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	Michael Rofkar Musician Since picking up a guitar for the first time as a teenager, Michael Rofkar has played folk, country, and rock’n’roll by himself and in numerous ensembles. However, since meeting Dublin singer Sean Oglesby in Sonoma County in the 1980s, Celtic music has become his great love and main focus. In 1991, Michael formed the band Greenhouse as an outlet for playing Celtic (Irish, Scots, etc.) music. Many of the North Bay’s finest folk and trad musicians have graced the band’s ranks over the years. Today, Greenhouse is still going strong, having been voted Best Celtic Band in the 2005 North Bay Music Awards. The current lineup includes fiddlers Dan Kahane and Jon Berger, singer Patricia Casey, bassist Dan Reynolds, and percussionists Gary Palmatier and Tony Blake (and no, they don't usually all play at the same time). Greenhouse has released three CDs and is working on a fourth. When gigging with the group, Michael plays guitar, bouzouki, tin whistles, and sings. He also gets his ya-yas out by rocking with jam band The Syncopaths. Although Michael has written songs in various idioms, he admits he’s not a prolific songwriter; partly because, as he says, “it’s really tough to come up with better melodies than those found in traditional song”. He has, however, on various occasions written new lyrics and set them to traditional airs. The Greenhouse website is at www.celticfusion.org
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