Hey Mavis

Artist Information

Biography

Formed while serving as artists-in-residence in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Hey Mavis is the husband-and-wife team of Laurie Michelle Caner (banjo/vocals/songwriting) and Ed Caner (fiddle/viola) accompanied by some of the best musicians in the region. The couple’s deep love of life, music, and raising a healthy family are clearly reflected in their songwriting, with subject matter ranging from the light of love to the beauty and heartache of motherhood.

REM/Smithereens/Red Clay Ramblers producer Don Dixon “discovered” Hey Mavis when they were featured on a 2009 Christmas compilation. Four months later, Dixon produced their debut CD, Red Wine. The CD immediately climbed the national Folk DJ-L radio charts, peaking at #5 for overall artist while the songs Red Light and Red Wine peaked at #5 and #9. The CD finished the year at #13 in Folk Alley’s "Top CD's of 2010" alongside new releases by Tim O’Brien, Peter Rowan, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Chieftains, and Bob Dylan.

Laurie was a founding member of the regionally-acclaimed female vocal group "The Rhondas" and has facilitated songwriting workshops at venues such as the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Lakeside, and First Night Akron. Eddie has performed worldwide with over 25 major artists, including Smokey Robinson, Page & Plant, Pavarotti and Wayne Newton. He teaches physics and innovation at Case Western Reserve University.

Hey Mavis has had the privilege of headlining venues such as Cain Park (Cleveland, OH), Lancaster, Ohio Music Festival, Myer's Bandshell (Ashland, OH), Paw Paw Festival (Athens, OH), Hoover Auditorium and Pavilion (Lakeside, OH), Cuyahoga Valley National Park House Concert Series, Mill Creek Concert Series (Youngstown, OH), Human Rights Coalition Annual Gala, First Night Akron, Akron Firestone Auditorium w/ the Firestone H.S. Orchestra, Howler's Cafe (Pittsburgh, PA), Brookstock (Cleveland, OH), and Jamestown, Colorado 4th of July Extravaganza.

Hey Mavis has been honored to perform as opening act at the LP Pavilion (Columbus, OH) w/ Yonder Mountain String Band, the House of Blues Cleveland w/ Michael Stanley and w/ The Boys From the County Hell, and the Beachland Ballroom (Cleveland, OH) w/ The Fabulous String Dusters.

Quotes:

"The first thing that struck me about HEY MAVIS was the quality of the writing...I wondered where these songs had come from...when I found out they were written by TOOTSIE (Laurie Michelle Caner) I was eager to find out as much as I could about her, see what else she had lurking in her mind...
--Don Dixon

"Hey Mavis evokes the best elements for what draws (people) to traditional music but in a fully modern context, devoid of hokey recidivism." Really wonderful."
--Texas music icon Mark Rubin

Instrumentation

Laurie Michelle Caner (AKA Tootsie) - Banjo, Vocals, Songwriter
Eddie Caner - Fiddle, Viola Profunda
Sarah Benn, Bryan Thomas, or Don Dixon - Upright Bass
Sarah Benn or Mary Kettering - Backup Vocals

Discography

CDs:
Red Wine (produced by Don Dixon, June 2010 release)

Compilations:
Michael Stanley's 2009 Christmas CD "Tis the Season" (Line Level), produced by the legendary Bill Szymszyk (Eagles, BB King, Joe Walsh)

Releases by individual band members:
The Rhondas Live at the Akron Art Museum, 2009 (Laurie)
Fiddling for Classical Kids, Lorenz Music, 2007 (Ed)
Fiddling for Classical Stiffs, Lorenz/Latham Music, 2002 (Ed)
Throckmorton "Peacemeal" (produced by Patrick Keel), 1995 (Ed)

Links

• Facebook

Audio

• Red Wine (from upcoming CD)
  Listen  
• Knock Me Off My Feet (from upcoming CD)
  Listen  
• Bring Back (from upcoming CD)
  Listen  
• Tell Me Lover True (From Upcoming CD)
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Folk Alley Listener Poll- Top CD's of 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  The results are in! 2010 was another amazingly rich year in the folk and roots music world, with so...The results are in! 2010 was another amazingly rich year in the folk and roots music world, with some of the best new music released in any genre.
  
