MANdonna
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MANdonna
MANDONNA
Hometown: San Francisco
What's the big idea? It used to be simple: Form a band, write some original material, build up a grassroots following and then hope to maybe someday open for Third Eye Blind at the Last Day Saloon. But the shrewd dudes behind Mandonna realized you can just skip right past all that nonsense by mining one of the most lucrative hit-making reserves of the past three decades: Madonna's back catalog. Add a couple of glow sticks and some svelte dancers in wedding dresses, and the all-male, all-live tribute to the Material Girl that started out last year is now one of the most lively, funny and utterly irresistible gigs in town.
The players: Vocalists Michael Miller and Mark Edwards, drummer Victor Andrade, guitarist Jeff Suffin, bassist Charles Moto, keyboardist Jason Goodman and backup vocalists and dancers Tony Jenkins and Hugh Groman.
Why they think the world needs an all-male Madonna tribute band: "There couldn't be a better person to pay tribute to -- someone who is more popular, who has more breadth of music or is more fun," Groman says.
Is Mandonna a man or a band? Excellent question. It turns out it's a band, made up mostly of veteran musicians who have been knocking around the Bay Area club scene for years. The backup singers and dancers were brought in to provide the requisite exhibitionist factor involved in all things surrounding Madonna. "They're the eye candy," Andrade says.
Why it's easier getting a show playing Madonna's music than their own: "I've been in the club scene for 10 years playing originals with little glimmer of hope," Andrade says. "When Mandonna played its first show, the room was totally packed and everyone was screaming, going nuts. Bam, it worked. We haven't had a bad show yet." The credit goes not only to the songs that have ingrained themselves into peoples' heads like inoperable brain tumors but also to the inherent ridiculousness of the whole concept. "People hear about Mandonna and instantly think, 'What a great idea,' " Groman says.
Why they don't think it's that hard to channel a yoga-practicing, Kaballah-endorsing, bad-movie-making multimillionaire pop star and mother of two: "Because we're not channeling Madonna," Groman says.
Why not? "Having a male sound like Madonna is going to be tough," Andrade reasons. "It's Mandonna. It's a male vocalist singing a male part of a Madonna song. That's the ticket. It seems comical, but we're all serious musicians, and it's a serious band." Which may explain why sometimes it sounds more as if they're channeling Linkin Park -- singing "Like a Virgin."
What does Madonna think of Mandonna? Not much. She's never heard of it.
The Madonna song that speaks to the members of Mandonna most: "It's hard to pick a favorite," Groman says. "They're all fun and have such a great energy." The rest of the band has no problem going for "Like a Prayer," which it usually saves for the end, using a piped-in chorus and rocking guitar solo. "That's always our encore," Andrade says.
What they consider the best Madonna phase: Definitely not the whole rap- and-latte "American Life" period, and not so much the overwrought "Erotica" era. "I remember when 'Like a Virgin' came out and she performed it on the Video Music Awards in that wedding dress," Groman says. "It was such a big deal. It was huge." The early years it is, then.
How often the backup dancers get to wear wedding dresses onstage: Just once so far. "We did it for Halloween in the Castro last year," Groman says.
How long it took to get the choreography down: With the wealth of Madonna viewing material to draw from, it's still a work in progress. But the band did bring in a choreographer to help the dancers re-create some key moves from Madonna's most famous videos. "There's a lot of inspiration there," Groman says.
What it feels like for a girl: Mandonna has no idea. That's one of the Madonna songs they haven't learned yet -- primarily because when she plays it live she does it in Spanish.
What they think Madonna would be like if she were a man: "Madonna has very androgynous energy," Groman says. "She's somebody who has qualities of both male and female. She's so assertive and one of the most famous performers in the world. She seems to transcend a lot of things." Gender is so passe. •
[линк]
Hometown: San Francisco
What's the big idea? It used to be simple: Form a band, write some original material, build up a grassroots following and then hope to maybe someday open for Third Eye Blind at the Last Day Saloon. But the shrewd dudes behind Mandonna realized you can just skip right past all that nonsense by mining one of the most lucrative hit-making reserves of the past three decades: Madonna's back catalog. Add a couple of glow sticks and some svelte dancers in wedding dresses, and the all-male, all-live tribute to the Material Girl that started out last year is now one of the most lively, funny and utterly irresistible gigs in town.
The players: Vocalists Michael Miller and Mark Edwards, drummer Victor Andrade, guitarist Jeff Suffin, bassist Charles Moto, keyboardist Jason Goodman and backup vocalists and dancers Tony Jenkins and Hugh Groman.
Why they think the world needs an all-male Madonna tribute band: "There couldn't be a better person to pay tribute to -- someone who is more popular, who has more breadth of music or is more fun," Groman says.
Is Mandonna a man or a band? Excellent question. It turns out it's a band, made up mostly of veteran musicians who have been knocking around the Bay Area club scene for years. The backup singers and dancers were brought in to provide the requisite exhibitionist factor involved in all things surrounding Madonna. "They're the eye candy," Andrade says.
Why it's easier getting a show playing Madonna's music than their own: "I've been in the club scene for 10 years playing originals with little glimmer of hope," Andrade says. "When Mandonna played its first show, the room was totally packed and everyone was screaming, going nuts. Bam, it worked. We haven't had a bad show yet." The credit goes not only to the songs that have ingrained themselves into peoples' heads like inoperable brain tumors but also to the inherent ridiculousness of the whole concept. "People hear about Mandonna and instantly think, 'What a great idea,' " Groman says.
Why they don't think it's that hard to channel a yoga-practicing, Kaballah-endorsing, bad-movie-making multimillionaire pop star and mother of two: "Because we're not channeling Madonna," Groman says.
Why not? "Having a male sound like Madonna is going to be tough," Andrade reasons. "It's Mandonna. It's a male vocalist singing a male part of a Madonna song. That's the ticket. It seems comical, but we're all serious musicians, and it's a serious band." Which may explain why sometimes it sounds more as if they're channeling Linkin Park -- singing "Like a Virgin."
What does Madonna think of Mandonna? Not much. She's never heard of it.
The Madonna song that speaks to the members of Mandonna most: "It's hard to pick a favorite," Groman says. "They're all fun and have such a great energy." The rest of the band has no problem going for "Like a Prayer," which it usually saves for the end, using a piped-in chorus and rocking guitar solo. "That's always our encore," Andrade says.
What they consider the best Madonna phase: Definitely not the whole rap- and-latte "American Life" period, and not so much the overwrought "Erotica" era. "I remember when 'Like a Virgin' came out and she performed it on the Video Music Awards in that wedding dress," Groman says. "It was such a big deal. It was huge." The early years it is, then.
How often the backup dancers get to wear wedding dresses onstage: Just once so far. "We did it for Halloween in the Castro last year," Groman says.
How long it took to get the choreography down: With the wealth of Madonna viewing material to draw from, it's still a work in progress. But the band did bring in a choreographer to help the dancers re-create some key moves from Madonna's most famous videos. "There's a lot of inspiration there," Groman says.
What it feels like for a girl: Mandonna has no idea. That's one of the Madonna songs they haven't learned yet -- primarily because when she plays it live she does it in Spanish.
What they think Madonna would be like if she were a man: "Madonna has very androgynous energy," Groman says. "She's somebody who has qualities of both male and female. She's so assertive and one of the most famous performers in the world. She seems to transcend a lot of things." Gender is so passe. •
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