Postcrypt Coffeehouse
1999-2000: 35th Anniversary Season

The Postcrypt Coffeehouse is located in the basement of St. Paul's Chapel
on the campus of Columbia University in New York City.  We feature live
acoustic music from both local and national acts.  When we say acoustic,
we really mean it; there are no microphones.  Columbia is located at 116th
St. and Broadway and is accessible by the 1 and 9 subways.  Admission is
always free and open to all.  Performances start at 9 P.M. and generally
run through 12:30 A.M. on every Friday and Saturday during the school
year..  For more info, call 212-854-1953 or send email to
postcrypt@columbia.edu  Please browse our World Wide Web page at
http://www.cc.columbia.edu../

FALL SCHEDULE

Friday 24 September 

Terre Roche  -  It's been a long time since Terry Roche has been at the
 Postcrypt.  In between gigs, she has released over 12 albums, appeared on
 countless others, toured extensively, appeared as a cartoon on Tiny Toons
 and gained general recognition and acclaim as a member of The Roches with
 her sisters Maggie and Suzzy.  Recently she's been working with her new
 band Terre and Her Moodswings and teaching guitar at The New School.
 This is a terrific opportunity to hear Terre in an intimate space; don't
 miss this legendary performer.
Bob Norman  -  Called "a mainstay of the folk circuit" by the Los Angeles
 Times, Bob Norman has been in folk music for almost 30 years, first as
 the editor-in-chief of Sing Out! magazine and then as a highly regarded
 and well-respected performer.  But his earliest days in folk music were
 spent as a student at Columbia, when he explored folk, blues and rock 'n'
 roll. We're very pleased to welcome back veteran Bob Norman and what Pete
 Seeger calls his "warm, wonderful, very singable songs" to the Postcrypt.
Peter Spink  -  Performing over 200 gigs per year, Peter Spink is one of
 those musicians who has honed his stage presentation into a fine art.
 When you add in his great songwriting talent, you have multiple reasons
 to make sure you see him live.  Rex Fowler of Aztec Two-Step says of
 Peter's music, "It's adult fare, but with a definite kick: songs and a
 voice filled with urgency and passion."

Saturday 25 September 

A special Columbia student performer will be the first act of the evening.
Pat Humphries  -  When Pat Humphries sings, her voice has the power and
 conviction to hush an audience.  The inclusive quality of her performance
 informs, inspires, motivates and helps people keep alive the spirit of
 community.  Her moving songs and beautiful melodies address a wide range
 of social issues: peace, justice, the environment, as well as the rights
 of women, gays, lesbians, the people of Latin America and the Caribbean,
 native people and poor and working people all around the world.  Pat's
 selection of songs will make you think, feel, laugh, cry and join in.
Petronella  -  With rich harmonies, savvy lyrics, and an off-beat
 sensibility, perennial Postcrypt favorite Petronella captivates audiences
 on stage and on the air. The duo's beautifully interwoven vocals and
 strong guitar foundation are the hallmark of their sound, fusing diverse
 folk, pop and traditional influences.  Petronella's songs engage issues
 of love, gender, and social justice.  Petronella is Sandy Opatow and
 Lucia Russett who have shared over 10 years of music-making and
 friendship.

Friday 1 October

Open Stage  -  Folk, blues, bluegrass, jazz, reggae you name it!  We also
 welcome poets, storytellers, actors, comics, and performers of all kinds.
 Performances start at 9:00; sign-up begins promptly at 8:45.  Eight to
 ten minute limit.

Saturday 2 October

Pamela Bertoli  -  Known for "sensitive interpretations of Suzanne Vega
 and Kate Wolf songs" (Danbury News-Times), Pamela Bertoli is "also a fine
 songwriter and a smooth fingerstyle guitarist" (Norwalk Weekly Life and
 Times).  She has played all over southern Connecticut and around New York
 City, and we're very happy to welcome her for her Postcrypt debut.
Akire Bubar  -  Akire Bubar is a spirited performer from Philadelphia
 with an engaging presence and polish.  She has a strong and moving voice
 and is a wonderful guitar player.  Her repertoire encompasses traditional
 folk, the work of contemporaries like Bob Franke and Joni Mitchell and
 her own material.  The Folk Project has described her as "the voice that
 could launch a thousand ships."  We've happy to have her for her second
 Postcrypt appearance.
Mike Agranoff  -  Mike Agranoff is the guy who walks into a song circle at
 a folk festival at three in the morning and introduces some great British
 ballad which fits in perfectly with every other song and which he sings
 with a strong voice and a great sense of drama.  His folk music knowledge
 and commitment to promoting artists and the music in general have made
 him a great resource.  He also writes some terrific songs and plays
 fingerstyle guitar, terrific concertina, banjo and harmonica.  He is a
 word-smith and raconteur and that makes for a terrific live performance.
 The last time he played, he was competing with a concert upstairs and a
 flood downstairs.  And he still wowed us.

