The Mammals
Like the turbines, coal and steam in a steam engine, the musicians, fans and field recorders have worked together for nearly a century to keep traditional music evolving and alive. The Mammals really respect the work that the people of the SPPS are doing to preserve and share exciting music. It is a terrific and growing resource for players and fans of traditional music worldwide!
The Mammals first jammed together at a party in late 2000. I think “Sail Away Ladies” was the first tune we played, which we all knew from the Smithsonian field recording of Uncle Bunt Stephens, and by the end of the night, we reached the bottom of a bottle of rum and the beginning of a new band. Old-time music is what brought us together. From the start, we also played original songs, songs in Spanish, and other random folk songs, but the fiddle and the banjo and the old-timey feel still tie it all together. We like to call ourselves an “all-timey string-band.
- Ruth Unger, May 2005
Folk-rock quintet The Mammals have evolved since their birth as a band in the spring of 2001, picking up new sounds and styles along the way. Now, wielding the combined power of Appalachian fiddle-banjo alchemy, their own contemporary lyric poetry, and a dynamic rock-n-roll rhythm section, The Mammals look to the future with warm-blooded glee.
“It’s the band I’ve wanted to be in since I was seventeen!” crows guitarist/banjoist and singer, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, who grew up as fascinated by AC/DC as by his banjo-picking grandfather, Pete Seeger.
“Music is music,” adds Michael Merenda, who shares the banjo/guitar duties, and is the group’s primary songwriter. “People think that The Mammals have pushed and broadened the boundaries of folk music. I think we’ve barely even started. There are no boundaries. There are conventions.”
It’s that wild-eyed attitude that has characterized the band from the beginning, and continues to attract new audiences today. Their first CD “Born Live” (humble abode music) is a rough-hewn collection of their early live concert recordings and gives the impression of a self-made bootleg.
Teaming up months later with their highly-regarded producer and engineer Max Feldman, The Mammals entered the home-recording studio, and created a more polished but equally energetic gem, “Evolver” (humble abode music.) This is the CD that would eventually catch the ear of Jim Olsen at Signature Sounds.
In January 2004, the Mammals’ released another live concert sampler called “Migration” (humble abode music) and in April wowed fans with their most evolved studio recording to date, “Rock That Babe” (signature sounds).
Based in Woodstock, NY, their journeys across the continent have been the source of great inspiration. “Summer festivals rock!” says Ruth Ungar, fiddler and singer. “We love the energy of those festival crowds and the camaraderie between the bands. We feel so fortunate to be a part of it.”
Drummer Chris Merenda sensitively elevates The Mammals old-timey tunes and new songs with contemporary rhythm and a solid pulse. “His drumming is so awesome!” said one pretty girl at a recent show. “I love this job,” said Chris.
The Mammals don’t suffer from multiple genre syndrome, they celebrate it, as if gleefully aware that the sound barriers separating old-timey music, vintage pop and contemporary folk are as permeable as cotton.
- The Washington Post
