Bill Maraschiello was active in filk and folk circles from the mid-70’s until his untimely death in 1986. He discovered fandom through the science fiction club at the State University of New York, Buffalo, and was often seen at conventions in the mid-west.
A versatile and skilled performer, he earned himself the admiring nickname “Bill of Many Instruments”. He played, and played well, six-and twelve-string guitars, banjo, mandolin, penny whistle, hammered dulcimer, autoharp, Irish bagpipes, concertina, ocarina, and frame drum, to name just a few. He showed others that filk need not be confined to the guitar and the folk music style. His gift of talent was not just given to the filk community; Bill was also a notable performer on the folk music circuit. He had a consuming passion for his music but he always conveyed the sheer fun he was having in performance.
He was widely known in filk fandom, and was well liked by all as a personable and outgoing member of the community. Although noted primarily as a performer of traditional Irish folk music, he is also noted for contributing the song “J for Jedi”, an appalling musical pun.
For these contributions to filk music and the filk community, Bill Maraschiello is inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame, this Twentieth day of April, Nineteen hundred and ninety-six.
RIP 1986
Photo credit: Michael Kube-McDowell