We’re closing our 2006 scheduled performer coffee house schedule with a more-or-less local guy (Philadelphia) with a national reputation. If you were anywhere around Philly in the late 70s and early 80s, there’s a good chance you’ve heard Robert Hazard. And if you were on the planet in 1984 (or anytime since), you likely heard Cyndi Lauper do Robert’s song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

But all of that is in the way dark past, and as Robert says “You won’t find the word ‘nostalgic’ in my book.” He has gone around life a couple of times and is now writing some amazing songs and performing them in the coffee house and folk club environment. He was at Cooldog last March and really put on a great show. It seemed obvious to get him to Friends of Folk event too. That March show was with a full band, but our coffee house show will be as an acoustic trio (two guitars and a bass).

As Robert philosophically notes, “Sometimes it takes a long time to find ourselves. We take many roads and meet many people on the way. We run and stumble before we learn to walk. Humility is in a shadow where we are afraid to look but it is with us all the time. We just have to let it in. Make friends with it. I am shakin’ hands right now.” Humility indeed. Assuming you want to know more, here are some excerpts from the biography on his web site:

I was born in Philadelphia in 1948. My father was an opera singer with the Philadelphia Opera Company. Obviously, I didn’t follow in his footsteps, but did learn a bit about music appreciation.
I started singing and writing songs about age 10. I didn’t really play guitar ‘til much later. In my teens I would audition at coffee houses like “The Second of Autumn” and “The Edge” in the Philadelphia area. I never got a job, but learned about acoustic music by hanging out at these places listening to Eric Andersen, Chris Smither, Jimmy Webb, and other great song writers and poet guitar players.
I married young and made a beautiful daughter, ‘Corrina,’ after the old blues tune. She gives me nothing but trouble and is the inspiration for lots of songs, especially “Pretty Little Thing.,” from my new CD, THE SEVENTH LAKE.
In the late ‘70s, I became enraptured with the punk movement – Dead Boys, Ramones, Pistols, Clash, etc., and formed a band, ‘Robert Hazard and the Heroes’. We played every bar in the Philadelphia area. We were either working or rehearsing seven nights a week for two years.
By 1981, the band had become well-known in the area. I had written some strong material and the band was getting tight. My generous Uncle Vaughn loaned me $12,000 to make a five-song EP which we recorded at Sigma Sound. By 1982, the self-produced EP had sold over 50,000 copies locally.
One night, we were playing a little joint called J.C. Dobbs on South Street. Kurt Loder was in town to review the opening of a world tour by another band called the Rolling Stones, who were playing at JFK Stadium that same night. After the Stones concert, Kurt stopped into Dobbs for a beer. I stayed up talking with him till five o’clock in the morning. The next month, there was a two-page spread in Rolling Stone Magazine, pictures and all, raving about the band. Soon after that, we were signed to RCA Records.

RCA did a national release of the EP featuring the song ‘Escalator of Life,’ getting us into the 50’s on the Billboard chart. We played everywhere from clubs to concert arenas, including all the music television shows like Bandstand and Solid Gold. We toured with U2 and the Motels and on our own for about a year. Then we made the Wing of Fire full length album. ‘Escalator of Life’ and ‘Change Reaction’ were featured on MTV.
Back in ’79, I had written a song, ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun.’ In 1984, Cyndi Lauper had a big hit with it. The song continues to live on classic rock radio and on TV commercials like the Carnival Cruise Line ads.
In more recent years, I formed a country band called ‘The Hombres’ and made a record called ‘Howl’, produced by Ian Cross (Janet Jackson, Rickie Lee Jones). I played a string of shows opening for Bob Dylan, which were magical for me. But my favorite shows were the stripped-down acoustic concerts I did with my buddy Michael Pilla. I thought these were the most rewarding and the most appreciated by my audience.
My music and my life have come full circle. I am married again with two wonderful sons. We live in Vero Beach, Florida in the winter and in the Adirondack Mountains in the summer. I think I am writing the best songs I ever have and feel satisfied with the poetry and stories and all their depth and simplicity. Also once again, I feel that this is music to share with whoever wants to listen.
What I am really trying to say is thanks. To all the friends and fans who have stuck with me through the last 25 years. From the techno-pop and raging mania of the Eighties all the way back to the roots music that I so dearly love playing today. Thanks for all your support -- for coming to the shows and buying the CDs and simply sharing the music with me, which in the end is all I really ever wanted to do. You’re the people I’m singing to now. We’ve grown together. We grow together.
I want to especially thank all of my new friends who have taken my songs into their hearts and don’t know or care what happened in 1982. Who knows, if the planets are aligned, if the light’s just right, if the waitress drops a tray at just the right moment, the boys and I might jump into some off the cuff version of “Escalator of Life” somewhere, sometime, you never know. But don’t hold me to it.

The “new” Robert” has recorded two wonderful CDs full of his rootsy, blues-based musings on love, longing, despair–the usual subjects. But he also has songs inspired by the Adirondacks--the mountains, the people, the snow are all springboards for his Poet. After the Cooldog show, an anonymous reviewer (we’ll call her “Beth Cooldog”), had the following thoughts: “If you get the chance, go see and hear this Robert Hazard. Don’t go because he wrote “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. Don’t go because you were a fan of his punk Bowiesque songs from the early 1980s. Don’t go because it’s cool that he was on MTV when you still had hair. Go hear him because he deserves to be heard – he puts on a great show, is a consummate professional, and he makes it all look so easy, it just oughta be illegal.”

