The following review appeared in Bluegrass Listserv on
Jan. 4, 2000
"From Iowa City, Iowa, hails a quartet I have recently heard
for the first time. The band, Acoustic Mayhem, is comprised of
Mike Haverkamp (lead vocal & banjo), Loren Brumm (vocals &
guitar), Margaret Brumm (fiddle & vocal) and Mike Kanellis
(bass). I have been informed by Mike Haverkamp that the band has
acquired a new member, Rick Dehn, 'a great fiddler/mandolinist who
has a lot of band experience playing in the Northern California
scene. We hope to get in and record more this summer with him
twinning a lot of our fiddle stuff.'
"Acoustic Mayhem has one traditional CD called 'Traditional
Music and More...' They have two other CD's that are available
through www.mp3.com. These are public domain tunes taken from live
radio performances or festival performances and recorded by KUNI,
in Cedar Falls, Iowa. In terms of a chronology of recordings,
Acoustic Mayhem has the following to offer, with more on the
way:
1999 "Traditional Music and More..." (Self released)
"Traditional Music" (mp3)
1995/1996 "All Over the Lot" (mp3) "Norski Celts" (mp3)
"Acoustic Mayhem delivers clean, fun and sparkling acoustic
music. There are some similarities with the muppets, Electric
Mayhem, in their playfulness, comedic style and dedication to the
music they play. Their CD entitled, All Over the Lot, contains 8
tracks, one of which is an original song (My Little Home - By the
Parking Ramp). Other songs on this CD include: Horse Named Bill
(comedic), Back Up and Push (instrumental), Crow Black Chicken
(traditional style but comedic), Jolie Blonde (Cajun French with
English translation), La Bastringue (Cajun French), Original Rag
(instrumental) and Sally Goodin (instrumental).
"The first thing I came to appreciate about Acoustic Mayhem was
the quick and Simplistic method by which they have been recorded.
The songs have been recorded live, which means the band has been
caught on first takes without the complications of mega
multitracking. The result is an unpretentious, raw production
which sounds like the band is playing live in your kitchen. No
track on any one of their CD's sounds contrived or labored.
Rather, the recordings are real. Acoustic Mayhem plays with a
naturalness that one could only find among family and friends as
they relax together and have fun sharing songs or telling stories.
Instrumentation on this CD is well balanced too. Margaret Brumm's
fiddling is smooth and melodic, not raspy and overbearing or
intrusive. Likewise, Mike Haverkamp's banjo playing is extremely
well balanced and dynamic. This means Mike is a finely tuned
artist with a true appreciation for the group sound.
"Overall, Acoustic Mayhem can be summed up in one word:
AUTHENTIC. I like what Mike Kanellis had to say about the group;
'You see a bunch of 50 year old rock stars and say 'What a bunch
of geezers!' you see 50 year old folk singers and say, 'My, how
authentic!' We're approaching authenticity.' In my opinion, and
I'm sure anyone who hears them, Acoustic Mayhem has far surpassed
"approaching" authenticity -- they have arrived."
If you are interested in learning more about Acoustic Mayhem
and their music,
visit their web site at, http://www.zeus.ia.net/~mayhem/
