SLOFOLKS News

KBCX - 90.1 PUBLIC RADIO

The Minstrel Song Show hosted by Sonnie Brown, begins at 2:00 p.m. every Saturday and offers "music of modern day story tellers with a nod to their historical counterparts".
Listen in from 2 to 4 - www.KCBX.org - 90.1 FM

Rob Kimball's show Pickin'Up the Tempo is on Tuesday night, 8 to 10 pm. He plays country, alternative folk, and other eclectic picks from Rob's own collection. "If your tastes in music just can't be pigeonholed, you'll love these two hours of surprising musical diversity every Tuesday night."

Host Glenn Horn has a keen ear for great music. Tune in for classic standards and the newest in progressive bluegrass, and related acoustic music.
Basically Bluegrass Thursday nights, 8 to 10

MUSICA AMERICANA -KCPR 91.3FM
Charles Blair and Sue Becker are your hosts on Musica Americana, Thursdays from 10am to 12 Noon. Musica America features some of the performers for up-coming concerts. You can call them at(805)756-5277(SLO-KCPR)when they are on the air and e-mail any time. Constructive comments and suggestions are appreciated. Charles Blair blairce@verizon.net

PAUL MC CLOSKEY - PHOTOGRAPHER

Please visit the "SLOFolks Presents... Concert Galleries” with photographs by Paul J. McCloskey from recent SLOFolks shows at Castoro Cellars.

Paul is a local photographer/graphic artist who has volunteered to photograph the SLOFolks concerts because of his passion for music, in addition to capturing the ambiance of these musical events in his photography. He enjoys listening to eclectic, quality live music in intimate venues, which SLOFolks is well known for on the Central Coast.

He has designed & developed a website entitled: "SLOFolks Presents... Concert Galleries” and will be adding more Concert Galleries/musician images to this page as they become available. If you're interest in purchasing fine art prints of these concert images they are available and Paul will donate a percentage of the sales to SLOFolks.

You can also visit his website entitled: "Painting With Light Gallery" to view some of his art/work which he calls Photo-Painting.

href="http://web.mac.com/paul_mccloskey/Painting_With_Light_Gallery/SLOFolks_Presents.../SLOFolks_Presents....html">SLOfolks Presents

BROWN BAG CONCERTS

The Noontime Brown Bag Concerts at San Luis Obispo First Presbyterian Church are honored to welcome Duo Appassionata, featuring pianist Marian Gilbert and violinist Randy Garacci Friday, May 2.
These talented musicians will perform Beethoven Sonata No. 7, C Minor. As always, our first Friday half hour concert begins at noon in Wilson Hall, corner of Marsh and Morro. For information visit www.duoappassionata.com
or call church office at 543-5451.

Friday, June 6 Piano Duo Greg Zocher and Barbarar Hoff.

Friday, July 4 No concert. Happy Fourth!

Friday, August 1 Western and Folk Music with "Tumbleweed".

Friday, September 5 Cal Poly Woodwind Ensemble.

All concerts in Wilson Hall, First Presbyterian Church, Marsh and Morro, San Luis Obispo. Half hour concerts begin at 12:00, noon. Free. 543-5451.

MORE LOCAL MUSIC

Sunday, May 4, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Congregation Beth David
10180 Los Osos Valley Road

Folk tales from Japan are combined with folk songs, original masks, Origami, stylized movements, and music played on the Koto, (Japanese Harp) and Shakukachi, the Japanese flute. Kuniko combines all these elements to produce a magical entertainment enjoyed by adults and children of all ages.

For this show tickets are $10, but free to all children (under 18)
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
805-544-0760
www.CBDSLO.org

Lindsay White- touring singer/songwriter based in San Diego will be playing a 45 minute set at Coffee Adventures on Sunday May 11th, 2008 at 7pm. She is promoting her new demo "Long Story Short"
Date: Sunday May 11th
Time: 7pm (45 min set)
Address: Linnaeas Cafe - 1110 Garden St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
Phone: (805) 541-5888
No Cover
For more information please visit:
http://web.mac.com/lindsaywhite >br> http://www.myspace.com/lindsayannwhite
http://www.youtube.com/lindsayannwhite

> The monthly West Coast Songwriters Competition has moved to a new location in 2008. The Clubhouse is located at 740 W. Foothill Blvd, San Luis Obispo. Show begins at 6:30pm. There is no cover charge. All ages are welcome.

