We have been fortunate to have had the support and generosity of many people whose help enabled our careers. The following people were instrumental, and are listed chronologically.
Jay Kellum
Jay is to thank for introducing us at the Drinking Gourd in 1969. He had a clear vision for us, then two strangers, as a duo. As an experienced musician and existing member of the San Francisco music scene, without his efforts, vision, and persistent belief in us, we would have almost certainly gone our separate ways as solo musicians He encouraged, coached, and mentored our formation, and then hired us many times after he took over management of the Drinking Gourd.
Mike Miagishima
We met Mike at Drinking Gourd in San Francisco, 1970. He hired us to sing at our first job, The Ore House restaurant in Tahoe City, California, where we were hired on for a regular performance 4 nights a week for the ski season. Even though we were only beginning to rehearse, and were unsure we were ready, but Mike said, "Rehearse on our stage!" Without this, David and I might not have gained the confidence to pursue our career together.
Tom Maguire
We met Tom at the Drinking Gourd in San Francisco in 1970. He became our first manager, took many of our early photographs, and among so many other kinds of support, encouraged us apply to perform in Riverside. He has continued to help us over the years with publicity, promotions, including creating and maintaining our previous website. Most importantly, without meeting Tom, David would have missed having one of his closest, life long friends.
Bruce Maurier
We met Bruce at one of our early shows in San Francisco. He had recently been released from the army and wanted to fill his time before he decided on his next step. Bruce played stand up bass behind David's and my voices and guitars. Bruce's playing enhanced our sound and gave it depth. He helped us gain the attention of audiences that might not have paid attention to us otherwise. (Ski Resorts!)
Mary Bishopp
Mary Bishopp was a Seattlite skier by day, waitress by night, at the first restaurant job R&M had in Tahoe, The Ore House. She was also responsible for having the Hindquarter in Seattle hire R&M for their first Northwest show. She provided shelter, food, and companionship right from the beginning, and continued her support through all the years in Seattle. The Reilly‘s and Maloney‘s are grateful to Mary and her husband Robert for the deep friendship they’ have been fortunate to share.
Jim Lamberson
Jim made this website possible: he has carefully saved all of the masters to our albums, even when David and I had moved on and discarded our copies. We met Jim at a show, and he became our was our "roadie" for a few years, even coming with us when we went to France. He was also there when we opening for David Crosby at a hotel in Grass Valley. There was a long line our the door, and David was very, very late. Jim 'managed" that line, while we kept singing. He has always known what help we needed and quietly managed a wide variety of areas for us over the years, many timed before we even realized what we needed. Jim has continued to support us though his creativity and talent, and he financed (and painting the gorgeous cover image!) of David's first solo album. Without this, David might never had started recording solo albums. We learned "It's Just The Motion", by Richard Thompson on his suggestion, one of my favorite songs. Most importantly, David was fortunate to have Jim as one of his closest lifelong friends and confidantes.
Jack Burg
We met Jack at our first northwest venue, the Northgate Hindquarter in Seattle. Jack became our primary manager, and without his skills as a publicist and promoter, we never have become as well known as we did. Jack, David and I founded Freckle Records, our record label and music distribution company. (We distributed Sub Pop when they first started!) which Jack managed. Most importantly we married and is the father of my children. We divorced but remained friendly until his passing in 2023.
Dan Mortensen
(pictured with Emily in 1983)
We met Dan when he was a student at the University of Washington in 1976. He did the sound for our first Kane Hall concert, and he was such a gifted sound engineer we then hired him to do all of our Seattle shows for the rest of our careers. The high quality of the live show recordings is thanks to Dan!
Bob Kline
We met Bob at an outdoor show at the Seattle Zoo in 1984 or 5. Bob became our volunteer roadie, and would come with us to our shows, and help set up the sound, sell albums in the intermission, and help take down everything at the end. He has been an invaluable help and continued to always show up and know exactly what we needed through our second act. Without Bob's tremendous help over the year, we wouldn't have had the energy or the concentration to focus just on performing.