Hi, Bill:

I don't think you'll fine me suggesting that we change folk music to make it more popular to a mass media. I ran a traditional folk series and festival for all those years, because I want to keep the tradition alive. I just think that at times the mass-media is a convenient explanation for why folk venues serve such a limited (sometimes I wonder if not by choice) audience. I'm not suggesting that we let traditional music slip away into the musty corridors of acedemia.. Achoo! I'm just posing the question of how us folkie types (me included) can introduce more just plain folks who don't know the music, to it. Maybe for a start, it would help if we weren't quite as satisfied as we are... I'm not trying to knock the folk community as I are part of it... just would like to stimulate a stronger desire, and maybe some new ideas how to introduce more new people to the old music.

In November, I'll be hosting a workshop I suggested titled Songs From The Anthology Of American Folk Music.. the Harry Smith collection. I have the cd collection in front of me, and I smile, because I still can do ALL 27 songs on the ballad CD. They are still vital to me, and I will always love them and sing them. I'm not concerned about numbers (of course folk music will always have a small audience in comparison to the mega-corporate music.) That's not really the issue to me. I'm thinking in terms of individuals, not mass numbers...

As an example, I still sing Three Nights Drunk, and everywhere I sing it, whether people have ever even heard of folk music, people love it. It's one of my Mother's and my wife Ruth's favorite songs. How can we introduce people to this wonderful music, without changing it beyond recognition? I think that's a valid challenge, which may be offesnive to some. If it makes us all think about what we can do to
bring this music we all love to more people, then that's a small price to pay.

Jerry