Peter T, your post made me laugh out loud... I have witnessed so much of that type of snobbery, not just amongst musicians, but in all artistic pursuits and walks of life. But it is especially irritating when it comes to folk and/or blues music, which one would think need not be quite so inflexibly purist. My own sister is like that... "you didn't sing that song EXACTLY THE WAY JOAN BAEZ DOES ON HER ALBUM! Therefore it is WRONG WRONG WRONG!" Jeez! I thought the whole point of folk/blues was for each person to be free to bring a little tiny bit of her/himself to it. Also, there is a difference between being a historical ethnomusicologist trying to capture a song or musical style in its so-called "pure" state, and being an individual who just wants to sing or play that song without having to slavishly follow every detail of whatever recording is the "definitive" take.

Anyway, this rant is certainly not against any of you, but rather in response to some of my more rigidly purist acquaintances... I do think there is a place and time for both approaches -- but as a shyer and less experienced performer, I sure do appreciate the more supportive and less judgmental type of environment when I can find it.

--js