The Madman Band

Scott Madden has not only played major events like the Chicago Blues Festival, but packed station wagons with tube amps and hauled them into bars, clubs, and “jam sessions” around the Midwest.  Working in music promotion, he has also seen artists like Aerosmith, Brian Wilson, Cake and Melissa Etheridge trade in their tour busses for Leer jets and limousines.  So, when Madden and his “Madman Band” play the music of artists like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash, and the Allman Brothers, he is bringing not just music and words, but 25 years of experience into every song.

A Chicagoland native, Madden got his first break as a student at Elmhurst College When his band opened for blues legend Albert King.  After graduating with a degree in music and business management in 1984, Madden’s “day job” involved retail promotion for the Warner/Elektra/Atlantic Company.  At night, Madden continued to hone his guitar, vocal and band leading skills.  From 1992-2000, Madden continued to work on the business side of the music biz.  Doing radio promotion for Capricorn Records, he helped artists such as Widespread Panic, 311 and Government Mule gain valuable radio airtime.  Just as he had done with Warner/Elektra, Madden watched, listened, and absorbed everything he could from the top name acts.  He also continued his “education”, this time as a musician, touring Canada with Willie “Big Eyes” Smith of the Muddy Waters Band.

By 2001, he formed his own “Madman Blues Band” from an amalgamation of artists he had met at open mike venues like Buddy Guy’s Legends.  Since that time, The Madman Band has not only played the Chicago Blues Festival, three years in a row, and the Chicago Marathon, but has traveled the road playing more than 150 nights a year throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana.  So, when they play songs like Respect, Mustang Sally, and Route 66, the music is not only filtered through pick-ups and amps, but through worn tire rubber, cigarette smoke, and set lists written on napkins that have stood the test of time.