To Canadian audiences, Zeke Hoskin is probably as well-known as Flip Breskin. Born in Montreal and schooled in Wolfville, NS and Calgary, he was part of the Vancouver folk scene for twenty years, playing at coffee houses and releasing two cassette albums. Plenty of other performers used his witty songs. Probably his best-known song from this era is Hunting The Duck, a spoof of a hunting trip that was picked up by Three Strong winds and by Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers.
In the USA Flip Breskin has been called the heart of the northwest folk scene, and "a musical force of nature." She is internationally famous as a Co-founder of the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop in 1974 and a universally loved guitar teacher. She has been a major player in the Northwest folk scene since the 1970s.
Fl!p Breskin is a Bellingham-based guitarist and singer who co-founded the
Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and has taught fingerstyle guitar to a
generation and a half of Washington pickers. She sings and writes songs
about the positive ways people can fix the world.
They met at a music camp in 1992, and got together a few years later. Their concerts tend to have sections of musical ping-pong, alternating humorous songs by Zeke with serious songs by Fl!p. They back each other up and occasionally sing harmony. Their signature acts are Slack Key, where Fl!p uses Hawaiian licks to frustrate Zeke's attempts to sing too quickly, and I Love Chocolate, where Zeke composes verses on the spot as the audience suggests topics.
Their instrumentals range from deeply beautiful slow airs through ragtime and circus marches, with swing numbers featuring Zeke forsaking his mandolin for an alto clarinet.
Follow the link to Zeke and Fl!p's webpages to find lyrics for all his humourous songs and parodies, as well as some sound clips, and other interesting things http://www.zekehoskin.com/. Check out "Parking - Upgraded" for one of the most down-to-earth statements I can remember seeing about living in a body that is not quite like everyone else's.