Gibson Les Paul 60s Tribute Electric Guitar

Erica Liebert,  Violin Erica grew up in the grassy Williamette Valley and moved to Portland to attend Lewis and Clark.  Lured by the groove of folk music Erica received her B.A. in Music Performance on fiddle.  She loves all “those long high lonesome notes” and hopes to become an expert chopper in her old age.  These days she can be found biking around Portland, eating sushi, or playing acoustic roots music in various dive bars.

John England-Fisher,  Accordion & Trumpet John grew up in Eugene, and inspired by Louis Armstrong began to play trumpet when he was 12 years old.  When John heard Astor Piazzola he simply had to get an accordion, and studied with Dave Bender, to whom he is indebted for most of his musical development. He first played with the rock and roll band the Tunnel Kings.   Besides contributing his versatile talents to Yiddish Republik, he also plays with All the Apparatus everywhere.

Brett Sisun Bass & Guitar Brett began his life in Denver, Colorado twenty-three years ago. When he moved to Oregon he discovered a culture of wonderful people who shared his interest in folk, vaudeville, and art performance. He was, and still is, elated by their company. Since then he has preformed music with Cosmic Jelly, the Honey Mountain Do Dos, and other bands with interesting names. He resides in Portland, and enjoys spending time in the basement.

Dana Woodaman, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax & Guitar As a teenager studying classical guitar Dana realized one day that what he really wanted was to play  electric guitar. He chewed off all his nails and said goodbye to classical guitar.   Dana played  saxophone and guitar in punk, new wave and mutant jazz bands in Seattle and San Francisco, including the Lawn Vultures and Fade to Black. Dana seriously pursued electronic music, created a home studio and recorded a solo CD, but after he heard recordings of the brilliant klezmer icon  Naftule Brandwein, his soul was forever captured by the clarinet.

Barbara Schwarz, Vocalist Born into an eccentric family that sang while tramping through upstate NY forests,  Barbara came to love  the joyful and bittersweet songs of the past, from Piaf to Holiday.  While living in San Franciso, she wielded her chef’s knife in French and Italian restaurants.   A discovery of an old  recording of Yiddish theater songs, led her to ask her husband to chart the guitar chords and accompany her.  Then on a reckless impulse, Barbara said “let’s start our own band and play Yiddish music”.  Unexpectedly, Dana agreed.  Barbara requires doses of chocolate on a regular schedule to stay in peak condition.