The Stray Birds -a trio worth hearing

     Every now and then you come across a trio that just amazes and wows you!
     Just recently (at the great coffee house Burlap and Bean) I heard a threesome named The Stray Birds that I wish could come to the Writer's Festival in Woody Point, Newfoundland. I would say this trio is just as talented as The Once, another wonderful trio I heard for the first time last summer.
      After The Stray Birds' performance, I bought their two cds and told one of the members that I thought the sound and performance was really "cd perfect!" And of course what I mean here is that every instrument and sung harmony note was played perfectly. And it was all acoustic. They had this one rectangle shaped microphone in front, and the trio leaned in when the harmonies were needed. There were smaller mics for the banjo and fiddle, but it was a pleasure to hear this great natural sound coming from the instruments.
       The girl in the trio, Maya de Vitry, is very gentile looking when she talks and plays her fiddle and claw hammer-style banjo at the side. But when she leads a song from the middle of the trio, her entire face and body take on a deep expression of desire to create musical poetry, and her voice is a real surprise. It's powerful and comes from deep within. She's fascinating to watch, but she's not in any way distracting or contorted. She is just 'singing perfection'!!
       I wish I could play bass like Charles Muench. He plays it with perfection. It's a pleasure to watch him both pluck and bow this old friend. I like the way he finds every possible note to add to the music, but he's not showy. And his vocal harmonies are awesome as he leans in. He has real stage presence.
     Oilver Craven, the lead singer, is a genius on guitar, fiddle and vocals. He plays his guitar with great expertise and it's a joy to watch his strum or finger picking. A master at work.
      The trio played many of their original songs, and the lyrics and instrumentation all blended in wonderfully. Every now and then they would play a song like No Part of Nothin' that really stirred up the room with amusing lyrics and a great beat. You can't ask for a better show with something for everyone. Even their rendition of The Saint Anne's Reel with two fiddles competing as well as the big bass taking a turn at it, was a fascinating show of musicianship.
     My wish? I would really love others to see this trio and experience the wonderful evening they offer. Let me know if you do.

      One final mention concerns the venue Burlap and Bean. Not only is the coffee wonderful, but the place knows how to present a great atmosphere. No bar scene here! The audience is here to listen and enjoy! Wish there were more places like it.

     Now folks,... I am going to do something here that I almost hate to do because it's never like being there. But if you promise to USE EARPHONES or at least have GOOD speakers, then listen to this. Do NOT use LAP TOP speakers....don't ruin this experience with this little camcorder. Yes, PLEASE use earphones because this is actually a good you tube capture of this trio! The song is one of theirs called "I dream in Blue".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RxMn8OvYvY

     Hope you enjoy it. Let me know if you can at   mike_madigan@yahoo.com

Cheers,

   MikeMadigan of The Sharecroppers of Newfoundland

PS. As for the trio mentioned above called  The Once, here's a youtube with Newfoundland photos that captures this group's ability to deliver a great song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TZRXMqbLII

      

Our "One Room School" song gets a facelift!

Our popular One Room School song from our 1st cd NATURAL (1993) got a facelift from a friend who is really talented in making those you tube videos. Jim Yetman, from Newfoundland, captured the theme of our nostalgic song in this worth-the-watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOoAEwEEuNY
     The days of the one room schools in Newfoundland still seem to attract attention, and if you visit you tube you'll see a lot of clips of one room school stories and documentation. From the cod liver oil and cocomalt thoughts, to  remembering the old outhouse, the one room school remains engraved in our memories.

     The Sharecroppers of Newfoundland, my trio that's celebrating its 25th Anniversary as a Newfoundland folk trio this 2013, invites you to stay tuned for an announcement on our web site that will mention where in Newfoundland we are performing our anniversary shows. Hope to see you then!
     Drop into www.thesharecroppers.net in the new year to catch where those shows are. Cheers~Mike Madigan ( mike_madigan@yahoo.com )

(PS....

For other excellent videos of our songs and lyrics,... and many of Jim Yetmans's,... drop into the great Newfoundland music site called GEST and explore our music and thousands more at http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/ashare.htm Thanks again!~Mike)

Writer's Festival 2012......honest stuff !

