This months featured coffee house performer, Judith Kay, last graced our stage about three years ago. She was the first performer who offered to provided a program for her show–and she is STILL the only one to predict her program that far in advance. She has promised a similar effort for her March 8 performance.

Composer, lyricist and arranger Judith Kay is a one-of-a-kind jazz singer-guitarist. Her broad activities range from musical director of her group, ChamberJazz? Ensemble, to co-founder, in 1997, of the Arden Jazz Gild, a society devoted to the promotion and preservation of American jazz. For the last 23 years, she has performed her repertoire of Brazilian bossa nova and swing-era jazz throughout the USA and Europe.

Since 1986, she has produced six recordings on her own TASTY label, and is now at work on her seventh. She has traveled to Brazil to research the history and rhythmic styles of Brazilian popular music. This became the basis for a course that she taught at the University of Delaware called “The Brazilian Sound.”

A former arranging student of Manny Albam, she has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition, she has been the rare recipient of two Individual Artist Fellowships from the Delaware Division of the Arts - in Jazz Performance as well as Composition. In both 2004 and 2005 Judith received a DDOA Opportunity Grant for the purpose of career advancement and is a past recipient of several Individual Artist Fellowships from the DDOA. Judith Kay is listed in Who’s Who in Entertainment and 2000 Outstanding Musicians of the 20th Century.

An active composer, Judith received a commission (with lyricist Cecilia Vore) for the Berkshire Chorale of Reading, Pa., which was debuted in the spring of 2003. Her latest CD, a solo effort entitled “Judith Kay – Even More?Her Voice, Her Guitar” was released in the spring of 2004. Judith teaches guitar and music theory at her home studio in Arden, Del.

Opening the evening will be the local group Sand Creek. It has been my privilege and pleasure (though Tom Waits decided it was “plevilege and priasure”) to play music with Lonnie Field for going on 10 years. But Sand Creek, in one form or another, has been making Lonnie’s music for 30 years. Warm, intimate, funny, and in-your-face original songs, together with spirited playing and melt-in-your-mouth harmonies have been the band’s trademarks. Lonnie’s songs are a mixture of humor and satire from real life experiences. Some of the songs will hit close to home. Others will take you far away. All are sure to give you a new way to look at the world.

As always, members drift in and out of the band. One current version features Deloy Moore, me, and hopefully a few old friends too. Many have asked about long-time Creeker Walt Dabell. We’re glad to report that, following season-ending shoulder surgery, Walt is in intensive rehab and is once again strumming his strings and feeling like he can perform at the level he expects. We anticipate his return sometime this decade.

Deloy Moore was an early member of the Sand Creek Gang, drifted away on his many other band and solo projects, and has only lately fallen back in the Creek. He’s a multi-instrumentalist in the truest sense, likely migrating from guitar to mandolin to dobro to banjo and back to guitar in one set. And Deloy is also an accomplished songwriter and might be coaxed into offering one or two of his own. He lately moved to Charlottesville, VA and will be playing in Dover for the first time this year.

I got fully immersed in the Creek around 1999 and haven’t crawled out yet. It’s an honor to add harmonica, vocals, and percussion in support of the guys up front. Incidentally, a Sand Creek set is the polar opposite of a Judith Kay set. Aside from the obvious musical and gender differences, a Sand Creek set list is typically a last minute thing and even then is often more of a guide than a program.
Sand Creek's music is a mix of contemporary folk, blues, bluegrass, country, and rock. Influences on their music style have come from a broad range. From Steve Goodman and John Prine, to Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, to Deep Purple and Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimmy Buffett, The Band, Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waites, Bob Dylan, Warren Zevon, Hank Williams, Woodie Guthrie, and Minnie Moore.
It all starts at 7:30 pm, March 8, in the Wesley College Chapel, corner of Division and N. Bradford, in Dover. Admission will be $5 for members and $7 for non-members. We’ll have plenty of hot coffee, cool drinks, and sweet snacks. Come out on an early spring night, bring a friend, and see it happen.

