Well, I guess I'd have to start back when I was in college, with my roommate -- and still best friend -- Lois Lyman. You may have heard some of the songs she's written recorded by Gordon Bok. She taught me the basics of guitar-playing, and LOTS of songs, and introduced me to the music of the Weavers, Pete Seeger, the New Lost City Ramblers, Joan Baez, and many others. She and her brother John and his Coast Guard friends, and her late cousin Parker (Pick) Marean and other college buddies used to hang out at Lois' mother's house in Massachusetts most weekends, playing music and singing until the wee hours.

Then when I got to Washington I found a thriving community of folkies, including Helen Schneyer (who taught us to sing right out loud), Jonathan Eberhart, and many others. These are the people who, in addition to making their own music, started and ran the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, which brought -- and still brings -- the best of traditional and folk revival music to the DC area. What better influences could there be?

Nancy