Small Potatoes Returns
To the Live Oak Coffeehouse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information –
Jeff Dorsch, Concert Publicity: 925-7874
Concert Line: 219-9008
Coffeehouse Web Site: www.liveoakuu.org/coffee


FEBRUARY 2006 (Austin, Texas) – The Live Oak Coffeehouse this month
presents the folk duo of Small Potatoes, in a benefit performance for
the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Erik
Balkey will open the show, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday,
February 17, at the Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church in
Northwest Austin/Cedar Park.

Admission is $10 or a season pass at the door. Gourmet coffee and
pastries are included in the price of admission.

The Live Oak Coffeehouse has been smoke-free from its inception in
1998, before it was cool or legally mandatory!

The coffeehouse, a community outreach program for the Live Oak UU
Church, also is alcohol-free, putting the emphasis on the music and
the musicians. Three-quarters of the gate goes to the performers, and
one-quarter to the selected charity. Since the coffeehouse is an
all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization, all of the money from
admissions paid at the door and season passes goes to the performers
and the charity.

The Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the
largest chapter in terms of geography, population, and monies raised,
was founded in 1955 with a mission to provide direct services to
people affected by MS and to fund research in an effort to find a cure
for the devastating effects of MS. Currently, $5.3 million is being
spent on research at medical facilities throughout our chapter. Our
chapter serves 141 counties in Texas and services an estimated 17,000
individuals with MS, their families and friends, the professionals who
serve them, and the general public. For more information, visit the
chapter's Web site at www.nationalmssociety.org/txh/home.

Small Potatoes is Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso. They first
appeared on the Live Oak Coffeehouse stage in April 2000. This
Chicago-based duo has been touring on the folk circuit since 1993 and
in that time they've become sought-after regulars at many clubs and
coffeehouses across the U.S. They have made repeat appearances at
major folk festivals, including the Kerrville Folk Festival, the
Walnut Valley Folk Festival, and Philadelphia Folk Festival. They were
one of the "most requested" acts at the 1999 Falcon Ridge New Artist
Showcase. Jacquie is also a winner of the 1998 Kerrville New Folk
Songwriting Contest. They call themselves eclecto-maniacs. They
describe their music as "Celtic to Cowboy" and say it has taken them
"years of careful indecision" to come up with a mix of music that
ranges from country, blues, and swing to Irish, with songwriting that
touches on all of those styles and more. Their two recordings, "Waltz
of the Wallflowers" and "Time Flies," on Wind River Records, cover all
these styles.

Erik Balkey is a performing songwriter based out of Philadelphia, PA.
He began songwriting as part of the Red Bank, NJ music scene in 1994
before a four-year stint in New York City. Gathering from his
experiences and from his work on songwriting craft, Balkey wrote and
recorded his debut album, "Negotiations & Compromise," in 2001.
Michael Tearson of Sing Out! magazine wrote, "These songs are
literate, exacting portraits in amber...Nicely played and beautifully
recorded, this is a very rewarding album." In July 2003, Balkey
released a seven-song EP, "God's Poet Now," as a benefit project for
the Dave Carter Memorial Fund. Buddy Mondlock calls this collection
"heartfelt songs about real emotions, gracefully portrayed."

Doors open at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 17, at the Live Oak Unitarian
Universalist Church, located at 3315 El Salido Parkway, Cedar Park.
For driving directions, visit the church's Web site at
www.liveoakuu.org or call 219-9008.


THE LIVE OAK COFFEEHOUSE – GREAT MUSIC FOR GOOD CAUSES.
NOW IN OUR NINTH YEAR.