She appeared on the reality singing competition’s ninth season, where she made it to the show’s “Hollywood Week,” but failed to crack a top-24 spot to advance further.
Back in Salt Lake City, Madison took on small gigs, like singing the national anthem at events, and eventually figured she would need a band backing her if she were going to go even further. “So, I rented a space downtown and kind of found my guys that way,” she said.
Madison Penrose and Brad Green of Penrose.
While Penrose played with a different drummer at first, they are now composed of Madison on vocals, Brad Green on guitar, CJ Killian on bass and Trevor Goss on drums. Penrose is known for its heavy, blues-rock sound, while squeezing in elements of alternative and pop.
As the band formed, Madison had no idea how much she’d rely on them years later.
On Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, Madison crashed her car on her way to St. George to see family and a showing of Odyssey Dance Theatre’s Thriller. South of Cedar City, her car rolled four times down a cliff, hitting three boulders on the way. She broke her spine, broke and dislocated her clavicle and AC joint, broke ribs and suffered lung contusions and a lacerated knee and chin. “My car was completely smashed, and I was trapped inside,” she said. “An amazing couple saw my car at the bottom of the cliff and saved my life.”
her car rolled four times down a cliff, hitting three boulders on the way.”
She recalls holding the woman’s hand as paramedics arrived. The woman later found a Penrose business card near the crash site and used the info on the card to find contact information for Madison’s mother, who provided her with daily updates.
“She’s our biggest fan now, and we are definitely hers,” Madison said.
Madison spent a month in the hospital and had to wear a “turtle-shell” back brace for six months while learning to sit up, stand, balance and walk again. “Each one was a massive milestone for me,” she said. “I remember the day they put a sign on my rehab door that said ‘Cleared for hallway alone.’ I was finally walking without help.”
Her bandmates were by her side throughout her recovery.
“They ended up paying three months of my rent while I was trying to get back on my feet,” she said. “It took me months to learn how to sing again and build my muscles and lungs back up. They were so patient and kind and encouraged me the entire way.”
It took me months to learn how to sing again and build my muscles and lungs back up.”
As the band dealt with the tragedy, they came closer together.
And it became less about trying to make it big. “Before, we really wanted to see how far we could take the band,” she said. “Since then, I think we’ve kind of been more lighthearted about the band, just enjoying what we’re doing.”
The band’s new goal: continue doing what they love, and see where the road takes them.
The band has three concerts lined up for September, including an EP release show at Barbary Coast in Salt Lake on Sept. 25, and two lined up for October.
We chatted with Madison about what it’s like playing in a pandemic, her songs and more.
Jaime Winston: You have a show coming up at Funk N Dive in Ogden on Sept. 12. Tell me a little about that show and what people should expect.
Madison Penrose: “We played Funk N Dive a few times. That’s probably our favorite Ogden venue. It’s fun, just high energy, dancing, hanging out. Sometimes, at Funk N Dive especially because their stage is short and it’s intimate, we like to get off the stage and walk around while we play.”
JW: Do you think it will be a little different this time because of the pandemic?
MP: “We have played there already since the pandemic, and it wasn’t. There were a lot of people there. I was surprised. I didn’t think there was going to be that good of a turn out. I think we bring a pretty good crowd out to Ogden. And then, on Sept. 25, we’re playing Barbary, and that’s our next EP release. And that’s going to be fun. We’ve got a surprise up our sleeve for that show.”
(Editor’s note: The EP release party has been rescheduled for October 9 at the Barbary Coast…stay tuned)
JW: Is the EP made of unreleased tracks or songs we maybe heard before?
MP:“Brand new stuff. I feel like we’ve slowly gotten into our groove, so I think now we finally found our niche, which is more bluesy rock, so I’m really excited.”
JW: For fans who want to go to these shows but may be a little nervous due to the pandemic, what can you say to ease their minds?
MP: “I’ve been really impressed with the venues we’ve been playing at. They’ve been really cautious. I understand why people would be nervous, but I think they do a really good job of staying clean. Everyone’s wearing masks, it’s pretty good. It’s a weird time to be in a band.”
JW: It is, yeah.
MP: “It’s so weird. We played Park City. That was our first show back after the whole COVID stuff, and that was a trip. We played at The Cabin. I don’t know if you’ve been there before, but the basement is the big venue, and then upstairs they have a smaller bar. So, we played in the venue and we could only bring a couple friends, like two people, and they live streamed it to upstairs where people were distancing and wearing masks and just watching us on a screen. So we played this huge venue to nobody, but it was really interesting.”
JW: That is interesting, but fans were seeing you live streamed which is kind of cool.
MP: “Yeah, and they did it on social media live, too. But it’s hard to keep your energy up and talk to nobody.”
JW: So, you feed off the crowd’s energy?
MP: “Totally, yeah.”
JW: You guys are pretty energetic. You kind of remind me of Halestorm.
MP: “Yeah!”
JW: Are they an influence to you?
MP: “Heck yeah. I love Halestorm. I really like Dorothy. They opened for Halestorm on tour, so it’s right up the same alley.”
JW: Who are some of your other influences?
MP: “I’m all over the place. I like it all. I like ZZ Ward and Paramore, that kind of stuff, but growing up, I was always more into the singer-songwriter kind of stuff.”
JW: Like Jack Johnson?
MP: “More like big voices, like Adele, Sara Bareilles, stuff I could really just sing to. It helped me learn to write, too.”
JW: I really like your video for “Bones.” Did you film that using Zoom?
MP: “We tried that, but it was so hard. Timing wasn’t matching up. So, we all just recorded live on our own and then we put it together and fixed the timing. It was a trip. I’ve never done anything like that.”
JW: I also love your song “Light It Up.” It sounds like it’s about someone knowing it’s their last chance to live it up before having to leave somewhere. Am I close at all?
MP: “You’re right on. It’s living with the time you have.”
JW: Can you tell me more about that song?
MP: “That was one of our very first songs, and I think we just wanted something that was catchy, not too wordy, just something that sticks in your mind and is lighthearted, so that was the first song we all kind of wrote together.”
JW: Are any of your songs especially meaningful to you?
MP:“Yes, I would say ‘Make You Love Me.’ We all write together, but that was the first time I took it and just ran with it, the lyrics, melody, structure, so it felt good hearing it back. We got hired by a licensing company. They wanted to sell that song to commercials and TV shows. When we tried to sell it, there was a Sons of Anarchy-kind-of-spin-off show in Spain that was interested in buying it, so I had to go back into the studio and sing the whole thing in Spanish, which I do not do, and Google Translate is not right, so CJ had to come. He served a mission in Mexico. It would have been bad if he was not there. That was fun though.”
Find Penrose’s tour schedule, music and more on Facebook or at penroseband.com.
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