GENERIC FOLK

In the Beginning ...

The love of music brought us together. Ken and Allison did duets from time to time, and Allison and Corey loved to chase each others' harmonies around. It wasn't until we all lived in one place that we said "hey, we oughta do this in publick!".

We played a few coffehouses, bars, open mics, and small festivals, but when Paul joined in one night -- *CLICK* we had a band, and a sound. We've been having a ball with it ever since. Integrating electric guitar into folk music was a challenge ... and a fun one. From 2005 through to 2010, including nearly a hundred shows in all sorts of venues and weather and one really fun CD in 2007, we've changed, grown, expanded, and loved every minute of it. Paul's ability to write from scratch electric parts for old folk tunes was (and is) amazing; Alli's vocals just keep getting better and Ken is always looking for expanding our musical horizons.

In 2009, Heather joined the band, bringing a classically-trained violin/fiddle to our lineup, and giving us even more depth on vocals. We had a fun year integrating the fiddle with our sound, expanding all of our roles in the band, and getting better sound and better shows. We moved out of our own boxes, too, with Corey doing solo shows, Ken sitting in with Celtic musicians, Paul playing with a blues-rock band, and Alli taking speaking parts. We never lost our love for playing together, though. In late 2010, Paul decided to leave the group entirely to pursue both his own musical path and to play more with our friends, Minus John (a band more true to his blues/rock roots). It was the friendliest (and saddest) of partings, but the door is always open and we still love playing with Paul.

Now it's up to Ken, Alli, Corey and Heather to re-invent the band and take on some new directions ... and we're up to it! 2011's lineup will be more folk roots, more folk takes on jazz, blues, and rock, and more innovation. And who knows, maybe some cameo appearances from Paul ...

Our roots include Irish folk, English folk (yes there is such a thing!), Canadian and American roots folk, sixties/seventies folk rock, gospel, rock&roll, R&B, country, railroad tunes and poetic ballads. We love to do unusual arrangements and harmonies, even on old standards; our shows include the quiet & philosophical to the raucous & rockin'. With all that, it's still the love of music, and doing something creative and innovative, that keeps us going.

It's who we are.

	Ken Horne has been playing acoustic guitar for ... well, as nearly as we can tell, forever. His amazing fingerpicking and syncopation are the acoustic lead and rhythm for most of our tunes. Ken is an excellent storyteller (read: BS artiste), knows ten million songs, and can seemingly play anything. With his gruff, gravelly bass and surprisingly gentle harmonies, Ken lends wisdom and grit to our vocals and a flash of gnomish charm to our stage presence. Being an ordained minister, he's also our spiritual grounding. He's an inspiration to all of us.
Allison Johnson has a smile that can light up an auditorium, but her vocals do it far better. Her clear, clean tones weave over and through our songs; as our lead vocalist, she leads us a merry chase and we enjoy just trying to keep up. Although a mezzo-soprano, Allison can dig pretty far into the alto range and reach up into the coleratura, and her power is such that we usually have to turn her mic down just so the audience knows we're also playing. Allison plays piano, but we don't let her. She just sings too well.
	Heather Southard is a classically-trained violinist who brings a certain amount of sophistication to the band. Her subtle leads give a verve to the Folk's sound and yet she still manages to lean on it for the more raucous tunes. She can also sing (also a mezzo), and does wonderful harmonies with Alli. Sometimes, she tries to play the guitar (Heather, just stop!) a little. Her excellent ear and training help a lot with new tunes, and her violin gives the band a whole new sound.
Corey Crompton refuses to specialise. Whether rhythm guitar, lead picking, harmonica, mandolin, 12-string or bodhrán (his weapon of choice) is needed, Corey fills in the gaps and gives versatility and depth to our music. His slightly husky Irish tenor fills in between Allison and Ken, and he's second only to Ken in keeping up the patter (read: BS artiste, journeyman). Corey does lead vocals when required, remembers what key the %*! song is supposed to be in, and often sets the rhythm with his bodhrán (Irish drum). If forced to, he can yodel.