Programs - CD - Calendar -Group Bio - Individual Bios & Links - Sample Set Lists - Press
 

In Memorandum: Pete Seeger 1919-2014
If you would like us to focus on his songs in our show,
For Pete's Sake, ask us!

 "The audience was beaming as they left -
complimenting the performance and how much they enjoyed
 hearing the "songs they knew"! ~McComb/Bruchs Performing Arts Center, Wautoma WI

"The best of all the performances we’ve had here!" ~ Eastgate Manor, Algonquin IL

"Great concert last night!  Our audience loved you." ~Darlington WI Tunes At Twilight

"You guys were wonderful! Perfect for our setting" ~New Richmond Heritage Hillside Series

"More folk songs than a Public TV Pledge Drive"  ~Shepherd Express, Milwaukee

"You folks are dangerous- your songs speak to our hearts and minds" ~Sandy Lewis, Audience member

 Opening Act for the Kingston Trio!

For bookings and information contact:
orgarts@gmail.com or call 414-702-6053

David HB Drake, Julie Thompson and Doug Esty 
have joined their voices as "Dangerous Folk".

View our demo video on You Tube!
Go to : www.youtube.com/dangerousfolk
http://youtu.be/huej9hxNTF8

If you get the message
This content cannot be displayed in a frame
What you can try is to click on:
Open this content in a new window

For sound clips visit
www.myspace.com/dangerousfolktrio
 

Dangerous Folk is a project of Organic Arts Ltd.
A 501c3 non-profit educational organization based in Milwaukee WI
For other fine performers visit  www.organicarts.info
 

David HB Drake, Julie Thompson
and  Doug Esty
lead those good old songs we grew up on.
These anthems from the days of  
"make love, not war " still resonate today.
. 
"BLOWING IN THE WIND"
 is a "mighty wind" 
of classic folk music memories for
the over 50 "boomer" audience
and for younger people as well.
These are not "protest songs"...
rather it is music that affirms the
positive message that shaped our lives.
The power and honesty of these songs 
span the generations.

Cartoon by Kate Bausch, July 3, 2011 Darlington WI

Julie, David, and Doug
are available year-round for
"Blowing in the Wind", classic folk song trio,
"A Joyful Noise", songs of faith,  and
  "Heart and Soul", classic love song shows.
The trio is now booking shows for
2014 and 2015

 ------------------------------------------------------

CALENDAR:

 Now Booking for 2014 and beyond! 

Saturday April 26, 2014 at 10:30am -1pm
Program: Blowing in the Wind
At: Gateway Technical College 400 Cty H,
Elkhorn, WI
Event Information Contact: 262-741-8434 / owenj@gtc.edu

Sunday June 15, 2014 at 4pm
Program: Blowing in the Wind
At: in Mallinckrodt Park Gazebo 1041 Ridge Road, Wilmette IL
Event Information Contact: 847.256.9694 / adornheggen@wilpark.org

Wednesday June 4, 2014 at 7pm
 Blowing in the Wind with Dangerous Folk
 Campanile Center for the Arts, Minoqua, WI
Event Information Contact: 715-356-9700 / woody.twistedloon@frontier.com  / campanilecenter.org

Thursday June 5, 2014 at 6:30pm
 Blowing in the Wind
City Park West, 700 Aurora St, Antigo, WI
Event Information Contact: 715-627-1014 /  sharon.gibson13@gmail.com

Hold: Sunday July 12, 2014 -South Shore Water Frolics, Bayview WI (afternoon)

Saturday May 9, 2015 at 8pm
Program: Blowing in the Wind
At: Edgar’s Place 70 Sycamore Place,
Park Forest IL
Event Information Contact: 708-481-5339 / www.uuccpf.org/edgars-place/ 

Dangerous Folk- the CD!
with the original Dangerous Folk,
David Julie, and Cap Lee


$15 (postage included)
Send a check to Organic Arts
PO Box 070646
Milwaukee WI 53207
to order your copy!

For Credit Card orders visit
http://cdbaby.com/cd/DangerousFolk
or click here:

Songs on this CD:
Some Come to Dance / Meeting Here Tonight (Bob Gibson)
My Youth Is All Spent (Pete Seeger)
Jamaica Farewell (Irving Burgess)
Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
Old Folksinger Medley (Drake, Lee, Thompson / Traditional)
I've Seen Freedom (Si Kahn)
Where Have All Flowers Gone /Turn Turn Turn  (Pete Seeger)
Gotta Travel On (Paul Clayton)
The Seine (Irving Burgess)
One Tin Soldier (Lambert-Potter)
Merry Minuet / Blowing In The Wind
(Sheldon Harnick /Bob Dylan)
Power And The Glory / This Land Is Your Land
(Phil Ochs/ Woody Guthrie)
Today (Randy Sparks)

And for our Compilation album of
"Protest Songs for Teachers"
(See Review Below)

featuring Dangerous Folk along with Tom Chapin, George Grove, Skip Jones,
and more visit:

About Dangerous Folk….

