| As Mallory & McCall, we’ve performed together as eclectic entertainers, and husband and wife, since 1973. In our current incarnation, Mallory sings solo and lead vocals and Janna (McCall) sings backup and accompanies them both on antique suitcase pump organ, piano and other keyboards. She often adds more unusual instruments from Irish Harp to ukulele, accordion, bass drum and other assorted musical implements. |
| However, not until our first CD, produced by Dennis Gilmore, did she have the opportunity to manage them all at once! Most lately, we’ve been sacking musically as “Professional Pirates,” with the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band, looting and pillaging even on the “Red Carpet” at the Disneyland World Premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." Outrageous flamboyance seems to suit our style. Writing and performing is part of our collective soul. For fourteen years, we produced, wrote, directed and acted in The Janus Company Radio Theatre, broadcast weekly, usually live, in the Los Angeles area [KPFK FM]. We presented everything from original mystery, adventure, horror, drama, and science fiction, plus adaptations of such classics as The Picture of Dorian Grey, "The Monkey’s Paw," and, of course, we had to do our own War of the Worlds--H.G.’s, not Orson’s version! We also presented our unique Radio Musicals, some of which are featured in this book. And then we wrote regularly for The Los Angeles Free Press and The Hollywood Daily News. After being a successful contestant on "Tic Tac Dough," Mallory joined the production company, taking on the challenging job of writing questions for Tic and it’s sister program, "The Joker’s Wild." We also got the opportunity to tour the country together on a giant contestant search, interviewing thousands of applicants for the shows. It took a major house fire to impel us toward a new performing direction: Irish and Renaissance Festivals and related concerts, pubs and entertainments. We became dealers and then performers on Triplett Harps, appearing ‘round and about Southern California. With or without music, we are known for our characters and the colorful and authentic garb that completes the picture. Whether in Civil War-era hoops and frock coats or as feather-bedecked buccaneers, we love to throw ourselves into our music and the acting that accompanies it. As our interests broadened, so did our playlist as we explored music from history, with special emphasis on 19th Century popular, parlour and folk music. We transformed ourselves into such figures as Mr and Mrs Dickens (Charles was a born ham and loved to sing and give public readings of his work, Perfect for Mallory!), Baritone Bill and Calamity (he elegant in beaded buckskin, she shaggy in her leather whangs [fringe], looking as though she’s slept under a cow) and, inevitably, Capt. Barfolomew Mal de Mer and Mac The Wife, musical pirates. On the way there, we were (unfortunately, non-singing) King Arthur and Guenever, Queen Victoria and her Equerry (also sans songs, but that might be interesting [It's happening! See "It's Good to be the Queen!"], the Crown Prince and Princess of Freedonia (teaching the fascinated children the anthem from the Marx Brother’s film Duck Soup) and musical bums in the Doo Dah Parade, fronting the "Rah! Rah! Sax Bum Band" for record producer Paul Secord. We have written two books for publisher Mel Bay: Exploring the Folk Harp and Mallory & McCall’s Irish Pub Songbook. We also wrote a book of Renaissance Songs, Pastime in Faire Company. And Then We Wrote...and Re-Wrote... started out as a companion to the CD, but has grown into a musical memoir interpolated into a rather off-the-wall songbook. And so we write on! In the deep past, before we met, Jan was a musical performer specializing in comedy and satire, often writing her own material, some of which you will find here [that is, in the book!]. Mallory was a Bona Fide Greenwich Village poet; a few samples of his work can be seen in these pages as well. [Click here] We live in a 1906 house in the Los Angeles area, feed the local kitties on the porch (The Deck Crew) and care for Mallory’s mother’s legacy, an aging, talkative grey cat who lives for him alone. Jan wouldn’t be nearly so jealous if she wasn’t allergic (fortunately not to Mallory)! We are at work on our next project, a pirate album–what else? After that, the Civil War, the Gay 90s, Irish Music Hall and, somewhere in there, And Then We Wrote...and Re-Wrote...and Started Over. [That last is probably this website. It's addicting.] So, how much do you really want to know about M & Mc? Most likely, this has been more than enough. There's all sorts of musical and theatrical memoirs in And Then We Wrote... that are not represented on the site. But who knows what else may be dragged from our past. This project is fluid. Things will come--and probably will go. Let us know what interests you. What we have here is a feeler--a test to see what folks respond to. Want more sheet music? Let us know. Have some original art you want to showcase? Great! We'd be most pleased if this became a hub for creative people to show their work and link to others who might be interested. Soon we'll be setting up a feedback/guestbook. For now, contact us at MalloryandMcCall@Yahoo.com. And thanks for hanging in this far! Janna, May 2, 2006 (Click the Goonies to get to our Home Page) |
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| Don't know enough about us? Really? Well, here's what we said about ourselves in the Bio of our new book. Comments in [brackets] are updates. Sorry if we've aleady said something elsewhere. If we edited, it wouldn't be an excerpt. As it is, our web program doesn't have the pretty fonts. |
| Mallory & McCall Who, What, When, Where, Why and How? |
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| HOME |
| To read more from our book and find out a bit more about us and the Janus Company Radio Theatre, Click the wolf for "Howling on the Air." |
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