Middletown >> In the aftermath of the Valley Fire, there were many who left the county, either willingly or because they had lost their homes and had no other options. Few wanted to move to an area that had been devastated by flames. But Bob Ellenberg has spent his career seeking out those places impacted by catastrophes.
Ellenberg makes a living as a public adjuster, but his business model is a little different than others. Rather than work out of a permanent office in a large city and chase after natural disasters, he moves to the community that has directly been affected. The only time he sets up an office is when he relocates to an area, and plans to stay there for a significant chunk of time.
“My business model had always been to come in and educate people on what they’re entitled to with their policies,” Ellenberg said.
This is how he wound up living in Lake County, with an office located in Middletown. Before moving to the lake, Ellenberg and his business partner were in Weed, assisting fire survivors. They’d been there for almost a year and Ellenberg was exhausted and ready to return to his home in Louisiana. But when the Valley Fire broke out, his business partner had different ideas.
So Ellenberg’s wife, Karen Ellenberg, embarked on a trip to the county to scope things out. She immediately fell in love with the area and people here. That decided it. The couple relocated to Lake County in September 2015, mere weeks after the fire. In the year and a half since, the couple has immersed themselves in the community, and they plan to stay here for a while yet. Their granddaughter is even enrolled at Middletown Christian Academy.
Over the past year and a half Bob Ellenberg has been helping survivors deal with debris removal, which can come with a hefty price tag. It’s kept him plenty busy, but he and Karen Ellenberg still wanted to do more. So they organized a benefit concert, with all proceeds going to Hope City and their rebuilding efforts.
“I had talked to hundreds who lost their home. A lot of people were under insured and didn’t have money to rebuild,” Bob Ellenberg said. “I knew Hope City was an absolutely solid, legitimate and very reliable group, in terms of what they did.”
The concert takes place tonight at Twin Pine Casino in Middletown. Acoustic Eidolon will be performing, a duo comprised of husband and wife Joe Scott and Hannah Alkire. The two are from Colorado, but they travel the world performing their own eclectic brand of music. They’ve made the trip to Lake County especially for tonight’s fundraiser.
“They’re not lounge musicians,” Bob Ellenberg said. “They’re world class musicians.”
Although they’re not from this community, Alkire and Scott didn’t hesitate when the Ellenbergs approached them about performing for a benefit. “As musicians, we get to live the life that we’re passionate about and that we absolutely love,” said Alkire. “We believe in giving back because we just love this life that we get to live.”
Acoustic Eidolon’s style of music is hard to define. They perform recognizable melodies and tunes like Led Zeppelin, Queen and Joni Mitchell songs, but with a unique twist, considering neither Scott not Alkire play an electric guitar. The duo also performs original songs, which have flavors of Celtic and flamenco music.
Basically, they play such a diverse repertoire that the line-up is guaranteed to include something for everyone and every taste.
Alkire and Scott have been playing together for 19 years, in cities across the globe, and they were never interested in sticking to one genre. They constantly want to be learning and challenging themselves, and they do that by adding new styles into their music. If they didn’t, they would quickly grow bored.
“As we incorporate influences and flavors, it keeps us very dynamic,” said Alkire. “It keeps us listening with really open ears, and I love that part.”
Performing such an array of music also allows Acoustic Eidolon to better connect with their audience. That’s what music is about, after all. “We love what we do and I love sharing that with an audience,” Alkire explained. “I love tapping into all the shared stories … those common threads that bind us.”
Acoustic Eidolon has 12 albums worth of material to pull from, but tonight’s concert will focus on their most recent release, “A Tree Finds Its Voice.” The CD is about Alkire and Scott’s cello and guitar, which were constructed this past year from the exact same piece of wood. The album tells the story of a tree that becomes first a one instrument, then a second, and finally is able to sing.
This concert has been a while in the making, since Scott and Alkire had to fit it into their busy schedule. The Ellenberg’s have known the duo for 16 years and have heard them play on numerous occasions, so when they decided to set up a Hope City Fundraiser, Acoustic Eidolon was the first group that came to mind. Alkire and Scott agreed to perform when their tour finally brought them to the West Coast.
“We know he [Ellenberg] does a lot of service to communities,” said Alkire. “He’s just kind of a force for good, which we believe in.”
The benefit begins at 7 p.m. tonight at Twin Pine Casino’s Event Center in Middletown. Tickets are $20 at the door or $15 in advanced and can be purchased at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2885750. Twin Pine Casino is located at 22223 Hwy. 29.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
