EDDIE FROM OHIO Will Perform at the Lincoln Theatre Next Month

Too energetic to be labeled "folk" and not angry enough to be pegged "alternative," Eddie from Ohio continues to defy description with their unique blend of vocals and acoustic instrumentation. A bedrock foundation of hand-and-stick percussion and a textural flavoring of 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, Eddie from Ohio fuses a multitude of musical influences to create their own trademark sound.

CAPA presents Eddie from Ohio at the Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.) on Friday, September 17, at 8 pm. Tickets are $32 and can be purchased in-person at the CBUSArts Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), online at www.capa.com, or by phone at (614) 469-0939.

With their trademark sound, Eddie from Ohio has produced nine CDs independently (selling over 100,000 copies to-date), toured from Florida to Washington State, cultivated massive postal and email lists, 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 (NY), Telluride Bluegrass Festival (CO), and Strawberry Music Festival (CA), appeared on syndicated radio programs "Mountain Stage," "West Coast Live," and "World Cafe," and were awarded Best Contemporary Folk Group by the Washington Area Music Association five times since 1997.

The band began in Virginia in 1991 when three James Madison University graduates (Robbie Schaefer, Eddie Hartness, and Michael Clem) teamed up with Virginia Tech alumnae Julie Murphy (now Murphy Wells) to play covers in neighborhood bars. After a popular seven-year, Tuesday-night residency at Bad Habits Grille in Arlington, VA, Eddie from Ohio 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, could be featured to best their advantage. Since signing with a national booking agent in 1996, the band has covered the country from The Somerville Theater outside of Boston to The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

The band continues to perform, but on a more limited basis since September 2005, when vocalist Wells was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, after an intense year of chemotherapy, Wells is on the road to recovery and remains active in cancer cure fundraising. In 2006, bassist/guitarist Clem produced his first solo CD (produced by Hartness), and guitarist Schaefer has found quite a calling in children's music, releasing a successful CD and hosting a daily satellite radio show on XMKids. Percussionist Hartness continues to keep the beat for a number of local artists and stays active in the world of audio engineering.

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