Friday 8 October

James O'Brien  -  Geoff Bartley says, "James O'Brien is a young,
 compelling, intense, literate performer with a bright future."  James has
 been playing places like Cambridge's Club Passim and New York's Dark Star
 Lounge, Living Room and Fast Folk Café.  We are very happy to welcome
 this emerging talent for his Postcrypt debut.
Ina May Wool  -  Ina May Wool has been a Postcrypt favorite for several
 years now.  With the February 1999 release of her well-regarded first
 album, Moon Over 97th Street, (which Dirty Linnen called "a scrupulously
 conceived fin de siecle classic") the demand for her music is only
 growing.  
Patti Rothberg  -  Patti Rothberg released her first album, Between the
 One and the Nine, in 1996; Billboard called it "the most inspired debut
 in recent memory," while USA Today declared that she was "one stop from
 stardom...a new name triumph - a mix of urban folk and full-tilt rock."
 She has performed on Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show
 and toured all over the world.  She once played the platforms of the 1/9
 but now you have to take the 1/9 to 116th Street to hear this talented
 and exciting young woman.

Saturday 9 October

Ben Demerath  -  Ben Demerath is known in the bluegrass world for his work
 with the group Sugarbeat.  But he's equally well-known elsewhere for his
 deft, accomplished songs.  Bluegrass Unlimited has said, "Not only can
 Demerath sing like angels inspired, he's a great songwriter."  And Tim
 O'Brien attests "Demerath's a great singer who writes good songs and
 delivers them well."  His songs are touching and heartfelt, and his voice
 is perfect for the Postcrypt's space.  We're delighted to have him back.
Jeff Cannon  -  Rich, warm vocals, memorable melodies, incisive lyrics, a
 thoughtful and beguiling performer: these are some of the things being
 written about Bloomington, Indiana-based singer-songwriter Jeff Cannon,
 one of the brightest and busiest voices to have come out of the
 talent-rich Boston acoustic music scene.  But the Postcrypt came before
 all of that.  There aren't too many people who can claim to have been
 around the Postcrypt as long as Jeff; in fact, there isn't anybody.  He
 grew up here, after his father started the coffeehouse in 1964.  He keeps
 coming back, and we're more than happy to welcome him back.
Sandy Ross  -  Sandy Ross is a veteran contemporary folk and acoustic
 blues coffeehouse performer of the late 1960's, a Peter Yarrow new writer
 pick of the mid-'70's and a Fast Folk Magazine artist of '80's.  Now that
 it's 1999, we're happy to welcome her for her Postcrypt debut and perhaps
 claim her as a Postcrypt performer of the next decade.  Her songs are
 rooted in the blues but contain great social and political commentary.
 Sing Out! has called her "the real thing^Åa gifted, versatile songwriter
 and a powerful singer who always sounds committed to her material.

Friday 15 October

Marc Teamaker  -  He loves to roam,  he loves to explore, and he loves to
 be at home by the fire with his stream-of-atlas consciousness.  Lust for
 Wanda, Marc Teamaker's first full-length recording effort as a solo
 artist, is a twelve song tale that will captivate your imagination and
 catapult you through quirky melodies and interesting harmonic changes.
 In recent years Teamaker has fronted several quirky-pop groups in the
 Northeast.  It's now 1999 and Teamaker has arrived on his own terms.
 This is his second Postcrypt appearance.
Tom Stahl  -  In October of '94 Tom Stahl had back surgery and that forced
 him to quit his truck-driving career. Tom picked up his guitar and turned
 to music.  Since his debut show in March of '95, Tom has opened for Joan
 Osborne, Sara Craig, Moxy Fruvos and Tom Cochrane and has put out two
 albums.  He comes to us all the way from Buffalo, New York.  He made his
 Postcrypt debut last year, and we found him so friendly, personable,
 interesting and just plain good that we decided he had to come back.
Dave's True Story  -  Combine smoky, sexy vocals with quirky songs about
 love, lust and venetian blinds and you're getting warm, baby.  The New
 York City duo has been dubbed everything from "beat-lounge" to "Cole
 Porter-meets-Seinfeld" to "jazzy stuff for the new café society."
 According to their official biography, one of the first gigs they played
 was at the Postcrypt; they didn't even have a name, and "the guy who
 organized it announced us like this: 'I've never heard these guys before
 and I don't know if they're any good, but here they are.'"  The gig
 turned out to be especially formative because as Kelly was introducing
 the song 'Last Go Round', she said, "This next story is a true story,
 it's Dave's true story."  Somebody yelled out: "That's your name". The
 duo was christened Dave's True Story.

