And what was the folk scene like before McColl wormed his way into it?

If newbies are rejected by the established folkies, they won't stop making music. They'll just do it without the guidance of the old farts and the "cancerous parody" could end up being healthier and looking prettier to other newbies than the tired old original. If that original doesn't have any new growth, it will become extinct.

I noticed a serious "Catch 22" when asking a local person about getting someone a gig in the area. Basically, he told me "I book people I've heard of." How do people hear about folks if they can't get gigs because you haven't heard of them?

The whole thing stinks when it becomes a competition and someone thinks "Ahh...I'm not going to help so-and-so because people will listen to them, not me." The bigger and better the local musicians' community is, the bigger the community of listeners. There's also the "people were tough on me, so I'm getting even with them by being tough on you" mentality. It shouldn't have been so hard for you to get gigs if you were good. It shouldn't be so hard for other musicians.