Opening the evening will be Chapel Street Junction, a four piece bluegrass group from the Newark area. These guys represent the second of two “discoveries” from the July coffee house. As you may know, most of the artists at our open mic nights are either solo or maybe a duo, but they challenged our sound crew when four of them wanted to play. But play they did, and they really impressed the audience with their up-tempo, ragged but right renditions of several bluegrass classics.

The band’s instrumentation includes two guitars, banjo, bass, and harmonica. Mandolin and fiddle are also featured within this quartet. Although rooted in bluegrass, the band does many traditional country and Irish songs, as well as some ragtime and surprising cover tunes. Members of the band have played many shows in DE and have toured the East Coast from NYC down to Florida. Their long list of influences includes Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, David Grisman, The Beatles, and Beethoven.

It all starts at 7:30 pm, November 18, in the Wesley College Chapel, corner of Division and North Bradford St. in Dover. Admission for this special show will be $12 for members and $15 for non-members. Teens are half price and kids 12 and under get in free. Be sure to bring a non-perishable food item for the Delaware Food Bank. A great evening of music, hot & cold drinks, and sweet treats await. Don’t let it happen without you. There’s nothing else like it in Dover.

-- John Kidd, DEFF President

Membership in the Delaware Friends of Folk is on an annual basis, and it's now time to renew your membership for 2007. You don't get too many bargains quite like this: For just $10 (individual) or $15 (family), you get discounted admission to all of our coffeehouses and our annual Festival, invitations to special "members only" events, including our annual membership meeting where you can vote for our Board of Directors. And there's more - now you can also join the Dover Federal Credit Union when you're a member of the Friends of Folk. Join or renew your membership today!

As of now, we will have elections for six seats on our Board of Directors. The election will be held at the annual membership meeting in December. There are five regular positions open, and one to fill the final year of Pauline Gonzalez-Diehl’s term. Pauline was our Festival co-chair this year and did a marvelous job of keeping things on course and on time. But her day job has changed and she will be unable to continue in her role with us, so her board seat is open too.

AND we need a Festival Chair, but that’s a volunteer position. Please consider running for a seat on our Board. Requirements include membership in Friends of Folk, attendance at Board meetings (usually the 1st Wednesday of each month), imagination, good ideas, an email address (very helpful, but not an absolute requirement), and the willingness to do many things on behalf of Friends of Folk.

The incumbent Board Members who are running: Bob Hamel, Beth Fizell, Kelly Crumpley, John Kidd, Walter Trifari.

And now some sad, sad news. As I was putting the finishing touches on this article, I got a phone call from Bob Beach. His friend, my friend, and a real friend of folk, DC Fitzgerald, passed from this earthly plateau on November 12. A memorial will be held in Pittsburgh sometime soon and there are very nebulous plans for some sort of fitting tribute to DC in this part of the world too. We will try to keep you informed.

Fitzgerald and Beach played the Delmarva Folk Festival three times, the coffee house twice, and they were willing volunteer participants in a fund-raiser held at Cooldog in May of 2005. It was less than two months ago that Fitzgerald & Beach once again wowed a Friends of Folk crowd at the September 16 coffee house. DC was the consummate musician, singer, songwriter, and human. He forgot more songs than most of us know, and remembered more friends than most of us will ever have. He will be missed. Check out http://www.fitzgeraldandbeach for details. The following came directly from Bob Beach:

Many of you already know of the passing of my longtime musical partner DC Fitzgerald. For those who do not, he died early Monday morning at Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. His wife Kathlee and sons Jesse and Nathan were with him. This is a great loss for all of us. DC will be cremated privately on Wednesday and the family asks that you all take a moment at 3pm EST to remember DC and his life. In December there will be 2 Celebrations of DC's life. The dates and locations will be announced shortly. One will be in Pittsburgh, PA and one in Philadelphia, PA. I am hoping to put together an area on our website for a guest book or area to leave thoughts. If you are on myspace you can leave comments on our page and hear some of the music. The links are below.

The family has also asked that in lieu of flowers a donation in DC's honor be sent to the Meher Spiritual Center, the address is below.

Meher Spiritual Center
10200 North Kings Highway
Myrtle Beach, SC 29572
More about the center at- http://www.mehercenter.org/

A new benefit for membership in the Delaware Friends of Folk has now been launched. Starting now, Delaware Friends of Folk members are eligible to become a member in the Dover Federal Credit Union. This means you can get all the great benefits of a credit union - great interest rates, low fees, personal service - that are only available to member organizations!

For more details on the benefits of Dover Federal Credit Union, see http://www.doverfcu.com/. There are 3 branches in Dover, 2 in New Castle, and one coming to Smyrna next year.

Believe it or not, we're already planning for next year's Delmarva Folk Festival. There are many exciting ideas that were surfaced at our "Wrap-Up" meeting on November 1 - more on that at a later date. We can share with you the schedule for nominations for performers for the 2007 Festival, which is planned for the first weekend in October, as usual.

Prospective performers can apply by sending a demo / press kit / CD to the Friends of Folk post office box. We also have a form that we have posted on this page: http://www.delfolk.org/contactForm.html, which gives us a consistent way to capture contact information, genre information, and required fees from performers. If you are a fan of a performer that you'd like to see considered, I'd recommend you contact the performer or their agent and direct them to our web site, so that they can provide the required information.

As promised, here is the schedule:

January 15 - the absolute deadline for festival submissions. (Given that this is Martin Luther King Day, we'll make one final stop to the mailbox on the 16th).

March 15 - we should have the selection process complete and performers notified by this date.

If you have other ideas for the festival, I suggest you show up at the first Festival meeting, which will be held on the first Wednesday of February 2007. If you'd like to volunteer to chair the Festival committee, then please contact one of the board members.