I want to make an appeal for historians and researchers to bring truthful facts to the fore in the subject of folk songs and characters. I think that truth is more interesting than fiction and that to see a folk figure in a broad human context, not just a comic strip myth is revealing and educational. A lot of folklore is fiction but still a historical timeline and event structure can override the mythology that obscures the background of a song.

My contention is that there are few doing this today and my friend Adam Miller is doing this in his performances.

I was happy to see the new revelations about Joe Hill.

Billy the Kid was a little monster. Jesse James was a Confederate rascal.

I am in favor of promoting social heroes that are not just gangsters, criminals or military figures.