The Talent

Bands

The Latter Day Lizards (New England)

Changing the face of contra dance music in a random way.
We are:

• Dave Langford - fiddle / guitar
• Bill Tomczak - clarinet / saxophone / banjo uke / dumbek
• Peter Barnes - piano / guitar / flute / harmonica
• with Stuart Kenney - bass / banjo

Combined, we represent over 80 years of playing for contra dances, english country dance and a variety of miscellaneous musics often related to folk dancing of some sort or another (or not). Every time we played together we consistently had such a great time, we decided to name the band and even record a CD or two. And we're still having a blast!

Joyride (Portland, OR)

Joyride is a Portland Oregon contra dance band known for fun, skilled play, tune sets carefully tailored to dances, and well-phrased melodies and harmonies set in a danceable groove. Joyride is:

• George Penk – fiddle
• Erik Weberg – flute, harmonica, bombarde
• Sue Songer – piano, fiddle
• Jeff Kerssen-Griep – guitar, djembe

Callers

Steve Zakon-Anderson (Conway, Mass.)

Steve Zakon-Anderson has been calling contras, teaching couples dance, and leading workshops for callers for over 25 years. His own dance compositions are well known to dancers and other callers, and he weaves them into his program along with other contemporary and traditional favorites. Steve's clear teaching, precise calling and sense of humor have made him a favorite of dancers of all ages and abilities.

Susan Michaels (Vashon, WA)

Susan is funny, accurate, engaging, friendly, effective and experienced. About being a caller, she says "I believe my 'calling' in life is to teach people how to hold hands in a circle."

Sound

Alan Roberts (Seattle, WA)

Alan is a fiddle player (plays with Southwest Passage) and dancer in addition to being an excellent sound man. He is aware of the nuances that make us all happy, and is able to provide a great experience for the callers, band members and dancers.