NEWS:October 2014

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ACOUSTIC MADNESS WELCOMES JORIAN OLK-SZOST

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Bob & Mitch warmly welcome virtuoso upright bassist Jorian Olk-Szost to Acoustic Madness. Jorian played his first gig with the band October 11 at Stony Creek Roadhouse and sounded like he has been playing with the guys for years. Jorian replaces Ken Pesick whose contributions to the band for the last 4 years are far too numerous to name here.

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December 2014

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ACOUSTIC MADNESS TRACK FEATURED ON WDET/101.9FM

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"I Feel Like A Number", the Bob Seger classic that closes 2014's ACOUSTIC MADNESS album, was played by Rob Reinhart on his always excellent "Essential Music" radio show in the afternoon of Saturday, December 13. "Essential Music" is broadcast from the Detroit NPR affiliate WDET/101.9 FM.  Rob Reinhart also hosts the well known nationally syndicated show "Acoustic Cafe".

"I Feel Like A Number" was first performed by Bob Monteleone at the Trinity Theater Bob Seger tribute "Singers Sing Seger" hosted by John Lamb that featured other songwriters Jill Jack, Dave Edwards, Chris McCall and more in September 2013.

Acoustic Madness recorded "I Feel Like A Number" in December 2013 at Sterritt Sound studio. It is a drastic re-imagination of the Seger version. Where Seger's is up tempo rock & roll and in a Major key, Acoustic Madness' version has a slowed down electronica vibe and is in a Minor key. 

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Summer 2015

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Acoustic Madness is enjoying it's busiest summer performance schedule yet. Along with the weekly Tuesday gig at Uptown Grille and the twice monthly shows at Stony Creek Roadhouse, the band is enjoying some great summer parties and private affairs. 

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Acoustic Madness is wrapping the summer up with a handful of showcase shows at the following outdoor festivals: Sunday August 2 at The Village of Rochester Hills (outdoor mall) Rochester Hills, noon-3pm; Thursday August 20 (w/Ken Pesick) at Grand Circus Park (Detroit) 7:30-8:30PM; Wine & Food Festival (w/Ken Pesick) at Meadowbrook Festival (Rochester Hills) 2:30-5pm; Saturday September 5 at Arts, Eats & Beats on the Acoustic Stage (Royal Oak) 8-9:30PM; Sunday September 13 at Arts & Apples Festival (Rochester) 11am-1pm and Sunday September 13 at the Plymouth Fall Festival 3-6pm.

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IN THE STUDIO

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The guys have been working on the follow-up to last year's self-titled release at Bob's Sterritt Sound studio. The recording is about 80% complete. Former "Nashville Cat" session keyboadist Bob Wilson (Bob Dylan's NASHVILLE SKYLINE,  J.J. Cale, George Jones, etc..) came by the studio in June and played on the instrumental "Day Dream" and the rocking "Why Did They Kill The Radio?".

The finishing touches happening at the moment include some sax overdubs by Pete Kahn.

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FALL/WINTER 2015

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The guys & April appeared on both Fox 2 and Channel 7 News on the morning of September 5 promoting that evening's headlining appearance on the Acoustic Stage at Royal Oak's Arts, Eats & Beats festival.

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Emilee Patrishkoff filmed the guys performing in the WXOU-FM studio for an upcoming video of the new Acoustic Madness song "Why Did They Kill The Radio?" Special thanks to WXOU host Todd Greenbaum for letting us loose at the university radio station. The song features Bob Wilson on piano and a hilarious monologue by radio personality & musician Mark Pasman.

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Looking forward to a special New Years Eve show at the Stony Creek Roadhouse and an appearance at downtown detroit's Winterblast in mid-February.

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WINTER 2016 

The band along with ace saxaphonist Pete Kahn filmed a video of the song "Leaving Welinoph" over the holiday week. It was filmed on the stage of the Utica, Michigan venue Circa 1901 (formerly Hatchy's) by Emilee Patrishkoff.

On the afternoon of Valentine's Day the band played a solid set at the Meridian Winter Blast at Campus Martius in downtown Detroit.

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SPRING 2016

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The band played at the annual Electro-Con event for the 2nd straight year at Ford Field, the home of the NFL Detroit Lions on March 23.

