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Madison Violet: 'No Fool' For Folk

Lisa MacIsaac is originally from Cape Breton and Brenley MacEachern from a small Scottish town in Ontario. They began singing and eventually writing together after a chance meeting at an open session in Toronto. I was anxious to meet them, but was quite surprised when I was paged to meet "Rock Mohammed" at the front desk. The burly Rock turned out to be the group's driver. He appeared to be a little out of place, and soon admitted that this was a new job. I assured him that the Folk Alley team was harmless, and that I would personally see to it that the band would have a blast. He relaxed.

In the studio, MacIsaac asked me how far we were from the Cleveland Playhouse. It turns out that she had performed there in a national touring musical tribute to The Mamas and the Papas, playing the part of Michelle Phillips. The revue was directed by John Phillips, an original Papa, who happened to have seen MacIsaac sing and called her out of the blue.

MacEachern then asked me how far we were from Chardon, Ohio. I thought that was strange, as it's my hometown. "I was married to a guy from there," she told me. It turns out I know the family; it is a small world.

During the interview, the two talked about writing styles on their latest album, No Fool for Trying; Lisa MacIsaac's initial fear of singing (she was a fiddler first); and how Adrian Lawryshyn, their quiet bass player, is an equal part of the trio.

Copyright 2022 Folk Alley. To see more, visit Folk Alley.

Jim Blum
Jim Blum has been sharing his love of folk music as a radio host on WKSU-FM for more than 25 years and, since 2003, also on FolkAlley.com. Blum graduated with a B.A. from Kent State University, played bass in a bluegrass and swing band and used to be a landscaper. As host and music programmer for Folk Alley and WKSU's weekend folk music, Blum has nearly three decades of experience broadcasting to a folk community that is now, thanks to the Internet, global in scope. His broadcasts include his own mix of musical influences featuring classic folk heroes, acoustic instrumentals, world rhythms, contemporary singer/songwriters, Americana, bluegrass and other roots-based sounds. He also acts as a valuable resource for area venue owners and concert coordinators as well as holding the position of artistic director for the Kent State Folk Festival, the nation's second oldest folk fest held on a college campus.