Grooveshark Artists

Last Halloween, we had the opportunity to meet & mingle with several artists during the Fest 9 and our first annual “Grooveshark Sessions”. Around 17 artists met up with us at Medusa Studios to record one live, acoustic track and an interview to be exclusively released via Grooveshark. After months of unwinding, editing, mixing, mastering, etc. - the tracks and interviews are here!

Next in the Fest series is one of my favorite tracks from the session - Madeline. Madeline is a sometimes one-, sometimes two-, and occasionally eight-piece indie folk band from Athens, GA. They’ve been seriously touring for the past year or so, and have only recently slowed down to write and record some new material. We were lucky to squeeze them into our sessions, and the resulting recorded track is gorgeous. Check out our interview below:

Hi Madeline & co! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy Fest schedule to record a stripped down track and do a brief interview. We absolutely loved your track. So – can you tell me about your craziest Fest experience?

Madeline Adams: The first time I came to the Fest, I didn’t know what it was…I had never played a festival before. I was eighteen, flew in with my guitar, and just walked up to the Atlantic with my guitar. I was talking to the door man, trying to get in, and he’s like, “what are you doing here?” I didn’t have a place to stay. Tony [of No Idea] found me hiding in the bushes with my guitar trying to sleep somewhere…I think I ended up staying at the Ark.

What show are you most excited for this Fest?

M: Heavy Petty! If it’s the Heavy Petty I’m thinking of, then they’re the best Tom Petty cover band in the world.

Do you guys play a lot in Athens?

M: We play a lot in Athens, but we go on tour a lot, too. Though, I’ve been touring solo recently. We’ve got plans to tour in the summer, possibly the Spring. We’ve got an album coming out in Fall 2011, so we’ll probably do more touring then.

Has the Athens, GA music scene changed at all since you’ve been a part of it?

M: I guess so, but honestly – I grew up in Athens, and most of my friends from when I was in high school are still playing music. So for me, and for my circle – the scene really hasn’t changed. But sure – I think recently there’s a lot of electronic/laptop/dance bands. That wasn’t around eight or nine years ago. As far as Athens traditions of what people think – the Elephant 6 thing, Twee stuff, and just really good musicians and great songwriting – that’s still going on.

Jason: Some heavy metal started last year, too. This time, coming from the town instead of coming through the town.

How was it starting a band in Athens?

M: People were very open. But, looking back on it, I never realized how special Gainesville’s music scene was. I started playing at Wayward Council when I was still in high school, and I never even thought about that being special – that you could call up any random place [in Gainesville] and be like, “Hey, give me a show, I’m a little kid!”

Can you guys name for me a collective favorite food?

J: Bagels are pretty tight

M: As a favorite food?! You’re just saying the last thing you ate man!

J: I’m still enjoying it

M: I would vote for Tortas! They’re Mexican sandwiches.

Do you guys use Grooveshark at all?

M: I just recently became familiar with it, after you told me about it. Once Grooveshark got in touch with me, I started asking kids at punk shows and they were all really psyched about it!

That’s about it - Thank you so much for sitting down with us! Enjoy the rest of Fest weekend!