Steve Key, http://www.stevekey.com
steve@stevekey.com Performer, Songwriter, Teacher & Concert Promoter

FRIENDS OF SLOFOLKS

We have added links to friends of ours that you might use to find more good folk music.

Castoro Cellars of Templeton:
Castoro Cellars hosts SLOFOLKS Concerts year 'round. Castoro Cellars.

Coalesce Bookstore . . . a Bookstore & More
845 Main Street, Morro Bay, CA 93442
hosts SLOfolks Concerts year 'round.
Concerts are performed in their wedding chapel, located in their beautiful back garden.
845 Main St., Morro Bay
For more information call: 772-2880 Coalesce@charter.net

Steve Key is an award-winning songwriter, performer and recording artist. He is also a songwriting teacher, concert producer, host of weekly songwriter showcases at The Clubhouse in San Luis, Obispo.
Dozens of folk, country, blues and pop artists have recorded and performed Steve Key songs, most notably "Record Time (33, 45, 78)", recorded by country music star Kathy Mattea.
Steve Key.

Green Acres Lavender Farm A beautiful working farm where many events are lavender related but they also host some of our SLOfolks concert as well as their own.
Green Acres Lavender Farm.

Música Del Río house concerts are a private party for invited guests who RSVP with plans to attend. They promote live folk music. Musica Del Rio is located in Atascadero.
For more info. and upcoming concerts please check:
Musica Del Rio.

The Cambria Hoot:

The Cambria Hoot promotes live folk music on the Central Coast, based in Cambria, California. For more info and upcoming concerts, visit the Internet home of the Cambria Hoot.

Bohemian Productions presenting non-amplified folk music to San Luis Obispo.
Info: Sol Rudnick 543-7867

San Luis Obispo Blues Society , local, authentic blues.
Blues addicts, check this out: SLO blues. Local, authentic, blues.

Sally Greenberg - House Concerts in Berkeley -
Business contact: sally.greenberg@mpi.com
Personal contact: sally@sgreenberg.org
Russ & Julie's House Concerts - Oak Park, CA.

Butte Folk Music Society
Here's another good CA folk music society in Chico.

WHAT OUR FRIENDS IN THE PRESS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT SLOFOLKS

NEWS: PAST PERFORMER RAHIM ALHAJ

Now Home Page My Times Today's Middle East

To read the article and enjoy photographs, copy and paste below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/world/middleeast/01oud.html?ex=1210305600&en=56165da32b19d80b&ei=5070&emc=eta1

A Fabled Iraqi Instrument Thrives in Exile

By ERICA GOODE
Published: May 1, 2008

BAGHDAD — Dhia Jabbar hides his oud in a sack when he walks down the street in his Baghdad neighborhood.
Joao Silva for The New York Times
An oud maker in his workshop in central Baghdad. Residents rarely play the oud in public now for fear of angering militants critical of secular music.

Michael Kamber for The New York Times Dhia Jabbar, in Baghdad, was threatened by militiamen who destroyed another oud.
He used to teach students in the back room of a photo shop, where the sound could not be heard. But last week, militia gunmen invaded the store, destroying one of his instruments and ordering him to stop teaching. He had dreamed of a performing career, but now he has lost hope.
“Iraq is dead,” he says.
Seven thousand miles away, Rahim Alhaj, who fled Iraq in 1991, carries his oud without a second thought through the streets of Albuquerque, where he now lives. In New York, Washington and other cities, he plays for audiences of hundreds. An album he recorded was recently nominated for a Grammy Award.

The two musicians are bound by their passion for the oud, a pear-shaped instrument whose roots run deep in Iraq’s history. Some say that in its music lies the country’s soul.

Both men trained at the same prestigious conservatory in Baghdad. Both have a deep love for traditional Iraqi melodies.

