Vern Crawford, director of the coffee house, a non-profit organization, said the benefit and the pledge are merely tokens to provide thanks to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church for the use of space for their establishment.

Cousin Andy’s is not a function of the church. The main reason we use the church for the coffee house is because of the available space, he said. The benefit is an outreach and a way for us to say thank you to St. Andrew’s and in turn make our lives more comfortable.

And with comfort in mind, Cousin Andy’s Coffee House, 402 W. Mill St., is raising money to fund the purchase of new cushioned chairs for the fellowship hall of St. Andrew’s church where the coffee house’s concerts take place.

Advertisement

We are now using metal folding chairs, Crawford said. There are seven different types so you can’t even stack them all together.

Four bands will participate in the chair-raising benefit. Stephani Fein and Friends, Ear-Relevant, For Healing Purposes Only and The Brown Baggers are all scheduled to light up the coffee house with music and help raise funds to keep Cousin Andy’s going with comfortable chairs.

Vocalist Stephani Fein said the benefit is a tremendous way to involve the community in helping local musicians as well as aiding a charitable cause.

I think its really important to make people of the community aware of the coffee house, she said. The benefit is a tremendous way to support the bands and make everyone aware [of Cousin Andy’s] and the great thing that is around them.

Fein said kicking back in more comfortable chaise can further one’s enjoyment of the music.

You can really relax and have a good time if you’re comfortable, she said. If you’re not, you’ll just fidget through the whole show and not enjoy yourself or the music.

For Healing Purposes Only guitarist and vocalist Jane Reh said the Coffeehouse benefit is a way for musicians and patrons to aid in their solace and the pleasing feel of Cousin Andy’s Coffee House.

Advertisement*

It’s a great place to play and we have a lot of rapport with the audience, she said. We always have a good time playing there. It’s one of our favorites. The coffee house is place for people to relax and enjoy the music without the hassle of smoke or alcohol. It will be nice for [the audience] to sit in comfort.

Reh, also a volunteer at the coffee house, has been involved with Cousin Andy’s since its opening four years ago. She said the audience at Cousin Andy’s is always vivacious and deserves to sit and enjoy the concert in style.

The crowd is always very appreciative, Reh said. They sing along with the songs they know and keep in beat with the rest.

Brown Baggers bass drummer Tom Cummings said the swamp rhythm and dog house Cajun tunes the play will be sure to get the crowd on their feet and off of the folding chairs.

We like to see people having a good time, he said. They wanted to finish off the evening with dancing, and we play Mardi Gras kind of stuff that you can dance to.

If you like Cajun then you should enjoy our garage band. The songs are sung in French so it is authentic Cajun music and it rocks along.

Crawford said Cousin Andy’s smoke- and alcohol-free environment provides an alternative to the Carbondale night life and is also a comfortable venue for striving musicians.

We provide a needed alternative to the Strip here and we help musicians, Crawford said. The smoke-free and alcohol-free surrounding allows the audience to fully appreciate the music and the musicians.

And the musicians do take a special interest in the knowledge that their audience is seated without distractions.

If you’ve ever sat on one of those metal folding chairs for a couple of hours you’ll get a sore butt and be distracted, Cummings said. The goal of Cousin Andy’s is to purchase 100 upholstered stacking chairs. Anything leftover after the chairs are purchased will be used to provide assistance in lighting and electrical costs.

We have had previous benefits. However, rain was the cause of a flop for one, and our funds were only in the $200 or $300 range at the others, Crawford said. Our benefits before were to help with electrical costs and the church was excited about that, but now with the pledge we only need $9.95 to buy one good chair.

Factoid:Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and the music will begin at about 7:30 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $5 for adults and $3 for students and low income families. An additional tax-deductible donation should be in the form of a check payable to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. For information call 529-3533.