MAMADEAR Interview by Christian Lamitschka for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show
Lamitschka:
Music has many new fans throughout Europe who may be hearing about
you for the first time. How would you describe yourself and the music
you play to someone who has never seen or heard you?
Answer:
We would say it’s porch music. We come from a rootsy place. It is
acoustic driven harmony music. We value playing real instruments and
telling real stories. The first time we ever played together was on a
porch and so we want to keep that real and authentic vibe to the
sound.
Lamitschka:
How was the last year for you? What were your highlights?
Answer:
The biggest highlight so far is releasing our first single “Steal
Away” off the new project. We feel like it is a great introduction
of who we are, what we wanna say, and how we want to sound. We are
glad it is out there and the world is finally getting to hear it!
Also, getting asked to come back and play at the Monte Carlo Summer
Sporting festival this year is another pinch me moment for us. Last
year we were able to open for Santana, Seal, Tom Jones and others.
This year we will get to open for John Legend, Sting, Enrique
Iglesias and more! It is a once in a lifetime opportunity that’s
happened twice and we can’t wait to get back and perform for folks
all over the world and get to learn from the best in the business!
Lamitschka:
Do you have any interesting stories about how fans have been affected
by your music?
Answer:
When we first started the band on Kelly’s front porch almost 7
years ago, we would get together when we had time and jam out new
songs we had been writing, or sing covers we all loved. Being in
Nashville, a lot of our buddies would be over, and someone would grab
a guitar, banjo or a cajon, and we would sit around on those hot
summer night and play tunes and tell stories and have a some beers,
and we just felt like this is what music is missing in our current
social media age. We saw first hand the power of music and how it
brings people together. We are more connected than ever via social
media, but also more apt to go inward and not connect on a human to
human level. So once we saw how music can bring folks together, that
impacted us and helped us shape our vision for this music and where
we want to go as a band.
Lamitschka:
Who inspires you musically and how deep do your musical roots run?
Answer:
We love all the iconic harmony groups. I would say as a band, our
biggest influence is probably the Eagles. Their songwriting and the
way the find cool ways to use their harmonies has been a huge
influence on our sound. We love Alabama, The Beatles, LittleBigTown,
Keith Urban, Amos Lee, Johnny Cash. It’s all over the map. We feel
like you can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you
came from. So studying these iconic acts gives us a place to shoot
for musically. Currently, we are into everyone from Maggie Rogers to
John Mayer to Eric Church!
Lamitschka:
What drives you?
Answer:
Bringing people together drives us. Making great art drives us. Being
great entertainers drives us. Being honest in our songwriting drives
us. We want you to hear our music and feel like you have been there.
Porch Music is being honest about life. The conversations you would
have with a close friend or neighbor. We like to raise a glass and
party like everyone else and we have songs about that. We also don’t
want to run from the pain and the ups and downs in life with our
music. We want folks to feel a little less alone when they hear a
MAMADEAR song.
Lamitschka:
What’s unique about you that will differentiate you from other
artists?
Answer:
One of the most unique things about us hopefully is we have three
lead voices. We do lots of harmonies and value that and also switch
leads on songs to keep it interesting. It seemed to work well for the
Beatles and Eagles and countless other bands so we don’t run from
that, we embrace it as a strength.
Lamitschka:
What has been your greatest challenge in music business?
Answer:
Probably like a lot of artists, finding the strength to persevere
when things get tough. This business is so up and down, so it’s in
the grind when you find out who you are and why you do what you do.
If you believe in your music and are truly making something that is
authentic and real, people will connect with it. You just have to be
patient, keep your head down and keep working!
Lamitschka:
What moments in your career stand out in your memory as highlights
and achievements which you are proud of?
Answer:
One of the proudest moments so far for us was when Rolling Stone
named us the “best up and comer” at CMA Fest a couple years ago.
Along with that, getting to stand on stages with some our heroes like
Martina McBride, Charlie Daniels, Brett Elderedge and others is
always an honor.
Lamitschka:
What can your fans expect to see when they see you in concert?
Answer:
You can expect to see three people who are having a blast, doing what
we love and leaving it all on the stage. We love bringing our story
and sound to folks live. That’s what it’s all about. So we like
to break down that veil between us and audience and invite everybody
in. There’s nothing like hearing fans sing along and the energy and
connecting that we have with our fans is everything. You’ll hear
lots of harmonies and songs that hopefully will make you say, “yeah
me too”
Lamitschka:
Many music fans today get their information about artists online. Do
you have your own website and what will fans find there?
Answer:
YES! www.mamadear.com
You will find all of our tour dates, a taste of our music and a
chance to get to know us a bit through our story.