  Over a two week period, we asked Folk Alley listeners to vote for up to 10 of their favorite 2010 releases that we featured this past year.
  
  Below are the top 25 results of our Folk Alley Top CDs of 2010 Listener Poll!
  
  Artist Name Label
  1 Carolina Chocolate Drops Genuine Negro Jig Nonesuch
  2 Crooked Still Some Strange Country Signature Sounds
  3 Patty Griffin Downtown Church Credential
  4 Natalie Merchant Leave Your Sleep Nonesuch
  5 Gilkyson, Gorka & Kaplansky Red Horse Red House Records
  6 Mumford & Sons Sigh No More Glassnote Entertainment Group LLC
  7 Andrew & Noah Van Norstrand All The Good Summers Great Bear
  8 Mary Chapin Carpenter The Age of Miracles ZOE Records
  9 Lonesome River Band Still Learning Rural Rhythm
  10 Jakob Dylan Women and Country Columbia
  11 The Honey Dewdrops These Old Roots self
  12 Tim O'Brien Chicken & Egg Howdy Skies
  13 Hey Mavis Red Wine Stellada
  14 Justin Townes Earle Harlem River Blues Bloodshot records
  15 Amelia Curran Hunter Hunter Six Shooter Records
  16 Joy Kills Sorrow Darkness Sure Becomes This City Signature Sounds
  17 Karan Casey & John Doyle Exiles Return Compass
  18 The Infamous Stringdusters Things That Fly Sugar Hill
  19 The Chieftains featuring Ry Cooder San Patricio Hear Music
  20 Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band Legacy Compass
  21 Darrell Scott A Crooked Road Full Light Records
  22 Bob Dylan The Witmark Demos 1962-1964 (The Bootleg Series Vol. 9) Sampler Columbia/Legacy
  23 Ashley Wells Mama's Skirt unsigned
  24 Mary Gauthier The Foundling Razor & Tie
  25 The Weepies Be My Thrill Nettwerk

• It's Not At All Twee [+ Show ]
  

  It’s not at all twee and it was produced in Don Dixon’s basement just a few months after he ‘discove...It’s not at all twee and it was produced in Don Dixon’s basement just a few months after he ‘discovered’ them on a various artist xmas sampler. A back porch folk/rock vocal trio with chops honed by road work with everyone that matters, they are more concerned with Akron being the new Seattle than they are with leather wing bats so don’t worry about having to blow dust off this to enjoy it. Contemporary organic music that really hit’s the spot, this is a must for left leaning Americana ears that don’t worry about things being too purist when they should be more enjoyable. Well done.
  
  MidwestRecord.com - Chris Spector
  www.midwestrecord.com

• Yum - Hey Mavis at Lockview [+ Show ]
  

  By Malcolm X Abram The Lockview in downtown Akron is no longer a rock club, but owner/drummer Danny...By Malcolm X Abram
  The Lockview in downtown Akron is no longer a rock club, but owner/drummer Danny Basone can't quite seem to get the rock out of his blood.
  
  The bar/restaurant still occasionally hosts bands, including at its monthly whiskey socials (basically, you show up and try as much as you can stand of the Lockview's wide variety of whiskeys).
  
  On Sunday, the Lockview will feature Akron's modern old-timey trio Hey Mavis, which will celebrate its new album Red Wine with a CD release party at 7 p.m.
  
  The album was produced by respected knob twiddler Don Dixon, who has produced albums by R.E.M., the Smithereens and Hootie & the Blowfish, to name a few.
  
  Dixon gives the mostly acoustic trio a nice, warm, natural sound that gives plenty of space to the combination of banjo, fiddle, double bass and the lovely harmonies of Tootsie Parker and Mavis Peachtree (aka singer/banjoist/primary songwriter Laurie Michelle Caner and singer/bassist/songwriter Sarah Benn). Fiddle man Stevie McGillicutty (Eddie Caner, husband of Michelle) waxes melodic in, around and through the melody.
  
  The ladies write some pretty catchy tunes in the modern old-timey style. If you're a sucker for good vocal harmony, as I am, songs such as the pretty, ethereal ballad If I Want To and the humorous lyrics and pop groove of New Seattle should pleasantly tickle your eardrums.

