Celebrating songs of Leelanau: André Villoch’s “Cedar”
Photo by Chris Cosentino, Black River Photography
From staff reports
Our story series celebrating songs inspired by Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes continues with André Villoch’s “Cedar.”
“This song was written around 1996,” said Villoch. “I was in college at the time working summers as a dishwasher in the kitchen at a summer camp in Leelanau County. We had a cook’s assistant named Marcus who was quite adventurous—like a big brother who was great about encouraging us out of our comfort zones. A couple of us in the kitchen played guitar and without television or internet, we spent a lot of our evenings teaching each other songs outside our bunkhouse or down on the beach.
“Marcus was the only one of us who had a vehicle, an old Volkswagen bus with two 12v hairdryers for defrosting the wind shield. Marcus got wind of a regular open mic at the Cedar Tavern and convinced us to go down and join in one Tuesday in July. For the week leading up to that Tuesday I was the picture of procrastination, hence the chorus ‘I’ll get around to it…’ I had never played in front of an audience other than some gigs with my band in high school, for other high school students. Then one Tuesday night a half dozen of us piled into the VW bus and descended on the tavern. Marcus got us signed up with the guy running the show; the Leelanau godfather of folk: Patrick Niemisto.
“It was scary. most of us were minors drinking pitchers of Coke. The tavern staff was none too pleased that we took up a big table but didn’t make them much money. But we came back every Tuesday after that and for the next few summers. Once they made us leave saying we were not old enough to be in there. But we came back the next week and eventually we found our footing and started to build friendships with the players in the area. The locals at the bar would sometimes turn around to face us when we started playing. They would sing along, even when they didn’t know the words.
“When word got back to the extremely conservative camp that we were moonlighting at the open mic in Cedar, efforts were made to keep us on camp, lest we be tempted by bad influences. One of the board members bought us a TV with a built-in VHS player hoping that would keep us onsite. But we had experienced a whole new world of Leelanau County—the incredible music scene.
“From then on the kitchen staff developed a reputation for being rebels, rule breakers and sometimes, outcasts. We loved it. It inspired the song. It’s about the life we were living during the week feeding the wealthy kids was supposed to be for college money. But a mutual love of playing and an adventurous spark led us to something greater that would change the course of my professional life and introduce me to musicians that I am proud to share the stage with to this day.
“I have lived my adult life in four states and played gigs in all of them. But Leelanau County has something special, thanks in no small part to Patrick Niemisto and that group of musicians and songwriters that gathered and grew out to the Cedar open mic nights. I am grateful Marcus was there to challenge us to load up and head to the far way magical land of the Cedar Tavern. I am grateful Patrick was willing to give us some time on the mic, though I am sure we were sometimes terrible. It set me on a course to being a songwriter and a gigging musician, which I do to this day. If not for the trips to Cedar I may not have had the courage to start performing. I would probably be teaching English right now. I smile when I think of how many children over the years have been spared from my teaching style thanks to Patrick Niemisto, Marcus, and the open mic nights on Tuesdays at the Cedar tavern.”
“Cedar” appeared on the album Gum Wrapper Roses (2003 Gum Wrapper Songs ASCAP) and is available for download or streaming on all streaming services
Previous installments in our Songs of Leelanau series featured: Chris Skellenger’s “Old Yellow Dog,” Patrick Niemisto’s “Sand” about the megastorm that hit Glen Arbor 10 years ago; Hazel Olberhelman’s “Leelanau Theme Song”; Ingemar Johansson and Song of the Lakes’ “Pearl of America”; Laura Hood’s “Eddy Up”; Les Dalgliesh’s “The Ways of Leelanau”; Jeff Maharry’s “Good Harbor Bay”; Seth Bernard’s instrumental ode to the Manitou Islands; Blake Elliott’s “Small Town,” and Louann Lechler’s “I’m Proud to Say I Live in Leelanau County.”
