There was a kernel of truth about some of the folkies that hung out in Washington Square on Sunday afternoons in 1953-through early Sixties but certainly not the majority of them
in Llewyn Davis. I think that Al Grossman wasn't unfairly represented. I worked at the Gate of Horn for about a year as a house musician accompanying acts that came through. With Al, as with Bob Grossman in the movie, it was about "seeing money in it". The damage he did to Odetta by unceremoniously dropping her from his roster to go with Dylan is unforgivable. The part I disliked mostly about the movie is the leaving of the cat with the Goodman character. It was heartbreaking. The cavalier handling of the "abortion" stuff was pretty bad too. The attitude by some of the folkies was not unlike the Davis character. These characters had the New York disease of having to prove something rather than singing and playing out of joy and love. Again, this was certainly not the case of the majority of them that I knew.

I also slept on couches and floors. Al Meyers, a lovely guy, opened his apartment to many of us on Third and MacDougal. The Village in those days (1950's throughout early 60's) was a friendly, non-threatening place to live. You could walk through the area near the Waverly Theater without worrying about being mugged or attacked. "Blackies" was the best pizza place in the city at that time.


The Coen brothers were apparently trying to make a point out of the unreal attitudes of folkies in New York at that time. Dave Van Ronk in my opinion was nothing like Llewyn Davis, nor was Paul Clayton. Dave was affable, friendly, encouraging and supportive, a genuinely nice person and we had some good laughs together. I didn't know Paul very well but he was not a cad like Davis. I think of Llewyn Davis as an extension of "The Mighty Wind" which was funny if overblown.

Again, my views are based on the fact that I was there and had left shortly before the singer songwriter happening through "Fast Folk", "Caravan" and Sis Cunningham's publication, "Broadside printed Paxton, Dylan and other's creations.

Izzy Young of the Folklore Center would never have tolerated Llewyn Davis in his store and told many to get out of his store if they supported the Vietnam War. Always admired Izzy for that.