A music comedy podcast unfurls tales of two misguided balladeers

Here’s one for the dreamers out there. “Madmen Cross the Water,” a new but delightfully old-timey podcast, follows the transatlantic exploits of two scrappy — often misguided — 19th century balladeers. Turns out it’s also a novel comedic vehicle for introducing a fictional band (think Flight of the Conchords or Tenacious D) and its music.

The theatrical folk duo known as Sons of Town Hall existed long before a podcast was even a twinkle in its creators’ eyes. David Berkeley lives in Santa Fe and Ben Parker hails from London. That's where they first fell for each other, musically, in 2016.

“We sing harmonies, the sound is somewhat Simon and Garfunkle-y,” Berkeley said, “but we look like we stepped out of the cast of Gangs of New York.”

The musicians wear shabby, Victorian-era costumes on stage as part of an absurdly mythic, literature and history-fueled backstory set in the late 18th and early 19th century. Their quirky live shows weave comedy, performance art, and singalongs with a lot of yarn spinning. During their stop in Cambridge — where Berkeley attended Harvard — he said, “We set up the songs with these made up adventures that we've gone on that lead into the music. So, we decided to create a podcast full of these stories.”

In the podcast’s first episode, listeners meet a flamboyant narrator named Elias B. Worthington. He recounts digging through waterlogged journals to document the blossoming Sons of Town Hall. Worthington says their trajectory is filled with “stories of friendship and fate, of history and harmony, of loss and love.”

British actor Oliver Maltman portrays Worthington with exuberant flair. His narrator is an armchair historian, unofficial archivist, failed musician, frustrated thespian and dedicated super fan.

“Our field of inquiry is, naturally, the long and illustrious history of the Sons of Town Hall,” Worthington explains, “the duo best known for their angelic singing and strong jawlines.” In his world, Sons of Town Hall is the greatest band that ever lived.

“He's so in love with what we do and our sound. And he’s dedicated his whole life to us,” Berkley said with a laugh. Parker added, “He finds it hard not weeping when he hears us singing.”

Worthington unfurls his idols’ origins. As the story goes, Berkeley’s character Josiah Chester Jones was disowned by his Confederate father in Kentucky. He fled as a stowaway and found his voice while singing to ward off rats on a ship bound for England. Parker’s alter-ego George Ulysses Brown comes from long line of British butchers. “Which is actually true,” Parker said. “I am really a son of a butcher.”

The line between the real musicians and their fictional counterparts is sometimes porous. They say having a “fake band” enables them to say things flattering things about themselves they never would in real life. Now, through their first foray into long-form audio storytelling, the duo gets to fully flesh out the make-believe world they’ve been sharing on stage and in their enchanting music videos. Sons of Town Hall is dropping a new “Madmen Cross the Water” episode each month that will also release select songs from their new album.

The tune “Wild Winds” begins by illuminating Berkeley’s character, Josiah. He sings,  “I was born in the wake of war/ my daddy lost all he was fighting for/ but I never agreed with what he believed.” Then Parker’s George picks up the tale with, “I’m the son of a butcher man/ the blood ran thick through both my father’s hands/ I was always afraid when the work was through.”

George and Josiah are two lost souls with a penchant for drink and avoiding manual labor. They first meet in an English public house while eyeing the same girl. A brawl — then bromance — ensue. As Worthington explains, “Amidst the scuffle, a strange shift occurred. Whilst tumbling around in the sawdust they began to sense an undeniable similarity in disposition, a sympathetic energy, an obvious kinship.”

United by laziness and a love of song, George and Josiah leave the pub without paying their tab. Then they plot a hare-brained course to find fame and fortune in America. So, they cobble together a ramshackle raft.

“I like to think of this being in the realm of ‘Don Quixote,” Berkeley said. “It's two travelers who believe in a different reality than the one they actually live in.”

The song, “How To Build A Boat” contains the list of random materials they use to construct their raft. It includes two pounds of half-penny nails, a hatchet, some thread, hope and a dream.

In reality, the musicians connect with the metaphors of a vessel and the sea. “I always see music in my life as this kind of river that's next to me,” Parker said, “and I can choose when I want to jump into it's always available.”

“There's also this theme throughout so much literature where there's a space that allows one to dream," Berkeley added, "So for us, having the representation of that in this weird ramshackle raft that we built is really appealing.”

They also relate to their fictionalized artists’ search for audiences who will appreciate them — perhaps as much as podcast narrator Elias B. Worthington does.

“We often struggle with self esteem issues and belief in our own work,” Berkeley admitted. “So to write about myself through the eyes of an adoring fan is quite enjoyable.”

As the narrator proclaims in the podcast, “Every artistic endeavor is a leap of faith.” The folk duo acknowledges it’s hard to get noticed in today’s crowded music marketplace. They hope their theatrical podcast concept will reach through the fray.

“We're writing real songs that we care deeply about,” Berkley said. “The rest of it is meant to just bring you deeper into this world in the hope that it takes you into another realm so that if you want to escape with us, you can.”

Sons of Town Hall’s adventures continue with the second episode of “Madmen Cross the Water” which debuted Nov. 12. Of course Elias B. Worthington will doggedly follow their follies after they set sail from New Bedford, Massachusetts and encounter Moby Dick, along with his nemesis, captain Ahab.