Singer/songwriter James Maddock to play Ringwood Public Library

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

BY STEVE JANOSKI

Ten years ago, the world seemed like it was at James Maddock's feet.

He was the frontman for the band Wood, who had just released their debut album "Songs from Stamford Hill." One song was even included on the first "Dawson's Creek" compilation album — something that, 10 years ago, nearly guaranteed success.
The band toured with Paula Cole and Train, and seemed poised to break out.

And then…they were never heard from again.

Ten years later, however, Maddock is back. He's formed a new band, and released his first solo album in 2010 called "Sunrise on Avenue C."

Now, 48 year-old self-described "melodic folky singer/songwriter guy" will be bringing his raspy vocals and catchy guitar licks to theRingwood Public Library as a part of their New Legacy concert series on Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m.

'Out in the wilderness'

The past decade has been an eventful one for Maddock, even if he's been somewhat out of the public eye.

After a failed attempt at Wood's sophomore album, the band was dropped from Columbia records, who had put out their debut; what could be called a wandering period ensued.

Maddock moved from London to New York.

"I was bored of London," says Maddock. "All my friends got married and had kids and London was a dead place to me…everyone moved on, and I was writing and playing and singing still."

Maddock says that the city that never sleeps is an exciting place to be because, as opposed to other cities, there's the feeling of "being a part of a musical community" that stems from seeing the same people at different gigs and being able to form friendships with likeminded people.

"I never had that in London. I felt very isolated," he says.

When he figured out that he couldn't' afford to live in the city, he moved to Texas, where he found himself renovating a house in Austin while still writing and playing gigs where he could.

"I was kind of out in the wilderness a little bit," he says.

Eventually however, New York's magnetic pull reeled the musician back in.

He formed a band with former Spin Doctors drummer Aaron Comess, bassist Drew Mortali, keyboardist Oli Rockberger, and guitarist John Shannon, and says last year's "Sunrise on Avenue C" is a sort of collection of songs that have been written over the past eight years.

Although New York certainly seeps through the character of the songs, Maddock says that his music isn't geocentric, and the album is not a concept album; his self-deprecating humor shines when he states that he's "not clever enough" to write a decent song, then write another about the same subject.

But still, he admits that "every writer that comes to New York has to write about New York somehow," and the album's title track reflects the experience of moving to the city.

Even though he was raised in England and still has the accent to prove it, Maddock says that he's gravitated to more American sounds from the second he picked up his grandfather's ukulele at the age of 4, and lists guitarists like the Allman Brothers' Dicky Betts and Neil Young as his inspirations..

As far as songwriting goes, Maddock says that he's always looked at people like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen (who his gruff vocals are sometimes compared to) and Jackson Browne as heroes.

When he's asked if he enjoyed the writing process, however, he says that he thinks himself "pretty slow" at the craft, which he calls deceptively simple, and yet some of his songs take years upon years to complete.

"If you can play a few chords, sing a few melodies…it's very simple. But what's magical is to make something great, make something that lasts," he says.

"Like 'All you need is love,'" he says, referencing the famous Beatles track. "How'd they do it? I don't know… it's a fantastic mystery. There's no rhyme or reason."

That's the thing about being a songwriter, Maddock said — you have to "live it."

"It's not like a hobby. You have to be it. You are it. I've been it all my life, and I couldn't do anything else," he says. Even at its worst, though, songwriting isn't work — it's "avoiding work," he says with a chuckle.

New album in the works

Maddock has been hard at avoiding work all week, recording intensely at the legendary Sear Sound Recording Studio in Manhattan, which has hosted everyone from Paul McCartney to Steely Dan, in preparation for a new album which might be out in June.

The album is being paid for by a relatively new Pledgemusic.com, which allows fans to donate to their favorite artists to raise money for albums — gone are the days where a record label not only took most of the album's profits, but also owned the music.

"This affords (the artist) to pay the rent…instead of making five cents off each album, you're making six or seven dollars," he said.

This lets a career musician like Maddock keep on playing for as long as he can.

He's looking forward to bringing his show to Ringwood, and says that he can't stand when musicians don't give 100 percent when playing a smaller venue like the library.

"I give everything I've got, all the time, whether it's a big place or small place," he says.

For more information about the show, go to the library's website ringwoodlibrary.org or call 973-962-6256.

E-mail: janoski@northjersey.com

http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/117713568_The_sun_rises_for_acoustic_rocker.html?c=y&page=1