I, too, discovered the database first, then the Mudcat... and I am so happy that I did. There is no other place like it. I have checked into a few other forums on topics such as gardening, birdwatching, nature, but none of them have developed the community that the Mudcat has developed. I think because the lyrics and music can become such an intimate part of our personal (and family) history, there is no bond like the bond shared through music. I have been touched by the number of stories that are connected to the music... father's, grandmother's, etc. The story of how Spancilhill was written is a good example.
Since we are dropping our vitual masks, I can tell you that my full name is Alice Colleen Flynn. I was born in Great Falls, Montana, raised in Helena, and have lived in Bozeman since 1970.(Photo at http://www.mcn.net/~acflynn/Alice.html ). Travelled from Montana to Central America and back in a 1949 Buick, and have a love of El Salvador, where I lived. I like most kinds of music. Irish and American folk music was my early family influence. When I worked at the college FM radio station as a student, I would spin alot of blues records and other styles of music. Since I have been studying voice for the last few years, I developed a taste for Opera, which I never understood until now. (Still don't know enough about it to discuss it.)
I felt alone in a desert void of anyone who sang or played folk music ... it seemed to have died... until I found the Irish session going on every week here. The Mudcat discussions really have enriched my life with the ability to give and take information and stories about this type of music.

Alice