What about the songs?! Surely some songs are meant to be sung with humour and others aren't? It works to sing Ramblin' Sailor in a comedic style, drinking songs like the Barley Mow should be fun, but I'm sure singing death ballads like Maria Marten in anything but a tragic way would be highly unsuccessful.

I think all too often egos get in the way of performing a good song in the way it should be done because so many people neglect to respect the song that they sing; they forget that it is an old song that does not belong to them anymore than the next man and that ultimately, while they have to make the song their own, they should conform to certain unwritten rules regarding the way they treat the material.

Nick