17 November 1998

We've just gotten back from a wonderful weekend at the Northeast Regional conference of the North American FolkAlliance. We performed in the Friday night formal showcase and the late-night "Celtic/British/Canadian" showcase and were well received. We handed out dozens of demo CD's, attended some great workshops, and jammed well into the small hours... all in all, it was terrific.

It's been quite a while since the last news update - we went through a period of sort of daring each other to write one. What's been happening? Well, we played a busy spring and fall schedule and took most of the summer off, with only scattered gigs. We played a great double bill in June for the Philadelphia Folksong Society with Einstein's Little Homunculus - it went so well we did it again in September at Club Passim in Cambridge, MA. Both shows concluded with all 10 of us jammed onto the stage, cranking out jigs and reels, our "As I Roved Out" and ELH's "Disobedience." Another highlight was the Folk Project Fall Festival in northern New Jersey - one of the ultimate folk music immersion experiences.

We've been slowly pulling material together for a new album, which we plan to record early next year. Some of it will be songs we have been playing for a while, and some will be new pieces (which may stay under wraps until the album comes out).

Tom Rhoads