| The story:
In 1991, Tom Frawley emigrated from Ireland and landed in Chicago with thoughts of making a living in the music business. When Tom and his wife moved to Woodstock in 1995 the met Charlie Grover. One wild summer night on the patio, Tom saw Charlie doing his famous air-guitar solo and asked if he played: “Nah, just air!” was the response. After that both Tom and Chuck pestered Charlie’s wife to get Chuck a guitar for Christmas. It worked, and shortly after Tom began teaching Charlie how to play. The seed had been planted
Tom and Charlie played at the Madison/Vine Street block party in September of `02 which is where they met Gavin Walkington. Gavin was yet another neighbor with a passion for music and after hearing him play piano during dinner, Tom and Chuck asked him if he wanted to sit in on some practices. He joined them one Wednesday and never left.
Still lacking a rhythm section, Tom was approached by a neighborhood friend known only as "Mama Vine" who asked if they needed a bassist. After an enthusiastic yes he was introduced to Chris Lalley. Chris would be the youngest member of the band, but he provided much needed stability to the sound with his solid playing.
Sammy Davidson had been a longtime friend of Charlie’s and had played in several bands before. He had played occasionally with Charlie, but when Madvine needed a new drummer in the summer of ‘04, Sammy stepped up. Madvine now had the booming rhythm section they needed, a keyboard prodigy, the mellow sounds of “the Grooveman,” and a charismatic frontman. The rest, as they say, is Madvine history. |
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