Let’s not pretend: I am a big fan of folk music. Although this particular genre has experienced a mini-revival in the past decade or so, it’s unclear how long the trend will last. So, in the interest of promoting my beloved singing and songwriting magicians, it is time to scrounge up those who are just beginning to continue the tradition.

Michael Berkowitz, double degree fourth-year, has shown up more than once in my folksy wanderings. Last spring, I went to see Josh Ritter OC ’99, in Cleveland and there Berkowitz was, handing his demo over to the newfound star. Later, at Oberlin’s own folk festival, Berkowitz performed, playing self-composed songs, and caught my attention.

In a musical world where simply being noticed can mean the difference between barely scraping by and huge success, I took this as a sign.

Berkowitz started playing guitar around the same time he started high school; he names the Counting Crows and R.E.M. as two bands that have severely nostalgic effects on him now, because they influenced his learning process. A gift of the folk album, Engine, by We’re About 9’s caused Berkowitz to consider songwriting himself.

“I got the idea that you could tell those sorts of stories and have that sort of music. I don’t think I thought immediately, ‘Oh, I can do that,’ but rather, ‘I can do something like that,’” Berkowitz noted.

He later met We’re About 9 and developed a friendship with the group.

“Brian [Gundersdorf of We’re About 9] was very supportive and helped me work on songs and gave me people to talk to and places to play,” he said.

Berkowitz has proceeded along the songwriting path and he has just produced his first EP, Aurora Borealis. He recorded the CD himself, using an augmented version of GarageBand. His CD release concert on Oct. 9 drew a cozy group to the Cat in the Cream.

A composition major in the Con as well as a classics major in the College, Berkowitz has found ideas of variation and development in composing to be the most beneficial in his songwriting.

But as far as melody and lyrics go, he’s on his own. His songs are lyrically driven pieces that tell detailed stories about characters Berkowitz often creates himself.

Another recurrent theme in his writing is travel; several of his song titles are named for particular places.

“It helps ground the stories if you can imagine a place,” he said.

To tell these tales, Berkowitz accompanies himself on the acoustic guitar. Simple melodies are a soothing compliment to the lyrically rich text.

“I write songs more to tell stories than to have a good beat and a catchy melody,” said Berkowitz.

While the setting of the songs is intimate (he even uses the first person), Berkowitz tries not to get too up close and personal.

“There’s probably bits of me in all of these somewhere but I tend not to write autobiographical songs. You can’t help but write yourself into things, I suppose,” he said.

But the fact that Berkowitz doesn’t write himself purposely into his songs certainly doesn’t detach him from the process. Fully invested in becoming a singer/songwriter, he plans to do whatever it takes to support himself while he realizes his dream.

“If I have to work a boring day job in order to do this at night, I will,” he said.

Now, as he approaches graduation from Oberlin in a year and a half, he faces the biggest challenge of a fledgling musician: becoming recognizable to the public, or at least to a bit of the public.

“The networking, the ‘getting myself out there in a good way’ is what I’m putting the most effort into,” said Berkowitz.

I have faith. With beautiful and insightful lyrics and calming melodies, Michael Berkowitz’s sound is all that I look for in folk music. His ideas are fresh but certainly relatable; they are an extension of the genre that reaches back into history and into the hearts of many.