Magabondu 1999 - Downtown Philadelphia

Click Here for the Original Web Site

Click Here For All The Songs

Members:
Rob Magee, Guitar and Vox
Mark Lipko, Guitar (1997-2001)
Mark Rienzi, Guitar and Vox (1991-2007)
Keith Somers, Lead Vocals
Chris Ward, Bass Guitar and Vox
Shep Silver, Drums and Percussion
Dan McCarrin, Keyboards (1999-2000)

Note from Rob Magee: Originally named Northern Lights but changed to Magabondu after signing a record deal in 1994, the band lasted an a amazing 10 years...Time enough, to pen over one hundred songs, record four albums, play every good, bad, clean, dirty, fancy and low-brow bar in the area.

Flyer From 1998 Khyber Gig with Big Brother and Holding Company

The band was glued together over the years of 1990 to 1991 by making some phone calls and begging Chris Ward to come out of semi musical retirement to play bass with us. There were crazy parties, bars jam packed full of people, bars with two people (counting the bartender), fist fights, weddings, births, deaths and just about every type of other human event that you can imagine over the course of our ten-year run. We started out optimistic about what we could do and never really looked back. The band and the dedication we put towards it (practice 2 times a week and countless shows) was a huge chunk of all of our lives.

Night of the Living Boots - Planet Cherry Hill 1991 - Rob, Keith, Mark, Chris

Below is, for the most part, just a small sample of the huge volume of songs that we had written over the years. Some of it is great, some of it is ok and some of it, well, sucks; but, whatever, it's just rock and roll and we were just having fun anyway. I hope to get my hands on more live tapes to try to resurrect some of the missing music that has slipped through the cracks over the years.

Magabondu with artist Chuck Hosier at The Barbary - 1991 - From left: Chris Ward (beer), Keith Somers (hat), Chuck Hosier (bottom, hugging Chris), Rob Magee (finger), Shep Silver (smile), Marc Rienzi (hair).

-- Music and Notes --

WHATEVER: This first group of songs is the album "Whatever" which is the band's most well recorded and thought-out endeavor. In addition, I think it may be the best engineering work that I was able to do in my old south-philadelphia studio. The band and I spent almost two years recording it. For the last half of the process, Keith and I spent endless nights in the studio pouring over the background vocals and adding little details to the album here and there. When Keith wasn't in the studio he was working endlessly on the web site and the album art. It was a huge project. Two years, 17 tracks, 16 original panels of art, and one web site later the disc hit the streets. It was like a monkey off our backs. In any event, the music speaks for itself.

Magabondu 1995 - South Philadelphia - Practice

DOPE BOX SESSIONS: Dope box was us just getting restless and wanting to get some stuff on tape. We didn't really fuss with any recordings and just laid down most of the stuff live.

TIME FLIES RIGHT: This was our first attempt at a full album and my first attempt at engineering. At my disposal was one AT 4030 microphone, one roland reverb unit, one Alesis compressor, a 16 channel mixer and an 8 track digital tape deck. Not much to work with. Due to an extreme shortage of quality mics, channels, cables, etc.- we tracked each instrument separately which led to a not-so-live sound. All in all it was not a fun project because we were always cutting corners because of equipment and it was cutting the quality of the product. Moreover, we were all surly because our record deal had recently fell through. It was a valuable learning experience for me though. Anyway, with the help of my friend Chuck Sailer, we got the album recorded and done in a reasonable amount of time.

TIME FLIES LEFT: This was to be the album that, I guess, Whatever would have been if Marc stayed in the band. We went into the Sound Spa studios in Chester PA to record the drum tracks for the album and we kept the dummy tracks on a mono channel in the mix- that is the music you here on these recordings. There are a lot of mistakes and it is a very rough recording; but, alas, in the end, those recordings are all we have left of those songs. The album was never titled TIME FLIES LEFT was the working joke/title.

First flyer used to promote a gig at The Galaxy in Blackwood, NJ

NORTHERN LIGHTS: This was our very first recording. It was done at Why Me? recording studio in Blackwood, NJ. We were so stoked just to be in a studio that I don't think we really lent a critical ear to the recording process. It doesn't really matter though- as we were on a LOW budget and had to get in and out of the studio in three four hour sessions. We drank a lot of beer during this...and by 'we' I mean Chris Ward and I. We had such a blast recording that tape. Marc's solo on Walking Through the City has to be heard- it was amazing to watch. I remember the engineers at the studio being cross eyed as he played it. LIVE 2001: Recorded at the Pontiac Grill August 2001. Shep was leaving for California to become a professional hippie...and so Magabondu ended. MISC: Those of you that have tapes, photos, discs, etc. Send that stuff over and I'll put it up.

Witness Sessions - Summer 2000 - The Roof of the Wanamaker House, Philadelphia- From Left: Chris Ward, Mark Lipko, Keith Somers, Shep Silver, Rob Magee

WITNESS: Witness was an EP we put out a few years after Whatever because we were restless and wanted to put some new stuff out there to get some interest going in the band. We recorded it in much the same fashion that we did Whatever and spent a lot of time making sure everything was just right. All in all, it was a fun session because we were under no pressure since we were only doing two songs.

FINAL RECORDINGS: Well, Shep left for California to pursue a professional career in smoking weed so we disbanded for a year. Keith and I later started up a band called Bitterroot which went on to not do many of the same things that Magabondu never did. In any event, the final recordings feature the shit that was going down in the studio at the end of 2001.

NOTE: If you were at any of the gigs thanks- if you have stuff or tapes or pics to add to the site, email using the contact link at the bottom of this page.