"I seriously am going to murder someone," laughed Mike McFadden, 19, a local Baltimore musician. The talented songwriter has no actual intent of homicide, but told this to his housemate, Yanni, whose own laughter was audible over the telephone.
McFadden himself is a jovial blond giant. He has bright red cheeks and frequently wears plaid - it seems that he is inventing some sort of hip lumberjack look that seems very much like his personality. He's constantly joking around but is also a very grounded person. He has been performing music "since [he] sang in the church choir when [he] was younger."
McFadden is a Baltimore native who graduated from Towson High School in 2006 and has been working as a musician ever since. McFadden also works at Hopkins during the day. He is a driver for the Hopkins shuttle service, making him a familiar face to many who get a lift to get around campus.
"Actually, I opted out of quite a few good college scholarships in order to work on my music and just get a job. I was going to go into business management and start my own business," McFadden said.
His instinct for business is apparent from his current local success and his plans for the future of his musical career. He has already garnered faithful fans in the area, but he also mentioned his interest in broadening his area of influence.
"I would love to branch out, to play in New York. Baltimore also has a lot of interesting music that a lot of people have never heard of. There's a radio station - WTMD - which plays a lot of local, unknown artists. I'm going to try to get some of my music on there soon."
McFadden also writes all of his own music.
"I put out my first CD when I was 17. It was a five-song EP, all original songs. It was recorded over a few days. I play both the bass and guitar, and the CD features a lot of really great Baltimore musicians."
His next CD took him nine months to create, finally coming out in November 2007. McFadden also performs live frequently, both in local venues (such as at the Recher Theatre in Towson and various open mics around Baltimore) He's opened for artists such as Braddigan (of Dispatch), Ben Jelen and Eric Hutchinson.
His vision of music is as down to earth as the musician himself. He lives with other musicians (such as Yanni), who are constantly listening to music and experimenting with sound.
"I'm influenced by artists such as Martin Sexton, John Mayer and Bob Dylan. My favorite album, my desert island album would have to be Martin Sexton: Live Wide Open. I also draw inspiration from every day events. I try to never think about things for too long. I just put it out there before I start overanalyzing it. My housemate says it's because I'm OCD. Not true," he said.
McFadden's music includes a lot of acoustic guitar, and is easygoing and upbeat. Some of his songs are inspirationally entitled, like "Something's Gotta Change," "I Know I Could" and "Get It Together." This, combined with McFadden's clear, smooth voice, creates a delightful sound.
Despite the playful melodies and harmonies in his music, McFadden has a rebellious streak toward music tradition.
He said, "I got kicked out of music theory all the time in high school. I would argue with the teacher about the principles of music theory because those rules hold you back so much. It always tells you to write music that just doesn't sound cool. So that was a problem for me. I was also always the class clown in high school. I almost even got expelled. I used to want to be a stand up comic, and now I really like to bring my jokes to shows, and try them out on the crowd. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Usually I make fun of my band mates, and sometimes I like to just talk to people I see in the audience. It makes things more fun."
McFadden laughed (laughing is big for him), and said, "I have a lot of other funny little stories I could tell you about recording my music, but they probably shouldn't be published. You might get kicked off the News-Letter. And I wouldn't want that."
McFadden will be performing at the Recher Theatre in Towson on Feb. 14, 2008. Tickets are $5 at the door. Doors open at 7, and McFadden is playing at 10 p.m. CDs will be available for purchase. Check out his new music video at www.mikemcfaddenmusic.com.
