I have the weird experience of trying to play folk music with three people who until lately did not have any background in it. I get plenty of moans & groans about anything long, and now await the occasional solo gig where I can do Barbree Ellen. Have also had to at least momemtarily shelve Red River Valley and Maggie and Lorena, the last-named of which really hacked me off because of the work I put into the banjo solo. They say it's in the wrong key; I don't know whether I buy that or not. They also vetoed "Wreck of the Royal Palm," but I won't fight that; I can't decide myself whether that's a good song or not. (a) It has every cliche in the world in the lyrics and (b) it's too "happy" a melody for a song about a tragedy. Hey diddle-diddle, everybody's dead. Problem is, I like it, but I can live without performing it. Not so Lorena and Maggie. As Fu Manchu once said, "The world will hear from me again." Unfortunately I am so fond of my colleagues that they know when I say I'm just going to go hire union musicians, I don't mean it. Mainly I couldn't afford it.

Ah well.

CC