Saturday 16 October

Django Haskins  -  When asked to describe Django, the friend who was
 trying to sell us on him said, "Describe Django?  Django is, well,
 Django."  And we agree whole-heartedly, and we love him.  He's been
 putting in his time in New York, playing CB's Gallery, The Den and other
 local venues.  He frequently plays with a full band, but his songs reveal
 their true intimacy and sensitivity when it's just Django alone.  He was
 supposed to make his Postcrypt debut last spring, but a broken wrist got
 in his way.  So now please welcome this rising talent for his Postcrypt
 debut.
Teddy Goldstein  -  A singer-songwriter hailing from the "tough streets of
 Philadelphia," Teddy moved to Boston where he performed on the streets of
 Harvard Square and in the subways while attending the Berklee College of
 Music.  He now lives in New York City and can be seen in many of New
 York's finer venues playing with a number of Postcrypt favorites, such as
 those with whom he is playing tonight.
Edie Carey  -  According to Richard Cuccaro of The Fast Folk Café. "Edie
 Carey's soaring voice and breathy vocal attack may remind some of Ani
 Difranco.  However, her growing legion of fans know that Edie's clever
 lyrics on the inconsistencies of romance fall closer to wry humor that
 they do to Ani's angst. Another folk diva has arrived!"  She wowed them
 this summer at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival's New Artist Showcase,
 where she was chosen from almost 400 performers to be one of 27 who
 performed.  

Friday 22 October

Carmin Turco  -  Carmin Turco has played at the Postcrypt for a number of
 years (and sometimes on very short notice, which makes us like him a
 lot). He has a terrific stage presence and a set of great songs that will
 draw you in and make you his.  Carmin always seems to draw a crowd so
 arrive early to get a seat.
Jonathan Pointer  -  The world's smallest giant moved into our
 neighborhood last year, and we are very happy to hame him so close to the
 Postcrypt.  The Washington Post declared him one of "Americana's Folk
 Heroes."  He's been compared to Tom Waits but has a musical voice and
 style all his own.  He's played C.B.'s Gallery, the Bitter End and the
 Fast Folk Café and participated two summers ago in the Falcon Ridge Folk
 Festival's Artist Showcase.
Damion Wolfe  -  The musical style of Damion Wolfe includes various
 elements of pop, hip-hop, Latin funk, folk, classical, country, rock and
 jazz.  From the D.C. area, he was nominated last year for Best Artist of
 the Year by the Washington Area Music Association.  One Virginia paper
 has described his music as "eclectic and cerebral, amusing, well scripted
 and funky."

Saturday 23 October

Eric Schwartz  -  Eric Schwartz sings about new-age girlfriends,
 angst-ridden cockroaches, sexually ambiguous roommates and New York
 street characters.  He uses humor, irony and honesty to build a landscape
 where nothing is sacred, and everything is a little, well, different.
 Eric steadily has build a New York following by playing The Bitter End,
 CB's Gallery, The Living Room, The Fast Folk Café, The Sidewalk Café, The
 Dark Star and Washington Square Park.  He just released his debut CD at
 the start of 1999, and we're happy to have him with us.
Kevin So  -  Kevin So is the most recent star to emerge from the Boston
 Folk Scene. He has been nominated for Boston Music Awards for Best New
 Contemporary Folk Act and Best Debut Folk Album.  He sold out Club Passim
 with the release of his excellent second CD Individual, and he has
 garnered the attention and praise from legends Peter Yarrow, Dave Van
 Ronk, Jack Hardy and Richie Havens.  His music is deeply rooted in
 traditional delta and country blues: Robert Johnson, Lightnin' Hopkins,
 and Mississippi John Hurt. His recent influences include Tom Waits, Paul
 Simon, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Shawn Colvin, James Taylor and Bob
 Dylan.
Mary Gauthier  -  Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mary Gauthier studied
 philosophy in college but then headed off to study culinary arts.  She
 opened two successful restaurants but recently sold Boston's Dixie
 Kitchen in order to take up a musical career.  Never one to forget her
 roots, Gauthier named her first album Dixie Kitchen.  On her success in
 Boston, she received a Boston Music Award nomination for Best New
 Contemporary Folk Act in 1998.  Following in the tradition of Nanci
 Griffith and Iris DeMent (or, according to the Boston Globe, John Prine
 and Steve Earle), Gauthier bridges the folk-country divide with her bayou
 voice and southern heart.

