by: Llyn French

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 20:32:09 +0000

I entered the folk scene in St Petersburg, Florida, in 1965. Eric von Schmidt was living on Longboat Key in those years. We local folkies, being very young and impertinent, would come to his home without prior notice to pay homage. He and his wife Katherine, the shark biologist, were most gracious hosts, no matter what we had interrupted. There is a much-told tale of the time that a bunch of attendees at the Longboat Key Folk Festival got hold of an old fire truck, loaded themselves on board, and drove it to the von Schmidt home. Eric came on occasion to the Beaux Arts Coffeehouse in Pinellas Park, near St. Pete. The first that I recall was a folksong festival held there 27 Feb 1966. The song I remember best is “Stick to Rum.” Among those he brought with him were Mitch Greenhill (son of Manny Greenhill of Vanguard Records) and Eric’s daughters Megan and Caitlin. We loved and revered Eric and felt privileged and honored to be in his presence. He is now thoroughly woven into our local lore. Dean Arnold, of Cortez, FL, who had married into my “family,” the Martins, built the boat that Eric sings of in “Gulf Coast Blues.” John Martin and I used to run into Eric at the Club 47 when we lived in Somerville, MA. Eric generously donated the beautiful cover painting for the CD insert and J-card for the recording “Will McLean Live at Van Wezel Hall” (released 1997), which as graphics designer I composed for printing, and during the production of which I was delighted to correspond with Eric. As Florida is being voraciously devoured by the cancer of development, we treasure Eric’s songs more than ever, especially “Gulf Coast Blues”: “You ever see the sun shine on that Gulf of Mexico…” and “Spin an old rum bottle, baby; be my compass ’til I die.” Thanks for being so much a part of our lives, Eric! You go with all our love. We’ll sing with you next life. — Llyn French, St. Petersburg

Comments on: Eric Von Schmidt Has Died

by: Llyn French