-- John Kidd, DEFF Board Member

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.

The 2008 Delmarva Folk Festival is scheduled for October 3rd and 4th this year. It promises to be one you’ll remember. We’ll have many types of music ranging from folk to blues, to jazz, to world music. We will also continue the tradition of encouraging local musicians to take part in the fun (yes, the return of the Delmarva Folk Hero contest!) and will offer lots of activities for children. You can’t imagine a more natural site for a fall festival than the Field Farm. Mark your calendar now!

It’s not too early to sign up to help. We have lots of committees that need volunteers. We also still need of a chairperson for the Security/Parking committee. This is a key position and one that is critical to the success of the festival.

The first 2008 Festival meeting will take place on March 5th beginning at 6:30 at Sheridan’s in downtown Smyrna. Please join us and you’ll be joining a fun, lively group of people who work to produce the best music festival in the area.

If you have questions or what more information, call Kae Mason at (302) 736-5585 or e-mail her at kaejohnson1@comcast.net.

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!

DELAWARE FRIENDS OF FOLK
ANNUAL GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
December 15, 2007
Wesley College Chapel
Dover, Delaware

I am pleased to offer the following report to the membership. I am concluding my seventh and final year as Board Chair of Delaware Friends of Folk and want to thank all of the great folks who have make my task bearable, and most times downright enjoyable. I am not leaving the organization. I simply feel it is time for someone else to be the “face” of Delaware Friends of Folk.

We are an organization of just under 100 members. Our official membership roles declined sharply a few years ago as we were vexed by the perennial problem of small, all-volunteer groups–too much to do and not enough people to do it. Thanks to membership chair Terrie McClay and marketing chair Jim McGiffin, the downward trend in memberships has been reversed and we actually have a few more members now than last year at this time. But we still need more, so if you know someone who was once a member, or someone who should be a member, please encourage them to sign up. We literally depend on you, our members, for everything. And remember-you can pay your 2008 dues today. And as a recently added benefit of membership, being one of us means you also qualify to be a customer of the Delaware Federal Credit Union. They offer financial services that may not be available at a regular bank, so check them out.

In brief, the financial state of the organization is that we have over $7000 in our several bank accounts, about $3000 more than we had at last year’s annual meeting. The majority of our funds reside in an ING interest-bearing account and we keep a “working balance” in the regular checking account. Most of the $3000 increase was due to the amazing fund-raising work of the entire group, in particular our good friends at Cooldog, Paul Gumerman and Beth Fizell, Walter Trifari at Fordham Brewing, and Rob Fox and his Bar-B-Q wizards. Financially we didn’t do very well at either the 2006 or 2007 Delmarva Folk Festival, but the various fund-raisers built a cushion for such occasions.

In other 2007 financial activity, we received a total of $2500 in grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts and $1000 from JPMorgan-Chase on behalf of Board member Beth Fizell. We paid about $3000 to 15 different coffee house acts and about double that to performers at the Delmarva Folk Festival, as we continue to support folk music and musicians in this region. I believe we continue to be in stable financial condition.

We're concluding a very successful year from an activities and participation viewpoint: 10 newsletters (published electronically, saving several trees and hundreds of dollars in stamps), 11 coffeehouses at Wesley College, and our 16th annual Delmarva Folk Festival at Lonnie and Sonja’s wonderful farm. We continue to reach out to our members and the community at large. We have a toll-free information phone, 877-DEL-FOLK that contains updated information and ways to contact various parts of our organization. All of this and more is also available on our web site, delfolk.org, with space kindly donated by Cooldog Technologies.

Over the past year, we have produced what I believe is the widest variety of music of any performing arts presenter in Delaware. We’ve sponsored blues, bluegrass, Cajun, Celtic, jazz, singer-songwriters, old-time, Americana, contemporary folk-rock, and just plain folk music. Over 60 different acts and well over 150 different performers graced the Friends of Folk stages during 2007. Over 30 of our own members were on one of the several Friends of Folk stages during 2007. We intend to maintain and hopefully expand those numbers in 2008.

