Mustard’s Retreat (David Tamulevich and Michae
l Hough), met in Ann Arbor, MI in 1974, as short order cooks, both on hiatu
s from their studies at the University of Michigan. Discovering a mutual in
terest in music/writing and performing, they put together 3 songs one day a
fter work, and took them to the legendary Ark coffeehouse’s open mike night
. They were a hit, and, on the spot, were invited back to do a 45 minute se
t 2 weeks later. Within a year and a half they had both quit the restaurant
and were doing music full time. 40 years later, they have 12 highly acclai
med recordings of their own, plus 3 more CDs with their songwriting collect
ive, The Yellow Room Gang. Mustard’s Retreat has performed more than 4,000
shows over those years, traveled more than 1 million miles and in doing so,
have earned a dedicated and loyal following, many of whom have been coming
to hear them since the 1970s. .
Spike Barkin, who produces the presti
gious Roots of American Music Festival at New York City’s Lincoln Center, w
rote to thank them for their “folk from the heart,” going on to say it seem
ed like David and Michael “take your living room on the road with you and i
nvite people in as friends.” David Siglin, of Ann Arbor’s premier folk club
, The Ark, where Mustard’s Retreat did that first open mike, and have head-
lined many, many times since said, “In order to last, there has to be more
than just talent – you have to enjoy playing, enjoy audiences and enjoy bei
ng in front of them. Audiences go to your shows because they know they will
be entertained.” Margie Rosenkranz, manager of the Eighth Step at Proctor’
s Theatre in Schenectady, NY, who has presented Mustard’s Retreat many time
s, said a Mustard’s Retreat show “reminds us why we’re doing this, pulls pe
ople together,” adding that the duo transcends the vagaries of passing tren
ds because they remain so “in tune with the audience.”
“I work with th
em several times a year and always wish it was more.” said Canadian songwri
ter Garnet Rogers, who also produced their landmark recording The Wind and
the Crickets. “The thing that always impresses me is the incredible opennes
s they have with the audience. They stand up there and just radiate friendl
iness; the audience is included in the whole process, encouraged to sing al
ong and talk back. I’ve learned a lot from them in that sense.”
“They
are so warm and friendly and giving on stage, completely in touch with thei
r audience,” said Tom Paxton, a folk music star for more than 40 years. “Th
ere are no barriers at all, and you just love to watch that and be part of
it. But the thing that strikes me about them from Jump Street – and that ma
kes it all work so well – is that their time is so tight. Michael is such a
wonderful, simple bass player; his time is just flawless. And that’s why t
wo guys can move you musically the way they do – they have a gorgeous sense
of time and tempo, a real musicality to what they do. They’re nice guys on
stage and entertaining as hell, but there’s also music in them.”
Whil
e both Tamulevich and Hough are grounded in the early traditional 60s folk
music boom, they also were influenced by the songwriters of that time, and
their shows represent an eclectic blend of music, old and new, with a big d
ash of storytelling. “We have never performed the same show twice,” says Ta
mulevich, “Each night is its own unique moment, unique audience. For us, th
at is the exciting thing, the magic: to craft a shared experience and leave
people entertained and moved…and with moments and songs they will take awa
y with them and remember, ponder, rediscover; hopefully for years to come.”
Many of those moments are the result of their well-respected and broad bod
y of original material, written both individually and together. “We take ou
r writing very seriously.” says Tamulevich, “No matter if it is a serious o
r humorous song. A song is a tool to communicate a feeling or a story, …to
connect and find some common ground….and we want them to be as effective as
we can make it. It is a challenge that we happily embrace. Each song is a
unique puzzle, and it is fun to see where it can and does take you as you w
rite it. Michael and I are both very different people and writers; having d
ifferent strengths, and that diversity, when we can get it right, can make
a song a whole lot richer and more effective. It is a very rewarding proces
s.”
Those memorable songs have been a hallmark of Mustard’s Retreat fr
om the first. The spooky, Mallon’s Bridge, that tells the story of a haunte
d bridge in Ireland and the midnight encounter that takes place there, has
been a staple of Folk radio on Halloween since it first came out in the ear
ly 1980s. There’s A Dance Tonight celebrates love and community , the poign
ant Part of Me Remembers, the humorous Michigan Mosquitoes, the anthemic (
Ours is a) Simple Faith and Gather the Family…to the insightful and powerfu
l Pay the Toll….all and more have received extensive airplay and many have
been covered by other singers.
“And it is still new, fresh, exciting….
and fun” concludes Tamulevich. “We still really enjoy all of this: the writ
ing and the performing. Audiences let us know that they enjoy it as well. T
hey have taken our music and made it a part of their lives: that is the ult
imate compliment, and as long as they want to see us, we plan to keep perfo
rming.”
