Album Notes

Lucky Mud has been playing together for many years, from honky-tonks in Texas to concerts in Ireland. They are a duet, Maggie and Michael McKinney. They have been invited to perform the last four years at the Florida Folk Festival in White Springs, Florida, as well as the 2006 Will McLean 'Willfest' in Dade City, Florida. They tour Ireland every year, playing concerts such as the Linenhall Arts Center in Castlebar, Ireland, and pub gigs at places as varied as The Strand (a surfer pub outside Sligo in Strandhill), and Campbell's Pub in Murrisk. They have been featured both on John Murphy's show on CRCfm in Castlebar and with Michael Commins on Mid-West Radio 96.1, and appeared at Johnny O'Hare's in Ballinrobe.
In 2006, Lucky Mud added Newcastle, Northern England, to their concert schedule.
Lucky Mud has played such venues as The Forge in Bandera, Texas....cowboy capitol of the world....where they sang cowboy yodels and old country standards, to Key West, Florida, where they play at the Conch Republic Festival each year.
Their music is lyric centered with tight harmonies. Much of it is original, but they aren't a 'folk' band. In concert they play everything from Elvis to Tom Waits, from Gillian Welch to Wilson Pickett to whatever comes to mind. Their repertoire is vast and eccentric. Their shows are more party than concert and their love for their music is obvious.
This Lucky Mud CD, Southern Zen, was recorded simply, with intent, to create a pure folk sound. Two voices, one guitar and one mandolin. The songs are mostly original with the exception of a quiet little song by Steve Fisher called 'That's My Toy,' two traditional Irish songs - The Fox, and Black is the Color, and one Steve Earle Song called Someday.
Their son, Grif, joins them on penny whistle on the title song, Southern Zen, which begins with the lines, "I chopped wood, I carried water," then takes a Southern bent.
Enjoy.