Sue Burkhart and Ed Vadas have joined together to form a duo dedicated to performing a variety of tunes they have always loved, but didn‘t fit into their working repertoires. This new repertoire is so varied that when they are asked to describe the type of music they play, their usual comeback was "a sort of Americana." While accurate, it sounded corny to them. So... they decided to add a bit of spice and alter it to "Ameri-MF-cana" which more typifies their slightly twisted humor and repartee. Because the tunes often embrace the male/female situation, they thought MF would be just right. They hope that, by only playing songs they love, from whatever genre, they will play with fire and exuberance, and if they play them well, they will laugh and have fun... and that will carry over to the audience!
So far the concept has worked. From the Ledbelly tune "Poor Howard", Dylan's "I'll be your baby tonight!", Duke Ellington's "Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me" to Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving you again!", Tom Wait's "Jersy Girl", and the old Stringband favorite "Who Broke the Lock on the Henhouse Door". people have embraced the duos eclectic approach.
There are other styles included...a couple of jazz scat tunes a la Lambert, Hendrix and Ross, an anti drug tune by Afro man, a number of original tunes penned by Sue or Ed, a smattering of bluegrass, and traditional folk, all drenched in a rich slathering sauce of blues!
A deep love of roots music drove them to learn the varied styles and be able to play and sing them with feeling they deserve. Reading their personal bios will reveal how they can traverse these many genres and still be "authentic". Between Sue's command of the jazz and classical guitar and her doubling on the mandolin and Ed's mastery of the old blues and finger-picking guitar styles and his harmonica skills, the two explode on stage with a grand musical excitement.
Both musicians sing somewhere on most every song, often employing a sort of "blues" or "red neck" harmony. Still, on other tunes they get "downright pretty"! And that is the half of it!
The other side of "Ameri-MF-cana" is the way the personalities collide on stage... both Sue and Ed have no problem saying anything that pops into their mind.... they have been known to find something funny and just laugh uncontrolably for what seems minutes before they can continue. They don't really want to advertise that they are funny, but given the opportunity, it gets "fair to partly funny" sometime in most every unplanned outing.
For more detailed info...
please visit our site at: http://www.ameri-mf-cana.com
Hey Ed & Sue! So looking forward to your show this Thursday (March 5th.) at Perks Coffeehouse. Remember, come by early and we'll fix you dinner:) Hope all is well, Raymond.
Dear Ameri-mf-cana, Just dropped in to say hello and listen to your stuff. It's been awhile, but it still sounds excellent in here. I love the voice on "not ashamed..." and the guitar playing is brilliant. Keep playing, you guys. Best regards, Nicolai
Happy New Year! I hope all is well with you. Hey, I wanted to let you know about a regular bluegrass & Oldtime night we're going to be hosting at the World War II club in Northampton on the 1st Saturday of each month. We'll be having an open mic from 7:00 until 8:30 followed by featured bands. I'd love it if y'all might make it over! (You know how it can be getting these things started). Peace,
Thanks for making room for some washboard-fueled vaudevillian ragtime/jugband blues and hillbilly swing mandness in your space!
Best,
joebass, michael, parrish
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