• Giving a Shout Out to Hey Mavis [+ Show ]
  

  For those that have read the last two editions of Minkin's Music, this month follows the trend of ye...For those that have read the last two editions of Minkin's Music, this month follows the trend of yet another great local band releasing a very cool record. Following Brent Kirby and Kate Tucker in this trilogy is a trio called Hey Mavis.
  
  Hey Mavis was formed in 2008 as part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Artist-In-Residence program that the group just completed. The band is lead by vocalist Laurie Michelle Caner on banjo, husband Ed Caner on viola and fiddle, and Sarah Benn on the upright bass and vocals. Some of you may recognize Laurie and Sarah as members of another trio called The Rhondas. Ed is a full-time lecturer in the Department of Physics and the Director of the Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Program (STEP) at Case Western Reserve University. His credits as an author include Fiddling for Classical Stiffs and Fiddling for Classical Kids. Sarah also goes by the nickname "Mavis Peachtree" and that's how the band coined it's name.
  
  The rootsy Americana hill country sound of Hey Mavis will be releasing their debut record Red Wine on Sunday, August 8th at The Lockview in downtown Akron from 7-11PM. The album was produced by Don Dixon, who was behind the controls for many artists, most notably REM. The sweet vocal harmonies of Laurie and Sarah blend with Ed's viola profunda sound effects to give the trio a big, fat sound on the collection of all original material. Highlights include "Knock Me Off My Feet", "If I Want To", "Red Light", and the title track. Sarah wrote the song "New Seattle" after hearing a NYC cab driver's response for her hometown of Akron.
  
  You can also catch Hey Mavis in Cleveland on July 16th at The Harp for the pub's folk festival evening, at the Cleveland Metroparks Brookside Valley Event Site for Brookstock - A Celebration of Music & Nature on the afternoon of July 17th, July 24th at The Vine and Bean Cafe from 8-10PM and Aug 7th at The Lakewood Arts Festival from 11:00-Noon. For additional show listings, visit www.heymavis.com along with their Myspace and Facebook pages.

• 51 Weeks of Cleveland 1 night of Akron [+ Show ]
  

  Next on the bill was a soulful trio called Hey Mavis.  They were absolutely amazing.  A complete thr...Next on the bill was a soulful trio called Hey Mavis.  They were absolutely amazing.  A complete throwback to early traditional bluegrass with one of the most amazing fiddle players I have ever heard.  He added this element of electronic to a very old timey sounding act.  Something about it just mixed perfectly.  It was like these 2 beautiful muses were singing traditional bluegrass with this almost space age instrumentation.  Surreal, ethereal, call it what you want it works and it works well.  They are playing at Prosperity on Saturday night Cleveland folks.  Do yourself a favor and check them out!

• Youngsters to Play with Hey Mavis [+ Show ]
  

  By Malcolm X Abram Beacon Journal music writer Published on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 When most p...By Malcolm X Abram
  Beacon Journal music writer
  Published on Wednesday, May 19, 2010
  
  When most parents contemplate an evening of high school and middle school orchestras, it usually involves enduring rhythmically loose and harmonically helter-skelter renditions of Mozart, Beethoven and other classics. But tonight, the Akron Firestone High School Orchestra and the Litchfield Middle School Strings will turn Firestone's auditorium into a big back porch as they perform with local ''modern old-timey band'' Hey Mavis.
  
  The trio of Laurie Michelle ''Tootsie Parker'' Caner (vocals, banjo), Sarah ''Mavis Peachtree'' Benn (vocals, bass) and Ed ''Stevie McGillicutty'' Caner (viola, fiddle, mixmaster, and reluctant vocals) have been performing their mix of old-time
  Americana, bluegrass and folk with a few electrified modern touches since 2008.
  Fiddleman Ed Caner, who in his previous life as a professional sideman (he now works for a computer company) played in the Cleveland Opera Orchestra and behind Luciano Pavarotti, Smokey Robinson, Wayne Newton, and Page and Plant, has written arrangements for the past three years for Firestone's string teacher, Pam Fiocca, as part of a system-wide mandate that string teachers incorporate alternative genres and styles alongside the usual classics. Caner enjoyed working with the kids so much, he thought this year, why not combine the string arrangements with his band? ''Since we're on the fringes and an old-timey modern group, the orchestrations fit in perfectly and fulfill their requirement,''
  Caner said.
  
