Story last updated at 4/15/2009 - 11:04 am
The Empty Oil Barrel Band is the brainchild of Ed Schoenfeld who attended his first festival in 1979. The following year, he applied for and got a Sunday afternoon set where he "sang a couple goofy songs while playing the autoharp." Since then, he has "graduated to better showtimes" and has asked his friends to join him on stage.
Schoenfeld writes his own songs in which he makes "light fun" of Alaska politics, culture and life and general.
"I get my inspiration from the bizarre things that happen in our state," Schoenfeld said. "A lot of my material comes from the legislature and politics in general, especially our governors. But it isn't all politics. One year we had a dry spring, and I wrote a protest song against the drought."
The band's members vary each year, but this time Schoenfeld will most likely be joined by Peter Anderegg and Robert Cohen. They will perform at 9:15 p.m. on Saturday.
