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"Fishtraks" recording artists
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"The duo of Emery Hutchins and Mac McHale are versatile musicians of the first order"
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"Road to Bangor" CD
Our old friend Mac McHale,
who has been nominated so many times for
induction into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame, he must
wonder if we are fully sane back here in Iowa. This fine CD throws the
listener back to a time of chanties and Irish tunes. Using the necessary
concertina, guitar, bodhran, mandolin, and banjo in this project, these
two fine performers have laid down for posterity some of the finest songs
in this genre that I have ever heard. Mac is well known for his great
country music work in Maine and New Hampshire, but this is the first time
I have heard him doing such old time folk songs and Irish tunes. This is
a very large collection of these tunes and songs, and all of them done in
a nice old time style. Mac has been in the business for a long time, so
he knows what people like to hear from him, and he does a right smart job
on this one. It was recorded and mixed in Roc Studios in Wells, Maine,
and this particular presentation is a fine example of the American
experience in a very real and vibrant way. You're sure to enjoy the old
strumming banjo and mild guitar backing. The Two Old Friends, are Mac
Mchale and Emery Hutchins. A good CD, come and see us sometime Mac and
Emery.
Sammy Stone
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Performer
"The Musician's Magazine" Says
What was it like when "TRADITIONAL" music was simply music? If this idea is too hard to fully wrap the brain around, then your Two Old Friends will be happy to help. Just toss Reunion onto the Victrola and watch them go. They hit the mandolin so hard sparks must be flyin' and they lean into the microphones and sing through half-smiles. They create tradition. Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins exude something pure, an elusive spirit that lives in the soil of America, it lives in and on the icy swells of the Atlantic, and the lands of Great Britain, Ireland, and Scotland. Maine natives McHale and Hutchins have somehow channeled this energy flawlessly into twelve spellbinding tracks on Reunion.
While many traditional artist will sneer down the bows of their fiddles and get all haughtily historical, McHale and Hutchins bring history alive in such a way it all but becomes "the Present". Whether it's the Celtic strains of "As I Roved Out" the spitty harmonica on "Sweetness of Mary / Millbrae," or gentle "southern sway of "Going Back to Dixie," these two gentlemen make the Kinston Trio sound like the Back Street Boys.
There is more energy and magic on this record than most artist will expend in an entire career. From Emery's commanding vocal performance in "Two Recruiting Sergeants" or Mac's mind-blowing mandolin work on "Orange Blossom Special," the two truly have a gift that we can only hope they continue to share for the next 80 years or so. It is only after hearing this record does the listener realize the significance of "Two Old Friends," - Mac and Emery are not just each others' old friends, but they are now also ours as well. (Fishtraks)
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 207-967-3755 OR 207-363-7391