Amy McIntire and Mary Ashton of MA’AM, the classic country duo from the mountains of West Virginia, are hosting an online crowdfunding campaign for their brand-new studio album, Fire Pink. They need your help to fund this new album with Plaid Dog Recording Studio Producer, Mike Davidson in Boston, MA. They have been working hard on new material and have recorded a preview song called Tiny House, which they invite you to listen to. They describe this song as a musical appetizer of the new album if the campaign reaches its goal.

The costs of recording a professional recording adds up quickly and your contribution goes toward funding the production and recording expenses for the rest of this project. Amy and Mary are ready to catapult MA’AM into the music industry with their authentic sound and new instrumentation. They know with your support they can get there. In exchange for your generosity they have created a number of unique and personalized gifts available only with your contribution to this campaign. Learn more about this campaign with our Q&A:

What is your fundraising goal and how has it evolved?

Our fundraising goal was $9,000 and now it is $12,000. When we first began fundraising we never dreamed of going past our goal. When we reached our goal on day 9 of our 36 day campaign, we thought “Hey, let’s go for a full length album!” We are going to record as many songs as we raise money for!

Tell us about your new full-length album.

We hope to raise money for a Full-Length album but we will see how it goes! The album is titled “Fire Pink” which is the common name of the Silene virginica flower. MA’AM will name all of its albums after plants. This plant is wild and brilliant red. We can relate to it. The songs on this album are fiery and ambitious rooted in our experiences as wild women.

What are some of the songs on the new album?

A Southern Girl Does not Reply & Man-Made are two songs we will put on this album!

Who/what are your influences behind the songs?

A Southern Girl Does not Reply came about when Amy was reading a book called ‘Ladies and a Gentlemen on Display;’ while she drove home from PA to WV, this song came into her head. Man-Made is a tribute to the current president and how hard(ly) he is working for our country.

How many songs will be on the new album, Fire Pink?

That is truly up to our campaign! Thank you to everyone who has made this possible for us…it will be a huge step in the right direction for MA’AM. Amy and I hope to record a good amount of our new material for this album. On verra y On y va!!

When is the campaign deadline?

Thursday, August 13, is the last day you can donate to the campaign.  Of course, we accept money on behalf of MA’AM, 365 days of the year. *smileface

How will the new album impact MA’AM’s future? 

Well, of course, time will tell, but we think that our original songs backed by a full band could open some doors for us.  With a bigger sound, we think we have a chance at playing regional music festivals (if they ever exist again), slightly larger music venues, and possibly soundtrack placement in films, and television shows.

Who is your record label and what is their story?  and why did you choose them?

We are working with Plaid Dog Recording Studio. They aren’t a traditional label, but they are more than just a recording studio. Their business model is quite unique in that they help artists pay for time at Plaid Dog through a specific crowdfunding process the studio has developed.  We have been working with producer Mike Davidson, and campaign manager Nina Pelligra; they are both extremely patient people. MA’AM has never done any fundraising like this before, so this campaign has been eye opening in terms of time, energy, and details.  Lots of details!  We chose Plaid Dog because we were interested in learning.  We are newer to recording and the music business, and Plaid Dog was there to walk us through fundraising, acquiring studio musicians, making a budget, etc.

This has been a very difficult year for musicians and artists.  How have you both been keeping busy and staying creative?

Well, to be honest this crowdfunding campaign, even though we’ve been known to curse it, has really kept us in the game. We live an hour apart, and we haven’t really been able to practice regularly or play out like we’d like to. So, we’ve had this project to put our heart and soul into.  We have also been doing some livestreaming on Facebook both together and separately.   But besides that, this has been a time to pursue musical paths that maybe we would have been too busy to do otherwise- Amy recently has been chasing down Joni Mitchell guitar tunings,  Mary’s had time to experiment with a new guitar set up and gushing over The Chicks’ new album. And of course, we’ve both been writing songs- there’s always the satisfaction of finishing a song, even if there’s no one else around to hear it.

To support and follow MA’AM’s campaign, follow them on facebook @maamgirlband. There is a link to the campaign.

– Hashtag Lewisburg City Paper, #125. August 2020.