Ned opens the obvious solution. These non-workers seem to be simply taking over to reap the benefits obtained from the labor of those who actually to the essential work, the musicians. The new Management class gains power, prestige, financial control and ultimately content and quality control. It's easy to imagine them reorganizing the room to, for example, improve the view or comfort or available space of non-workers at the expense of the workers. And then censoring the content of the songs.

I can easily see the day you will be forced to leave your guitar cases and spare strings in the car to make more space for "audience." You will rapidly become slave labor with no purpose but to entertain the bosses.

Streike now while you have the chance - well before these changes may become established and immovable. Strike now before you find other entertainments are brought in and your successful song-sharing environment becomes a businesspersons' club serving coctails and providing stock exchange updates. Strike now and wrest back control of your own labor and lives!

Just have the performers collectively agree to meet in someone's home for a session or two and see what happens. Demand a contract that ensures no changes whatever be made to the organization without concensus of the musicians. (This can be done by e-mail or phone - do not be coerced into addending their meetings.)

Ensure that these would-be usurpers keep their place as "executives" in such jobs as janitorial, chair setting-up, door-keeping, passing out handbills, etc. Personally, I'd also require them to join in on chorus' at least twice per session and maintain a log of such joining and that log be available for inspection by any musician at any time.

That should do it!

Abby Sale
(Singer/Director, Central Florida Folk, Inc.)