Dear Rick,

I fully approve of independent productions, if that's the only way to get an artist to your area. When Margaret and I are going to an area where someone is very enthusiastic about bringing us, we tend to do much better than if we're one of many acts, and no one seems to know much about us. We've done better playing in someone's living room for a house concert than we have at some prestigious folk clubs. There are several artist I've told that I would help set up a house concert in my area if they were passing through, and those have been well received. Though on the presenting end I've found that it's a crap shoot: sending promo stuff to the local press and hoping they print something (sometimes they do, sometimes they don't), and you can only twist your friends' arms so many times. Anyway, I was impressed by your opening comments.

--Phil Cooper