On Broadway - Madeline Finn & Pancakes
On Broadway is a bi-monthly web series that delves into the food memories of the talented musicians of Broadway in downtown Nashville. Every other week, we’ll pair those memories with a relevant recipe and information on how to listen to each musician’s material. Our aim is to connect the passion of food to the passion of music—two mediums that evoke instant reactions and memories and remind us of the incredible people that pour their heart out every day to make their living in our backyard.
“How far are we going back here?”
Madeline Finn tosses this question at me as she strolls into Von Elrod’s in Germantown and slides onto the bar stool to my left. She takes her signature Ray Bans off, places them on the bar, and reaches up to toss her hair over to the other side while she leans forward to assess the beer selection. “Allllll the way back,” I reply with a laugh, since we both know I could write this article, quite literally, without any semblance of an interview and my eyes shut. I wouldn’t even have to be sober. But at least this was an excuse to grab an afternoon pint with one of my best friends on the planet.
Given our history, what I’m about to say will inevitably be perceived as 100% biased, but it isn’t --and the reason for that is because it was my opinion when I was simply a fan, before I ever met her: Madeline Finn has the greatest female voice of all time.
When she opens her mouth, what comes out is nothing short of intoxicating. Her voice slices through the air in the room like a freshly sharpened chef’s knife and I’ll be darned if every head around doesn’t snap to attention. It is all at once raw, velvety, and pristine, but at her whim guttural, angelic, or haunting. She is nearing 26, yet there’s so much soul in her tone it sounds like she’s lived ten lifetimes. It shakes your bones. And I swear I’ve never heard her miss a note. The microphone is merely an accessory- useful when she feels it should be, but completely unnecessary to her vocal ability. Her voice appears utterly effortless, like she was created to simply be singing-- to you.
I’ve known Maddie for about four years now (I used to listen to her on the radio and then one day she made a reservation at the restaurant where I was the General Manager) so we’ve had the opportunity to become quite close. We’ve experienced a lot together, even traveled part of the world together, and I’ve seen/heard her perform countless times. She’s released multiple albums, played large stages like Warped Tour and The House of Blues, seen national and international success with her pop-punk band Envoi, and her roots/alt band The Whiskey Hollow opened for Sublime, The Welshly Arms, and The All-American Rejects. So, imagine my shock when she told me during this interview that singing was not something she was automatically good at and, in fact, started out doing poorly. “[I had a teacher that] told me ‘you are an incredible songwriter, but you probably should not sing. You are not a good singer,’” Maddie recalls. “And to be honest with you, I totally wasn’t. But him saying that gave me so much fire to become better.”
But there was never any doubting she was talented. Identified by the state as musically gifted in the second grade, she was fortunate enough to have music teachers in the school that offered her lessons, though they were short-lived. Maddie plays multiple instruments, all self-taught after only a few lessons with the exception of drums, which she received formal training on through her school band. “I always loved music,” she explains, “I was never really athletically inclined; I didn’t do dance. The one thing I always gravitated to was music. And I was a sad child, so my mom was thrilled [for me to have that outlet].”
Songwriting was another thing that came naturally to Maddie. She wrote for other kids in high school and won a few awards. One day, she wrote a blues song that her teacher loved so much he told her to sing it. When she did, he was blown away. “Apparently, I was just singing the wrong kind of music. That clicked. Which made sense because my mom sang blues and karaoke- if I got any sort of musical prowess it was from her.” So, the teacher put a band together for her and she entered the song into the Tri-City High School Rock Off, a prestigious competition in the Cleveland area. Maddie won the competition, making history as the first female-fronted band to win in its over 30-year history and jump-starting her career.
Maddie moved to Nashville just three months ago to embark on her next musical chapter, but her story began in a town not too far outside of Cleveland, Ohio called Streetsboro. “We were kind of poor. I grew up in a trailer park, you know, nothing fancy, the only child to a single mom [who] worked full-time and went to school full-time and killed it. So, I spent a lot of time at my Nana’s house.” (Quick shout out here to Nana- love you.)
It was at Nana’s that Maddie spent a great deal of her formative years consuming the food that is the very essence of who she is: pancakes. “Every morning after I spent the night, Nana made me chocolate chip pancakes [shaped like] Mickey Mouse. It’s a small thing; they’re simple, but you just can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy, you know? Do you notice how even the tone in my voice changes? I love it so much. And now every time someone makes me pancakes…I feel warm. It takes me back to stillness and calm and comfort. From that kitchen; from those pancakes.” Just like those fluffy disks of joy, Maddie is humble, warm, inviting, and thoroughly positive. Her presence is delightful and addictive and she has a genuine desire to connect with every human being and distribute whatever happiness she can. She is just good.
As we move into fall, the traditions of seasonal culinary pleasures spread happiness to us all. Bites such as these festive pumpkin pie pancakes are just the ticket for any autumn morning. They would even be delicious if they were made according to Maddie’s specifications: chocolate chips in the batter (not on top) and a higher butter than syrup ratio to finish them off. “But that’s it. Don’t *bleep* with my pancakes.” Noted.
You can follow Madeline (and enjoy her silly sense of humor) @madelinefinnmusic. Support her career at patreon.com/madelinefinn. Madeline Finn, The Whiskey Hollow, and Envoi’s music can be found on all major streaming platforms.
You can also experience her voice for yourself on the evening of Saturday, October 5th at Breeden’s Orchard, as the headliner for our Fall Farm Dinner!
