Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar Merenda have been making music together as the Mammals since 2001, with a little break in 2008 to play as Mike & Ruthy. They’ve been back as the Mammals since 2017 with a couple of great albums, most recently Touch Grass Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Mike, born and raised in New Hampshire, picked up the banjo after he met fiddler Ruth Ungar. Ruth is the daughter of Jay Ungar, a much-loved folk musician who is best known for his composition, “Ashokan Farewell,” used as the theme tune to the Ken Burns 1990 documentary The Civil War, which you now have playing in your head. Essentially, Ruth grew up surrounded by folk music, which she talked all about on her previous appearance on Basic Folk.
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This time around, we dig into a few of the songs on their double album Touch Grass. There are A LOT to choose from: seventeen tracks in all. It was a four-year project recorded at their Humble Abode studio in the Catskills. The songs offer a mix of socially conscious “daytime” folk-rock and introspective “nighttime” Americana. We get into the gospel influence on “O The Cruelty,” the bare-bones arrangements of “Old Friend,” and keeping the sadness in check with “Doldrums.” They also talk a bit about their home venue, the Ashokan Center, where their musical festival the Hoot takes place. Let it be known that the center has a ton of old farm equipment and no, they do not want any more, so don’t ask them to take it. Thanks, Mike & Ruthy!
Photo Credit: Lead image and vertical alternate image by Wayne Gibbous; square alternate image by Tanya Barricklo.