***The Postcrypt will be closed for a week because of the Election Day
holiday.***

Friday 5 November

Tony Noe  -  Jim Santo of the Alternative Press says, "Tony Noe's gritty
 voice is appealing, with an endearing falsetto, and he's got a gift for
 melody.  I wouldn't be surprised if he made it in a mainstream way."
 Tony played one of our open stages last year, and we knew that we wanted to
 have him down for a full set.  
Rick Ilowite  -  Rick Ilowite is one of the premiere fingerstyle
 guitarists on the folk scene.  His repertoire consists largely of the
 blues, ragtime and gospel music of such legends as Blind Blake and the
 Reverend Gary Davis.  Every Rick Ilowite performance is a unique musical
 event: a rollercoaster ride through blues classics and original material
 complemented with a great sense of humor.  Please welcome him for his
 Postcrypt debut.
Jim Allen  -  This guy plays his guitar weird^×upside down and backwards
 and with a string missing^×but he plays it well.  And his songs are very
 cool, as well.  In 1996, he released Weeper's Stomp on 1-800-PRIMECD to
 very positive reviews.  Fast Folk Magazine says "With his strange tunings
 and sly hooligan's take on the world, his narrative control transcends
 mere songwriting commentary."  Jim has been delighting crowds around New
 York for years, and we're very happy to welcome him back to the
 Postcrypt.

Saturday 6 November

Andrew Kerr  -  Andrew Kerr delivers tightly woven stories and catchy
 melodies with a healthy dose of sarcasm and wit. Andrew started his
 performing career doing stand-up comedy in college, and from the moment
 he steps on stage, this is apparent.  His live shows are high-energy and
 interactive, and have been described as a folk-rock-comedy blend.  This
 past June, he released his second CD, Ain't It Strange.  Andrew always
 packs them in at the Postcrypt, so come down early.
Deborah Bartley  -  Deborah Bartley grew up  in suburban Indiana.  She
 left home for Berkeley, California at 19.  Five cities, two continents,
 25 jobs and five colleges later she found herself in Los Angeles playing
 music.  Brenda Parr of Hot City writes, "She mesmerized me right away
 with her strong, sweet voice and... casual poetic-folk energy."  We love
 her debut album, These Small Rooms, and we're happy to welcome her for
 her Postcrypt debut.
Chris and Meredith Thompson  -  These twin sisters have incredibly tight
 vocal harmonies, play the flute and the congas, have deft songwriting
 talents, possess a wonderful stage presence and carry three albums to
 their credit.  They were part of the 1997 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival New
 Folk Showcase and appeared at the festival this past year to participate
 in several workshops.  We're very happy to welcome this delightful
 pair--don't call them the Thompson Twins--for their Postcrypt debut.

Friday 12 November

Open Stage

Saturday 13 November

Poetry Night  -  An official Postcrypt tradition, this semester's poetry
 night promises to feature the best and brightest of Columbia University
 and New York City's young poets.  We hope that all attendees will bring
 along some material of their own to share or read.

Friday 19 November

Special Evening with the Little Me Music Acoustic Co-Op
 Little Me is an acoustic cooperative for phour "phierce indie pholk
 musicians," Tina Vero, Jody Williamson and Andy & Denise.  The group
 formed in 1998 to provide support and advice^×both musical and
 professional.  All three acts are wonderful performers on their own but
 are even better when they have their Co-Op partners adding backing vocals
 or select guitar licks.  Tina Vero is a young woman with a terrific voice
 and a jumbo guitar.  Her songwriting is intense yet intriguing.  She's
 been inspired by musicians from Melissa Ethridge to Neil Finn of Crowded
 House to Dar Williams.  Andy & Denise combine original lyrics with
 soaring harmonies.  Before forming the duo, Andy attended Berklee College
 of Music, while Denise was mostly involved in theatre and television.
 Together they have created a great pholk sound.  Jody Williamson has
 played in numerous bands and studied jazz composition, but we think he's
 at his best when he's playing solo (with his Co-Op partners providing
 some help).  His voice is captivating and endearing, and his songs are
 moving.  Jody played this past summer at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival's
 New Artist Showcase, where he was one of a select group of artists drawn
 from a tremendous number of applications.

