Punk-Blues Duo - Mr Airplane Man - Unearth “Lost Tapes”

Margaret Garrett (guitar/vocals) and Tara McManus (drums/vocals/keyboards) make a sound which blends hypnotic punk-blues, haunting slide guitar, and raw, primal garage Rock and Roll. 

Their stripped-down, dirty guitar-smeared sound used to bring them comparisons to their old rivals, The White Stripes. But their feverish remake of The Gun Club’s "For the Love of Ivy," places Mr Airplane Man in a much darker tradition of underground blues-punk than that purveyed by Jack White.

The band started in 1996 and, almost immediately, they joined Morphine for a US tour and recorded a self-titled EP with Mark Sandman of Morphine. They then went on to tour the US extensively, playing with The Reigning Sound, The Strokes, White Stripes, Detroit Cobras, Holly Golightly, Hot Snakes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blues Explosion, Dirtbombs and many more.

During the early 2000s, Mr Airplane Man released three albums and an EP on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label (also early home to the White Stripes). They successfully toured Europe and played two Peel Sessions on the great man’s BBC radio show during some of their many visits to the UK.

In December 2014, Mr Airplane Man digitally released “Lost Tapes”. This album was recorded at The Money Shot (with Bruce Watson of Fat Possum Records) in 1999 and has not been previously released. Music journalist Jeffrey Morgan put it in his Top 10 of 2014 in The Village Voice.  

The duo have released “Lost Tapes” via London’s Dirty Water Records, coupled with a two week European tour supporting The Gories and playing various festivals across the continent this summer. The band will be recording their new album with Greg Cartwright of The Reigning Sound this autumn and continue to tour the US and Europe extensively. Currently the band are on a deep south circuit with dates in Memphis, Nashville, and Clarksdale, Mississippi appearing at the annual " Deep Blues" festival.

Memphis, TN - Weds, October 14 with The Cheater Slicks

Clarksdale, MS - Thursday, October 15 at the Deep Blues Festival

Nashville, TN - Friday, October 16 at Fond Object Back Yard 

What The Critics Are Saying:

‘Bostonians Margaret Garrett and Tara McManus are deeply sensitive to the inborn ache of the blues. But Garrett’s guitar is the real salvation. It cuts and swings and explodes, crying.’ Ben Sisario, Rolling Stone

‘The two young women were playing white-hot, punk-inflected, juke joint blues as if they meant it, and they were doing it with nothing but a guitar and drums, wrenching every bit of soul and sound from their instruments.’ Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times

‘Every riff, scream, moan, chord stab, solo, tribal groove, and rave-up is that real, and Garrett delivers thrilling and impassioned performances.’ Michael Molenda, Guitar Player

‘The duo manages to make the now-familiar line-up of guitar and drums sound urgent again, and they spit out both gritty, saturated blue-rock and airy, almost Spectoresque pop with a quiet strength.’ Time Out New York

‘Margaret Garrett plays nasty blues guitar, writes most of the band’s songs and sings them with power and feeling. Tara McManus plays drums, a little organ, and sings back-up to Margaret’s leads. They grew up together in the Boston area and formed Mr. Airplane Man in 1996 when they were living in San Francisco and listening to a lot of blues records.’ Creem Magazine

‘Tara on drums and vocals and Margaret on guitar and vocals are a formidable pair and an even match for any of the White or Black Striped Thrill- Key Kills out there.’ Indie Workshop

Order "Lost Tapes" Here