But Mr. Jabbar, 29, and Mr. Alhaj, 40, are also tied together by having watched — one from close up, one from far away — their country’s descent into sectarian violence.
Mr. Alhaj worries constantly about his mother and brother, who still live in Baghdad’s dangerous Sadr City neighborhood, in a house without electricity or running water. When there is fighting between Mahdi Army militia members and American and Iraqi forces there, as has been the case virtually every day in recent weeks, he calls his family frantically.
“It’s hard because I’m so far away from them and so far from their struggle, and I feel helpless,” he said.
The violence he reads about stirs troubled dreams: images of being tortured, as he was in the 1980s under Saddam Hussein’s government, or of seeing people being executed.
In 2004, he returned to Baghdad to give a concert at his family’s house. The friends he grew up with, he said, wore beards and felt uncomfortable listening to him play; secular music was considered “haram,” forbidden. An oud maker he knew was forced to build his instruments secretly in a tiny workshop on his roof.
One morning, Mr. Alhaj awoke in his family’s home to hear his niece singing a famous Iraqi love song. But the lyrics had been changed; the words no longer spoke of romantic love, but only of God, of heaven and damnation.
“What happened?” Mr. Alhaj asked. “What happened?”
Mr. Jabbar watched the transformation of Baghdad in real time. He saw religious fervor engulf the street outside his family’s house in the Shaab neighborhood, where he used to sit outside and play for passers-by. Salons and casual concerts, once common, became rare and clandestine. The teaching and performing jobs that used to await talented oud players when they finished training disappeared.
“I have lost 10 years of my life,” he said, “the years that I worked to be able to play for people.”
Iraq was once famous for its oud players. The instrument was a common sight in Iraqi households, much like the guitar in the United States. According to one legend cited in Grove Music Online, a standard reference, the oud was invented by Lamak, a descendant of the biblical Cain. When his son died, Lamak is said to have hung his remains in a tree and seen in the skeleton the bowled body and elegant neck.
A ninth-century jurist in Baghdad extolled the oud’s healing powers, as did Muhammad Shihab al-Din, a 19th-century writer. “It places the temperament in equilibrium,” he wrote. “It calms and revives hearts.”
Even Saddam Hussein was not immune to the instrument’s charms. He is reported to have received an oud, made from rare woods and inlaid with ivory, from a famous maker, Mohammed Fadhel. Mr. Hussein ordered a renowned oud player to teach him how to play, but arriving in the dictator’s presence, the man was so terrified he could not speak. Another oudist summoned to replace him gave Mr. Hussein two lessons, the story goes.
As a child, Mr. Jabbar fell asleep to music on his father’s tape recorder. Later, he sang national songs in a choir in secondary school. At 18, late for a professional musician, he took up the oud, studying the mysteries of the Iraqi maqam, the complex system of tonal sequences and improvisation passed from master to student. “I was born to learn it,” he said.
When American tanks rolled into Baghdad in 2003, Mr. Jabbar was filled with excitement.

A Fabled Iraqi Instrument Thrives in Exile

“I used to sit with my friends and talk about our dreams and what would become of Baghdad after the invasion,” he said. “I was expecting that Baghdad would be just like Hollywood. We were moving around freely. Sometimes we would go home at 2 a.m.”