“Dangerous Folk” was created in 2003 when retired school principal Eldon “Cap” Lee contacted Milwaukee folksinger David HB  Drake to create a CD giving voice to teacher concerns over the “No Child Left Behind” legislation. 
The result was “No Child Left Behind? – Bring back the Joy” which has received national attention for the quality and honesty of the music. 

Vocalist Julie Thompson was brought in for the recording to add a woman’s voice and direct the children’s chorus. 
The sound of David, Cap and Julie singing together lead David to bring them along for a concert at The Coffeehouse, Wisconsin’s longest running folk venue, where he was recreating his set list from his first appearance there
back in 1969. 

During the concert when Julie mentioned she was acting in a production of “Most Dangerous Women”,
an audience member shouted
“You’re Dangerous Folk- you sing songs that make people think!” and Dangerous Folk was born. 
The trio has performed at festivals, concert venues, for elders, and community music series.

Doug Esty joined the trio on banjo, bass, and guitar
in 2013 when Cap moved on to North Carolina
 

The trio carries on the tradition of folk music
once considered dangerous enough
to change people’s minds, and it has.
A half-century later, this music has become part of
the fabric of America and our national identity.

Some places we've played....

Three Oaks Apple Festival, Three Oaks MI
Plymouth Arts Center, Plymouth WI
Kenosha Days of Discovery, Kenosha WI
Schauer Arts Center, Hartford WI
opening for The Kingston Trio
McComb/Bruchs Arts Center, Wautoma WI
Grand Harbor Hotel, New Buffalo MI
Campanile Center for the Arts, Minoqua WI
Round Lake Center for the Arts, Round Lake IL
Lakeside Park, Egg Harbor WI
Marengo Concerts in the Park, Marengo IL
Washington County Fair, West Bend WI
Bastille Days Milwaukee WI
Edgerton Arts Council, Edgerton WI
Ironwood Theatre, Ironwood MI
2008 Obama Campaign
The Wisconsin Club, Milwaukee WI

Wild Hog in the Woods, Madison WI
The Coffee House, Milwaukee WI
Three Lakes Fine Arts Series, Three Lakes WI
The Museum at the Castle, Appleton WI
Rib Mountain State Park, Wausau WI

Sunset Playhouse, Elm Grove WI

Tunes at Twilight, Darlington WI

Heritage Hillside Series, New Richmond WI
Portage Center for the Arts, Portage WI


Dangerous Folk opening for
The Kingston Trio

Biographies
 

David HB Drake – vocals, guitar
      In 2003 David received the “Lantern Bearer” Award from the Folk Alliance for his 25 years as a professional folk musician and educator, presenting thousands of concerts, programs, and educational residencies.  He was also named the 2002 Folk Music Artist of the Year in Wisconsin by the Wisconsin Area Music Industry.  He has ten CDs to his credit and is well known in the Midwest as a singer/songwriter, historian, activist, and shanty man aboard Wisconsin’s flagship, the schooner “Denis Sullivan”.
More on David at www.davidhbdrake.com

Julie Ann Thompson – vocals, guitar
     Julie comes from Maine to the Midwest after performing for over ten years performing with veteran singer/songwriter Brownie Macintosh as “Julie and Brownie”.  Julie has also worked as a vocal coach and voice-over artist, actress in many theatrical productions, and co-author of the children’s book “A Pirate’s Life for Me”.  Julie is named after Julie Andrews and the resemblance is obvious.
More on Julie at www.julievoice.com
 

Doug Esty received his BA degree in music education from Augustana College.  He has performed with many bluegrass and folk groups over the years and plays tuba with the Nightwind Ensemble.  In the real world, Doug is a Telecommunications/PC Specialist at Blood Center of Wisconsin.
More on Doug at Linked-In

Dangerous Folk Quiz !
Are you dangerous folks? 
Try the following quiz!

1) What do you do with a hammer?
2) Where are the answers?
3) Will the circle be unbroken?
4) Who's land is this anyhow?

Answers:
1) Hammer out justice, warning, and freedom.
2) Blowing in the wind...still, unfortunately.
3) Yes, if we have anything to do with it.
4) Ours - not some corporation's!

Doug , Julie, and David remember the music that is
Blowing in the Wind!

