Maddy's Army
Maddy was born September 20th, 2014 in Fallon Nevada. She was a beautiful black and white border collie, full of energy and love. Her first 3 months weren't the happiest of months for her, as she was mistreated and not given the love or attention a puppy needs. You see, Border Collies are a very intellectual breed and are full of energy. They need interaction and they need to be kept physically active and shown love for them to thrive. Her current owner was not giving her the attention she so desperately needed and wanted. At the same time, Randy Smith was going through a crisis of his own. His wife had just passed away and he was hurting badly. After a few months of trying to get through the pain of losing the love of his life, he was really struggling to get through each day. It was then he got a call from a friend who knew of Maddy and her situation and asked if randy would be interested in adopting her. She was in bad need of a rescue from her owner in San Francisco. Randy said he was interested and agreed to rescue her. Little did he know she would be his rescue also.
As he drove from Kingston, NV to San Francisco and back, his thoughts were fixed on what it would be like to have a new puppy. At the time, he had no idea how much she would come to mean to him and the difference she would make in his life. It was a long drive from San Francisco back to Kingston and Maddy settled down in the cab of the truck for the trip to her new home with Randy. She was all balled up and frightened...skittish and shy...not at all like a puppy should be. It took a few months for her to quit being afraid and slowly and patiently, Randy gained her trust, love and affection. Once he gained her trust, things changed for the better.
Maddy and Randy were inseparable. It was the best thing to ever happen to him. He had a new best friend and companion. He asked his doctor for a prescription for a service dog so she could be his constant companion, helping him through the challenges of his days. As Maddy and Randy strengthened their bond, Randy decided to learn to play the guitar to keep his mind occupied. While he was learning and practicing the guitar, he noticed Maddys interest in the music he made. She would sit beside him as he was learning...almost as if she wanted to learn herself, while giving Randy encouragement to keep at it. He soon discovered she enjoyed the music as much as he did and always got excited when he took the guitar out of the case. She genuinely loved the sound of the guitar...she was hooked on music! Maddy also inspired him to write songs...using poems he had previously written for his late wife. It was very cathartic for both of them and pretty soon, he was writing song lyrics as fast as he could get them down on paper. Maddy was ever vigilant and enjoyed it as much as he did. She was hooked on music, as was Randy!
That fall, Randy put her in a service dog school called Smarty Paws. At the time, he was living 300 miles away from the school, so in addition to classes at the school, they instructed him on how best to train her at home. Between trips to Smarty Paws and training her at home, she quickly adapted to the role of a loving and attentive service dog which allowed her to accompany Randy everywhere he went. Because they both loved live music so much, he began taking her to hear his favorite bands. Maddy and Randy were going to hear bands at least 3 nights a week while he continued his songwriting at home with Maddy by my side.
Pretty soon, he had written almost 40 songs...he didn't know how they would be perceived or if they were any good, but he wrote more and more. At some point during this time, he decided to approach a few of the bands he and Maddy were seeing on a regular basis to see if they might be interested in performing them live.
It was winter when Randy met Carlos, the lead singer for the band 1111, and he expressed interest in performing some of Randys songs. He needed a place to stay and Randy invited him to stay with him and Maddy. Little did he know this would be the start of a whole new chapter in his life. Maddy and Carlos bonded immediately and Carlos and Randy would play their guitars much to Maddys enjoyment. From that point on, whenever he would take Maddy to hear the band 1111 live, she would jump up on the stage and sit down next to Carlos or the other guitar player in the band. If someone had a guitar, Maddy was their friend.
Soon, after working on rough drafts of 8 of Randys songs, Carlos performed one of them live and it went over really well. Randy was thrilled and so was Maddy! Carlos moved on shortly after that and Maddy and Randy began going out to hear bands 6 nights a week. Randy was looking for a guitar player who could help him get the rest of his songs heard. As they criss-crossed Las Vegas making many new musical friends, Maddy felt at home on the stage and loved every minute of it. The bands and audience members loved it as well. Randy was very grateful to all the bands that brought Maddy and himself into their circle...it meant the world to them. After a few years of this, one guitar player stood out. Of course, Maddy had many favorite guitar players but she soon had a fondness for the guitar skills of Paul J. Mills, a multi-talented Las Vegas guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and music producer.
Randy approached Paul after he finished playing one night and asked if he would be interested in looking at some of his songs he had written. Randy had decided to make a CD of his songs and had heard that Paul could not only play guitar, but other instruments also. It was a plus that Paul was a producer and music arranger, as well as a fellow songwriter. "You're doing a CD of music for your dog? I'd be happy to help" Paul said, and so began a collaboration and partnership to produce a CD of original music. They decided to call the project "Maddy's Army" and began work on it. It wasn't long before Randy was meeting with Paul Mills at Tom Parhams recording studio and they began on the first song for the CD.
Maddy and Randy attended the recording sessions as Paul went to work producing the first song. It went so well, Randy began writing more lyrics at home when he wasn't in the studio. Pretty soon, they had a full CD and more of original music. In the recording studio, Maddy paid attention to Paul's playing and production and she enjoyed every minute of it...as if she knew this was being done in her honor. As the months went by working on the CD, Randy continued to take Maddy to hear Paul's band and other bands perform, as well as attend the studio sessions for the CD. Randy and Maddy even went to hear one of his favorite bands, URIAH HEEP, and Maddy found her way up on the stage with Uriah Heep guitarist Mick Box. That was quite a special night! Maddy Onstage with guitarist Mick Box of Uriah Heep Things were going well and the CD was coming along nicely with Paul producing and playing the music to the lyrics Randy had written.
Maddy had become the"Blues and Rock Dog" to her musician friends and loved sharing the stage with them. Randy soon decided he wanted to share his wonderful experience of owning a service dog. Being a veteran, he thought it would be nice to give back to the community by sharing his experience with other veterans whose lives could be improved by the love and companionship of a service dog. He began organizing live music benefits to raise funds for Veterans who would benefit from having a service dog. Maddy picked the bands...she knew who her favorite guitar players and musicians were. It soon became an annual event.
Sadly, just before the CD was finished, Maddy was tragically killed by a passing car. It was devastating to all who knew her to say the least. In her honor, Paul and Randy worked even harder on completing the CD for her. The songs she inspired will live forever through the music and in the hearts of people Maddy touched.
The CD was finally completed and the 14 original songs written by Paul and Randy went over well. Much love and hard work was put into the CD and Randy was thrilled when it was released. Randy enlisted Paul to put a band together to perform the songs live. The band would be called Maddy's Army. Since then, The band has played many shows and is enjoyed by all who attend. Randy has worked hard and diligently on getting Maddy's Army off the ground...and it has become a music driven, charity organization that helps match service dogs to veterans with live music functions and other music services, such as recording and production.
Paul and Randy are currently working on a 2nd CD, a touring band to perform the songs live, a compilation CD featuring several of Maddys favorite musicians, and there are plans to have a recording facility that will be called MARS (Maddys Army Recording Studio) in which they hope to help up and coming artists get their original music recorded.
