Um, it's their names ;-)

Barbara is from the Philadelphia, PA area in USA while John Perkins is from Hereford in the UK, and so when they play together it's special for both of them. They have played both sides of the Atlantic to support their debut album and preview newer material. Special highlight - playing BBC Music Live festival (UK) in 2000 and taking part in a Just Plain Folks Tour (in USA).

It is at least a partial levelling of the playing field where over the last few years independent artists have been able to appear in charts alongside the major labels' household names.

The only thing major labels can really offer is promotional budgets that indies can't afford.....

Barbara McDonald is an American singer/songwriter who met her British co-writer/producer, John Perkins, one night on the internet. Discovering their common passion for songwriting, the seasoned musicians decided to write together, sending music and lyric files via the internet. Nine months later the album "Madmen & Lovers" was born! Now Barbara and John are out performing live and acoustic promoting the album on both sides of the pond, with tours in the US as well as in England. Barbara is also a PERFORMING MEMBER of INDIEGRRL!

Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Shawn Colvin, Jonatha Brooke, Sarah McLachlan, Beatles, Neil Finn, Linda Ronstadt, Suzanne Vega, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Carly Simon, + soulful vocalists like Motown artists, Annie Lennox, Anita Baker

They both love Paris, France.

Instruments
Barbara McDonald - Martin acoustic guitar, John Perkins - acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, misc other instruments and various other musicians are used for 'live' sound production.

The great news is that they recorded in Nashville with legendary multi-platinum SINGER/SONGWRITER/PRODUCER ANDREW GOLD, as the producer! Andrew's talents as a producer and multi-instrumentalist are unparalleled.


** MARIE ELENA, FEEL YOU
(HE'LL NEVER BE A) ONE WOMAN MAN and
LITTLE PIECE OF HEAVEN all hit # 1 on UKsounds.com!

** MARIE ELENA nominated for
SONG OF THE WEEK on WOMEN OF MP3

** MARIE ELENA reaches # 2 on AAA charts on MP3.COM

** WINGS a UK SOUNDS hit and AAA hit at this site.

** LAY ME DOWN hits # 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart on MP3.COM

** '64 CRAYONS' hits #1 on the AAA chart here with no promo.


Albums
Madmen & Lovers













Press Reviews
"Ms McDonald's voice is a place where an Eurythmics Annie Lennox would meet Joni Mitchell for lunch, and would be served coffee by Shania Twain." - LYNDON JOHNSON, UK MUSIC.................................................."Soulful vocals, well-crafted songs, and imaginatively varied production set this debut album apart from the current glut of female pop singers. Sounding neither angry nor mousy -- the two main paradigms lately -- Barbara McDonald sings in a gutsy, sincere style informed by classic soul, Joni Mitchell, and Rickie Lee Jones." - STEVE HOLTJE, EDITOR, CDNOW .................................................."This collection shows McDonald to be an appealing, contemplative singer/songwriter along the lines of Sarah McLachlan and Shawn Colvin (or if you want to go further back, you can note the parallels between McDonald's songs and the reflections of Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell)...the album indicated that McDonald was someone who deserved exposure." - ALEX HENDERSON, ALL MUSIC GUIDE. ....... 64 Crayons.... "The meaning is in direct parallel with the movie and so professionally mixed and performed. I am honored to have such talent involved in our production." -
--Dan Magro, Director of the independent movie 'Portraits Of Sari'
69,331 Total Plays on mp3.com before it's demise.