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EARLY APRIL 

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The working title of the recently completed full length album is SURROUNDED IN BIG TOWN. It is 9 original songs with appearances by saxophonist Pete Kahn on the tunes "Leaving Welinoph", "24/Seven" & "Let It Go". Legendary Nashville session pianist Bob Wilson lends his talents to the instrumental "Day Dream" & "Why Did They Kill The Radio?". The later tune has a just completed video shot by Emilee Patrishkoff and features a rant by longtime Detroit radio personality Mark "The Paz" Pasman.

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The band continues to play weekly on Tuesdays at Uptown Grille in Commerce Twp. (and also the 2nd Friday of every month) and twice monthly (2nd Saturday & last Friday) at Stony Creek Roadhouse in Shelby Twp.

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Looking forward to a busy summer with festival appearances at Wixom Fireworks (June 30), Sterling Fest (July 28), Arts, Eats & Beats (Labor Day weekend), and Rochester's Arts & Apples & Plymouth's Fall Festival (both the weekend of September 10-11).

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SUMMER 2016

Some interesting gigs popped up for us this summer. Playing the Blue Water Fest in Port Huron on July 16 was a highlight, opening for the Guess Who. We played the brand new minor league baseball stadium, Jimmy Johns Field in Utica, on July 22, before several thousand folks. We played before, during and right after the game. Playing the Sterling Fest on July 28, and later that night, we'll be debuting at the new Gross Pointe club, Whiskey Six.  SURROUNDED IN BIG TOWN is now available at gigs and a few indie record stores. Look for it to be available for purchase here shortly and for streaming in early August. 

Waiting to hear any day what slot we will fill at Royal Oak's Arts, Eats & Beats festival Labor Day weekend. Last year we closed the acoustic stage on the Saturday night.

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SEPTEMBER FESTIVALS!!

We are proud to announce we will be HEADLINING the Sprint Unplugged Stage for the 2nd straight year at Royal Oak's massive Arts, Eats & Beats Festival! We are playing Saturday, September 3rd at 8PM. Look for an interesting set with  songs from our brand new SURROUNDED IN BIG TOWN and 2014's self-titled release ACOUSTIC MADNESS along with some choice covers including our "special blend" of "Classical Gas" and Prince's "When Doves Cry".

We are also playing Rochester's Arts & Apples Festival at Rochester Municipal Park on Saturday, September 10th from 5-6PM.

On Sunday, September 11th we will HEADLINE  the annual Plymouth Fall Festival in downtown Plymouth's Kellogg Park from 4-6PM.

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2017

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October/November 2017:

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2017 has been an extremely busy year for Acoustic Madness. While continuing our two "residences" at Uptown Grille (5 or 6 gigs a month) and Stony Creek Roadhouse (twice a month) we have also worked regularly this year at various Metro Detroit establishments like Whiskey Six (Grosse Pointe) and Twisted Tavern (Ferndale).

We've also made multiple appearances at the esteemed music venue Otus Supply in Ferndale as well as the brand new Homegrown Brewing Company in Oxford, Michigan.

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One special gig this year was in June at the Creem Magazine Reunion at the Birmingham Museum that featured a rare performance of the respected band Black Market (w/Mitch & Bob from Acoustic Madness).

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And of course all the fine festivals we had the pleasure to appear at this year: Detroit's Winter Blast, Port Huron's Blue Water Fest, Royal Oak's Arts, Beats & Eats, Plymouth Fall Festival and the upcoming (December 2) Wixom Holiday Market.

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2018

2018 continues to be a busy year for Acoustic Madness.  Regular appearances at the Uptown Grille, Stony Roadhouse and Whiskey Six have continued this year along with 

various Concerts In the Park (Utica, Commerce Twp.) and a few weddings and engagement parties.

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Annual celebrations include the Kentucky Derby party at Otus Supply and the Weaver Family  4th of July bash.

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A highlight of the year so far was performing and backing up Sacred Steel legend Calvin Cooke and Detroit's Queen of the Blues Thornetta Davis at the Henry Ford Living Organ Donors Program benefit at Otus Supply June 11. Acoustic Madness also performed with Calvin Cooke that morning on WDIV TV's "Live At The D".

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2019

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Detroit Music Awards (the DMA's)

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Acoustic Madness is proud to be nominated for Outstanding Americana Group/Artist for the 2019 Detroit Music Awards to be held April 26 at the Fillmore Theater and Hockeytown Cafe in Detroit.