  For the show, Caner has written string arrangements for a mix of traditional country/bluegrass songs such as Shortnin' Bread and Oh Susanna, as well as six Hey Mavis originals written by his newlywed wife, Laurie Caner, and Benn. Ed Caner said when writing the arrangements, he tailored them to each of the three groups — Firestone's strings, fifth- and sixth-grade and seventh- and eighth-grade string sections — to help ensure they perform their best. ''Obviously, some of the stuff the high school kids are playing, the middle school kids would struggle with,'' he said, noting the kid musicians have been enjoying the music and learning quite a bit. ''This kind of feel and this kind of music takes a long time to internalize, a long time to 'get it,' but what we're doing is introducing them to new rhythms which they get, and the idea of singers singing with the band, so it's pretty cool,'' Caner
  said.
  
  Serendipitously, Hey Mavis also has a new album, Red Wine, produced by Don Dixon (R.E.M., the Smithereens) that will be released in June. Caner hopes a few parents will be interested in checking it out after seeing their kids play along.
  Caner also wants to take the idea to other area community orchestras, including some that have performed with guest singers such as the Alliance Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland-based Contemporary Youth Orchestra, which will be
  performing with Jon Anderson of Yes on Monday (see story on Page B12). ''We're excited about it, it's definitely not your everyday gig,'' Caner said.

• First Night Akron celebrates new year with new attractions [+ Show ]
  

  By Kathleen Folkerth Here are a few highlights of this year’s First Night Akron: • Laureen Mi...By Kathleen Folkerth
  Here are a few highlights of this year’s First Night Akron:
  
  • Laureen Michelle Caner describes Hey Mavis, the band she is in with her husband, Ed Caner, and Sarah Benn, as “modern old-timey.”
  
  “When people see fiddle, banjo and upright bass, they think we’re bluegrass, but we have some more modern elements to our music,” she said.
  
  In addition to performing at the Kids Countdown Show at Lock 3, starting at 8:30 p.m., the band will be on hand at Lock 3 for songwriting workshops at 5, 6 and 7 p.m.
  
  Ed and Laureen Caner are artists-in-residence at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and conduct the workshops regularly, helping groups of people brainstorm to create a song together.
  
  “We come in with a chorus and one verse already written,” Laureen Caner said. “The song is tailored to wherever we do our workshop. We have the workshop participants brainstorm on their ideas and their memories — what they see, what they hear, what they remember about Akron or First Night in the past. Once we have everyone’s ideas, we look at those and see what we can use to create verses for the song.”
  
  She expects that one verse will be created at each of the three workshops. The entire song will be performed when the band plays later in the evening.
  
  The Caners, the parents of two young children, said First Night is a great way for families to celebrate the new year.
  
  “It’s a wonderful, wonderful event for people young and old to come together to celebrate,” Laureen Caner said. “There’s always so much going on. Really, it’s for everybody.”
  

Setlist

Hey Mavis adjusts its setlist according to the audience, and is capable of moving in an instant from traditional songs to barn-burning bluegrass to Celtic mainstays to heart-wrenching songs about life, love, and motherhood. Depending on the venue, Hey Mavis will play approximately 80% original songs.

Added together, the members of Hey Mavis have over fifty years of professional experience and a musical repertoire that covers hundreds of songs. A typical performance is one and a half to three hours.

Hey Mavis Originals:

Bring Back
Cyndi Lou
Freight Train (written by our friend Benny Galloway)*
Hang it on the Line*
I Ain't Gonna Cry
If I Want To
Jeans
Johnny Cake Lock
Jubilee
Knock Me Off My Feet*
LooHoo
New Seattle
Old Lover
On Your Wing
Red Wine*
Santa Knows
Second Chances (Texas Trail)*
Sister Mary
Snowin in the Mountains (written by our friend Greg Schochet)
Song for Suitors*
Summit County Fair
Tell Me Lover True
Three Letters
Why Must I

Hey Mavis Covers:

Oh Suzanna*
Lakes of Ponchartrain
Human Thing
Hard Times (Stephen Foster)
L & N Don't Stop Here Any More (Jean Ritchie)
Mermaids
Botany Bay
The Scotsman
Step It Out Mary/Nancy

Over 100 Celtic and American fiddle tunes

Basic Requirements

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