Doors open at 7PM
Tickets available at River's End Bookst
ore or online at www.oswegomusichall.org
$16 Advance / $18 Door
6-12 half price
Mustard’s Retreat (Dav
id Tamulevich and Michael Hough), met in Ann Arbor, MI in 1974, as short or
der cooks, both on hiatus from their studies at the University of Michigan.
Discovering a mutual interest in music/writing and performing, they put to
gether 3 songs one day after work, and took them to the legendary Ark coffe
ehouse’s open mike night. They were a hit, and, on the spot, were invited b
ack to do a 45 minute set 2 weeks later. Within a year and a half they had
both quit the restaurant and were doing music full time. 40 years later, th
ey have 12 highly acclaimed recordings of their own, plus 3 more CDs with t
heir songwriting collective, The Yellow Room Gang. Mustard’s Retreat has pe
rformed more than 4,000 shows over those years, traveled more than 1 millio
n miles and in doing so, have earned a dedicated and loyal following, many
of whom have been coming to hear them since the 1970s. .
Spike Barkin,
who produces the prestigious Roots of American Music Festival at New York
City’s Lincoln Center, wrote to thank them for their “folk from the heart,”
going on to say it seemed like David and Michael “take your living room on
the road with you and invite people in as friends.” David Siglin, of Ann A
rbor’s premier folk club, The Ark, where Mustard’s Retreat did that first o
pen mike, and have head-lined many, many times since said, “In order to las
t, there has to be more than just talent – you have to enjoy playing, enjoy
audiences and enjoy being in front of them. Audiences go to your shows bec
ause they know they will be entertained.” Margie Rosenkranz, manager of the
Eighth Step at Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady, NY, who has presented Mus
tard’s Retreat many times, said a Mustard’s Retreat show “reminds us why we
’re doing this, pulls people together,” adding that the duo transcends the
vagaries of passing trends because they remain so “in tune with the audienc
e.”
“I work with them several times a year and always wish it was more
.” said Canadian songwriter Garnet Rogers, who also produced their landmark
recording The Wind and the Crickets. “The thing that always impresses me i
s the incredible openness they have with the audience. They stand up there
and just radiate friendliness; the audience is included in the whole proces
s, encouraged to sing along and talk back. I’ve learned a lot from them in
that sense.”
“They are so warm and friendly and giving on stage, compl
etely in touch with their audience,” said Tom Paxton, a folk music star for
more than 40 years. “There are no barriers at all, and you just love to wa
tch that and be part of it. But the thing that strikes me about them from J
ump Street – and that makes it all work so well – is that their time is so
tight. Michael is such a wonderful, simple bass player; his time is just fl
awless. And that’s why two guys can move you musically the way they do – th
ey have a gorgeous sense of time and tempo, a real musicality to what they
do. They’re nice guys on stage and entertaining as hell, but there’s also m
usic in them.”
While both Tamulevich and Hough are grounded in the ear
ly traditional 60s folk music boom, they also were influenced by the songwr
iters of that time, and their shows represent an eclectic blend of music, o
ld and new, with a big dash of storytelling. “We have never performed the s
ame show twice,” says Tamulevich, “Each night is its own unique moment, uni
que audience. For us, that is the exciting thing, the magic: to craft a sha
red experience and leave people entertained and moved…and with moments and
songs they will take away with them and remember, ponder, rediscover; hopef
ully for years to come.” Many of those moments are the result of their well
-respected and broad body of original material, written both individually a
nd together. “We take our writing very seriously.” says Tamulevich, “No mat
ter if it is a serious or humorous song. A song is a tool to communicate a
feeling or a story, …to connect and find some common ground….and we want th
em to be as effective as we can make it. It is a challenge that we happily
embrace. Each song is a unique puzzle, and it is fun to see where it can an
d does take you as you write it. Michael and I are both very different peop
le and writers; having different strengths, and that diversity, when we can
get it right, can make a song a whole lot richer and more effective. It is
a very rewarding process.”
Those memorable songs have been a hallmark
of Mustard’s Retreat from the first. The spooky, Mallon’s Bridge, that tel
ls the story of a haunted bridge in Ireland and the midnight encounter that
takes place there, has been a staple of Folk radio on Halloween since it f
irst came out in the early 1980s. There’s A Dance Tonight celebrates love a
nd community , the poignant Part of Me Remembers, the humorous Michigan Mos
quitoes, the anthemic ( Ours is a) Simple Faith and Gather the Family…to th
e insightful and powerful Pay the Toll….all and more have received extensiv
e airplay and many have been covered by other singers.
“And it is stil
l new, fresh, exciting….and fun” concludes Tamulevich. “We still really enj
oy all of this: the writing and the performing. Audiences let us know that
they enjoy it as well. They have taken our music and made it a part of thei
r lives: that is the ultimate compliment, and as long as they want to see u
s, we plan to keep performing.”
Doors open at 7PM
Tickets availab
le at River's End Bookstore or online at www.oswegomusichall.org
$16 A
dvance / $18 Door
6-12 half price