Lauzon and Mulveney

Lavinia Thornbury

Sarah Still

Coco (She's Not The Boss Of Us!)

New Song!

Hey folks....here's another Mulveney composition. Jim happened upon a very touching story about a mentally handicapped woman who has taken it upon herself to cheer people up during these worrisome times. Seems she creates a hand-made sign daily, usually containing a smile and a message of hope and she stands out at the curb daily with them. Certainly a glowing light in these troubled times
I give you: "You and Your Smile"
Jim on mandolin , lead vocal and drum programming. Myself on bass, electric guitars, percussion, additional drum programming and backing vocals.
Den

Imagine if you will a bustling train station in North Africa ...perhaps Marrakesh...perhaps Tangier. A train comes to a screeching halt and people begin de-boarding. A twenty-something female gets off the train dragging a small suitcase behind her. In her other hand she has a guitar case festooned with stickers from a various tourist destinations worldwide. She also has a backpack on.
A local cabbie asks her if she needs a lift somewhere...she declines. Behind her, a twenty-something male is just stepping down onto the train platform...He is ALSO lugging a small suitcase, carrying a SMALL guitar case with matching stickers and he has a backpack on. ...it is apparent that that they are travelling together.
They ask for directions to the market and are informed that it is a mere 2 blocks away. They set off to the market and upon arrival they choose a street corner and drop their belongings. With a few clicks their backpacks convert to small stools. They sit and open their suitcases, each one containing a small "lunchbox"-type battery-powered amplifier. She opens her guitar case to reveal what appears to be an electric guitar...it has the right shape but with a sound hole where the front pickup should be. She pulls a patch cord from the case, plugs it into the guitar and then to the amp...she quickly tunes the guitar up.
The male, for his part has pulled a small acoustic bass with rubber strings...he quickly patches it into his amp and tunes up as well. They both leave their guitar cases open to encourage tips.
People...mostly tourists are beginning to congregate around them. Suddenly the female calls out a brisk 4 count and they launch into an instrumental which has the crowd mesmerized!...They are both PHENOMENAL players...her hands gliding effortlessly over the length of the fretboard and coaxing virtually every sound imaginable out of that freakish guitar...everything from the brightest, CLEAN acoustic guitar tones to the sweetest electric CRUNCH!...It is apparent that they have been doing this routine for quite some time!
People begin tossing coins into their guitar cases en-masse....They play perhaps 10 songs and announce they will be taking a break.
As the female is retrieving the tips from the guitar cases she is mesmerized by the sound of some strange instrument seemingly emanating from around the corner ..She tells her companion to watch the gear and she hurries off in the direction of the sound.
Turning the corner she sees ANOTHER crowd of people. That SOUND is coming from the center of the crowd...She politely makes her way to the front of the crowd and finds the source of that amazing sound. A young African is playing a peculiar-looking stringed instrument the likes of which she has never seen...or heard. There is an American-looking woman standing next to her and she asks: " What IS that instrument he is playing??"
"It is an OUD" the woman replies with a French accent " and this young man is the finest player in the parts!" The young African smiles up at the both. The guitarist smiles back, reaches into her pocket and drops several coins into a tin can at his side. He bows to her as she runs off in search of her companion.
Upon her return she tells her companion to grab all the gear. "YOU HAVE to come hear this!!" she tells him..."I've never heard ANYTHING like it!"
They pack up their gear and make their way to where the young African is playing...and they make their way to the front of the crowd. The bass player is astonished at what he is hearing. As the African finishes a song the guitarist gestures to the young man and asks if he would mind if they join him. With a bow of his head and a "Salaam" in broken English he replies: "I would be honored!"
The quickly set up their stools...sit down, plug into their amps and begin playing ...The crowd has now tripled in size and they are astonished at how these seemingly complete strangers are managing to play such incredible music. The tips are now pouring in and people are literally dancing in the streets.
Suddenly an Asian man arrives on scene toting what APPEARS to be some kind of BOWED instrument, SIMILAR to a violin, but a very different shape...longer with only one string. The African smiles up at him. Clearly they must know each other as the Asian sits immediately and begins playing along.
They finish a song and the guitarist asks the African "What IS that instrument" In broken English the African replies: "it is an ERHU...an ancient Chinese instrument, and you have the good fortune of being in the company of one of the finest players in the world!
The Erhu player launches into another song and lo and behold, a young Indian man arrives on scene with a largish, odd shaped bag over his shoulder. Both the African and the Asian smile up at him as he pulls a sitar out of the bag, sits down cross-legged upon the cobbled sidewalk and starts playing along. The crowd is positively gob-smacked with the realization that what they are taking in is something very rare...and the applause at the end of each song is thunderous.
And HERE on display gentle reader is the power of music to bridge gaps ...of religion...skin colour...culture,..socio-economic levels, and all manner of things which divide people. And here as well is a visual setting for our newest recording entitled "When World Meet" .This one is a rare (for us) instrumental which is co-composed by Jim Mulveney and Dan Thibodeau.
It features the ALWAYS scintillating guitar work of Dan Thibodeau with Jim on electric guitar, mandolin, oud, erhu, sitar and drum programming. Yours truly on bass and percussion here.
So have a seat down on the curb here ...enjoy the aroma of coffee roasting in a nearby stall and enjoy "When Worlds Meet"!!
den

