Mad Meg
Based out of New York, the eclectic and hard-rocking band, with overtones of Eastern European existential anguish, have toured extensively in Russia and the former Soviet Bloc, including tours that covered close to 30 cities throughout the vast, frozen expanse of Russia, and in the course of which they recorded a live album in a female prison in Lithuania.
Who are the "humans" behind Mad Meg?
Iggy - the skipper
Ilya - the movie star
Ruslan - the millionaire and his wife
Sasha - Maryann
Jason - the professor
Dan - Gilligan
How did you get into music, what are your roots?
There are two ways to get into music: to be born with a need for it in your life; or to go on a boat cruise, get marooned on an uninhabited island, and be forced to learn to play instruments to entertain each other. In our case, it was the latter.
Our roots are as diverse as those of the baobab and the petunia.
Your new album "Who deserves balloons and medals" sounds amazing, what are your favorite tracks on it?
Thank you very much! We all have different favorite tracks. Beyond Repair seems like a popular one with our fans.
If I recommend Mad Meg to a listener what song should I take from the album?
The album, in its diversity, is pretty representative of our current sound, so it's hard to pick one track. However, Beyond Repair, Monkey Boy, or Waiters could be good places to start.
What was the most difficult part to get this album done?
Not having electricity on the island, and having to build all our own instruments from coconut shells and bamboo.
I have read something about "recording a live album in a Female Lithuanian Prison" and that sounds really extraordinary, what's the story behind?
In fact it's the *only* female prison in Lithuania - Panevezys Correctional House - with an inmate population of about 300. They wanted us to come to them so much that they petitioned the prison authorities, and as we heard, a few of them went on hunger strike and even almost rioted. So, of course we couldn't turn the ladies down. We go to our fans wherever they are!
Do you have another story like that one?
We have many hair-raising stories from our tours, but not quite like that one. For example, Ilya and Dan were once rivals for the affections of the same wayward nun.
How important are Social media channels in your opinion for an Indie artist?
Social media channels are crucially important. They are the only way for an indie act to promote themselves today. They are far from perfect, and sometimes they hardly work at all, but there are no other options today.
Any chance to see you somewhere live on stage?
We are playing at the new Nublu in New York on Nov 12 to release our album. Aside from that, we very much hope to tour Mexico soon, and keep playing anywhere where we are invited.
What’s next for you?
More music together, and also separately. All of us play in other projects, and most of us write our own music as well. However in the the words of the great Leonard Cohen, "First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin!"
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