pipe Major for the Cyril held at The Columbus Scott Pipe Band, but his background also looked out at the audience, then at includes rock music. On the other hand, Rachel and said, “Man, this is it!” Mennonite Church, 35 Oakland Park Ave., Columbus, OH Carter (me) is new to performing Celtic Carter: In addition to what Glenn said, I music (a mere 10 years, although I have really enjoyed our trip to Parkersburg, Time: 8 p.m. – Mad Maudlin. enjoyed it for a lot longer); [my] W.Va., last April for their Scottish/Celtic background is in acoustic folk music, 6-7 p.m. Open Jam; 7-8 p.m. Festival. We played well together, we Open Mic having performed solo and with a couple had a good and responsive audience, and of folk bands at and just after the end of I was able to stay longer and enjoy the Suggested donation: $7.00; the coffeehouse era. good weather and meet other musicians. CFMS members $5.00; Bill: Why do you all like to play and Bill: Have you had any big disasters Students $5.00; under 12 free sing? It can’t be for the money because while performing? What happened? we all know there’s not a lot of it in folk Reminder Note for March music. Glenn: The biggest disaster happened two years ago after our St Patrick’s Day Coffeehouse: Glenn: Each member of Mad Maudlin gig at Brazenhead when I pulled the plug Our annual Live Auction will be has a keen interest in playing and on the band. We were a five piece band performing traditional and contemporary and it just wasn’t working because held at the March 28th Celtic music. We all seem to have the tensions within the band were killing the Coffeehouse and is for better fun. So, I said that was our farewell quality items. In the past we have performance. Thankfully, Carter and had some great musical Dave wanted to keep going. So, we instrument contributions. If you played as a trio for about a year, then Rachel came into our little group and, have items for the live auction, well, here we are. please contact Sharon Mittenbergs @ [email protected]. Carter: Musically we follow each other very well, so if someone makes a You also need to arrange to get mistake, we can all cover it and keep the items to us at least two weeks playing together – and we have had such before the March coffeehouse. times. But when I had been with the PAGE 2! WWW.COLUMBUSFOLKMUSICSOCIETY.ORG A DIFFERENT STRUMMER FEBRUARY, 2015 Songs - from page 1 To make its point, the company put Alan Beavers, owner of Alba opportunities to present singer- their employees on stage. Productions. songwriters to live, listening audiences. Somewhere in the muse, the idea “This is a music show presented in a Among the latest such projects is Songs emerged to present both the performers new way,” Andy says, “unlike anything at the Center, a Columbus-based and the audience on the Songs at the Columbus has seen. The in-the-round television program that features 3-4 Center stage, thereby playing out the format really highlights the songs and songwriters performing in the round, unwritten agreement between artist and the performers who created them.” sharing the stage with their audience. It listener. is taped at the McConnell Arts Center Stacia Hentz, of Worthington (MAC). TV Program Director at The half-hour show airs weekly on WOSU Public WOSU TV, late-night Saturdays, Media, says, “We immediately following Austin City immediately felt Limits. the show would As the co- be a great local creator and program to pair host of the with Austin City program, I Limits.