[FM] Bill Domler, Sounding Board Coffeehouse Founder

[Jim Rigby]

William "Bill" Domler, folk music promoter, folk music DJ on WWUH Radio,
and founder of The Sounding Board Coffeehouse, passed away this
afternoon (Mon., April 2) in Hartford, Connecticut as a result of
injuries received in an fall at his place of business last week.

With the assistance of Sandy & Caroline Paton of Folk-Legacy Records,
Bill founded The Sounding Board in the basement of a Methodist church on
Park Street in Hartford in December 1973. Although he left The Sounding
Board in the late 1970s, the coffeehouse is run today by his parents,
Len and Fran Domler, and presents more than 25 concerts each year from
September to May.

After his departure from The Sounding Board, Bill continued to run
concerts in the Hartford area.  He established a folk music series at
Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, Connecticut and presented house
concerts at his business, The Speediest Printer In Town, which he
founded in the mid-1970s after working in the printing industry for
several years. Many folk performers got their first exposure to
Hartford-area audiences through The Sounding Board or other folk music
venues and opportunities Bill created over the years.

Bill was also one of the original group of DJs who hosted and programmed
the "FM on Toast" folk music radio show on WWUH-FM in West Hartford,
Connecticut. The show, which airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 a.m.,
has been a feature on the University of Hartford radio station since the
early 1980s. Although he had cut back his involvement with WWUH in
recent years, he remained a substitute host who would play a blend of
traditional folk and rarely-heard gems from his own extensive music
collection. 

Bill grew up in Hartford and Wethersfield, Connecticut, and had lived in
Simsbury, Connecticut for the past several years. He is survived by his
parents, Len and Fran Domler of Cromwell, Connecticut, three sisters,
two sons from a previous marriage, and his companion of the last two
years, Trina. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time.
Condolences may be sent to his sister: Janet Steucek, 668 Main St.,
Cromwell, CT 06416 or by email to folkie43@aol.com