The Reach of War

But the new freedom did not last. He heard whispered stories of musicians who had been threatened by religious extremists. One of his professors was attacked while driving from Syria to Baghdad. The gunmen smashed the man’s oud, and said they would kill him if he continued to play. A month later, the professor fled Iraq.
“I started to be more careful and not to talk about my studies,” Mr. Jabbar said. “I used to say that I was studying painting or history or to become an English teacher.”
In some neighborhoods, he could carry his oud without much fear. In others, he said, “it was suicide to carry it with me.”
He plays where he can, in occasional festivals, in secret gatherings with friends. Once in a while, he stops by the shop of an oud maker, Ahmad al-Abdalli, on a winding street of central Baghdad’s market district.
“Before this, many players would come here and gather and play and sing, and when they go home, they are relieved and happy,” Mr. Abdalli said. “But now, they do not come, or if they come, they are only one or two at a time and they play for only a few minutes, so as not to attract the attention of the fanatics.”
Mr. Jabbar owns a valuable oud, built, like Mr. Hussein’s, by Mohammed Fadhel, an instrument so precious even his wife may not touch it. But he thinks about selling the instrument.
Mr. Alhaj, too, owned a Mohammed Fadhel, given to him decades ago by his teacher in Baghdad. He used to sleep with it next to him. He even talked to it, worrying his parents.
But in 1991, when he left Iraq, slipping into Jordan, a border guard confiscated the oud. As he saw it disappear, Mr. Alhaj recalled, he started shaking and became ill. “This is the saddest moment of my entire life,” he said.
He arrived in the United States in 2000, after years in Syria, and a refugee worker found him a job at McDonald’s. “What kind of institute is that?” Mr. Alhaj said he asked. “Do they teach Arabic classical music there?”
Eventually, he began to perform again. He does what he can to keep Iraqi oud music alive, giving concerts to benefit Iraqi children and talking to audiences about the oud and its history.
He knows he is lucky to be able to play freely, to be able to speak out without fear. “I have a chance to raise my voice here,” he said.
He rejoiced when the Hussein regime fell, he said, but he opposed the American invasion. Sometimes the thought crosses his mind that “there is a soldier there, and I do not know if he is killing my brother.”
Mr. Jabbar, for his part, jokes that he harbors a secret fantasy.
“I am going to make a coup d’état and make everyone in all the neighborhoods play the oud,” he said. “It will be a revolution.”
Qais Mizher, Anwar J. Ali and Ali Hameed contributed reporting.

Central Coast Sun Bulletin, Jan 23, 2008

SLOFolks: World music played locally
Judy Salamacha

Baseball’s troubadour poet laureate Chuck Brodsky was invited three times to sing his celebrated baseball songs at he National Baseball Hall of Fame.

With ballads about Eddie Klepp, Bonehead Merkle, Whitey & Harry, and the 7th Inning Stretch, baseball fans will want to put his first visit to the Central Coast on their calendars.

“He’s a national treasure,”says Elisabeth Demongeot, director of SLOFolks MusicSeries 2008, which begins with Brodsky on Friday at Coalesce Book Store in MorroBay, then Saturday at Castoro Cellars.

“His songwriting pokes fun at political corruption,road rage, mischief he made as a kid, unsung heroes and forgotten but incredible people and odd characters from the game of baseball.”

One of his lyrical characters was played by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the movie “Radio.”

When Demongeot and her husband, Ted Shearer, moved to Los Osos in 2004 and accepted the leadership position for the San Luis Obispo Folk Music Society, their original goal was to bring the world to the Central Coast through folk music.

She had contacts developed while hosting two shows at KCBS in Seattle, and he was the support system to help her make it all happen.

Last year, SLOFolks produced 30-plus concerts with talent from England, West Africa, Ireland,Canada, Eastern Europe, Argentina, Czech Republic, Appalachia, Nashville, Seattle, Vermont, Los Angeles and Iraq.

Demongeot’s second goal was to introduce a variety of musical instruments along with their world-renowned players.

“The most unusual concerts were with Rahim Alhaj,” said Demongeot. “Rahim is a master oud player, a 5,000-year-old instrument from ancient Samaria that is considered the grandfather to the guitar. Now a resident of New Mexico, he grew up in Baghdad and was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein, escaped Iraq and immigrated to the U.S. He now tours spreading a message of peace.”

In addition to his concerts for SLOFolks in Morro Bay and Templeton, 600 Lucia Mar students and 400 Vineyard Elementary School students heard his message and music.

“What an amazing opportunity,”says Demongeot, “for all these young people to see an Iraqi musician when all they usually see is the stereotypes from TV.”

The performers for this season continue to be international with unusual styles and instruments. For example ,in March Pierre Bensusan plays the DADGAD style guitar and “is a genre-bending innovator ”spanning Celtic, Latin, African, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, and Brazilian music while singing French and Bobby McFerrin styles.

Prince Diabate, or Prince of the Kora from Guinea, West Africa, will perform in May, and Baka Beyond, blends sounds of Baka pygmies from Cameroon, West Africa, with Celtic rhythms from the UK.

Many of the performers are tied to box office stars. Eric Taylor, who performs in May, also performs with Lyle Lovett who says, “I’m always the opening act when I’m around Eric.”

In June Paul McCartney’s lead guitarist for Wings, Laurence Juber, will offer his Grammy Award-winning music.

