Dan Maher, a Northwest treasure
Saturday, January 19th, 2008It’s a Saturday morning. The good folks of Moscow walk stiffly on snowy sidewalks, crossing slush-beaten, refrozen Sixth St. outside the One World Cafe… not in faraway Russia, no, this is Idaho. I came up last night past Joseph Canyon, over Rattlesnake Grade, and crossed the Snake River to see my good friend Dan Maher play some tunes for the locals. Dan’s been a good friend for over 25 years. I guess I’m biased, but I still marvel at all the songs he knows and the energy he puts into a performance. He sings with such heart, everything from Johnny McAdoo to Scotch and Soda. His dog Orient lays down and snoozes at his feet, having heard it all before… longing for some Dave Beck, no doubt.
This winter, I can get his Inland Folk radio show on one station on Saturday (NW Public Radio) and another one on Sunday (KPBX-Spokane). I love to hear his show. He knows the past five decades of folk music like nobody else in these parts. He’s got all the lowdown on Scottish, Irish and Australian music, knows his cowboy tunes, bluegrass, baseball songs, 60’s folk and current songwriters. He’d be great at a folk trivia quiz… and what’s more, he can sing all that and Jimmy Buffett, too.
Dan doesn’t have a website, but I’d urge you to go see him, support his music and get his CDs. He doesn’t perform all that often. He works a day job at Washington State University. His radio show streams live from Northwest Public Radio, so you can hear him from most anywhere. He’s a Northwest musical treasure if there ever was one. I am so glad I drove three hours to hear him. Thanks, Dan and all the good folks of the Palouse who came out, helped with sound, and sang along.
