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>> NEW YORK'S JACKOFSKY CLAN SERVES UP 'UNIKEWITY' STRING BAND KEEPS IT IN THE FAMILY

July 17, 2008 12:15 am

By STEVE DUNHAM

FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR

"Ragged but Right" is the Homegrown String Band's new CD. You won't find a whole lot ragged about it, though. You will find a whole lot right. The band--the Jackofsky family of Long Island, N.Y.--has preserved the spirit of American folk music in classics such as "Shady Grove" and "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down," as well as originals such as "Prayin' for Spring" and "The Man Who Dressed in Black" (a tribute to Johnny Cash).

Like traditional American folk ballads, many of the songs tell a story--as in "Take Me Away," an original tune about two brothers at the Civil War battle of Cold Harbor.

"We try to keep our music fresh but still rooted in the sounds of traditional American roots music," said Rick Jackofsky. Rick and his wife, Georgianne, with their daughters, Erica and Annalee, have been performing together for 11 years.

After two years away, the Homegrown String Band is returning to Fredericksburg on Monday at 7 p.m. to play Music on the Steps at the headquarters library on Caroline Street.

We are family

Rick and his daughters sing. Rick plays guitar, clawhammer banjo and harmonica. Georgianne plays banjo, uke, dulcimer and doumbek. Erica plays fiddle, and Annalee, the mandolin and jaw-harp.

"We didn't set out to play any particular genre of music--we just tried to make music and have fun with the instruments we had chosen," said Rick.

They have taken "the Quaker testimony of simplicity to heart," he said. "Keeping with the theme of simplicity, we naturally chose traditional acoustic instruments."

The family's faith is part of who they are, as is their music, Georgianne said. But "we don't preach anything. Maybe by example we can sort of show people a slower way of life and one where families can stay close and enjoy each other."

Their quest for simplicity goes back to a time before they were a family band. Although Rick had studied bass at the Berklee College of Music, and used to play in country and honky-tonk bands, he had pretty much given up music by the time he and Georgianne got married in 1980. Ten years later, after the girls were born and he was working as a photographer, Rick was seriously injured when he got hit by a bus.

"That accident is what led Rick back to music," said Georgianne. "He decided then that life was about family, and we were spending too much time doing useless things." They determined to go "back to a simpler way of life," she said. "I began making bread by hand again. We got a beehive. We made yogurt. We grew an herb garden and vegetable garden. We also read books out loud."

"We started telling stories, dancing, and making our own music to entertain ourselves," added Rick. He took up guitar again. Erica began learning violin in fourth grade. "Annalee didn't want to be left out, so we bought her some jaw-harps," said Georgianne. "That same year, in some crazy inspired moment, Rick bought me a mountain dulcimer as a 15th wedding anniversary present," she said.

A few years later, they gave their first public performance, at the Long Island Traditional Music Association members' concert. "We thought we were going to do three or four songs, but got there to find out that only us and one other person came to perform," said Georgianne. "So we played for 45 minutes. We had so much fun, we continued doing it."

Four CDs and hundreds of concerts later, they are still having fun together, delighting their audiences with music, stories and dancing.

Traditionally, they wind up their shows with a performance of Appalachian flatfoot dancing--Rick strumming his guitar while each of the ladies does a clog dance with such energy and rhythm that you'll be glad someone is keeping this folk art alive.

The Homegrown String Band and its fans celebrate something they call "unikewity" (based on Annalee's child- hood mispronunciation of "unique"). They define it as "the special quality that makes you you, the part of you that is extraordinary, one of a kind, unique."

This band has plenty of that, and they share it, giving their audiences an hour or so of joy that they can choose to take home with them and keep on living.

Steve Dunham lives in Spotsylvania County.