Pioden: I work with a very talented artist/engineer by the name of Gideon"Moses Child" Cohen, who owns Sonic Tonic Recording in Montreal. I originally brought him "The Ghost of Elvis" for Re-mixing from my project studio. I then upgraded everything to 48 tracks and we collaborated on "The Soul Eater". I tell all of you this to inspire you to embrace the new technology to keep Folk Music alive. If the kids out there are only hearing rappers and hip-hop, what do you think they'll end up with? To my mind, Folk Music was always about self-expression. The Yellow Door in Montreal always allowed the performer to do whatever they chose, comedy, magic, voice, etc. with little restriction. All sorts of artists performed there and it made "Folk Music" a viable force that would get played on the radio. The music will evolve. I see nothing wrong in respecting the tradition that we all know, but then too I feel it's important to try new things. I might have done those two songs with an acoustic guitar in the 60's, and I would have been called a "Folkie". Now, using multiple DAW's, 4 Synthes, and imported loops what am I really doing? I'm STILL telling stories, but in a new way...If you want Folk Music to live, let it breathe. Show it to your kids. Start Folk Clubs in church basements. Do whatever it takes to get airplay, and maybe you will hear Folk on mainstream radio. But it might not sound like the past. This thread could develop into an online HOOT. You sign up with your songs, just like the old days, and then the whole thing is streamed and Podcasted so it gets into new ears. Time to sign off. bob
p.s. Peace: I think, "the jack and ace, they embrace this place," and sometime, I'll have to "come across to you" just after Che Guevarra claims his crown...