By Will McGuirk
Basement rockers, mary&adelaide, from the D-Rawk, bring not just the grit of the Shwa but the great as well. Devoid of any central scene such as the legend that was the Dungeon or the heart-throb that was the Velvet Elvis, this four-piece from the fringes of the suburbs, just buried below a living room to make a life out if it.
But they know the past and the post past and on the six songs on their debut cassette tape, ‘Singles and Demos’, it all comes together. The cassette is released by New Found Solitude Records out of Whitby.
The half a dozen songs build on nostalgia and knowledge, on skate boards, long boards and evenings being bored in a city in discord. Its making your own fun in the end and its the sum of backyard BBQs at summer’s end. Apparently there is a video.
But first lets find out who these kats are, and upfront I do have to say I know at least one as well as the back of my mind.
Slowcity.ca: Who are the members of your band, where did you meet?
Aidan McGuirk: “mary&adelaide is Sam Szigeti, Kyle Topolnisky and Luke Mitchell, and me, Aidan McGuirk. Sam and I met at a mutual friends house when we were young teens and got stoked on the same kinds of music and started going to shows together. Sam, Luke and Kyle all met in high school at Dwyer and me and Luke go way back to working at Neb’s Fun World together.”
SC: What is the process for songwriting, do all members contribute, if yes how?
AK: “Our songs have all been written by me in the past, but we jam and write when we practice and that’s usually a spontaneous and natural occurrence. My process is pretty much finding the right time and place to channel my ideas, but personally I’m always writing in my head throughout the days. I write the lyrics and bring the ideas/chord progressions to the guys as a pretty fleshed out demo and they lay down their magic.”
SC: How has Covid-19 impacted you as a band?
AK: “COVID-19 has had a great deal of impact on us as even continuing to identify as a band. Like many, we have had to reconsider what it means to be a band in this day and age. We had exciting plans like shows booked and recording time coming up that was all cancelled indefinitely. As artists we will always create and will always look for the most comfortable outlets to express ourselves and so with that we have all found ourselves not as tight-knit or maybe close as we were going into quarantine, as we’ve had to find comfort in being alone. It makes you look in the mirror and ask yourself what you really want, when you have every reason in the world to quit.”
SC: You recently released a tape - why cassette? Did you do it yourself or did you work with others on its creation?
AK: “Our cassette is something we’ve always wanted to do, and was a brainchild between Justin at Newfound Solitude and I. I really wanted something to capture the era for us as life hangs unsure in the air and before we write or record anything else. We’ve each collected cassettes from Value Village for years and listen to them in Kyle’s car and alone in our rooms. It’s really fun to rediscover music in that way, my tape collection looks worlds different from my Spotify playlists, but I love them all the same. They’re also extremely cheap to make and it’s about time we had something physical for our fans to hold and listen to.”
SC: Where is it available?
AK: “It is available to anyone who wants one through our Instagram @maryandadelaide or through our email maryandadelaide@gmail.com for $7. We deliver or set up pick ups anywhere in Durham Region and have announced them available for international shipping.”
SC: Apparently there is a video coming soon. . .
Stay Tuned. . .
Editor’s note: Aidan is the son of Will, founder of slowcity.ca and the writer of the above article.