Musical “Mayhem” In Mad River!
Two Arresting Acts Hit the Valley This Week-End.

By Rob Williams

The Mad River musical stars are aligning once again for another fabulous week-end of music in the Mad River Valley. On Friday night, you can catch rising star Gregory Douglass at the Bundy Gallery (8:00 – tickets are $10 each) as he debuts new tunes off of his brand new keyboard-focused 6th CD “Up Up Away.” For folks who have not yet heard this 25-year-old wunderkind perform, don’t miss his unique emotionally-charged and lyrically-inspired music.

Saturday night, meanwhile, finds Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem at the Valley Player’s Showcase (8:00), bringing us their wonderfully “boundary-less” music – a mix of swing, bluegrass, country, folk, jazz, and Americana – just in time to celebrate the holidays. After listening to a rough mixes of some new tunes late last week, I caught up with Rani for a chat about her music and life in general.

Q. Many of your loyal listeners here in Vermont know that you’ve been wrestling with a long-term illness (bad news) and a new baby/family (good news). How’re things going, juggling music and personal chores?

A. Oh, I drop them all often and make a great big mess, like every parent does. But we’re lucky - Quinn has a very even keel for an almost-three-year-old, and he’s a game traveler. Of course, tour is when he gets both parents in the same place at the same time, which he loves. As for my breast cancer, I’m in the no-news-is-good news zone. It’s a very lucky place to be, for now, and I don’t take it for granted.

Q. So what’s been happening for Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem musically since you last visited Mad River Valley?

Ah, we’ve finally started working on a new CD, which will be released this spring. It’s been four years since Gambling Eden - way too long! Although if you factor in breast cancer, two babies and three mortgages among the band, it’s not like we don’t have any good excuses. On the positive side, the long wait has resulted in us having way more new material than we need. It’s going to be hard to let some of these tunes go, but it’s a great problem to have.

Q. Tell us about some of your new tunes - Harry Manx’s “House Be Blessed” - where did that come from?

Isn’t that a great song? Andrew introduced that to the band last summer, and it just felt like one of those songs we need to live by…”Let it go, let it go, let your sword of vengeance rest.” We’ve been dedicating it to the House of Bush, and to everyone everywhere who could use a reintroduction to the golden rule. We got to hear Harry Manx play that live at Blissfest in Northern Michigan last year. That was pretty blissful.

Q. You wrote a new one called “Big Old Life” - which sounds like a slightly wistful yet ultimately hopeful song about, well, life. What’s the story there?

Strange you should ask - that song was inspired by a young woman songwriter, Daisy May Erlewine, whom we also met at Blissfest. She has a great big heart, and she’s not afraid to show it, which I loved. So, Big Old Life came out more joyfully than most of what I write. It also has a Buddhist thing going on. As in: be careful how you think about your life (or, how you write songs about it), because your life will follow suit. Better just to step on and ride.

Q. And you are playing around with a Bob Dylan song - “Farewell Angelina.” is this a Mayhem tribute to Mr. Zimmerman?

It’s a tribute to the fact that Dylan songs have staying power. He wrote that in 1981. I couldn’t begin to explain it to you line by line, but the underlying feeling of chaos, violence, and instability feels, unfortunately, very appropriate for 2006.

Q. I heard a rumor that your percussionist/husband Scott’s “Drumship Enterprise” percussion kit is no more. Please clarify this, and say it isn’t so, for all of us “Mayhem” listeners.

We’re flirting with a few full-kit songs for this CD, but don’t worry. Although we love the illusion of rock stardom we get from drums and electric guitar, we’re sticking by the Drumship for most of the record and all of our live shows. Aside from sounding great and looking cool, it’s much easier to get on and off a plane.

Q. What can listeners expect at the Valley Player’s Show on Saturday night, December 9 at 8:00?

First and foremost, a great opening act: Anand Nayak, our guitar player, will be singing and playing with his wife, Polly Fiveash. Their harmonies and songwriting are just stupendous, we’re really glad the could make the show. As for daisy mayhem, we will be playing a lot of the new CD material, as well as some new arrangements of old songs (hopefully we’ll remember those). And I must add, Mad River Unplugged is a favorite gig of ours. Not only do we get to play the Valley Players Theater with a dear friend and fabulous musician running the sound system (Greg Ryan), but we get a beautiful drive up, an overnight at a friends’ sheep farm, and maple mini-doughnuts for the ride home. You can expect a very happy band.