Concert Programs

Blowing in the Wind
Favorite folk songs of the 60's
Sample set list below

"Blowing in the Wind" is a sing-along concert of those stirring songs that we all remember from 
Peter, Paul, and Mary, The Kingston Trio, 
Pete Seeger, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, John Denver, Phil Ochs, Woody Guthrie and more. 
Sampler DVD available on request

This program is has very effective
 for fundraising events where
musical entertainment is needed especially
if your donor base is over 50!

A Joyful Noise
Folk songs of Faith,
Music of Biblical Proportions
Sample set list below

Folk Music has always had deep roots in faith. From spirituals to classical and contemporary music, deep belief in a greater good has been a reason to rise up singing.  A Joyful Noise gives voice to the joy of this creation and life for all people with songs that span and bring together the generations,
where the Circle is Unbroken.
David, Doug, and Julie are each regular song leaders at their respective places of worship
each Sunday.

Times are A’Changing !
Dangerous Songs that changed America
Sample set list below

Times are A’Changing  is a concert of the anthems from the civil rights, anti-war, union, and environmental awareness movements that that rang out from the picket lines and marches from the early days of slavery to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Never forget the struggle of those who brought us a better world through song.

Give a Hoot!
Public television has been doing it for years-
trotting out the favorite folksingers of the 60s that inspired baby boomers who now
contribute to good causes.
The next time you have a fundraising event, remember that "Dangerous Folk" can perform a lively hootenanny for your event and
 bring all the old songs that contributors
love back to life!

The Illustrated Song
Many popular folk songs have been illustrated as children's books.  Taking the concept full circle,
David  leads familiar folk songs such as
"This Land is your Land", "The Marvelous Toy",
and "I've been working on the Railroad"
while the pages from the corresponding children's books are projected so the audience can sing along!
This program is great as an afternoon
Family program for Performing Arts Centers
and children's reading events.
DVD available!

Children's Concert Programs
David, Doug, and Julie present
Concerts of Classic Sing-Along Folk music for kids, solo or in any combination as an afternoon performance in conjunction with an evening adult concert at theatre venues or individually at schools and libraries. (see individual websites)

Workshops and
Lecture-Demonstrations
for Colleges and
Music Educators

An American Songbag
Multi-instrumentalists
David HB Drake, Cap Lee, and Julie Thompson
present classic American folksongs,
 demonstrating vocal techniques and
folk accompaniment using
6 and 12-stringed and tenor guitar, banjo,
dulcimer, Native American Flute,
harmonica, concertina, pennywhistle, 
bass, and percussion.

No Child Left Behind? CD
A collection of songs for teachers
who are concerned about today's educational system
by writers from across the country.
Available for educational conferences and events.

"No Child Left Behind?" CD
National Coverage in the Christian Science Monitor! 
 Visit http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1228/p13s01-legn.html to view

David and Julie
are also available as
individual performers
for schools, elders, libraries,
and community events!

More on David at www.davidhbdrake.com
More on Julie at www.julievoice.com



Sample Set Lists

Blowing In The Wind Concert
–Salute to the 60's Sample Set List
Meeting Here Tonight: Bob Gibson
If I Had A Hammer: Lee Hayes /Weavers
City Of New Orleans: Steve Goodman
MTA : Kingston Trio
Leaving On A Jet Plane: John Denver
Country Roads : John Denver
 Big Yellow Taxi: Joni Mitchell
Don't Think Twice:  Bob Dylan
Walk Right in: Rooftop Singers
 Greenback Dollar: Kingston Trio
Four Strong Winds: Ian  & Sylvia
House of the Rising Sun: Trad/ Joan Baez
Early Morning Rain: Gordon Lightfoot
Another You: Seekers
Rambling Boy: Tom Paxton
Old Folksinger Medley: Traditional
Michel Row-Kumbaya-This Little Light-
Down by the Riverside-I'll Fly Away
One Tin Soldier: Lambert-Potter
Where Have All Flowers Gone -Turn Turn Turn
    Medley:  Pete Seeger
Those Were the Days: Gene Raskin
Merry Minuet  - Blowing In The Wind
    Medley:  Kingston Trio/ Bob Dylan
Power And The Glory - This Land Is Your Land
    Medley:  Phil Ochs / Woody Guthrie
Today: Randy Sparks / Christy Minstrels

A Meeting Here Tonight Concert
–Spiritual Sample Set List
How Can I keep from Singing
Meeting Here Tonight
If I Had A Hammer
Oh Mary, Don't you weep
Well, Well, Well
Wedding Song
Down in the River to Pray
Go Tell it on the Mountain 
I Believe
Peace will Come
*Michael Row –Kumbaya -This Little Light Of Mine-
     Down By The Riverside-Fly Away : Traditional  Medley
*Where Have All Flowers Gone-Turn Turn Turn Medley
*People Get Ready-Morning Train- This Train-Medley
*Come and Go With Me To That Land -
    Walk That Lonesome Valley-
    Will The Circle Be Unbroken: Traditional  Medley
All Night, All Day, Angles watched over me-
    Swing Low Sweet Chariot: Traditional  Medley
Simple Faith
 