And Peppino D’Agostino returns again in 2008.

“He’s a 20-year tradition,” says Demongeot. “He always sells out and he brings a new artist each time.”

SLOFolks performers all want to return to the Central Coast, she explains, but she feels it is importantto constantly bring in new groups with just a few exceptions.

Demongeot has another goal for 2008. The group thought it had found a San Luis Obispo location; however, changes at artMinds Gallery mean SLOFolks is still looking for an intimate site to create another venue for their monthly concerts.

Coalesce in Morro Bay will handle 60 to 70 concert-goers while Castoro’s outdoor concerts can accommodate up to 350 patrons. The group hopes to find a San Luis or South County location that offers comparable seating.

“We love the folks at both venues,” said Demongeot. “Coalesce is more intimate. More interaction will go on with the performers. For example, when James Talley returns again, he likes to get questions from the audience during his performance.

“On the other hand, an outdoor concert is very exciting and Castoro is a magical place with more people, dinner and wine.” All of the summer concerts sold out last year, and most of the others sold out or were very close to capacity.

SLOFolks finalized their nonprofit status in 2007 — an arduous process, indeed. They keep their expenses to a minimum. A concert’s cost is typically $15 with 70 percent of the proceeds going to the performers. Volunteers will often host the performers in their homes.

Demongeot credits a small music committee made up of Nancy Lehman, Jeanie McDill, Bob Conlen, Laurent Bernad, Nancy Ross, Craig Kincaid, Jean Juhl and Judith Bernstein for making it all happen, while admitting she couldn’t do it without her husband Ted.

She also appreciates the extra help provided by staff at Coalesce and Castoro Cellars. And she believes no one would attend without the support from the local media and shop owners who help her promote the concerts. Demongeot actually celebrates the way SLOFolks consumes her life, knowing it keeps her engaged in her passion. She writes the biographies, posts information on the Website, checks out new groups, confirms details with her committee, registers attendees, sets up the 30 scheduled concerts and helps promote them by putting out the posters or talking to anyone who will listen.

But she also admits she has one weakness that takes priority over SLOFolks — her grandson, Graham White, son of Michael and Laurel White of Los Osos. Graham, now in kindergarten at Monarch Grove Elementary School, is the reason for the move from Seattle.

She relishes the couple days a week she has him all to herself. Music appreciation is in his genes and he already understands the difference between classical, blues and jazz. And, of course, he loves helping his grandmother with SLOFolks.

Judy Salamacha can be reached at salamachapr@sbcglobal.net or 801-1422

The Tribune Jan. 26.06

Posted on Thu, Jan. 26, 2006

Music for all folks

SLOFOLKS gears up for a new year with 11 scheduled artists

Sally Connell
The Tribune

The great Louis Armstrong once said, “All music is folk music. I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song.”

The San Luis Obispo Folk Music Society (SLOFOLKS)has taken that basic principle and run with it for the past 30 years, scheduling African music, contemporary jazz and classic American folk music at county venues.

This year’s slate of shows starts with James Talley, a performer billed in one Country Music Television review as “the most famous country singer and songwriter that you never heard of.” Talley will perform at Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay on Jan. 27 and Castoro Cellars in Templeton on Jan. 28.

Talley kicks off an 11-artist year for SLOFOLKS this year, while 20 musicians or groups performed in 23 SLOFOLKS concerts in 2005.

The sheer number of performances scheduled by SLOFOLKS is significant, because it was as recently as late 2004 when the three-decade-old nonprofit organization held a “survival meeting” to discuss whether it had a future.

SLOFOLKS evolved from a series of concerts held at Linnaea Phillips’ home. In the early 1980s, the organization was actually formed and Jody Ramsland led it for years, until her death in 2003. Without her leadership, members were worried about who would take on the task.

But now Elisabeth Demongeot and her husband Ted Shearer serve as president and treasurer of the organization. The two moved to the area a little over three years ago from Seattle, where they had produced folk music concerts.

Because of SLOFOLKS’ nonprofit status, ticket prices are kept relatively low: $15 for the winter concerts and $20 for the larger summer outdoor concerts at Castoro Cellars.
Representatives of both Coalesce and Castoro admit the small concerts are great ways to bring people into their businesses, although not moneymakers in their own right.

