Mandolin

The secret of old dogs busking, and learning new tricks. 

November 18, 2021 — Leave a comment

Plague Dad is strangely organic. When I say that, I mean that I, and Frank, have been involved in many musical projects, both together and apart over the past. What makes this current iteration of our long-time music collaboration different is our dedication to playing on the street.

IE: Busking. 

Plague Dad busking in the Old Port, Portland, Maine, circa September 2021.

I personally have had the utmost respect for buskers over the years. And have been influenced by many unnamed street performers in San Francisco, Boston, Kansas City, et al. But I have never really committed to that potential for percussion performance. 

I come from a drum set background, and the idea of trying to make that mobile has always been a challenge. Much less the idea of a quick set up on the street where the stage is the side walk and not level, where we have to find the right place to set up, where my traditional drum kit is a no go. 

So I had to adapt. I have these bongos. For many years. For nearly as long as I’ve known Frank. 

I used them for my own mobile entertainment over the years. But they became the perfect mobile centerpiece. I took up wooden spoons as an instrument as well. And then Frank had this kick box bass drum. It’s heavy, but compact. And not as heavy as either of my 22” kick drums. 

I wanted to meet the spirit of what we are were trying to do. So I pared down my “kit” to those old-ass but great sounding bongos, the kick box, foot jingles and shakers. And the spoons. I’ve recently added washboard to my repertoire, too, to keep things even more mobile. 

So with that mindset, Plague Dad went all in on street performance. 

We started out in the Wharf Alley in Old Port. And started to perform on the street in a few other locations.

The feedback is so immediate: are we just entertaining enough for you to drop a dollar in the case? Or maybe even buy a 7″? 

I mean, how immediate is that reward? Amazing. Makes you learn and earn. Hones your skills for the idea of chaos, direct marketing in all of its best and worst forms. 

Like nothing I’ve ever experienced up to that point in musical performance. Sharpens your musical skills, your interactive skills, your commitment to play on, even when it sucks a little bit, (or a lot) and there is no money to be had at the moment … but maybe. A little later, maybe, we work the crowd better. Maybe. Perform better. Song select better. Maybe. Read the room.

It all adds up to the best way to rehearse for pay, and create a fully realized sound that evolved on the street one dollar at time. 

Support your local busker. Even if you might not truly dig that person’s particular sound — we were terrible once, too. Hell, a lot of folks might say we still are … 

—-mig

Next up: How did Cops On Acid become the song it is now. 

The new Plague Dad EP is featured in a WMPG-FM podcast, and stay tuned for upcoming shows …

November 17, 2021 — Leave a comment

Our new six-song EP dropped nearly two weeks ago now, and momentum around it continues to build — more importantly, people are still buying it over on our Bandcamp page, and for that we’re enormously grateful.

The new EP, titled, “Back In The Tree,” is a cassette-only release, in an opaque white shell with a clear Norelco case. It includes a lyric sheet, liner notes, stickers, and other cool insert stuff, as well as a digital download, too. It’s strictly limited to 100 copies, and there are still a few copies left to be had, but when they’re gone, they’re gone. There won’t be a second run.

Anyhoo, it’s been added to some Spotify playlists, and a few radio stations have started to play some of the tracks, too, but one of the things we’re most proud of is that Lorenzo, who hosts the Podcast Open Mic, gave it some serious play in the latest episode of his show.

Lorenzo was kind enough to devote an entire episode to Plague Dad last month, so to get some more positive attention from his show so soon is kind of a big deal, and we’re truly thankful for it.

You can listen to the episode, which also features a segment on Biddeford singer/songwriter/busker Jim Baumer, using the embed below.

Sure, it’s late – but it’s still Bandcamp Friday up until midnight!

November 5, 2021 — Leave a comment

Today is the day people: Bandcamp Friday, and our brand-spanking new EP, “Back In The Tree,” is now officially available. You can get it here.

Bandcamp Friday is cool because on that day, Bandcamp foregoes its usual cut of the purchase price, and the artist gets 100 percent of the proceeds. Which is better than the streaming services, who don’t pay jackola for your music. /rant

So, this EP has six tunes on it: five originals, and one cover. The physical product’s a cassette-only release – although it does come with a download code – and it’s strictly limited to 100 hand-numbered copies, in an opaque white shell and a clear Norelco case. It comes with a liner notes, a lyric sheet, a sticker, and some other cool stuff we’ll be tossing into the envelope when it ships, too.

You can find our Bandcamp page here.

And thank you for your support. It truly means a lot to us.

Bandcamp Friday is just around the corner and the new release is ready to go …

November 3, 2021 — Leave a comment

The day after tomorrow is, of course, Bandcamp Friday, which means for that day, Bandcamp will forego its cut of all sales and 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to the artists.

