Darkly elegant, psychedelic and sophisticated, harp-and-vocal duo Adam & Mia present Everything, a collection of their live and studio recordings.
Alongside original material, the duo dramatically interprets a wide range of songs from pop, folk and classical canons. Underground crooner Adam Dugas sings and harpist Mia Theodoratus strums and plucks the strings of her harps (acoustic and electric) as they attack material by Radiohead, Syd Barrett, Leonard Cohen, and the Baroque art songs of Henry Purcell. Their original works include the swirling pop of “Going Forward” by Theodoratus; the telenovela theme “Rosa Negra” by Dugas; and the collaborative effort “Maid of the Mist,” a metal ballad inspired by the Marilyn Monroe movie Niagara.
The duo released two EPs of recorded music. A self-titled release in 2008 included many of their unique collaborations, like “Faire L’Amour,” a francophone cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love,” and the Pink Floyd deep cut “Bike.” The follow-up 2009 Church Sessions, so named for chapel in Brooklyn where it was recorded, included original compositions alongside an epic cover of Radiohead’s “Everything in its Right Place.”
Adam & Mia made their debut at the Glamour Bar in Shanghai, China after meeting while performing with the cabaret troupe The Citizens Band. They performed at Rose Bar/Gramercy Park Hotel, Metropolitan Room, The Box, Starr Space, the Gershwin Hotel, CRG gallery, Rose Live Music and other New York venues. They presented a concert at Palihouse/Holloway in Los Angeles in 2009 and appeared at the Life Ball in Vienna in 2010.
Photo by Lyndsy Welgos
Music video for "Maid of the Mist" by Adam & Mia
Music and Lyrics by Adam Dugas, arrangement by Mia Theodoratus
Recorded during the production of DUELING HARPS at the Abrons Arts Center; October, 2010.
Audio recorded, mixed and mastered by Ellis Traver.
Filmed by Jason Cacioppo, David Boatman and Zbigniew Bzymek.
Edited by Adam Dugas
"Heal Thyself" was composed for The Citizens Band's evening-length performance The Trepanning Opera, which debuted at Deitch Projects and was remounted at the Raleigh Hotel for Art Basel Miami Beach. The theme of the show was health care and medicine in America.
“Heal Thyself”
Music and lyrics by Adam Dugas
From The Trepanning Opera
Arranged and played by the Citizens Band players
More about The Citizens Band here.
LYRICS:
First, do no harm, but heal, quoth Hippocrates
So do we doctors here within the States.
But purely as we want to cure your ills
We cannot serve unless you pay the bills.
If you don’t think and plan ahead,
When you get sick you may get dead.
You took a risk and looked away,
But here it is, that rainy day.
Insurance is like paying rent,
But you know where your money’s spent.
You suffer now, you may just learn:
To heal thyself, have cash to burn.
We ruminate while ailing in our beds
Upon our frailty and our mortal dread,
And how disease and germs invade with stealth.
We see too late the privilege of our health.
If you don’t think and plan ahead,
When you get sick you may get dead.
You took a risk and looked away,
But here it is, that rainy day.
Insurance is like paying rent,
But you know where your money’s spent
You suffer now, you may just learn:
To heal thyself, have cash to burn.
A spirit trapped within a fleshy cage,
Our time is short, we realize as we age.
And so we cling and try to extend our lease
And beg physicians for their expertise
You may have caught a deadly cough
But maybe you are better off
Your life is shit, you’re on the skids
You can’t afford to feed your kids.
So please don’t cry and say you’re poor
Go heal thyself and shut the door,
You took a risk and looked away,
Now here it is, that rainy day.
You fell downstairs, your leg got broke,
You cough up blood, but hey, you smoke.
Your prick is covered in white bumps,
In your left breast you found a lump.
Insurance is like paying rent,
No one foresees his accident.
You suffer now, you may just learn:
To heal thyself have cash to burn.
A cowboy ballad about the origins of Chanukah which debuted in the country-western installment of the holiday show Chaos & Candy: Chicken in the Snow.
“Hamer of the L-rd (Ballad of the Maccabees)”
Music and lyrics by Adam Dugas
From the show Chaos & Candy: Chicken in the Snow
Arranged and played by the Chaos & Candy orchestra
Produced at The Box; New York, NY
More about Chaos & Candy here.
LYRICS:
Back in the day when sons of Alexander ruled the land
Antiochus Epiphanes went riding with his band
He smoked the king of Egypt and then left his town in flames,
A-riding on their chariots, Judea in their aim.
They rode into Jerusalem and heaped on much abuse
Profaned the holy temple with a statue of their Zeus,
Took out the golden altar and then made the town their whore,
They massacred the populace, and smote it very sore.
Outraged their way of life was now forbidden and undone,
So to the mountains Mattathias fled with his five sons
Joannan, Simon, Eleazor, and Johnathan made four
And Judah, they called Maccabee, the Hammer of the Lord
HAMMER, HAMMER, HAMMER OF THE LORD
WATCH YOU DON’T GET IN THE WAY OF THE HAMMER
HAMMER OF THE LORD
“Fear not the words of sinful men, their glory shall be dung,”
So Judah’s daddy told him and on every word he hung.
Then Judah called his brothers to his side and went to war
A band of rebels sure of what they fought the battle for.
He acted like a lion and went roaring for his prey
The workers of iniquity he burnt up and did slay
The wicked shrank in fear of him, salvation in his hand
Destroying the ungodly hordes polluting Israel land.
The evil prince named Seron came down charging with his throng,
To smoke the rebel legend he rode twenty thousand strong.
And Judah’s people trembled when they saw the dusty horde
But size is no big matter when the Lord is in your sword.
HAMMER HAMMER HAMMER OF THE LORD
WATCH YOU DON”T GET IN THE WAY OF THE HAMMER
THE HAMMER OF THE LORD
“I’d rather die in battle then watch everything be lost;
To see my people suffer and our sanctuary crossed.
So arm yourselves, be valiant and be ready on the morn
To fight the evil nations, to destroy us they have sworn.”
For three long years the battles raged, but Judah won the day
The Greeks he sent home packing and they went along their way
The road back to Jerusalem was open once again
But there they found a wilderness of joyless silent pain.
Back to the holy temple they restored the altar gold
They fasted and made sacrifice and gave thanks for their good fold
But there was only one pure vial of oil unprofaned
And by a holy miracle it burned for eight long days.
HAMMER HAMMER HAMMER OF THE LORD
WATCH YOU DON”T GET IN THE WAY OF THE HAMMER
HE’S THE HAMMER OF THE LORD
Adam & Mia perform “Everything in its Right Place” by Radiohead
Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel.
Adam Dugas, vocals; Mia Theodoratus, harp.
Arranged by Mia Theodoratus.
I’ve been writing music for a series of short social videos for the brand LWN. This was for the Spring 2022 launch of the Canna surf hoodie.
Animations are created by Phoenix Delman.
I’ve been writing music for a series of short social videos for the brand LWN. This was for Holiday/New Year 2022.
Animations are created by Phoenix Delman.
I’ve been writing music for a series of short social videos for the brand LWN. This was for Valentine’s Day, so I went Romantic with a harp lead.
Animations are created by Phoenix Delman.
Adam & Mia performed multiple times at Night of 1,000 Stevies, the legendary concert of Stevie Nicks covers (and Stevie-featured Fleetwood Mac songs) produced by ChiChi Valenti and Johnny Dynell, a spin-off from their revered club Mother.
We debuted with “Landslide,” followed up the next year with “Leather & Lace,” with Amber Martin duetting with me. In our last appearance we performed “Gold Dust Woman.”