Last night Miriam and I went to Uncommon Ground to see the folk music duo Andina and Rich - an amazingly talented couple of singer/songwriter goofs, good friends, and just plain good people.
Stephen Lee Rich, your friendly, neighborhood, yodeling cowboy, is a friend and fellow producer who goes back to our Sof Sof days in Madison, Wisconsin. In case his Allen Sherman covers hadn't already convinced us, last night's Yiddish stage banter and "Yipee-aio chai-ay!" holler have solidified him in our minds as an honorary MOT. We Jews have been low on our yodeling cowboy numbers lately, anyway. Here's a clip of Steve doing an amazing cover of a song by the great Tom Dundee:
For some reason, I couldn't find any video clips of Sandy Andina, who's also awesome, as well as a born-MOT. A 2004 compilation, Tappin' Out a Rhythm, Pickin' Out a Tune, produced by Steve, includes not only the award-winning Miriam and Alan English-language folk original "Eleven Below," but also a great Sandy song about the Middle East conflict from the perspective of an Israeli Soldier, called "Shira." Sandy is also somewhat of a big-shot in the Chicago folk music scene as President of the Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), and an important member of the Chicago Songwriters Collective.
When their powers combine, it's just a lot of fun. Two veteran folkies like these at a classy local coffeehouse venue reminded us that good live music can be experienced all the time by local musicians here in Chicago, and wherever we are. Stephen now heads up the Madison Songwriters Group, without which I am sure that Miriam and I would not be where we are today, musically. They both continue to be inspirations for us, both as working musicians and as good friends.
So go check 'em out!
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