Dave Carter, who with Tracy Grammer recorded 3 c.d's and was scheduled to perform at Falcon Ridge this next weekend, has been taken from us by a massive heart atck last friday. see news item below: THE NEW YORK TIMES Thursday, July 25, 2002

Dave Carter, Folk Singer and Songwriter, Dies at 49

Dave Carter, a folk singer and songwriter, died on Friday in Hadley, Mass. He was 49 and lived in Portland, Ore. The cause was a heart attack, said his performing partner and companion, Tracy Grammer. Mr. Carter was in the area to perform at a music festival in Greenfield, Mass., and collapsed in his hotel after a run.

Mr. Carter and Ms. Grammer had been performing together only since 1998 but had made a quick rise to the top ranks of the folk music world. Their music was praised by critics for its eclectic approach and for Mr. Carter's lyrics, which were steeped in spirituality and dreamlike imagery.

Joan Baez frequently performs Mr. Carter's songs in concert, and earlier this year she took Mr. Carter and Ms. Grammer on tour. "There is a special gift for writing songs that are available to other people," Ms. Baez once said, "and Dave's songs are very available to me."

Reared in Texas and Oklahoma, Mr. Carter had a varied career, working as a computer programmer and mathematician, before turning to folk music in his 40's. He had degrees in fine arts, music theory and mathematics and had completed studies in spirituality at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, Calif.

Besides Ms. Grammer, he is survived by his father, Robert Carter, of Tulsa, Okla., and a sister, Elise Fischer, of Lawrence, Kan.

This is how to go to their web site: www.daveandtracy.com and here is their chat list: