The Village Dudes

ROD MacDonald * JACK Hardy
DAVID Massengill * FRANK Christian

It's not unusual to see the names Rod MacDonald, Jack Hardy, David Massengill and Frank Christian, written about in the same sentence in an article about any one of them. They were an important part of the 70s-80s folk music scene in Greenwich Village, and all continue to be an active force in folk music, in and outside of the Village. They share a century's worth of touring experience, appearances at nearly every major festival in North America and Europe, and a very significant catalog of modern-day folk and acoustic songs.
For the first time, these artists, each a folk legend in his own right, are recording and performing as a musical group, singing lead and harmony vocals and sharing their music and songs with audiences. Calling themselves the Village Dudes, the group recently made their concert debut and are working on their first recording project.

Rod MacDonald, who initiated the Village Dudes project, spent two decades living on MacDougal Street in the heart of Greenwich Village. During those years, he co-founded the Greenwich Village Folk Festival, and when not touring, he appeared frequently at the Speakeasy, Fast Folk and Folk City clubs, performed at the Bottom Line, and appeared onstage with Emmylou Harris, Tom Chapin, Richie Havens and many others. Among the more than two dozen artists who have recorded his works are Dave Van Ronk, Christine Lavin, Four Bitchin' Babes and Garnet Rogers. His albums No Commercial Traffic, which included the often-recorded "Sailor's Prayer", and White Buffalo are regarded as "one of the towering achievements in modern folk music". (Boston Herald). With 27 songs, Rod is one of the most heavily represented artists on the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings taken from the Fast Folk Music Collection. In 2002, Smithsonian released an anniversary deluxe 2-CD collection featuring Rod's "American Jerusalem" as the lead-off track, an enduring classic described as "a brilliant contrast of rich and poor, of the powerful and the powerless in Manhattan". (SingOut! 2003)

Jack Hardy, a native of New York City, has released 17 CDs of his literate and perceptive songs, drawing on western and Celtic influences to create an impressive body of works widely known through North American and Europe. As founder of the Songwriters' Exchange and Fast Folk Musical Magazine in the Village, he has influenced and provided a platform for scores of songwriters including Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, Shawn Colvin, Richard Shindell and David Massengill, receiving a citation from the Mayor of New York for his work with songwriting groups. "Nothing adventuresome is created in a vacuum," Jack says, "you get people together and the creative sparks fly."

Regarded as one of the finest American folk songwriters, he is a master lyrical poet and a superb and creative crafter of melody. The Boston Globe describes him as "...one of the most influential figures today in defining the American folk song."

David Massengill, originally from Bristol, Tennessee, arrived on the New York City scene in the late 1970s, and began to walk the same Greenwich Village streets as his songwriting predecessors, from Woody Guthrie on. Accompanying himself on the mountain dulcimer, an instrument indelibly Appalachian and that he taught himself to play, he conquers the most urban of performance communities.

Many of his earlier and best known songs were narratives that recounted real events or historical sketches, and David's talent as a storyteller is on display in some of these early songs. His songs have been recorded by Lucy Kaplansky, Tom Russell, Chad Mitchell, Dave Van Ronk, Nancy Griffith and many others. Joan Baez and The Roches have both recorded "On The Road to Fairfax County", a tale of an eighteenth century highwayman and his love, and a song that has sometimes been mistaken for a traditional ballad. "My Name Joe" is a masterpiece of contemporary storytelling, exploring the conflict between cultures in the urban melting pot, based on David's experiences as a dishwasher in an Upper West Side restaurant.

Frank Christian, originally from Newark, New Jersey, has been a habitue' of New York's acoustic music scene for more than two decades. An accomplished jazz and blues guitarist as well as a soloist, he has played and been a principal accompanist for such artists as Nanci Griffith, Chrstine Lavin, Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, Dave Van Ronk, The Smithereens, Jeffrey Gaines, Marti Jones and Tommy Makem.

He has released several CDs of his own compositions, which include Three Flights Up, covered by Nancy Griffith on her Grammy-winning CD Other Voices, Other Rooms. A melting pot of influences inform his work, blending classical with Big Band guitar style with jazz with folk with Texas and Mississippi blues.

Artists' Web Sites:
http://www.rodmacdonald.net
http://www.jackhardy.com
http://www.davidmassengill.com