Not to make too big a deal of it, but Rick would have laughed out loud if anyone had suggested that he wouldn't alienate his folky audience, er,customers (for someone not proposing to demean, it sounds pretty demeaning to me, however.....).

The truth was that Rick always felt like an outsider, and he had a deep sympathy for outsiders of every persuasion (his favourite person was Quentin Crisp, a screaming gay,   while many's the time we talked interestingly about the far right-wing politics of some of his bluegrass favourites). He was drawn to losers and lonelies of every stripe. This is what gave him great sympathy for anyone who felt they had their noses pressed against the window panes of life.   This is why he went out of his way to include everyone in song circles, gave spontaneous guitar lessons, you name it.

It had nothing to do with politics or audience. It was who he was. It was why so many people miss him.

yours,

Peter T.