Demongeot said artists get 75 percent of the proceeds from the concert ticket sales, SLOFOLKS gets 15 percent, and the venues get the remaining 10 percent.
But the venue managers love the music.

“It’s called SLOFOLKS, but it’s not just folk music really. We had a flamenco guitarist (in November),” said Aaron Palmer, Castoro’s tasting room manager.

The inside concerts at Castoro are intimate, with about 140 to 150 people.“There’s really no bad seat, because everybody is close to the stage,” Palmer said.

At Coalesce, the concerts are even smaller, seating about 60 in the bookstore’s garden wedding chapel.

“We’ve been doing SLOFolks for so long, I don’t really remember how it started,” said Sherri Hereford, a manager at Coalesce. “All of our concerts have always been so warm and inviting.”

If you go ...

The San Luis Obispo Folk Music Society’s 2006 schedule can be found at www.slofolks.org

Information about tickets is also available through Coalesce Bookstore, Morro Bay, 772-2880, or Castoro Cellars, Templeton, 238-0725.

Who is James Talley?

Talley is often compared to folk music giant Woody Guthrie, and has recorded many albums over the past three decades. He recorded his first album in years called “Got No Bread No Milk No Money But We Sure Got a Lot of Love” for Capitol Records. That work will be reissued under Talley’s own label in February.

His songs have been covered by such musicians as Johnny Cash and Alan Jackson. Moby did a version of Talley’s three-decade-old “Evening Rain” for the soundtrack of the movie “Daredevil.” His song “Richland, Washington” about growing up near the Hanford Nuclear Plant where his father worked is considered an American classic by folk and country aficionados.

Playing small venues like Coalesce and Castoro speaks to something central about folk music, Talley said in a telephone interview from his base in Nashville.

“I think there is a lot more intimacy in small gatherings than there is in large auditoriums,” he said.

The enthusiasm of the SLOFOLKS crowd is what is bringing him to the area. “I don’t have to play anymore to make a living. I really just go where somebody wants me real bad.”

SLOFOLKS president Elisabeth Demongeot believes people will identify with Talley’s down-to-earth voice. “He’s no-frills. You can really feel who he is,” she said. “He has a lot of kindness in his voice, like Willie Nelson.”

Atascadero News -
Sept. 14,06

SLOfolks presents last concert of summer series
BY ELLEN HOLLAND of the Atascadero News - SEPT. 13, 2006