Hey folks!..It seems that sea shanties are all the rage these days!!..Hell...Even Saturday Night Live is doing them! It MAY very well be that Jim and I started a trend back a few years ago with "Heroes"...and then more recently with "In Marystown".:)
The trend continues with out LATEST song entitled "The Ship That Never Was" WHAT? you may ask?? ...How is it possible to have a song about a ship that never was??..Well...I guess you'll just have to listen to the song to find out! All I'll say is that the song is based on a rather lengthy convoluted true story...and so this song clocks in at JUST under 7 minutes ...but I promise the time spent listening to it will be worth it. It's a pretty fascinating yarn!
Thanks again to Chris McGuire for some amazing piano and melodeon work, and to the lovely and UBER-talented Molly McGuire for some fabulous (as always) work on the Irish Penny Whistle. Jim is on Lead vocal, guitar and mandolin here, and yours truly on fretless bass, backing vocals and percussion. So...welcome aboard....we hope you enjoy the journey!
And ...again...thanks for listening.
Den

A couple of summers ago I had the great good fortune of being able to spend some time and travel in Newfoundland and of course, I fell in love with the place. Its rugged beauty, its generous/courteous/downhome people, its musical heritage and its history were all so (expired link) all inspired this new song "In Marystown" which recounts a brief history of the cod fishing industry which was decimated by the collapse of the cod stocks due to overfishing, so much so that a moratorium on cod fishing (other than "game fishing", for which there is a daily quota of 5 cod per person) came into effect back in '92. This song is told from the perpective of a young lobster fisherman whose ancestors, like SO many others were cod fishermen. Though he song DOES deal with the sad story of the collapse of the cod fishing industry, I think denotes a pride of heritage/ancestry, a pride in being a Newfoudlander, a pride in doing an honest day's work, and a desire to stay true to who you are at the core. I give you "In Marystown". THIS one features the awesome talents of Chris McGuire on piano and button box, his daughter Molly McGuire on penny whistle and Jim Mulveney on acoustic guitar and mandolin...I am deeply endebted to them all. Thanks for listening.
Den

So….back in the early 60's when Robbie Robertson first joined The Band (then The Hawkes), he had to travel from Toronto to southern Arkansas to do so. Upon arrival he was immediately enthralled with all things southern, the culture, the food and in particular the music, and rightfully so. That neck of the woods is RICH in musical heritage and at the time (and to this day) red-hot bands were/are a dime a dozen.
I have to admit to my OWN fascination for all things southern. I've often thought that I MIGHT have been a southerner in another lifetime….perhaps one of those Cajuns that got tossed out of New France and landed in New Orleans or some parish in the bayou.
Of course, eventually, Robbie, drummer Levon Helm, bassist Rick Danko and keyboard men Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson would go on to form THE BAND. Some years ago Levon wrote an autobiography entitled “This Wheel's On Fire" in which he talks, among other things about his early years, growing up on a cotton plantation (his father was a sharecropper) working as “the water boy" …the cotton pickers' only source of hydration, working long hours in the scorching heat…a very TOUGH way to make a living.
The GOOD news is that on the weekends, kick-ass bands would roll into town and perform at tent shows, the highlight of which was “The Midnight Ramble"…Sometime around 11:00 (expired link). the proceedings would grind to a halt, they'd thank everybody for coming and then they'd announce it was time for the “Midnight Ramble, whence…to quote Levon “the jokes'd get a little funnier, the dance moves would get a little spicier and the prettiest girl in town would get up on the dance floor and shake it on down"….all well worth the additional cost of one dollar!!
And so, having recently read Levon's bio (probably for at least the 6th time!) and having recently seen Robbie's documentary on The Band entitled “Once Were Brothers" at the Windsor international Film Festival, I was inspired to write this song. Entitled “When the Band Rolls Into Town", it pays tribute to Levon and that magical world of music which so inspired HIM. Again, to quote him: “The greatest sight I know is a ‘57 Cadillac roarin' down the road with a dog house bass strapped to the top"….cuz that signalled the band's arrival into town, and he knew THAT was PRECISELY what he wanted to do with his life!
Folks, in tribute to arguably the best drummer-vocalist in the business, I give you “When The Band Rolls Into Town”. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the oh-so-talented Chis McGuire for his outstanding keyboard work on this one. He TRULY made this one “jump, jive and wail”.
Den

Well folks...it is said that "Life is what happens when yer busy making plans" ...I'm not so sure a lot of plans have been in the making ...but a hell of a lot of life (or in some cases UN-life) has been happening, all of which has made for a VERY BUSY time and consequently a lot less time to spend in the studio, the end result being that we have not posted a new song in quite some time! ...But it seems the log-jamb has been cleared and Jim and I are back at it and hence, here's the first NEW tune we've posted in quite some time! Entitled "Here I'll Lay My Bones", this is a Mulveney composition with Jim digging into his "folky" roots, ...but with a nod towards funky country or what we like to refer to as "funktry" .I hope you enjoy it. :)

Hey folks...it's been awhile since we've posted anything, but we've finally gotten around to doin' some work in the studio. That being said, I gave myself the task of trying to compose something with a little "Keiff/Mick" swag to it ...something a little grittier, and this is what I have come up with. I hope you enjoy 'She's More in Love (With 5th. Avenue)

Hey Folks!!
Maintaining a relationship can often be a complicated proposition, the most important aspect of which, I believe is the ability to communicate effectively, and again the most important component of THAT being the ability to LISTEN. A wise person once said we were given one mouth and two ears for a REASON! ????
There is ANOTHER old adage that goes something like this: Love is like a handful of sand....held too tightly it will find its way out...held too loosely it will slip through your finger, so hold it gently.
And so, we give you our latest song "A Handful of Sand (He Said/She Said)" a song about a relationship gone sour for the above-mentioned reasons.
Once again, thanks to Chris McGuire for his keyboard wizardry.
Again, thanks for listening.
Den & Jim.