Hello from a (mostly) Lapsed 'Catter... I came back on for the first time in months to read the Getaway thread, harrass Kendall, say hi to Rick, and jump in on yet another thread about singer/songwriters vs. traditional singers (some things never change). In doing all this, I remembered why I left the 'Cat - I got so wrapped up in playing online, I missed supper, and almost missed Brian Peters' concert! So I'll prob'ly go away again after this message - I got no self control when it comes to threads...

For the first time in a couple years, I really regretted that I was just day-tripping to the Getaway - boy, was the unorganized/disorganized singing great this year! In addition to being great singers themselves, the Shellbacks were a catalyst for great contributions from long-time Getaway attendees, both FSGW and Mudcat. I guess you could call it "hybrid vigor", but I don't know how much, ah, hybridizing was going on after hours...

I had decided not to house any Shellbacks, owing to my incredibly bad housekeeping skills, but Theresa and I hit it off in just a couple songs, and I was REALLY glad she came to stay with us! The after Getaway gatherings gave us all chances to make music in smaller groups, swap stories and get to know eachother better (and Theresa very politely listened to me lengthily bemoaning the rejection of our latest paper by yet another medical journal and ignored the clutter and cat hair that fills our house...)

I look at the small East Coast festivals, like NOMAD and NEFFA, and Getaways as "Folk Family" gatherings, where you get to see the family of your heart several times a year (including some of the weird second-cousins and noxious in-laws you have to put up with at any family gathering...). Even though we may live far away from each other, it's great to know I'll get to see and sing with friends I've met through music: Kendall, Barry, Jeri, Big Mick, Joe Offer (among too many others to name). But making new friends through the music is wonderful, too, and I hope I'll get to see and sing again with Theresa, Alaska Mike, Snuffy, Alanww, and all the rest of you whose names have fallen through the steel sieve that is my brain.

Love to you all...