
Efatha was an band that ran from 1997 until 2000, consisting of Scott Hertzog (Guitarist and Vocalist), Christie Lafferty (Irish violist and vocalist), Bill Lewis (Tin Whistle, Harmonica, and Vocalist), Steve Smoker (bassist and Percusion) Jessica Kormos (Cello), David Zoll (drummer) and Kristen Anselmo (Vocals).
The word "Efatha" is a Derivative of the Greek word "Eph' Eph' ata" which means to be open; to understand; to gain revelation. This is reflected in the music and lyrics, which range from carefree and lighthearted to deep and impassioned. From the beginning, they brought quality acoustic music to their listeners and drew on Celtic and folk roots.
History Of Efatha
Efatha is the brainchild of Scott Hertzog. Through out the 90's, he was involved with various musical groups of which included LifeSpring and M.P.W. Trained in classical violin, voice, and piano, Scott fell in love with guitar in 1990 and began writing acoustic guitar music. Through out the next seven years, he wrote mostly church music. During the latter half of those years, his writing began to change.
It was the spring of 1997 that Scott, along with his wife Kristen, attended a Sarah Mason and Dressed In Rags Concert. It was at this acoustic rock concert that Scott realized that ability wise he could do what Dressed In Rags was doing. If they were performing, why couldn't he? Thus the vision was born.
At one time, Kristen had talked about starting up a soul group that she was going to call "Efatha". This never materialized so Scott used the name for his new venture. At the time of the Sarah Mason/Dressed In Rags Concert, Scott had written only four songs that were concert worthy. None-the-less, he called up some local coffee shops to schedule some play dates. Among these first songs were "5 Roses" and "Far, Far Away". By the time he was to play at these venues, he has expanded his repertoire of music to include nine original songs, a song by Sarah Mason, and a song by 10,000 Maniacs.
Efatha's first concert was July 11, 1997 at 8 O'clock at the Renaissance Grotto on Main Street in Ephrata, PA. Three weeks before this Scott hooked up with bass guitarist Steve Smoker. Steve, a 17-year-old punk, was eventually to bring the recognizable groove to Efatha's early music. Drummer David Zoll joined the group on a tentative basis, offering to play through the summer.
Thus, the basis for Efatha was set. Although Scott had practiced with David one time and with Steve twice before the Grotto concert, it wasn't until the day of the concert that they all practiced together for the first time. That night they went ill prepared yet armed with their guitars and drums to play for whomever would listen to them. When Efatha took the stage for the first time ever, it was Scott on acoustic guitar and vocals, Steve on bass and background vocals, and David on drums. While this was not the best concert Efatha as a band ever performed, it wasn't bad and elicited a good response and they were invited back.
Scott's original vision for the band was that it be an acoustic act playing in Coffeehouses, universities, and clubs. It was under this vision, that they recorded their first demo. As they prepared to record this demo in late July, two more band members were added to the roster of the band. Kristen Anselmo was added as a female lead singer and Winona Houser added the final touch by bringing her Celtic Violin skills to the band.
Under the engineering of Rusty Richards, Efatha recorded a three-song demo at Paradise Studios (later to become Blue Angel Studios). The three tightest songs that best reflected Efatha were placed on this three song EP. The three songs were "5 Roses", "Far, Far Away", and "Sandbox Sculptures". These three acoustic songs contained the Celtic vibe Efatha was to boast in and to which they would later return.
After playing at the Monk's Tunic and the Café Angst, Efatha returned to the Grotto and released "Snared In Chains" (their demo) on September 12th. For a local band, the audience responded in a tremendous way, buying over 20 demos (This was great for a crowd of only 50 some people.). Through out August, September, and October, Efatha rotated between the Monk's Tunic, café Angst, and the Grotto. During this time period, Winona left the band to pursue studies at Houghton College, New York. Dave, despite his refusal to be committed to the band, continued to play show after show and attend practices faithfully.
Club Vortex, Harrisburg, PA, October 30th, 1997. This was the placed where two roads diverged in a yellow wood for Efatha. Efatha was to take the path more traveled on. Supposedly, 10 bands were supposed to play that day although only five ever did. Whether it was due to weather, bad publicity, no publicity at all, no one showed up. It was clearly an event gone bad. However, Efatha discovered something that was to change the life of the band for the next half year. They discovered that it is difficult and next to impossible for an acoustic band to play the club scene. The other two bands that played that evening were Big Pop Crush and Monkey Chuck. Both were very electric and alternative. Quite clearly, Efatha was out of their league with their acoustic instruments if they wanted to play the club scene. The decision was made to forsake Efatha's acoustic roots and become more electric, more alternative.
With this decision, the songs "Masterpiece", "Slam", "Naked", and others were written. As a result of this decision, they began to play other clubs and break out of the coffeehouse scene. The Chameleon, the Lighthouse Kaffee, the Rock Café and others were added to their performance schedule. They still, for the most part, remained a local, Lancaster County based band.
It was April 1998 when David finally resigned from the band. After playing the gigs for that month, his career in computers took precedence. Kristen, who had been performing irregularly with the band, also resigned her position as vocalist. Acting at Sight and Sound Theaters made it impossible for her to continue with Efatha. In addition, she had suffered through nodes on her vocal cords and was rarely seen in concert during the months of January to April. Since Efatha had no drummer, Steve decided to go his own way and became involved with a Lancaster County punk rock band.
But Efatha was far from over. It was a time to reevaluate. For the past months, it felt like Efatha was being shoved into a scene they didn't quite fit. Although many good alternative songs came out of this experience, the band was getting tired. Before saying goodbye to old members, Efatha welcomed on a new one. They began to rehearse with Christie Lafferty, an Irish violist. Scott had been working with her individually and saw the benefits and potential of incorporating her into the band. She played with the Efatha in two of their last gigs, both at Border's Book Stores.
In May, Efatha replaced the title "band" with "duo". This acoustic folk duo picked up where Efatha had started; in acoustic music with a Celtic/folk influence. Gone were the electric guitars. Gone were the drums. In was the haunting dark sound of the Celtic viola. Beautiful it was. Their first two concerts as a duo were performed at the Sun, Earth, and Moon Coffee Shop and the Renaissance Grotto.
It was at the Sun, Earth, and Moon concert that Efatha released their sophomore release "Zolltopia: The K-mart Bootleg". This release was characteristic of the more electric alternative style that Efatha had just turned their back on. A bootleg in the true sense, it contained songs recorded at rehearsal and during concerts during the January to April 1998 period.
In June 1998, Efatha appeared on yet a third project: the WJTL "Unite CD". Their song "Far, Far Away" was featured on this CD of regional PA musicians. Remastered, this song brought out the Celtic violin and driving bass Efatha was known for.
In August 1998, Scott and Christie went into the studio to work on Efatha's first full-length release. This stripped down acoustic project was recorded at the studio of King Enterprises, under the guidance and direction of long time friend Jeff King. Jeff, an experienced engineer and performer, gave vital input into the direction of this album. Titled "Letters From Efatha", this CD features the guitar and vocal work of Scott Hertzog and the viola and vocal work of Christie Lafferty. Others musicians appearing on this album are Kristen Anselmo (vocals), Steve Smoker (bass), David Zoll (drums), and Jeff King (keyboards). Other instruments included on this album are the Nigerian tambourine, bongos, a shaker, and a gourd.
In the summer of 2000, Efatha officially disbanded, though they would reunit briefly in 2005 to open for the Violet Burning.
About

“Efatha has universal appeal.... a real crowd pleaser....” -
- The Barfly Monthly -