When Los Osos resident Elisabeth Demongeot and her husband, Ted Shearer, got involved with the San Luis Obispo Folk Music Society, they had a goal in mind.
“We wanted to bring the world to the Central Coast,” Demongeot said. “I love sharing music. That’s a way for me to be part of the community.”
Two years after the couple’s involvement with SLOfolks began, Demongeot, as president, and Shearer, as treasurer, continue to devote their time and energy to numerous activities that include hanging countless posters throughout San Luis Obispo County in promotion of the wide variety of music the non-profit organization continually showcases.
SLOfolks, which began its summer concert series at Castoro Cellars in 1999, will hold the last of this year’s summer concerts when it presents the West African Highlife Band on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. The six-member group is set to perform the highlife dance hits of Ghana and Nigeria at the winery, located at 1315 N. Bethel Road in Templeton.
“Drawing from both folk traditions and modern dance elements, their rich vocal harmonies, intertwining guitars, and exciting percussion make this group unbeatable,” according to information provided by SLOfolks.
“You can’t sit still,” Demongeot said of the band’s music. “It’s really fun and I think it’s a perfect [concert] to end the summer. It’s happy music and it will get us ready for the fall.”
Aaron Palmer, tasting room manager for Castoro Cellars and member of the SLOfolks musicians committee, said holding the concerts at the winery has been a great experience.
“Our customers look forward to it and it’s nice to give back to the community,” Palmer said. “It’s inspiring really to see all these eclectic artists come through.”
SLOfolks’ concerts at Castoro Cellars will continue throughout the year, held approximately once a month in the winery’s event room. SLOfolks is also gearing up to host its first concert in Atascadero. Jamie Byrd will perform at Green Acres Lavender Farm, located at 8865 San Gabriel Road, on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
“It just is a charming place,” Demongeot said of the farm. “You arrive there and the smell of lavender wraps around you.” Demongeot plans on continuing to cooperate with the farm’s owners, Bob Bostwick and his wife, Janice Silva, to coordinate future Atascadero events.
“We’ve always been supporters of SLOfolks,” Bostwick said and added the couple enjoys having music at their home. “It’s just a good way to help tie the farm to the arts.”
Byrd is a San Francisco-based singer and songwriter.
“She runs a full range from folk to blues,” Bostwick said and added Byrd is a fantastic song writer and piano player.
“People who’ve seen her rave about her,” Demongeot added.
According to Demongeot, SLOfolks strives to bring the music of many different cultures to the Central Coast.
“Through their music you get a feeling of the country. It’s like traveling,” Demongeot said and added she likes to present music on a global scale “because they’ve all affected each other.”
SLOfolks evolved from a series of house concerts in the late 1970s. Many of these concerts were held at the home of Linnaea Phillips, who then began to showcase concerts and monthly folk jams at her business, Linnaea’s Café.
In the early 1980s, SLOfolks was formed to manage these concerts by a small group of volunteers. Jody Ramsland, who joined to SLOfolks in 1984 and later became its president, brought even more performers and two new venues, Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay and Blue Note Music in San Luis Obispo. But when Ramsland passed away in 2003, SLOfolks scrambled to keep things going.
“We just felt that there was no choice, that it would go under if we didn’t take it over,” Demongeot said. “We love music and we wanted to keep our feet in the music.”
The couple moved to Los Osos from Seattle in 2002 and had attended SLOfolks concerts at Coalesce Bookstore before they got directly involved with the organization. While in Seattle, Demongeot was the host of two radio shows, “Lunch with Folks” and “The Sunlit Room.” She also produced concerts for the Seattle Folklore Music Society. As the president of SLOfolks, Demongeot is in charge of booking, promotions and updating the organization's Web site, www.slo folks.org.
She started bringing musicians to local venues through connections she made through interviewing hundreds of artists on the radio “and a lot of wonderful artists had been coming already,” she said. “There were a lot of very good people that had been coming over the years and that's one of the reasons people trust SLOfolks.” Demongeot chooses the performers through an extensive selection process.“I listen to their CDs at least three times before I decide,” she said. “I really listen to them and try to give new artists a chance.”
In addition, the music committee offers its opinion on potential acts and a small core group of volunteers, including Nancy Ross, Laurent Bernard and Jeanie McDill, have committed to promote the concerts.
Tickets for the West African Highlife Band cost $20. It is recommended the tickets be purchased before the concert by calling Castoro Cellars at 238-0725 or toll free at 1-888-DAM-FINE. Tickets for Jamie Byrd concert cost $15 and are available by calling Green Acres Lavender Farm at 466-0837.
For more information on upcoming SLOfolks concerts, visit www.slofolks.org or call 528-8963

