well.. my chosen name here.. kind of gives my position away..

until the age of 13 or 14 i grew up equating folk
with sunday school and church music..
and a very clean cut uncle who'd wear a suit and tie to family xmas parties
and insist on halting all festive fun while he strummed a guitar
and sang 'there was an old lady who swallowed a fly'
and inflicted similar cronic boy scout favourites..
c'mon it was the swinging 60's..
even i as early as 5 years old knew i prefered the beatles
and freddie and the dreamers
[hmmm.. now which was the better band..??]..
and that folk music was boring and crap.

around 1972 ..at the same time as i was buying alice cooper and david bowie lps..
i discovered folk rock courtesy of top of the pops,radio 1, and the old grey whistle test..

this somehow then lead me to exploring the local library for
'trad' folk records; and live town hall concerts from the likes of brenda wooton..
and getting an acoustic guitar for xmas,
and lots of 'encouragement' from my xmas partypooper folkie uncle..

then when i was 17 punk rock exploded !!!
and i got my first electric guitar with humbuckers and a 120 watt amp..
and played in a band that even shocked and appalled college kids
my own age.

but i still listened regularly to pentangle and jack the lad
[errr.. and donovan..]etc.. and borrowing 'topic' lps from the library;
and had a girlfriend who shared my interest in nights out to candlelit wine bars,
entertained by a solitary singer guitarist in a dark corner..
and local folk clubs.

I dont remember much detail from that period in my life,
but i do know i never had the courage to get up and play or sing
in front of the folkies at the clubs..
even though i had no problem at all with being loud and
outrageous on stage with my teenage band..

i honestly have no memory of why, or what trauma if any,
has caused my amnesia..
maybe there was something really daunting and intimidating about
those old folk clubbers..????

but i stopped going to folk clubs, and have rarely been near one since the very early 80's..


so many thanks for this thread..

i'm a recent new member of mudcat..
and debates like this one are a positive reminder
of why i was glad to have stumbled across this board
during a random links search for info about a song..
and why i decided to join and look in now 2 or 3 times everyday.
Mudcat is just what i need while i evaluate my own commitment and approach to 'folk'.
its and ongoing process of 'work in progress'..

i'm staring to get an idea of mudcat culture & personalities
and key issues of concern..

and find this a very educative and stimulating place to visit..

hope i've not drifted too far off subject..
but me purist..???
i've got a head swimming with ideas for 'older time' songs i connect with off cds,
and how i feel i need to interpret them for my own pleasure
and creative fulfillment;
with ANY instruments & sonic tools i have at hand in my home computer 'studio'..
at the moment with no idea or concern at all
if any one else will ever hear the results.

theres a couple of local pubs i can go to for 'acoustic'
singer sonwriter & blues sessions
.. but i dont get much fun or enjoyment from that to justify
the expense and effort of going too regularly..
if i could drive and did'nt have to rely on inadequate overpriced public transport,
i'd rather travel further to find more 'authentic' singers and instrumentalists..
..errr.. so maybe i am a purist..????

its certainly not easy being agnostic...