We'll
begin our introduction by assuming you know what a mandolin is-that little
eight-stringed instrument tuned like a fiddle and played with a pick. Add the
definition of "delirium" from The Little Oxford Dictionary:
"disordered state of mind; wildly excited mood." and you have
Mandolirium!
Mandolirium was born when mandolin freak Russ Godfrey proposed the concept of an all-mandolin band to mandolin freak Rick Van Krugel, whose mood became wildly excited. Figuring if two mandolins were good, three would be even better, they presented the idea to mandolin freak Mike Brooks, whose mood became (you guessed it) wildly excited. Though the three mandolin maniacs were a little delirious with the idea of so much mandolinizing, they were not so lacking in common sense as to ban other instruments from the ensemble; enter Niel Golden and his percussion and bassist Dave Klassen. It worked! We now had a band which featured the mandolin.
When we say we feature mandolin,
that is to say we include mandola and octave 
mandolin
(a fifth and an octave lower than mandolin for those enquiring minds who want to
know), and the seldom-tamed banjo/mandolin, definitely our noisiest piece of
high-strung artillery. There are also the "twangers", various types of
dulcimers, that add an Arabic feel to pieces like "Arpad's Guz" (just
what is a guz, anyway?). Add some normal guitar, sometimes a tenor guitar, an
occasional trumpet solo by Rick on the comb, and you have this uniquely crazy
band that can make you (and us too) dance, laugh, cry, hoot, yelp, shake,
wiggle, sing, or just call 9-1-1. The sounds include Arabic, Greek, Russian,
Hispanic, klezmer, Appalachian, gypsy, blues, jazz, even 1960's surfin' music.
The dynamics of our combined personalities, viewed as incorrigible by one
another, bring a happy variation of texture to our music. Mike Brooks appears to
actually understand something about music, and has written dozens of fine
mandolin pieces. He likes working out the details. Rick plays by the seat of his
pants and prides himself on spontaneity and musical ignorance, a
reverse-snobbery folkie kind of thing. He personifies the old joke where one
folk musician asks another if he knows any music theory and the second one
replies, "yeah, but not enough to hurt my playing." Russ has a day job
in conflict resolution - you need a guy like that in a band - and an
instrument-shopping disorder we all enjoy. He writes some good songs and tunes
too. Those other two fellows are a bass player and a percussionist - enough
said. Just kidding...they are the rope upon which this high-wire act balances. I
mean, mandolins are really cool and all, but the fullness of our sound is very
dependent upon those rhythm & bottom people. Their mission, and they choose
to accept it, is herding the kittens of soprano sound.
Mandolirium is a celebration of the exotic, amazingly versatile instrument we love so much. It is without boundaries of time or place. Every day is anything-can-happen day, with offerings that feel familiar but not ordinary. We are frequently surprised ourselves by what happens during our journey through an uncharted world where musical styles intermingle freely and anything feels possible.
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