MEDIA ADVISORY

Mayor William J. Holtzinger

CONTACT: Susan S. Harding, Acting Public Information Officer, 301-600-1385

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, April 17, 2007

THE WEINBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS PRESENTS….

EDDIE FROM OHIO

April 28, 2007 ~ 8:00 pm

Frederick, MD ----Too energetic to be labeled just "folk", and not angry enough to be

"alternative", Eddie from Ohio continues to defy description with their unique blend of

vocals and acoustic instrumentation. A bedrock foundation of hand & stick percussion

and a textural flavoring of acoustic guitar/bass/harmonica support the four-part harmonies

and lyrically-driven original music. While this combination has drawn comparisons like

the Grateful Dead meets Peter, Paul & Mary, or like Jewel fronts the Bare Naked Ladies,

EFO fuses a multitude of musical influences to create their own trademark sound.

Performing Songwriter writes, "The manic strumminess recalls Ani DiFranco or Dave

Matthews, but there's also a deep undercurrent of high, lonesome mountain harmony that

should appeal to fans of Alison Krauss and Union Station."

With this trademark sound, EFO has produced seven CDs (selling over 100,000

copies to date), toured from Maine to California, cultivated a mailing list of over 20,000

names, received air play from hundreds of radio stations worldwide, been invited to play

the Main Stage at prestigious festivals like Philadelphia Folk, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

(Hillsdale, NY), Folks Festival (Lyons, CO) and City Stages (Birmingham, AL),

appeared on syndicated radio programs Mountain Stage and World Cafe, & were

awarded "Best Contemporary Folk Group" by the Washington Area Music Association in

1998, 2000 & 2001.

Not bad for a Virginia-based band that began in 1991 playing covers in

neighborhood bars when three James Madison University graduates (Robbie Schaefer,

Eddie Hartness & Michael Clem) teamed up with Virginia Tech alumnae Julie Murphy

(now Murphy Wells). After more than a decade, with the same four members in tact,

EFO graduated from town taverns to renowned listening rooms and concert series

throughout the country, where their tight harmonies and humorous lyrics, set against an

eclectic array of musical forms, can be featured to best advantage. Since signing with a

national booking agent in 1996, the band has covered the country, from The Bottom Line

in New York City to The Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, CA - from The Variety

Playhouse in Atlanta, GA to The Boulder Theatre in Colorado.

Unlike many of their contemporaries, EFO has opted to remain independent.

Without the intervention of a major record label, the band manages to retain control of

everything - and control they do! If EFO were to ever change their name, it could very

well be to DIY. These Do-It-Yourself-ers successfully split all the business

responsibilities between the four members, truly making music a full-time profession.

While Schaefer coordinates the tour schedule with the booking agent, Murphy Wells

manages the accounts and merchandise, Clem maintains the publicity and enormous

mailings, and Hartness keeps Harvey the RV (the band's tour vehicle) in good repair.

Veteran sound engineer for EFO (since 1994), Bob McNichols, wears a variety of hats, as

well, including Tour Manager.

The band will be the first ones to admit that they owe a great deal of their success

to the fans (or Edheads) who have reached new fans by simple word of mouth. Whether

it's due to Virginians who have moved to other parts of the country spreading the news,

or friends and relatives of Edheads getting turned on to the music, club owners remain

astonished at the loyal following EFO brings with them wherever they play. The grass-

roots style of the band's marketing (through mailings and the Internet) has been the mark

of the band's enormous growth- growth that shows no signs of slowing down.

To purchase great seats, call the Weinberg Center for the Arts at 301-600-2828,

301-600-2838 TTY or stop by the Box Office Tuesday thru Friday 10:00am to 4:00pm

and Saturday 10:00am to 2:00pm. On performance dates the box office will remain open

through show time. Tickets are available online at www.weinbergcenter.org.

The Weinberg Center for the Arts, a municipal facility of the City of Frederick, is

located at 20 West Patrick Street in downtown Frederick, Maryland. The historic theatre

opened in 1926 as the Tivoli, and it and was donated to the City of Frederick in 1978.

Today as one of the region’s premier presenting facilities, the 1,100 seat Weinberg

Center offers professional LIVE! Series, including dance, music, theatre, family

performances and films, weekday performances for students, and classic movies.

Performance space and professional services are available to a variety of community arts

groups, civic and business organizations, and other arts promoters. Programming at the

Weinberg Center for the Arts is made possible with support from the City of Frederick,

Frederick County Government, Maryland State Arts Council, Frederick Arts Council,

Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, The Frederick News-Post, State Farm Insurance, The

Tivoli Society, other corporate and individual donors.. For more information about

upcoming events at the Weinberg Center, please call the Box Office at 301-600-2828 or

visit www.weinbergcenter.org.

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