'Demented' Valentine's Day date

Cliff Eberhardt does not go for sappy serenades, even on Valentine's Day.

Eberhardt's fourth and most-recent album, "Twelve Songs of Good and Evil," highlights various nontraditional relationships, from two con artists who fall in love in "Carnival Girl," to "Someone Like You," about a woman who does not prefer gentleness in bed.

"In every song, you will find that thin line that people walk between good and evil," says Cliff Eberhardt, 45, of Williamsburg, Mass.

Perfect for Valentine's Day, or so thinks Rockville resident Scott Moore, whose house-concert series will feature Eberhardt Sunday.

Moore calls the date a "demented" Valentine's Day concert, but Eberhardt questioned that analysis, saying, "what exactly is a normal relationship?"

Eberhardt has been involved with music professionally for almost 20 years. While growing up in Philadelphia, he played in small clubs and moved to New York in the mid-1980s. He then sang at various venues and wrote and performed jingles, most notably the "Heartbeat of America" Chevrolet ads.

While some, like Moore, see Eberhardt as a folk singer, Eberhardt defines his music as "American," combining elements of jazz, folk, blues and classical.

The discrepancy mirrors folk music's very definition, which constantly is being debated, Moore said. Some see folk as a less-profitable form of country, while others appreciate it as an acoustic feast more word-driven than music-centered.

"Folk music is country music without the twang or the steel guitar, similar to 'MTV Unplugged,'" Moore says.

"But Cliff, his [music] is a little more 'rocking,'" Moore adds.

Eberhardt is no stranger to the Washington, D.C., area. He has played at the Birchmere, Wolf Trap and, locally, at O'Brien's Pit Barbecue in Rockville.

For Sunday night's performance, Moore already has sold more than half the 55 available seats.

Cliff Eberhardt plays Sunday at 7 p.m. for Moore Music (In the House). $10 suggested donation for the performer. For reservations and directions, call Scott Moore at 301-309-0983 or at mooresp@erols.com. Cliff Eberhardt's Web site is www.granataguitars.com/eberhardt.