We’re starting off 2008 with a pair of very special Coffeehouses. On January 19th, we have the pleasure of hosting Cliff Eberhardt, and then February 16th will see the return of Garnet Rogers.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Cliff Eberhardt perform, let me assure you – it’s an extraordinary experience. He certainly has admirable credentials in the music world – he spent time as Richie Havens guitar player, he has sung major advertising jingles (including Coke, Miller Beer, and “The Heartbeat of America” Chevrolet campaign), and his songs have been covered by Richie Havens, Shawn Colvin, Ronny Cox, and folk supergroup Cry, Cry Cry (consisting of Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky, and Richard Shindell), among others. The most recent of his 7 CD’s, “The High Above and The Down Below” was rated the #5 CD of 2007 by USA Today.

The first time I saw Cliff perform, it was the evening prior to the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island in 1996. He was performing in a songwriter-in-the-round with Patty Larkin, John Gorka, and Cheryl Wheeler, easily keeping up with some of the best singer-songwriters on the folk circuit. Honestly, this evening was the highlight of festival for us. Cliff’s passionate songs and delivery were outstanding, and his self-deprecating humor kept everyone laughing almost as much as Cheryl Wheeler’s antics (if you’ve ever caught Cheryl Wheeler, you know what I mean). Cliff’s voice and guitar work are expressive, deep and passionate, with heavy blues influences apparent.

Cliff has long been known as a songwriter’s songwriter. He’s one of the only artists I’ve ever seen put out a “theme” CD and made it work not once, but multiple times. His CD Borders includes several songs about lines, borders, and chasms that separate people, including the memorable “The Wrong Side of the Line”, written from the perspective of someone born on the wrong side of the Mason-Dixon line in the Civil War era.

Always blurring lines between folk, blues, and rock, Cliff’s most recent album, “The High Above and The Down Below”, sees Cliff adding a jazz trio as his back-up. This new album is greatly influenced by a near-death car accident in 2002, reflecting on life threatening experiences, as well as his recovery after 2 years of surgery and physical therapy. In listening to some of his recent work, I’m left with the impression that music is, and has always been, the most important and impactful therapy for Cliff.

Opening for Cliff will be a delightful young lady named Kate Klim. Kate recently graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, and has just returned to the Philadelphia area. Some of you were at Cooldog when she opened for Garnet Rogers last January – she received not only an encore, but a standing ovation from a crowd that was clearly impressed and taken aback by her talent. I love this press quote from Aaron Jenkins of The Mercury in Pottsville, PA:

No doubt a true pianist, Klim imbues a quiet, soulful radiance that is steadfast in her chilling soprano and tight arrangement. And just when Klim cajoles listeners with her crippling fragility, she is able to shatter it, sweep the pieces under her piano bench, and crown it with a rascally wink."

So be prepared for an extraordinary evening of music. It all starts at 7:30, January 19 in the Wesley College Chapel in Dover. Special pricing of $12 for members and $15 for non-members has been established. I highly recommend you get your tickets in advance - this show may sell out, as our coffeehouse venue has very limited seating. You can get your advance tickets at our shopping page, and while you're there you can renew your membership, and order your tickets for the February coffeehouse featuring Garnet Rogers. There will be plenty of fresh coffee, cold drinks, and sweets available for a reasonable price (coffee and other beverages are $.50, and food items are $1). Bring a friend – they’ll thank you for it, and you’ll both see, there’s nothing else like it in Dover.

-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Chair

As you toss out your 2007 Calendar and tack up the 2008 one, it's time to renew your membership in the Delaware Friends of Folk. It's one of the greatest bargains out there - just $10 for an individual, and $15 for a family membership. With your membership, you'll get discounted pricing opportunities at all of our events, invitations to members-only events, the ability to join the Dover Federal Credit Union, and the peace of mind that you're helping Folk Music and the arts in Delaware. You can join or renew your membership at any of our events, or by going to our Shopping page.

Remember, we are a real live 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. That means that your donations to Delaware Friends of Folk are likely tax deductible, but we know you’ll check with the experts before trying to rip off Uncle Sam. We are beginning to work in a few other directions, like sponsoring workshops and perhaps other educational efforts. Got a few extra dollars? Got some ideas on how we might use them? Let us know.

Having just returned from a lovely holiday in the UK, I’m quite familiar with the process referred to as “the changing of the guard”. While that phrase comes to mind as we execute several changes in the structure of our Board of Directors, I have to admit, it’s not at all the best analogy.