We also started the “Delmarva Folk Heroes” contest. This involved audience votes at two open-mic coffee houses to select the finalists who appeared on stage on Friday evening at the Festival. The audience of over 150 that evening selected “Bad Wheel Johny” as the winner of studio time and other gifts from local firms. It seemed like such a success that we’re planning to do it again.

This year we continued to sponsor music workshops. As something a bit different, many Festival-goers enjoyed a more intimate session with Pete and Maura Kennedy as they talked about and performed some of their favorite cover songs. And our annual Greg Shrader songwriters circle helps the audience connect a bit with the creative process. The good response to these sessions means we will continue to explore opportunities to bring this type of event to Delaware.

As noted, we partnered with Cooldog and Fordham to present a mini-Festival in April, a benefit for the “rainy day fund.” Nine different acts (Lake Forest Central 6th Grade Jazz Band, Celtic Harvest, Sandcreek, Michael Young, Chapel Street Junction, Andy & Denise, Sam Shaber, Tempest, and The Alex Scuby Band) donated their time and talent and presented an afternoon of Friends of Folk music to an enthusiastic sun-drenched, audience. Those still around at sunset were treated to the amazing fire-breathing of Damien Gonzalez, Tempest’s bass player. Also that day, Rob Fox’s crew and his unrivaled Traeger smokers produced some of the best bar-b-q this side of Carolina. The BBQ Grills, Inc. guys were also at FordhamFest and the Delmarva Folk Festival, and never failed to draw a crowd.

We also hooked up with Fordham Brewery in Dover for a few events. They did a “tasting” at the Festival and sold their product. donating the proceeds to our electric fund. In return, Deloy Moore, the Squawgm Possums, Larissa Moore, Johny Maduro, Mike Roots, and SandCreek provided music for Fordham’s annual FordhamFest. We are exploring other opportunities with these and additional groups. Our members also appeared in many other events and venues as individual performers.

We continue to keep our feet in the main stream of folk music by being members of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance. This is an international group of folk organizations, performers, sponsors, presenters, and individuals who share common interests and goals in the broad areas of folk music and dance. We became official “small organization” members in January, 2003 and continue our membership in this well-respected organization. By doing so, we have been able to gain IRS 501(c)(3) designation as a nonprofit organization. We have also established some modest levels of giving for those who are able to support us beyond their annual membership fee.

We welcomed one new member to our Board this year. Rob Fox has been quite active in keeping us well-fed, and fed well. As noted above, he cooks up some amazing food, but his real day-job involves being a CPA. Thanks to Jan Crumpley who has ably served as our Secretary for the past four years. A special thanks to Beth Fizell for everything she has done this year, including arranging the events of this evening--the election, and the munchies.

Tonight we will elect four folks to our Board of Directors and at least one of them will be new. We say goodbye and thanks to Terrie McClay. She’s not leaving FoF, but new obligations keep her from making a regular commitment. Terrie will be missed, particularly when it comes to managing our membership roles.
And we say farewell to a founding member of Friends of Folk–Deloy Moore. Deloy is moving to Virginia, so his stint as our coffee house sound tech is over. He has promised to return from time to time, and will likely drag some of that Virginia music culture with him. Paul Gumerman will initially take over Deloy’s post, but will be preparing several others to step in too.

This year Kae Mason returned to guide the Delmarva Folk Festival and Jan Crumpley bravely volunteered to serve as Festival co-chair. They have agreed to repeat their roles, but we always need volunteers to take charge of various parts of what we do Being a Board member means different things to different members. But it’s always giving time and talent, stretching and being stretched, rewarding and being rewarded. But you can do all of that without being a Board member too. See Kae, Beth or any Board member to learn how to get involved in what we do.

Again my thanks to everyone connected with this organization. It’s been a real pleasure working with everybody these past seven years and I look forward to a productive and successful 2008 and beyond.

John Kidd
Board Chair