Mary Christine Music: Press Kit

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Mary Christine Hargreaves,  known to many as Mary Ukelady,  is a fun natured singer-songwriter from western Maine who presents expressive original songs & folksy favorites on ukulele and guitar.  Her lyrical melodies celebrate Maine, country living, love and perseverance. She often includes familiar tunes by Carole King, Susan Tedeschi, Neil Young, Woody Guthrie, and Jack Johnson.

Raised on Mozart, Lithuanian Polkas, and the Beatles, Mary's strongest influence was the Folk Music scene of the 60's & 70's.  Singing and writing songs since childhood, she has evolved musically creating a genre of her own offering blends of Folk, Americana, Pop, Blues, Ballads, Children's songs, and Soul. She has shared stages with Maine artists Kate Schrock, Anni Clark, Heather Pierson, Nate Towne, and Brian Patricks.

In 2001, Mary discovered the joy of playing ukulele while at a music celebration in the tropics. After playing her uke onstage there for the first time, Mary Christine has since performed in many Maine communities. She is also a longtime promoter of local original music having recently co-hosted and co-produced "Mainely Acoustic" a community television program based in the Oxford Hills. She has released two CD's, her studio debut "Love Is Strong" and her children's album "Little Pony Express".  FMI visit www.marychristinemusic.com

 

( PRESS BIO EXAMPLE for "UKELADY KIDS SHOW")

 

Mary Ukelady, also known as Mary Christine Hargreaves, a fun natured singer-songwriter from western Maine has won the hearts of kids of all ages. She performs whimsical original songs & family favorites on guitar and ukulele. Inspired by her country upbringing, the Beatles, and Folk Music of the 60's & 70's, Mary takes her young audience on a musical journey in a fun way with light-hearted melodies and rhythms.

Her children's songs are lyrical adventures about ponies, lizards, toads and frogs, a dancing cow, a bike ride, hometown, family & love. They often include covers by Tom Chapin, Woody Guthrie, and Peter Paul & Mary. She has shared stages with Maine artists Kate Schrock, Anni Clark, Heather Pierson, Nate Towne, and Brian Patricks.

Mary Ukelady discovered how kids make a great audience while performing in her daughter's first grade classroom.  She began playing ukulele in 2001 and has since performed in many Maine communities. She is also a longtime promoter of local original music having recently co-hosted and co-produced "Mainely Acoustic", a community television program based in the Oxford Hills area.  Mary has released two CD's, her studio debut "Love Is Strong" and her children's album"Little Pony Express". FMI visit www.maryukelady.com

"Mary plays sweet, melodic original songs ... Her warm stage presence is relaxing and fun and her songs uplift and inspire."

" A delightful musician, playing lyrical, melodious tunes on her ukulele that will have you smiling & tapping your feet, and in a great mood, after just a few moments of her performance..."

"A charming performer whose best friend is her ukulele... Calling all little kids, medium kids, older kids and anyone in the mood for some spirited fun ... Mary sings songs for all ages, will make you smile, sing along, and truly appreciate how lively the ukulele is."

" Rife with upbeat, simply performed songs and joyous hopeful imagery... filled with joy, love, and happiness... suitable for kids, seniors, or those into roots and folk music." Good Times Magazine

"Easy Listening, something for all of us, release that child within."

"We had the pleasure three times, of hearing the songs and poetry of Mary (Ukelady). She let the audience freely see her easy going outlook on life, expressed in pieces like 'On My Bike'."

"A very nice sense of confidence... and inner strength balanced with a realistic (if not lighthearted) approach to the world of songwriting and 'making it big' ... music that's good for listening, relaxing, dancing, whatever."

SUMNER WOMAN FOLLOWING LIFELONG MUSICAL DREAM By Rebecca Goldfine , Staff Writer, Sun Journal - Lewiston, Maine Thursday, November 9, 2006 NORWAY (Maine)

- A practical man who also knew how to make a violin sing, Walter Turell told his teenage daughter he would pay for her education to become a dental lab technician, like him. "I wanted to study music," Mary ( Turell) Hargreaves recalled in a recent interview, adding that her mother, a registered nurse who played the piano, also supported a more stable vocation for her. So the Turells instilled in Hargreaves the primacy of solid work before the arts, a common leaning in the family toward industriousness.

Hargreaves' grandfather, a Lithuanian immigrant with a flair for polkas, owned a general market in Brockton, Mass. Despite the musicality that beat in Hargreaves, she headed to dental (hygiene) school and then worked in a dentist's office for 30+ years. No longer. "So now I am following my passion, my lifetime dream, and I'm going back to the arts, music and poetry," said Hargreaves.

She lives in E. Sumner with her husband. They have three grown children. Last July, she put away forever her dental smocks, retiring from Crossway Family Dental in So. Paris (ME.) Hargreaves now wears Hawaiian-print shirts when she works. The flowery prints accompany her mahogany custom-made ukulele, a fairly uncommon instrument with ties to the tropics. It originated in Portugal to accompany sailors, and was absorbed into the Hawaiian culture in the 19th century. Although the ukulele is a rather simple instrument with just four strings, it does have a whiff of melancholy, harking back to its origins. "It has a lonely sound to it. When I play minor chords, it makes me imagine I'm on one of those boats," Hargreaves said. "It has a haunting or calling sound to it, a melancholy sound to it. Sailors were sort of yearning for home."

But those are the rare chords, because Hargreaves wants to make uplifting music. Although she has played the guitar and piano since she was a child, she has only been playing the ukulele for five years. "I'm letting out some of the joy in my life," Hargreaves said. "I'm expressing joy, because for so many years I held it inside and I'm coming out of my shell." Her brother was killed riding his bicycle when he was 11. (Later), her mother became chronically ill ... dependent on family caregivers, including Hargreaves.

The presence of opposites is a theme running through Hargreaves' CD, too, according to the two musicians who have worked on it. "The thing is, it is a four-string instrument, like the bass," said Dave Kent, a 50-year-old bass player from Bath who plays with Hargreaves. "I play an electric bass. It is both ends of the spectrum, yet they're both common, it's a top and bottom. It is sort of like the jazz duo, the jazz duo is upright bass and the piano, like that, it has a full sound."

Earl Bigelow, who produced Hargreaves' first CD, "Love is Strong," also commented on the album's polarity. The album was released last spring. "What was particularly unique was the blending of my musical taste. I like the big-ethereal sounds," Bigelow said. He has a studio in Bath. "Mary plays the ukulele, a limited instrument. Her desire was to keep it as organic and simplistic as possible. This album is the blending of the two, so both ends are met."

Binary opposites aside, Hargreaves has just one goal in mind. "I think my endeavor is just to try to make the world a little bit better for people," she said. "I think music is one of the best medicines after laughter. I think it is very healing."