Photo by Claire Esker/22nd Century Media.
By Margaret Tazioli
HIGHWOOD, IL — Mark Dvorak is here to stay. And he has walked every step of the way.
At least, that is what he told the audience in one of the original folk tunes he performed with Lake Forest native Donna Herula at Highwood’s Cellar Gate last Friday night. They’ll be performing at Cellar Gate again on August 19.
The folk duo played to a backdrop of cicadas and carefree chatter.
“I hate to see the summer go,” Dvorak crooned while Herula sang along, playing her steel slide guitar.
Herula also kept a simple beat with her porch box while audience members absentmindedly tapped their toes.
Harried staff in jeans bustled around, delivering flatbread pizzas, glasses of wine, and chocolaty (or peachy) deserts to cozy couples and small clusters of friends. Soft linen curtains drifted out the open windows onto the patio strewn with twinkling lights and metal tables.
Herula mouthed the lyrics as Dvorak led the vocals on some traditional folk tunes.
Then, when it came time for some of her solo work, Herula said, “I’m really known for rocking out on Delta blues; but being at a wine bar, I don’t want to scare people away.”
She hesitated; appearing to decide which song she should sing.
A man at one table began chanting, “Scare us! Scare us! Scare us!” and everyone else joined in, “Scare us! Scare us!”
So, away she went. Herula played some passionate Delta blues and called out to the crowd to sing along: “take it easy baby.”
“Take it easy baby,” people sang, echoing back the refrain.
Pastor Bonnie Bell was one of the audience members singing loudest. Bell and some friends from her church in Kenosha are pretty familiar with the traditional folk tunes and Dvorak originals. They have followed Dvorak to shows even further than Highwood—having taken lessons with him at Old Town and inviting him to play for their church.
“I don’t even let my family call me ‘pastor Bonnie,’” Bell made sure to point out. “But I let Mark get away with it just because he’s Mark.”
Mark wished “pastor Bonnie” a happy birthday and took her a request for one his originals: “It’ll be better.”
While Dvorak and Herula played a mix of originals and traditional tunes from folk and blues artists across the country, couples kissed, recovering lawyers enjoyed some flourless chocolate cake, and a small group of loyal fans from Kenosha sang along.
Dvorak has over 30 years of experience teaching and playing music. Herula has played for a fraction of that time, and has taught for just a year and a half at the Old Town School of Folk Music with Dvorak.
“Good musicians—like Donna—I look for them,” Dvorak said. “I think we look for each other, you know, harmony is a powerful thing.”
For Herula, the collaboration came about somewhat surprisingly.
“[Dvorak] saw me play and [suggested we] play together,’” Herula said. “I thought he was joking. He’s like a folk legend, you know? And then he said it the third time, and I realized I better get on it.”
The show drew in a few wanderers off the street, which the staff seated—with some difficulty. The small venue had a full patio; for the next show, reservations might be a good idea.
Originally published in the Highland Park Landmark on August 2, 2017.
margarettazioli.com 