      Did you attend the writers' festival in Woody Point this summer?
      I really enjoyed the Writer's at Woody Point Festival 2012 in Woody Point, Newfoundland this August. There were excellent writers and musicians there, and Steve Brunt and Gary Noel, organizers, are to be commended. Shelagh Rogers, who I finally got to meet at Peter and Robert's house, was charming. I also met the daughter of the late Peter Gzowski and she was pleased to hear of my once 8 minute radio interview with her father concerning my 1960 unopened can of Dunlop Fort tennis balls. I still have them, by the way...still unopened too!
      The evening my trio, The Sharecroppers performed, was August 25th and we were pleasantly accompanied by Newfoundland writers Tara Manuel and Donna Morrissey in the beautiful Warehouse Merchants Theatre. Both women gave outstanding very humorous introductions to their works, but Donna stole the show. Tara's reading of her twenty minute story was interesting too, but as it progressed it got darker and darker and by the end, many of us were wondering why she chose such a risque piece. But I guess it is a writer's festival afterall!
       One of the highlites of the week for me and many was the Al Pittman tribute....both the special night hosted by Clyde Rose as well as his reading of Al's "Seabreeze Lounge" poem as a Project Bookmark. Clyde read Al's poem with 100% heartfelt emotion that day with everyone standing around where the Seabreeze used to be. I was touched by his comments and friendship.
     The evening tribute to Al Pittman was the best of all the Writer's Festival, I thought. The acting performance of Al's poetry by the art students was amazingly well done. They made his poetry come to life, and the expressions on those actors' faces were perfect, profound and  professional!
        I thought our own eight original tunes performed by my Sharecropper Trio the night of August 25th was well received. It gave us a chance to put our poetry to music with songs like Yesterday's Fisherman, My Grandfather's Fiddle, The Simple Things, Grenfell, A Traditional Song, The Hangashore, One Room School and This New Founde Lande. I suggested later to Gary Noel if we ever did this again, it would have been nice to do a longer set and finish off with some good ole Irish-Nfld pub style songs since everyone had a drink in their hands anyways. But I think our host Angela Antle was a bit too eager to get everyone out to the Legion for 11pm.
     The last evening I attended -  which was Sunday night- was quite a show with Shane Murphy and Sandy Morris. Shane and Sandy ended off the evening with a Jimmy Hendrix song Hey Joe and it was electrifying! You might even say it was "sum shockin' good!"!! I watched them (Sandy, Shane, two drummers and a bass player) from only 15 feet away. I always knew Sandy Morris was a good guitar player, but it's the first time I had ever seen him in the rock mode. Both he and Shane (the master of rock perfection) played wild heavy sounds with smooth fingers! It was fun to watch and quite frankly, I had never seen this great guitar playing up that close! It was awesome, thrilling, loud and magnificent!
    The group All the Wiles were excellent too. It was nice to see them getting the crowd going too.
      I would like to commend Jenny Galliott of Galliott Studios for her beautiful art gallery turned into a coffee and Spirits lounge of poetic readers and guest musicians. Great job, Jenny and everyone loves your place. Great venue and I hope you also sold tons of your beautiful artwork and pottery!
      I have a few criticisms I'd like to share. Not all the writers were good readers! I'd suggest some get others to read their work like Clyde Rose did of Al Pittman's. Of course Al is deceased but sometimes it takes someone else to read a good piece of literature other than the author himself.
       I also attended Alan Doyle's second evening. Although I am not a fan of his often harsh singing style, he delivers quite a vibrant show. But I couldn't understand why Corey Tetford's guitar that second night was so dominant. I asked Max Simms about this and he said Corey's guitar was not controlled by the master board but was amplified right from the stage. Too bad as the excellent fiddler was drownd out continuously. Perhaps all instruments should be controlled from the soundman's board. Max and crew do a fantastic job, as we all know and appreciate!
        Finally...one more criticism. Although  it was good to see locals attending the events,  there were not enough. Is it the price of tickets? I think so. One may as well call a spade a spade. Maybe special prices should be given to the folks who live in Woody Point and nearby towns. The Heritage Theatre that Charlie Payne runs is a beautiful  wooden venue with good acoustics. My trio played there 3 years ago to a crowd of 57 and last year at the Legion to well over 150 folks, mostly locals. I think pricing is a factor. Something to re-think perhaps?
        Writers at Woody Point 2012 was a wonderful experience. I'm glad I was there attending and participating. I'm also glad Kathy and I have a home and 82 year-old house there too...for I believe Woody Point is the gem of Bonne Bay in Gros Morne. Don't you?
Cheers!
~Mike Madigan (mike_madigan@yahoo.com)
        
      

Back in Woody Point, Newfoundland

Well, it's good to be back here in Woody Point. Just doing Sharecropper shows and two Passing the Time's in Trout River and a show at Jenny Galliot Studios called "A Woody Point "Time" with folk singer Mike Madigan" has been wonderful. Everyone I know goes to work....but I go to play......is so true for me. Kathy and Scout have been wonderful and patient with me and my "focus" moods. Each show is a wonderful experience but takes thought and ideas!
   Next is a show on Aug 19th and then The Writers Festival on Aug 25th.....an event I am truly looking forward to experiencing.  The Sharecroppers play two 20 minute sets while authors Tara Manuel and Donna Morrissey do the authors' presentations. I haven't sung my song The Kyle in quiet a while, so I'd like to sing it that night for the writers.  That's the abandoned coastal steamer that is still grounded in River Head in Harbour Grace. They actually repainted this ship in 1997 for the Cabot year! Wonderful as my last verse to my song written in 1977 suggested they do this!
     We're at www.thesharecroppers.net so drop in and see. Next year...2013...we are doing a 25th anniversary tour. More to come later. We started this trio in 1988 and next year 2013 will be 25 years together!! Amazing!!!
I'm at mike_madigan@yahoo.com if you need to get in contact with me!!
Cheers
Mike

Crowd From Up the Hill

Here's an opening full track from our latest cd Home, Boys! called Crowd From Up the Hill. It's a song about friends from Pasadena Newfoundland who like to get together every now and then and sing all the Irish songs they know....and right till the break of day (then have a hearty breakfast). Yet many of them have never been to Ireland!
So to Bill on the whistle, Colin on the mandolin, Mike on the guitar and Milton on the bodhran, a warm hello! Ed Guy and myself love this song .....and the photos accompanying the song, tell the tale of a fine group of people in Pasadena as well as our trio, The Sharecroppers, celebrating its 24th year this summer 2012. I hope there's a crowd in every community or cove in Newfoundland that loves to sing too! Hey, I know there is!
Check this you tube I did of our song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e4hrDImsLM

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Enjoy!!!! Mike of The Sharecroppers (of Newfoundland)