Focus on Folk Music at North Hills Venue

“The Onion” in North Hills will host an old-fashioned folk-music concert on Saturday starring Fred “Banjo” Starner, Rich and Maureen Del Grosso and the group Sage Wing.

The old saw goes that those who can, do--and those who can’t, teach. The Del Grossos, acoustic blues performers to be featured at the Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society gig, challenge that notion.

The Del Grossos specialize in acoustic versions of classic works by old blues masters such as Muddy Waters, Tampa Red, Otis Spann and others. Both sing while Rich plays mandolin and slide guitar and Maureen mans the piano. They also work harmonica and spoons into the act.

Besides performing, the husband-and-wife team also is popular teaching and providing workshops at festivals all across the country. Additionally, both write articles and lessons for Blues Revue magazine, where Rich is also a contributing editor.

The Del Grossos now live in Los Angeles, but both hail from the Detroit area. Rich grew up playing in rock bands while Maureen was an organ major at Wayne State.

“I was the music major, but I don’t know if it helped me do this,” says Maureen. “Rich has guided me and [I learned by] just listening to people.”

Although Saturday’s gig is a rare Valley appearance for them, they host a weekly acoustic blues jam at Rusty’s Surf Ranch in Santa Monica.

“It’s all acoustic,” Rich says. “You don’t need a lot of stuff to set up; it’s just a lot of fun.”

Fred Starner is a rather droll man who sometimes refers to himself as a folk singer, these days an anachronism.

While others today might shy away from the label, Starner, 60, wears it proudly. Boldly going where others have gone before, he works to keep alive traditions that were dying before he was born. An economist by training, the former Drew University instructor has been performing his music for over 30 years.

A performer in the Pete Seeger mold, his repertoire includes the usual sea chanteys, ballads and banjo tunes along with original, topical songs.

“Folk music is quite different from pop music,” Starner says. “We’re telling stories that cover the spectrum of A to Z; we get involved with all sorts of things.”

Indeed, Starner has original tunes about, among other topics, visiting chiropractors, the Battle of Stalingrad, lumbering, hobos and his grandmother’s bread. His most recent works include “I’ll Still Vote for Clinton” and “Maxine’s Song,” inspired by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters’ (D-Los Angeles) investigation of allegations of CIA involvement in Los Angeles cocaine traffic.

“In today’s pop music, the words aren’t really all that important,” Starner says. “But in folk music, the words are the heart and soul of the matter.”

Starner was one of 20 performers chosen from among 250 entrants to perform at the Napa Valley Music Festival this summer. In February, he performed with Seeger, Dan Bern and others in Washington at a “Raising Newt Gingrich” concert he helped organize with the Folk Alliance, a group dedicated to keeping folk music traditions alive.

Despite sometimes having trouble finding gigs, this folkie has no thoughts of changing his style to suit the fashion of the times.

“Folk music is more like reading a novel, whereas pop music is like reading the funny papers.”

* Fred Starner, Rich and Maureen Del Grosso, and Sage Wing perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society, “The Onion,” 9550 Haskell Ave., North Hills. Admission is $8. Call (818) 701-5287.