Swinging Door Music

Mike & Ruthy Merenda
& The Mammals

A Million to One by Mike & Ruthy Merenda

Mike + Ruthy, the folk-rock duo formerly of The Mammals, announce the release of Million to One on July 27th, 2010. The album is the latest in a growing discography that continues to push the boundaries of the genre. The story behind the making of Million To One is as compelling as the album's songs themselves. Where most bands limit fan involvement to the occasional live show "stomp, clap and sing-along" and post-show merch table pleasantries, Mike + Ruthy took things a two-step further. They issued a massive fan-list call-out inviting the full breadth of their fanbase to help make what's being called their "folk-rock masterpiece."

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Waltz of the Chickadee by Mike & Ruthy Merenda

"Waltz of the Chickadee" is Mike & Ruhty's latest recording released on their own Humble Abode Music label. Haunting, delicate and organic original and traditional acoustic music, recorded at home by the woodstove. Americana folk roots with a timeless appeal. With a few guest appearances by their family and friends, the record is full of great new lyrical journeys surrounded by moody mountain sounds and lively twang.

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Honeymoon Agenda by Mike & Ruthy Merenda

After six years of touring internationally with their indie string-band The Mammals, Michael Merenda and Ruth Ungar Merenda have struck out on their own, creating a gorgeous new acoustic folk recording on their label, Humble Abode Music.

Although the name, The Honeymoon Agenda was thought up as a rhyming pronunciation guide for their last name, Merenda, it also describes the happy blend of work and play that went into the project.

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Departure by The Mammals
The Mammals are Ruth Ungar (Jay's daughter), Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Michael Merenda, Chris Merenda, and Jacob Silver. Check out The Mammals Bio.

"Departure," is The Mammals' most recent release. It shimmers with a thrillingly original sound that is fresh, groovy, and sophisticated.

Be warned, there are no traditional foot-stompers on this album, although the instrumentation has not changed. They've added some organ and electric guitar, but for the most part, it's fiddle, banjo, guitar, upright bass, drums and lots of great singing. And the politics, while still present in many of the songs, are more subtle, lurking powerfully below the surface.

"Follow Me to Carthage," which leads off the album, is a melodic and powerful long-viewed gander at history repeating itself. "Alone on the Homestead," sung from the voice of a woman who has lost her entire family to a war, is a timeless protest song and hauntingly beautiful. Michael Merenda, who wrote the lovely ballad, sings the gender-bending lead vocal, with Ruth Ungar adding harmony.

On "Kiss the Break of the Day," a wonderful song about traveling the USA, and "Tryin' to Remember What City I Know You From," two more Merenda-penned songs, Ungar soars on lead vocal.

Tao Rodriguez-Seeger delivers the South American protest anthem "Sólo le pido a Dios" and the country ballad "Satisfied Mind" with astonishing sensitivity, and the band has artfully reinvented songs from artists as diverse as Morphine ("Do Not Go Quietly Unto Your Grave") and Nirvana ("Come as You Are".)

The combination of classic Mammalian dynamics, hard-hitting lyrics, and a new-found depth make "Departure" The Mammals' most polished and heartfelt recording to date.

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Rock That Babe by The Mammals
The Mammals are Ruth Ungar (Jay's daughter), Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, and Michael Merenda. Check out The Mammals Bio.

On "Rock That Babe" The Mammals proudly add 13 new gems to their diverse repertoire, varying musical styles from the double-banjo epic "John Henry" to the porch-swing daydream "Pearls." The energetic songs that really rock your socks off are balanced by the gentler, lyrical tracks that let you ease back into your rocking chair.

Long-time Mammals fans will be delighted to hear their long-performed, but previously un-recorded version of the Cuban classic "Chan Chan." Tao Rodriguez-Seeger delivers an un-restrained and passionate vocal performance on this track. During the recording process, the excitement got so great, that Ruth's fiddle bow actually snapped!

Ruth Ungar really belts it out in her new song, "The Bad Shoes Blues." It begins with a simple banjo tune, and a few candid comments about one woman's shoe troubles, and then it slowly explodes into a disco-influenced dance party with distorted bass, wurlitzer, and a wild attitude.

