MP3 Maggie's Guitar - Maggie's Guitar
An eclectic mix of original songs and covers performed with such varied influences as folk, blues, pop and roots in the acoustic tradition.
13 MP3 Songs in this album (53:21) !
Related styles: FOLK: Folk Pop, FOLK: Modern Folk
People who are interested in Gordon Lightfoot Jim Croce Eagles should consider this download.
Details:
“Vibrant.”
“Innovative.”
“The essence of acoustic harmony.”
These are some of the words fans and critics use to describe Maggie''s Guitar, which performs an eclectic repertoire of mostly original music – including eight of the thirteen tracks on this, the group’s eponymous first CD – with the rest covers whose influences range from Jim Croce to Gordon Lightfoot to Mark Knopfler.
The quartet features Ron and Margaret Gletherow, Steve Fagin and Mike Bailey – four gifted and multi-talented musicians and songwriters who are gaining popularity and critical acclaim in their southeastern Connecticut base and beyond.
Ron, vocalist, guitarist, bass player and keyboardist, is an English-born singer/songwriter who combines haunting melodies with heart-felt, deeply personal lyrics in such moving ballads as “Heart Full of Love,” “From England to New England” and “Portrait.” He had previously played both solo and as band member of several groups on the prestigious London pub/club circuit. An avid Jim Croce admirer, he achieved a lifelong ambition by portraying the late legend on the popular British TV show, “Stars In their Eyes,” to a viewing audience of 11 million in 1998.
He has since produced two solo CDs, “Ron Gletherow” and “From England to New England.” Ron has set up home in Connecticut since marrying Margaret in 2000.
Margaret, lead guitarist for Maggie’s Guitar, learned the instrument as a teenager in the early 1970s while playing along with Jim Croce records, a prophetic undertaking since Croce’s works would later become such an important influence. Folk and acoustic music have always played a significant part in her life. After graduating from college with a degree in broadcasting she worked at a talent agency, booking local talent in the Washington D.C, area. She soon formed her own agency, working with a D.C.-folk radio show that booked artists at a monthly talent showcase at The Birchmere, a popular hub of the Capitol music scene. Among the performers, unknown at the time, was Mary Chapin Carpenter.
In 1985 Margaret moved to Pennsylvania and formed a video production company called Folkl Point, along with her friend Sal Joseph, who composed the song “Thursday” that Jim Croce recorded on his “I Got A Name” album. Margaret served as Folkl Point’s talent coordinator and wound up working with such artists such as John Gorka, Rod McDonald, Preston Reed, Tom Chapin and Livingston Taylor.
She is the “Maggie” of Maggie’s Guitar, and the group’s name has an interesting history. Ron had to “bribe” Margaret into playing music with him by buying her a new guitar, and when they told that story to their friend, legendary singer/songwriter/actor Paul Williams, he instantly dubbed their musical collaboration Maggie’s Guitar.
Steve joined Maggie’s Guitar as a multi-talented musician after having met Ron and Margaret at the Shoreline Acoustic Music Festival, which he helped establish as one of the region’s most popular events, featuring dozens of musicians from southern New England. Steve was in the Green Room before the show, plucking away on his mandolin, when Ron and Margaret wandered in. They started chatting, realized the compatibility of their styles and personalities, and before long Steve was invited to join Maggie’s Guitar as a mandolinist, guitarist and vocalist.
Steve had studied classical piano and occasionally throws in a Bach-influenced riff during his improvisational solo breaks, and enjoys shifting gears quickly from rondos to reels to bluegrass to roots to hornpipes and back again.
As a child Steve would fall asleep listening to his father’s extraordinary, self-taught piano repertoire and considers this experience his greatest musical influence. His father, Norm, also taught Steve how to play the mandolin – Steve later learned the guitar – and soon they were off and running as a duet. Though Norm passed away in 2007 his legacy lives on with Steve and his own son, Tom. Today, the next generation of father and son continues to play the same standards, as well as more contemporary compositions. The two performed together at Irish pubs in Galway when Tom spent his junior college semester there at the university in 2008.
When he is not picking tunes with Maggie’s Guitar, Steve, an adventure writer and editor, is climbing mountains, kayaking rivers, building stone walls, cutting firewood, planting trees, making maple syrup and baking bread in his outdoor beehive oven.
Mike was the final member to join Maggie’s guitar, and his presence adds credence to the expression, “Last but not least.”
Mike plays six-string and 12-string guitar, bass and harmonica, and his smooth, rich vocals wonderfully complement Ron’s evocative harmonies and melodies. His first CD, Point, was released in 2002. Mike’s musical tastes range from Fiona Apple to Led Zeppelin, with particular weaknesses for Neil Young, the Beatles and early Elton John.
Mike, also an editor and gifted Web designer, is along with Steve and their friend, Sherry Stidfole, founding members of the Shoreline Acoustic Music Society, which stages the annual outdoor music festival and has become a hub of the region’s music scene.
In Maggie’s Guitar you will hear four distinctively different musicians who blend their voices and instruments into a unique sound that evokes the essence of the acoustic oeuvre. Enjoy!