Bio

    Tony Unger, Ed Labowitz and Mike Sirota, along with bass man Bob Packham, grew up in the 1960's, when they fell in love with the story songs and 3-part harmonies of that acoustic era. Ed and Tony have been a duo on and off since their days at Hollywood High School. Mike joined the group in 2003 and Bob in early 2005.

    Much of our repertoire is familiar to audiences of all ages. With songs like “This Land is Your Land,” “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Where Have all the Flowers Gone?,” and John Denver tunes, as well as Tony's original compositions, The Folk Collection is reminiscent of such groups as The Kingston Trio, The Limeliters, The New Christy Minstrels, and The Brothers Four, but we have our own unique blend and sound.

    We grew up loving this sort of music, and the turnouts at our shows confirms that there are many baby boomers, as well as older and younger folks, who really like listening to words and harmonies – and joining in when the mood and song fit. We put on a show centered around folk music and good clean jokes. Our shows are family friendly and are for a multi-generational audience -- from children, to parents, to grandparents, and even great-grandparents. We get a real kick out of watching teenagers, who reluctantly come to our show as a favor to a parent or grandparent, leave smiling and humming tunes we sang.

    When not performing, Ed is an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles who represents some of the same folk acts that influenced him as a teenager. After the Air Force, Tony toured with his own band for years, opening for such acts as Billy Preston, but he wanted to raise his daughters (now both married and parents) in a home, not on a tour bus, so he quit the road in the ‘80’s. When not with The Folk Collection, Tony is a building contractor and church choir director in Leona Valley, near Palmdale, California. Mike spent his formative years in music as a camp, synagogue and youth group song leader and now lives and works in Los Angeles.  Bob works as a sales representative in LA but has played bass, acoustic guitar and keyboards in a number of bands since the mid 1970’s.