Perhaps the most requested new Mammals song, is Michael Merenda's "The Bush Boys." From coast to coast, live audiences have been singing along and begging for a recording. If a cynical look at Capitol Hill makes you nervous, skip track 2. All others hit repeat! This song answers the question "Where are all the NEW political songs?" in emphatic three-part harmony.

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Born Live by The Mammals
The Mammals are Ruth Ungar (Jay's daughter), Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Alicia Jo Rabins, and Michael Merenda. Check out The Mammals Bio.

"The Mammals play old-time stringband music the way Jack Kerouac wrote novels - with an abandon born of a deep understanding of structure and form. Their sound is wild, mirthful, and masterful."
- Scott Alarik, Boston Globe, 8/30/01

"This quartet makes a strong case for the future of a folk music with both integrity and attitude."
- Seth Rogovoy, The Berkshire Eagle

"With a pile of instruments and the inspiration and talent to make them dance, The Mammals are a stringband for today. Infectious old-timey music that we all can be a part of!"
- Greg Aubin, The Cupping Room

"Kick-ass acoustic . . . raw, driving strings and smooth harmonies that are contagious, powerful and pretty darn fun."
- Sharon Nichols, The Woodstock Times

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Evolver by The Mammals
The Mammals are Ruth Ungar (Jay's daughter), Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, and Michael Merenda. Check out The Mammals Bio.

Evolver, The Mammals new CD and first studio effort, was co-produced and engineered by Max Feldman, of Effanel Music, NYC, the world's premier mobile recording facility. Max's popular music background (U2, Lou Reed) and sonic perfectionism have taken The Mammals to a new level of accesibility, without losing the great spirit and energy of their live performances. Lush, yet still vulnerable and exposed, Evolver, effortlessly combines folk, pop, and americana.

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Jukebox by Ruth Ungar

This solo CD was recorded over the period of a about a year (back in 2000.) I was living in Cummington Massachusetts at the time, working in Pittsfield at The Photo Shop, and commuting down to Woodstock whenever possible, to work on the record. Then, two things happened: a legal hitch with one of the copyrighted songs, and THE MAMMALS! The legal thing was sorted out by the middle of 2001, but, as you may know, The Mammals has become my fulltime job! So, now that we've moved to the Hudson Valley, released 2 CDs as a band, and booked our second national tour . . . I have finally found the time to finish the artwork and put out this dang solo disk! Thanks to all of you who have nagged me for so long. I am still very proud of this recording. I would describe it as a dark, musical journey into a series of fictional lives, alternately bleak and complex, with a fruity nose and hints of oak. Just kidding, I've always wanted to describe fine wines. Let's face it, I need some help on the description, so please email me with your own thoughts. I'd love to hear them. - - [email protected]

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Quiver by Michael Merenda

Michael Merenda is a wordsmith, vocalist and guitarist who has long recognized that a good song has the ability to improve the world. On both an intensely personal and universal level Merenda's work strives to entertain as well as illuminate. Merenda's inventive approach to songmaking has been described as "zen." He's not one to premeditate a song or to fish stories out of newspapers, but rather he hoists his antenna and dials in frequencies already alive inside himself and the atmosphere. As a result, there are plenty of catchy hooks and memorable lines, but they come at you like approaching headlights on a dark, two-lane highway.

His travels with internationally acclaimed string-band, The Mammals, have made Merenda exceedingly comfortable on stage. His signature breathy voice has hints of Nick Drake and M. Ward and in performance this soft delivery works like a magnet. Outspoken, brave, strange and beautiful, familiar yet unique, Michael Merenda is a talent to watch in this songwriting renaissance of the 21st century "One hell of a fine songmaker. The songwriter for the western world."
- U. Utah Phillips

"...Poetry that singer-songwriters have been fighting to achieve since the 1960s. Merenda's ability to find humor in charged topics without sacrificing his own viewpoint makes [him] remarkable."
-Sarah Meador, Rambles.NET

"What distinguishes Merenda bucolic bebop from a host of other indie singer/songwriters? Honesty. Well, that and the fact that he's exponentially more creative than others...Not only is this stuff eccentric enough for college radio, but it's professional enough to dazzle the Americana airwaves - great crossover music."
- Ryan Hoffer, Shut Eye Records

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