A classically trained musician, Krys began singing and playing clarinet at the age of six and then added various other traditional instruments to her repertoire. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, where she focused in saxophone. Presently, she teaches music at a local elementary school, and is band leader and main composer for “Fractal Folk.”
KEVIN COFOD
Acoustic Guitar, Backup Vocalist
Kevin Cofod has been playing the guitar since he was 8 years old. He has performed in a variety of bands and solo venues playing everything from jazz to bluegrass. He handles the guitar duties in “Fractal Folk” at present. He is a retired paramedic from Prince George's County Fire Department trying to decide what he wants to be when he grows up. Currently he lives with his wife of 23 years- Colleen, his 2 children Chapin & Crosby, and the family pet, a bulldog named Max.
LEA COX
Composer, Percussion, Lead and Backup Vocalist, Viola
Lea has been playing the viola for fourteen years, though her life's focus is currently on a degree in Engineering and Aerospace. She has been involved in the Yakima Youth Symphony Orchestra and Wenatchee Valley Symphony in Washington State, and has also given a few unorganized and disjointed supplementary private lessons so that others might learn to follow her bad example.
CATHERINE DICRISTOFARO
Piano, Trumpet, Backup Vocalist
Children’s librarian by day, "multi-instrumentalist" by night, Catherine is quite content bopping from one task to the next in Fractal Folk. She’s still convinced that someone is going to realize how ridiculous it is for her to be in a band, but until then, she’s happily learning and playing as much music as she can.
GREG DICRISTOFARO
Flute, Percussion, Trombone, Backup Vocalist
Greg picked up the trombone when he was 10 and has been playing in bands since 12. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Pennsylvania State University where he focused on trombone and picked up skills in various instruments and jazz. He now teaches band at a local middle school.
NATHAN EARLEY
Percussion, Trombone, Backup Vocalist
Nathan Earley is a graduate of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, earning Bachelor of Music and Master of the Arts in Teaching degrees. He has studied trombone under Dayl Burnett, Bob Ford and Donna Parkes. Currently, he teaches general music, band, and strings at an Elementary School in Lexington Park.
DICKIE HAMMETT
Drummer, Backup Vocalist
Kurt Hoffman
Bass
Kurt has been playing musical instruments since the age of four. With more years of practicing and composing in the rear-view than in the windshield, he hopes to see some signs of improvement soon. He has been playing guitar, bass and/or keyboards professionally since the age of 17, but has taken time off in between bands to actually earn a living. He wishes to point out that since joining the band he has not been offered so much as one muffin.
MICHAEL SNIDER
Composer, Mandola, Mandolin, Backup Vocalist
Poet and mandolinist Michael Snider writes poetry in traditional forms and spent the first part of the century playing music he's never heard with musicians he's never met. He's very glad to have a home with “Fractal Folk.”
a curve or geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. Fractals are useful in modeling structures (such as eroded coastlines or snowflakes) in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth, fluid turbulence, and galaxy formation.
Fractal Folk (Band)
fractal |ˈfraktəl| folk |fōk|
noun
a montage of Southern-Maryland musicians performing distinctive original music, each part contributing to the musical character of the whole. Fractal Folk defies classification (such as rock, blues, or jazz), reaching across genre for their own musical niche, which may partly be described as a quirky musical show not to be missed.
Fractal Folk is an evolution of the Southern Maryland band, “Baker’s Boys.”
Avant-garde original music, eight-part vocals, a soaring brass section, and a poetic design, make Fractal Folk performances absolutely unforgettable.
Composer and arranger Krys Baker, is a multi-instrumentalist playing over a dozen different instruments. The versatile band is comprised of a mix of local and professional musicians gifting the audience with the sounds of mandolin, drums, bowed psaltry, electric bass, acoustic guitars, piano, trumpets, trombones, flutes, clarinet, saxophone, hand percussion, and harmonica... just to name a few. Eclectic is a Fractal Folk mantra. At home at festivals, wine tastings, coffee shops, pubs, parties, and picnics, Fractal Folk can provide groups of any size, providing distinctive original music for practically all venues.
So take a seat, lend an ear, and don't forget to ask, “Why So Many Muffins?”
