Wise observation, Russ. And I appreciate all the other responses. Yes, there are times when a musician is hired for "background music." For people who came for a totally different reason, "background music," can't be far enough in the background. It's just an irritating distraction to talk over. But, on the rare occasion when I've knowingly put myself in that situation, I try to sing to the one or two people who are listening. It's that, or go nuts.

I suspect that most Catters came to folk music through records or performances on a stage. That's taking a front porch, living room, barn dance music and making it commercial entertainment. (Or at the time, not very commerical entertainment.) That's fine, but folk music, and in my opinion all music should live off the stage, off recordings and even out of the inner circle of dedicated listeners.
Russ's last statement (c'mon, you can read one post up, and read the whole post if you haven't) says it all. You CAN connect with people who have never heard your kind of music, whether it's folk, rock, classical, jazz or reggae. Even punk. (Rap is a stretch of my imagination.) In the process of seeking that connection, you can see the music (and yourself) in a refreshingly new light.

Jerry