Songwriters in the Round Dan and Faith, Brian Zudeck, John McDaid

JOHN MCDAID

John G. McDaid is an award-winning science fiction writer, folk/filk singer-songwriter, and freelance journalist from Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He attended the Clarion Science Fiction Workshop in 1993, and sold his first short story, the Sturgeon Award-winning "Jigoku no mokushiroku"to Asimov's in 1995. His 1993 digital novel, Uncle Buddy’s Phantom Funhouse, included two audio tapes, which The New York Times review called the work of “A mischievous guitarist and vocalist with a gift for the inimitable phrase."

His journalism has appeared in RIFuture and the Providence Phoenix. A student in the Newport MFA creative writing program at Salve Regina University, he teaches media theory courses at Roger Williams University.

Since his early retirement in 2016 from a day job in corporate communications, he has been writing full time and playing at folk venues and science fiction conventions, including a featured concert at Worldcon Dublin in 2019, and a first-place finish in the 2020 Common Fence Music Community Hoot. Trail Of Mars is his first solo studio album.

DAN AND FAITH

Dan and Faith are an award-winning, New England-based husband and wife singer-songwriter duo who describe their music as dream-inspired folk. Daniel Senie (guitar, banjo, harmonica, vocals) and Faith Senie (mandolin, bass, ukulele, dulcimer, vocals) tap into dreams and everyday life in crafting their original songs.

Raised in New York City and the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, Dan has been singing for as long as he can remember, including the New York All-City Chorus and Concert Choir. These groups performed in Lincoln Center, Herald Square and were often requested for special events.

Faith was raised in upstate New York where she played piano, was an accompanist for school shows and concerts, sang in her school choir, and also took to acting. She and Dan met Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Their brand new album, Then and Now (late 2019), and the prior two, Seeking (2016) and Simple Grace (2014) are available upon request in physical or download form.

BRIAN ZUDECK

Music has always been a big part of Brian’s life. “I sang in the church choir when I was a kid. The nuns would give me a hard time because my voice was so much louder than than the other kids’. Later, I played guitar and sang at the folks masses. The nuns finally asked me to give some of them guitar lessons.”

Despite being a player and singer forever, Brian only recently discovered his songwriting ability. “A buddy of mine who’s a very prolific songwriter would listen to my covers. He kept encouraging me to try and write some music of my own. My first effort ended up being Christine (Lehigh Valley Line). Once I had a process, it was smooth sailing. I can’t seem to stop writing, now. The songs just keep coming. I guess I’m making up for lost time. I love being able to express myself in this way.”

His love of performing for an audience is a great motivator. “I like to use gigs as deadlines for writing new songs. It forces me to be disciplined about doing the work. If one person in the audience is moved by my music, I feel like I’ve succeeded.”