It only takes a few biographical bullet points to understand the musical evolution of Sycamore Smith. The singer/songwriter from Marquette, Mich., fell under the spell of Punk in the late 1980s and formed The Muldoons with a couple of classmates from Marquette Senior High School. In the early ’90s, The Muldoons became a steady presence on the Punk scene in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The trio called it quits in 1997 but resurfaced completely transformed two years later. With Marc Smith now using the first name Sycamore, he and fellow Muldoon Scott Uren (who also changed his name, opting for the pseudonym Scotty Alan) reintroduced The Muldoons as a two-man acoustic band performing energized, sometimes comedic Folk Rock with both members singing, playing guitar and providing old-timey augmentation like kazoo riffs and minimalist percussion (such as a simple, single bass drum), usually all at the same time.
The musical makeover and the singers/songwriters’ name changes made it seem like they were mafia informants preparing for witness protection relocation by undergoing intense plastic surgery to render themselves unrecognizable. But the duo had a good run and kept a lot of old fans, releasing a pair of albums before again splitting in 2004.
The drastic shift from Punk to a rootsier, acoustic-based Folk sound seems to have become a common rite of passage for young Punk musicians these days, with so many performers deciding to trade in volume and distortion for the more naked and often more immediate approach of America’s great Folk pioneers. It’s not hard to understand why — Folk and Punk share many qualities.
The Redettes play Goetz Alley (in the basement of Park and Vine) Friday with R. Ring, Swear Jar, Jerry Panic and Army Coach. Go here to read Mike Breen's full Sound Advice.
