An Interview with Maury Rosenberg
Want to take a deep dive into one of the great minds that powers Hypnotic Clambake? We asked Maury Rosenberg the questions that every Baker has been itching to know! Dive in below!
Q: How did Hypnotic Clambake come together?
A: Hypnotic Clambake came together in the early 90’s. The origins of Hypnotic Clambake was spawned from Maury’s love of cultural world music. He found himself fusing many different styles of music into his song writing and this led to finding musicians that played instruments that could provide the background sound to his very eclectic sounding compositions.
In time, other musicians offered their composition to the band’s repertoire and seven albums later the band is still going strong.
Q: What's your biggest source of inspiration?
A: My biggest source of inspiration would be everything. Music plays an important part of my daily life and oddly there are also some days that require perfect silence.
I have enjoyed leaving the planet when I sit down for five minutes or an hour a day while playing the piano. Nothing else on earth has offered more to me than music on a personal level as it allows me to escape the mundane aspects of the daily grind.
Q: When did you start playing the accordion?
A: Started playing the accordion in my mid-twenties. Studied with accordionist Paul Monte from Wellsville, MA. He got me straight with the left hand buttons.
He was a great teach and I was lucky to find him.
Q: Do you have any goals for 2025?
A: My life has never been a series of goals. I find a goal can be limiting as you may never reach them, instead, I wake up every day and see where the day takes me. I have lived my entire life this way and it has never let me down. My immediate goals though would be to breath, eat, sleep, exercise and find a wife.
Q: What are you excited about most right now?
A: I am very excited about my newest release which is a homage to some of my favorite comedians who have recently passed away. I felt a void in my life without them being in the here and now, so, it led me to composing my latest song entitled, “Norm Macdonald’s Last Joke Died With Him.” This will be release shortly in early 2025.
Q: What's your songwriting process like?
A: My song writing process is as follows. I never force myself to write. If I never write another song that is ok with me. When I get inspired and the song finds me, that’s when I can’t turn the valve off and I work work endless hours until the idea is realized.
What artists are you listening to these days?
Deerhoof, Folkfaces, Laura Penate, Baby Gramps, Eric Apoe and They, Trillian Green, The Majestics, Deep Purple, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Zepplin, Stones, Yes, John Capek, Margee Foreman, just to name a few.
Q: Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?
My dream artist would be to collaborate with all of my friends that I have met and performed with my entire life on one big project. We would all meet in the woods at some cool cabin, spent a week working together and then releasing the results. This would be a dream come true. Darrell, Kathy, Joe, JoAnn, Chris, Tim, Eric, Glenn, Grant, Ralph, Peter, Mark, Marc, and others .... you all know who you are!!!
Q: What would be your dream venue?
A: My dream venue to this day is the Brushwood Folklore Center in Sherman, NY where Frank and Darlene welcomed Hypnotic Clambake’s OUR MUSIC FEST for over 18 years.
The friends who visited and played makes this venue my favorite of all time.
Q: Are there any cities you're itching to play in?
A: I do have a few cities I would like to visit and play such as: Ashville, NY- Chicago, IL- Madison, WI-Santa Cruz, CA- Albuquerque, NM- Chareston, WV- Morgantown, WV- San Antonio, TX – Pittsburgh, PA- Washington, D.C. – Augusta, GA...just to name a few.
Q: What is your favorite aspect of performing live?
A: Making sure we arrive at the performance safely, put on a good show, pack up our gear, go home and go to sleep.
Q: Are you working on any unreleased material?
A: Presently working on recording a Latin accordion part for a composition by Buffalo bassist, Mark Harris. Should have that done in the next couple of weeks.
Q: What's the funniest thing that ever happened to you on tour?
A: We started the day street performing in Palm Springs, Ca. Next thing you know, we were invited back to a beautiful resort owned by some lovely folks to play a pool party. They also put us up the night prior. (I forget their names). Funny how things can happen just in the moment.
Q: What's the best way to enjoy Hypnotic Clambake?
A: Treat Hypnotic Clambake’s music as you would a fine wine and or a delicious ice cream cone. Enjoy slowly and thoroughly would be my ultimate suggestion.
Q: What's the best way to support Hypnotic Clambake?
A: There are many ways to enjoy Hypnotic Clambake. The best way is to find yourself coming to one of our many live shows. You can also get content from our Patreon page here. You can see shows on youtube.com, you can find audio clips on archive.org and finally tell others how much you love our music as word of mouth is the best way to support our music. Thank you! Best fans in the world!
Q: Where do you want the band to be in five years?
A: Simply alive and well and playing music for appreciative fans both here, there, and anywhere!
