The first thing I noticed in professor and Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Bernard “Duffy” Duyfhuizen’s office was his bookshelf. Towering to the ceiling and filled to capacity, it occupied an entire wall in his Schofield Hall lair.

“No wonder he’s an English professor,” I thought to myself, silently using my multiplication skills to guesstimate how many books he actually owned.

Duyfhuizen recently sat down with me to discuss his band, Eggplant Heroes, who are scheduled to play at The Cabin on Saturday.

Along with Duyfhuizen, who sings and plays the guitar and harmonica, the band is composed of three others: professor of English Max Garland on vocals and guitar, associate professor of English Joel Pace on vocals and trumpet, and UW-Eau Claire alumnus Olaf Lind on violin, viola and mandolin.

Since releasing their first CD this summer, After This Time, the group has found the time to reunite and perform their newest songs in concert (plus a plethora of others).

“Teaching here takes up more than 40 hours a week,” Duyfhuizen said. “All of us are so busy – we normally have to consider two or three different schedules when booking gigs.”

With a show now set in stone, however, Duyfhuizen said the band is excited to hit the stage.