First, the “guard” at various castles and palaces in the UK are primarily ceremonial, their greatest accomplishment hinges on their ability to keep a straight face when taunted by obnoxious tourists, to dress in perfectly tailored uniforms, and to march perfectly in step with their colleagues when it’s time to go on and off duty. In contrast, the Delaware Friends of Folk Board of Directors is far from ceremonial – as an all-volunteer-organization (referred to as an AVO in the not-for-profit world), the Board is where the real work is done to keep the organization alive. The board thrives on being dynamic and diverse, including professionals, academics, artisans, and, well, then there’s Clarence. With this board, there’s little pomp and little ceremony, just a willingness to work together to keep Folk Music alive for another generation or two to enjoy.

Two years ago, our Board Chair, John Kidd, announced his intention to step down from his post as Chairman at the end of that year. With no one anxious to jump into his shoes when the end of that year came around, the Board convinced him to stick around in his role for one more year.

The board then performed a review of the role of Chairman, and realized that our Bylaws gave a lot of responsibility to the Chair, with no real back-up – in fact, if the Chair was not available to attend a board meeting, a meeting could not be held. To make the Chair’s position a bit less of a burden, the Board created a new “Vice Chair” position, to act as a back-up and aide to the Chair. The new Vice Chair role was added to our bylaws in December, 2007.

At the January 2, 2008 Board meeting, John reminded the Board that he really, really meant it this time, and we’d better find another Chair immediately. After a few nominations, and much discussion, Beth Fizell was voted into the role of Chair, and Vice-Chair went to Jim McGiffin. While John has stepped back from the role of the Chair, he will remain an active member of the Board. This change in roles is immediate.

After seven years at the helm of the Friends of Folk, we all agreed that John deserved a break. While it may not be apparent to the membership, John has fulfilled about 6 different roles in the organization over the past seven years. John has been taking care of most of our grant application duties – without which we wouldn’t have the funds to continue our coffeehouses and festival. Grant applications involve a lot of icky, bureaucratic paperwork and wrangling, which isn’t tops on John’s list of favorite things, but he’s done a great job with it, and continues to keep us funded adequately.

John’s also the guy who has endured fickle students, pesky administrators, finicky maintenance people, and a variety of security officers to make sure we have a clean, furnished, and available venue for our Coffeehouses, at times even stashing our stuff in his already-overflowing office at Wesley. He’s usually the first one to get to the coffeehouse and the last one to leave, spending the time in-between rearranging furniture, setting up sound and lights, and doing whatever else needs to get done in order to put on a quality show.

John has handled most of the booking and contracts with our coffeehouse and festival artists. And when it’s time to work on the festival site, whether it’s cleaning, painting, building, hanging, or digging, John’s usually there. That’s all in addition to the duties of the Chairman, which includes being our public spokesperson, and running Board meetings, and anything else that we can’t find a volunteer for.

I’m sure I’m forgetting a few dozen of the responsibilities that John performs which are above and beyond the definition of the Chair’s role. Fortunately for us, John will remain on the Board, and wishes to keep several of his current activities. He’ll still help out with Development – the grant process is critical to our financial survival. He’ll also continue on the Programming committee – helping us book performers for the coffeehouse and festival. I hope you’ll join me in thanking John for his many years of service, and we look forward to him remaining with the Friends of Folk as a colleague and friend.

In our most recent Board elections, we re-elected Jim McGiffin, Clarence Brackin, and Rob Fox to their positions, and Kae Mason, our festival chair, was elected to the Board once more (she took a 2 year hiatus while attending to her daughter’s nuptials and other personal matters). Terrie McClay, who had been on the board for the past 2 years, did not wish to be re-elected due to her own personal obligations, but will continue to help us out by being our Membership chairperson. Congratulations and thanks to all.

While we’re on the subject, I have to remind you that we have many, many opportunities for you to help us out. We frequently need people to help set up, work the door, sell refreshments, and help with the sound at our coffeehouses. If you want to be on our volunteer list for this, please email me at beth@cooldog.com.

We also have many opportunities to get involved with the Delmarva Folk Festival. We need a co-chair for security and parking – a critical piece of our festival, as we need to make sure we have a safe environment for our guests to enjoy. There are other chair and volunteer positions available too. You can contact Kae Mason at kaejohnson1@comcast.net to let her know if you’re interested in helping out. Remember, we are an All Volunteer Organization (i.e. we have no paid staff), and a Not-for-Profit, so we really live and die by our volunteers. If you’ve been thinking of getting involved in a community service project, look no further than the Friends of Folk – we would love to talk to you about ways you can help us keep Folk music alive.

The festival meetings have not yet started for 2008 (put March 5th on your calendar for that!!), but the Programming Committee has already begun to review submissions. Any submissions for the festival need to be made by January 31 at the very latest. To submit, an artist can go to our Contact link at the web site to find a form with instructions.

Check the calendar - you’ll see there’s a lot of music out there. Take advantage of it, support local restaurants and other venues that offer live music by talented individuals. Without your patronage, you could be opening the door to more karaoke!