Saturday 20 November

Charles Lyonhart  -  Charles Lyonhart was born in the Bronx.  In the
 1960's, he rambled around and crossed paths with William Burroughs, Allen
 Ginsberg, Bob Dylan and Tim Hardin among others.  But it wasn't until
 1997 that he released his debut CD, Leap of Faith.  He's already followed
 that up with another one.  The SoHo Weekly News puts him "somewhere
 between Oscar Wilde, Leonard Cohen and the land of the midnight sun."
 We're putting him on stage for his Postcrypt debut.
Pamela Means  -  Pamela Means is on her way to becoming something big.
 Last year, we could say that she was the 1996 Wisconsin Female Vocalist
 of the Year.  Now we can tell you that she was the most popular artist
 from the 1998 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival New Artist Showcase and holds
 the record for CD sales by a showcase performer at Falcon Ridge.  She
 came back to Falcon Ridge as part of their Most Wanted Song Swap this
 past year and also performed at Ben & Jerry's Newport Folk Festival.  She
 was also nominated in 1999 for a Boston Music Award for Outstanding New
 Contemporary Folk Act.  No less an authority than Ani DiFranco has told
 her, "You've got such a deep groove...I can't get out.  And I wouldn't
 want to."  
Les Sampou  -  WXPN legend Gene Shay says, "She's funky; she's flashy;
 she's a fantastic songwriter!  Les Sampou is one of my favorites."
 Songwriter's Monthly says, "Les' words dangle from the strings and Les
 manipulates them like a master.  With confidence and cunning she brings
 people into her songs and makes them feel, makes them understand^Å  She
 has a gift, she has a power."  With a solid blues background and lots of
 road miles behind her, Les Sampou has come into her own.  We're very
 happy to welcome her for her Postcrypt debut.

***The Postcrypt will be closed for one week for the Thanksgiving
Holiday.***

Friday 3 December

Open Stage

Saturday 4 December

Jackie Tice  -  Garnering critical acclaim and favorable reviews, Jackie
 Tice has been witnessing constant miracles. Her latest release, Blue
 Coyote, is spinning from New Hampshire to California and in countries
 such as Australia, Italy and Canada.  She has been touted as "one of the
 Philadelphia area's most respected songwriters," and her style has been
 compared to that of an early Joni Mitchell.  Tice has been honing her
 craft for two decades, and her songs are small wonders of hope and
 survival; they have their own inner fire and warmth.
Kate McDonnell  -  Kate McDonnell has been performing for only five years
 as a solo artist, but has garnered the respect of her peers and folk fans
 all over the country very quickly. After performing with her twin sister
 Anne throughout high school and college, and four years in a successful
 New-England duo McDonnell-Tane, Kate split off on her own in 1994 to join
 the growing forces of female singer-songwriters.  She produced her first
 album, Broken Bones, released in November 1994, and re-issued by Waterbug
 Records in 1996. She was voted # 1 singer-songwriter in her home town New
 Haven Advocate's "Sounds of New Haven" poll in July 1994.  After a short
 move to the state of Washington, she's back in the Northeast; check her
 out.
Terry Kitchen  -  Stephen Ide of Dirty Linen magazine has called Terry
 Kitchen, "One of New England's finest songwriters."  Singer-songwriter
 Vance Gilbert says that he "picks up where Elvis Costello and Tom Waits
 merge and leave off."  He's released four CD's of his songs, and he
 stresses that he's more of a storyteller than a musician.  For several
 years now, Terry has hosted the Night Owl Song Swap at the Falcon Ridge
 Folk Festival.  We had a great time with him back in the spring, and
 we're very happy to welcome him back this fall.

NOTE:  This schedule is subject to (sometimes drastic and/or sudden)
 change.  So please call us at 212-854-1953 to confirm all shows.  And
 remember all shows are free and open to all.