David performing with Pete Seeger

Concert in the Clouds, Rib Mountain State Park
August 1, 2009 Wausau WI
Photo: Timothy Kwarciany

   
Three Lakes WI September 6, 2008

 
Waukesha Freeman June 29, 2006


 

The Dangerous Folk Band Sing the Blues Over No Child Left Behind
For the first time a group protests Bush's education law in song. Is Bob Dylan's reign finally over?

Teachers sing the blues over ed law
By Rebecca L. Weber, The Christian Science Monitor, December 28, 2004

LINK

The idea was born one night last year in Birmingham, Ala. Retired educator Eldon "Cap" Lee was one of dozens of administrators, teachers, and parents meeting there to express support for a successful new school called World of Opportunity (WOO) - a school designed to accommodate students forced out of regular public schools due to their poor performance on standardized tests. It was, in other words, the kind of place where one might not expect to find much support for the test-driven No Child Left Behind federal education law.

So perhaps it was only natural that one evening, as the educators sat around talking about the negative impact of high-stakes testing, Mr. Lee took out his backpacker guitar, and began singing 1960s folk songs. The themes of struggle and activism in the words they sang rang true on that night in Birmingham four decades after they were written. Soon, somebody started making up lyrics about the No Child Left Behind law, set to the tunes Lee played. Somebody else jotted down the words to the impromptu parodies.  By the time Lee returned to his home in Milwaukee, he was fired up with the notion of creating the CD that is now known as "No Child Left Behind: Bring Back the Joy."

He put out a call for more songs from teachers, hoping to give voice to the people who deal with the impact of the education law every day. "Change happens when people have a rallying cry," says David H.B. Drake, who performs with Lee as part of the folk trio Dangerous Folk.  The 15-song album is a combination of original compositions and others set to classic tunes like Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."  The CD is certainly one of the more original forms of protest against the federal education law. Some state legislators have proposed rebelling against the law and a handful of school districts nationwide have actually done so. And clusters of parents and teachers in various areas have organized to lament both NCLB's heavy reliance on standardized test results and the punitive measures it threatens against schools that don't make the grade.

But this appears to be the first time anyone has set such complaints to 1960s-style protest tunes.  The one-of-a-kind CD isn't exactly surging up the charts. So far, it has sold just a few more than 400 copies, mostly at teacher conferences and via a link through Drake's website, www.davidhbdrake.com. (Proceeds are donated to WOO back in Birmingham.)

But the album's creators are not discouraged. For them, just putting their protest to music has value. "If there is something that is hurting others, you stand up and you sing about it. Maybe somebody will listen," says Mr. Drake.

Drake and Lee and some of the others involved in the project insist the federal education law is hurting the country's schools. Lee is a former special ed teacher and principal of an alternative school without grades. He's a proponent of assessment but sees little value in NCLB's method of comparing a school's seventh-grade test scores to the scores of seventh graders in previous years to indicate if there has been improvement or not.

"Those kind of comparisons are good for headlines," Lee says, but "they don't do schools or kids any good."  He and other critics of NCLB also worry that standardized learning and testing devalues subjects that aren't tested, - such as the performing arts. "So Many Ways to Be Smart," by Stuart Stotts, is a positive spin on the "multiple intelligences" theory put forth by Harvard University researcher Howard Gardner:

Some folks are good at getting along, Some folks are good at making up songs
Some folks are good at stopping a Wal-mart, So many ways to be smart!

"The heart has been torn out of schools," says Drake. "You've got to want to teach, and they've got to want to learn. And when both happen, it's magic. It may not be what you intended to teach, but it's when kids really learn. But now teachers are being forced to teach the test, which isn't formulated by teachers but by bureaucrats. They have to let teachable moments go."

Although the NCLB project is intended to give a voice to educators, one of the strongest vocal performances on the CD is by Lili Kryzanek, who was 12 years old at the time of the recording. Lee and Drake wrote the bluesy title song that she belts out based on national headlines about the state of public education.

Lili is a poster child for deemphasizing tests and nurturing kids' interests. Her parents drive 60 miles a day to take her to a public school with arts instruction. "There are no dance teachers left in Wisconsin other than in specialty arts-emphasis schools," says Drake. "Art teachers go from room to room with an art cart. There's literally no room set aside for art." 
And even at a school with a special focus like hers which emphasizes the arts, "[School] is still a big test," says Lili.