Acoustic Madness guitarist/singer Bob Monteleone is nominated for Outstanding Instrumentalist in the Americana category.

Also, Bob & April are nominated for Outstanding Video (budget under $10,000) for "Summer Song" and Bob & Coltrane for Outstanding Family category.

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FESTIVALS SUMMER OF '19:

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Acoustic Madness is playing the Michigan Made Fest at Canterbury Village in Lake Orion, Michigan on Sunday, July 27.

Acoustic Madness is excited to be invited to perform again at the huge Arts, Beats & Eats Festival held annually every Labor Day weekend in downtown Royal Oak.

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​2020 - 2023

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2020 and 2021 were two incomplete years for the band and everybody else

in the world due to the various COVID lockdowns. However, Bob, Mitch and Jorian used the downtime to record the 2022 vinyl release of Tiffany. Tiffany 

contains 8 original songs ranging from prog rock, the Yes influenced "Plastic 

Radios", to some straight ahead bluegrass, "Junk Bonds" to the Steely Dan-ish

"Loose Lips". With no special guests, all of the sounds were created solely

by the 3 band members, with Mitch not only handling drumkit and Cajon, but also playing mandolin and a mandola, a deeper pitched version of the mandolin. Along with guitars and vocals, Bob also played pedal steel, Fender Rhodes, acoustic piano and analog synths. Jorian, of course handled both  electric and upright bass, showcasing his bow skills on the epic "Well It's Alright". 

The Tiffany album was produced by Bob, with a co-producing credit to Bob Ebeling on the title track, who brought his magic touch to the proceedings. The album was mastered by esteemed British recording engineer Miles Showell at the famous Abbey Road studios in London. 

"Well It's Alright" has been played on the Detroit area FM radio station WAHS and other tracks have been featured on midwestern regional stations as well.   

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In June 2023, Bob's son Coltrane starting joining the trio for their weekly residence gig on Tuesdays at the Uptown Grille. Coltrane adds timely backup and lead vocals as well as some solid 2nd guitar to the band's sound. His youthful energy has been a welcome addition. ​

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2024-2025

Acoustic Madness continues to play at various locations in the Metro Detroit area. Their Tuesdays at the Uptown Grille are ongoing as well as a monthly gig at the Stony Creek Roadhouse in Shelby Twp. that features Bob's wife (and Coltrane's mom) vocalist April Monteleone. The band is also happy to perform regularly at the revered scenic venue Octopus' Beer Garden on the Clinton River just east of downtown Mount Clemens. 

Acoustic Madness is also featured at various annual events like the Manufacturing In America expo at Ford Field and the Shriner's Gun Raffle held at Novi Suburban Collection.

February 25, 2024 was a huge highlight as Bob & Coltrane represented Acoustic Madness opening for the legendary Blue Oyster Cult at the sold out Royal Oak Music Theater. The promoter only wanted an acoustic duo so Bob & Coltrane played a scorching 30 minute set featuring all Acoustic Madness originals like "Tiffany", "Well It's Alright"and "Half the Loving". The crowd loved the performance and showed up at the merch booth following BOC's set to purchase many Tiffany  LPs and Acoustic Madness CDs. 

The summer of 2025 presents two "Concerts in the Park" for the band: Thursday, June 26, (7-8:30PM) at the Rochester Municipal Park and Monday, August 4, at the Onekama Village Park (7-9PM). Onekama is in northern Michigan on Lake Michigan, not far from Manistee.

Once in while, Bob and Mitch's old Black Market compadre, Jim Megerian fills in for Jorian on electric bass, when Jorian is unavailable, usually touring with the respected Gypsy jazz group, the Djangophonics. Shows featuring Jim are notated in the "Gigs" section of this site, highlighted by the name RAGGAMUFFIN!, which was the name of the side project trio of Bob, Mitch & Jim during Black Market's heyday in the '80s and '90s. The setlist with Jim might veer into some more reggae than a typical Acoustic Madness show.

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Bob, Jorian and Mitch are currently (May 2025) in the midst of recording their follow-up to Tiffany. Some of the titles being laid down are "Final Goodbye", featuring Ann Arbor saxophonist Pete Kahn, who guested on 3 songs on the Surrounded in Big Town album. Another is "Get Back to the Country", a catchy, bluegrassy number in the same vein as Tiffany's "Junk Bonds".

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