The new EP from Plague Dad — cassette only, strictly limited to 100 copies, hand numbered, in white opaque shell and a clear Norelco case.

You can get it here.

And Plague Dad’s got something special for you: a brand-new EP, featuring six tracks: five originals, and one cover of a tune called Sickness, by Ted Hawkins – who, if you haven’t heard of, you’d do well to check out.

The new release is cassette-only, but of course includes a download code so you can listen on your various digital devices.

The songs themselves were recorded at Sun Tiki Studios on Forest Ave. in Portland, Maine, and mastered by Dylan Ray down in Nashville, and they sound fucking awesome. If you’ve caught a live Plague Dad show, this tape has that high-energy, Grungefolk vibe. If you haven’t seen ’em live, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

The cassettes themselves are strictly limited to 100 units, hand-numbered, in white shell nested in a clear Norelco case. They include a lyric sheet, liner notes, a Plague Dad sticker, and there’ll probably be some other cool swag stuffed into the package, too.

You don’t wanna miss this one, folks, because when they’re gone, they’re gone.

Plague Dad Drops New Single on Spotify – Here’s Your Link!

October 29, 2021 — Leave a comment

So, we’re getting ready to drop a new EP next week on Bandcamp: 6 tunes – five originals and one really cool cover by a dude named Ted Hawkins – and you can get an early listen to the first single exclusively on Spotify right now! Here’s the link!

It’s called, “They Ran Us Off”, and it’s a short song – 2:43 – but powerful. It’s built primarily on a Cmaj7 chord, which isn’t something you hear every day in a folkpunk song, so if you like the tune, and you really wanna do us a solid, add it to a playlist of yours, or even (gasp!) give us a follow! That would be huge, and we’d be eternally grateful.

Frank playing They Ran Us Off

I wrote the music one late night after Mig texted me a poem he’d just written. I don’t know where it came from, we’ve not really talked about that yet, but it was clearly something he felt deeply and needed to get out there, and when I read it for the first time, it connected viscerally. I could feel the pain, the loneliness and the rejection. Maybe because I was feeling a bit of the same stuff at the same time, I dunno, but in a couple of hours I’d texted him back a rough first version that I recorded on my phone, using the voice memo tool, ’cause we’re all sophisto like that.

We polished it up a bit, made a decent recording and had it mastered, and now it’s ready for you to hear if you want. All you gotta do is hit that Spotify link, and maybe even buy the tape when it comes out on Friday, Nov. 5.

The EP itself, btw, is cassette-only, and limited to 100 copies – but don’t worry: each copy comes with a digital download, too. You’ll be able to pre-order soon – follow the blog here if you wanna stay up on all the news re: new releases, shows, lives streams and all the other cool stuff we’ve got going on.

Plague Dad Featured in WMPG Podcast!

October 8, 2021 — Leave a comment

You can listen to it here – but the backstory is pretty interesting on its own.

A couple of weeks ago, we played Porchfest, here in Portland, Maine’s Deering Center neighborhood. It was a blast, and a good time was had by all. One of the people we met there was Lorenzo, who hosts WMPG‘s Podcast Open Mic show.

Lorenzo actually caught us over two nights – I think perhaps because he was intrigued with the idea of interviewing some genuine buskers. Or maybe he just didn’t have anything better to do. Who knows.

Plague Dad busking in the Old Port in Portland, Maine.

Anyway, he caught us one night in the Old Port, in our usual spot on Wharf Alley, and originally, that was his plan for the end of it. But evidently, some of the audio didn’t come out too well, so he decided to come down the next week and catch us again to pick up the content needed to fill out the show.

Except, we weren’t there, because we were playing Amigo’s.

We got a text from him, asking where we were, an explained the situation, and a few minutes later, in he walked.

The best part is Lorenzo managed to record a good portion of our set at Amigo’s that night, and put that together with the material he got from our busking sets the week before – and the stuff from Amigo’s is pretty amazing. The crowd reaction alone was some that, as a musician, I’ve never experienced. People really enjoyed the show, an we had a great time playing.

Masked up for busking in Portland, Maine.

Beyond that, it’s the only live material that we’ve gotten recorded to date.

Bottom line, it’s well worth a listen.

Plague Dad’s Playing Porchfest!

September 2, 2021 — Leave a comment

We just got the word: we’ll be playing Porchfest this year in Portland’s Deering Center neighborhood: Sunday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. at 68 Brentwood St.

This year is the 7th Annual Porchfest, and the event has taken on a life of its own: 60 artists performing on the front porches of houses throughout the neighborhood. This year’s event promises to be the biggest and best yet.

Porchfest is a neighborhood event, and it runs on the power of the people who support it. The organizers are still looking for volunteers to help out. Shifts as a Porchfest Ambassador are only an hour long and anyone who signs up to help out gets an exclusive Porchfest t-shirt. You can sign up here.