Bay News January 6 to 10

The Folks Who Revived SLOFOLKS

By Judy Salamacha

The San Luis Obispo Folks Music Society is one of the longest running local organizations bringing quality live music to the Central Coast. And two recent Seattle transplants have helped keep the music playing.
“Music is something we have in common,” said Elisabeth Demongeot about her 27-year marriage to Ted Shearer. “We’re people of the world working together with other volunteers at SLOFOLKS to bring the world to the Central Coast.
SLOFOLKS is a non-profit organization with a small, but active group of volunteers, who have developed, produced and nurtured folk music performances in SLO County since the 1970s.
But after the death of promoter, Jody Ramsland in 2003, the group was in what Elisabeth called “survival meeting” mode.
The volunteers were dedicated to the music-form, but lacked leadership, until Elisabeth and Ted were convinced to jointly, take over promoting the shows.
In 2004, they moved to Los Osos soon after the birth of their first grandchild to Michael and Laurel White also of Los Osos. Elisabeth said she had a dream that her grandson, Graham, who is now four, said “I love you” and she knew she had to be close to him. They moved her 96-year-old mother with them from Seattle, where they enjoyed “a rich, folk music scene.”
Once settled, they discovered SLOFOLKS at Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay. Elisabeth used to host a couple of Seattle radio programs on KCBS and was active in the Seattle Folklore Society for about five years. She was familiar and had access to many of the folk performers. So the couple was a natural to take up the banner for SLOFOLKS.
Ted and Elisabeth just completed their first year as promoters and already have concerts booked for 2006.
In 2005, SLOFOLKS produced 20 “mostly sold-out” concerts at Coalesce Bookstore, which accommodates 60, and at Castoro Cellars, which has an audience capacity of about 325. Castoro has an indoor event center as well as an outdoor garden stage with the rows of grapes for a dramatic backdrop.
Their goal to bring worldwide talent to the Central Coast was realized. The line-up of artists in 2005 was most impressive. Celtic music group, Molly’s Revenge, kicked off 2005. The fun and lively band is also a regular at the Highland Games and other Celtic Festivals.
Mike Marshall, said to be “the world’s most accomplished acoustic guitarist” also made an appearance with SLOFOLKS.
Peter Ostroushko has received a couple of Minneapolis Music Awards for his works on the fiddle and mandolin and
Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen hail from Bennington, Vt., and have produced more than 15 CDs of contemporary and traditional folk music.
Alice Stuart was named the 2005 “Best Guitarist” by the Seattle Weekly and “2005 Best Song Writer” by the Washington Blues. And it was noted that while creating their folk art playing the guitar and woodwind instruments, Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel brought home to Seattle the Grammy in the New Age category.
Hanz Araki grew up and learned his music in Japan, but calls Seattle his home. That’s where he met the other five members in his group of Irish pub players.
Casey Neill is Brooklyn, N.Y., based, while Anne McCue is from Australia and played Vietnam.
A new group The Duhks is made up of five Canadian musicians and singers from Winnepeg, Manitoba and The Bills represented the West Coast of Canada and Western European Folk Music.
Peppino D’Agostino followed his heart to San Francisco to develop his Italian folk musician’style and Baguette Quartette performs the music of Paris from 1920-1940 popular on street corners, cafes and dance halls.
Laurence Juber performed his “finger-style guitar arrangements" of Paul McCartney’s best songs during the “Wings” era. He played guitars he manufactures himself.
Local talent also had a strong showing in 2005, with Bob and Wendy, Jill Knight, and others.
“We want to introduce talented folk musicians who may not be as well known, but have tremendous talent,” said Elisabeth. “SLOFOLKS also wants to continue to rely on a core group of dedicated volunteers.”
She made sure to credit the other loyal volunteers with their long-time support of SLOFOLKS, such as Jeanie McDill, who has been involved for 20 years. Nancy Ross is a musician and volunteer. Haila Hafley-Kluver, Glen Silloway, Laurent Bernad, Dave Baumgarten and Ron and Leslie Bearce also help regularly.
Without a budget to promote the events,” Elisabeth said, “the area media has been very helpful to let people know about our concerts and we’re getting more and more information on the website.”
Ted indicated the most difficult time is the week before a concert. They “stress,” he said, especially if it is a first-time performance since the talent typically agrees to perform for the chance to expose their art forms and sell their CDs.
Now, it’s time to focus on the future and what is already shaping into an exciting 2006 lineup.
“We’re so excited James Talley will be here Jan. 27 and 28,” said Elisabeth. “I knew of him in Seattle and tried to get him [here]. He’s finally agreed to come to the Central Coast. We want a really good showing for him. He’s a legend and the concerts are only $15. “And if anyone has a copy or knows where we can get one, we’re looking for that famous Dust Bowl painting to use as background at his concert.”
According to Jon Bream of the Minneapolis Star, “Rosalyn Carter took copies of James Talley albums to the White House. President Carter even invited him to perform…B.B. King played his first Nashville recording session with Talley.
“His lucid, poetic lyrics depict universal characters whose stories offer insightful glimpses into Americana.
The 2006 schedule is booked and can be found on the SLOFOLKS Web site at: www.slofolks.org with more information, dates and sites of performances, plus links with musical highlights for both past and future performers.
Talley will perform Jan. 27 at Coalesce in Morro Bay and Jan. 28 at Castoro Cellars. Tickets are $15 and available at the bookstore and winery.