Hi Jon - I can see what you mean when you disagree but maybe I didn't quite put across what I meant. I do not include what goes on at the folk club in general, particularly on a singers night, as 'the general public'. In my experience very few members of the general public come into folk clubs. So when I say keep them away from the general public I mean they shouldn't perform where a number of 'newbies to the folk scene', for want of a better term, would be put off. It makes sense - You don't let someone drive a bus until they are fully competant. Why let them drive your concert? :-)

I said before, and snail laughed at me for doing so, that when someone I do not know comes into our club for the first time I ask if they have been to a folk club before. If they say no and it is a singers night I will explain what goes on. I am more than happy to say that not everything they hear may be to their taste but if they persist they will find something they like. You, for instance, may not like one of our regulars who does primarily contemporary music but the person sat next to you could well dislike my rendition of The Oyster Girl. It's what makes life interesting. I don't think either of you would like someone who did nothing but forget words and sing out of tune. But at least you would both know what to expect. You because you are a folk club regular and the person next to you because I had set their expectations correctly.

To say that everything in the folk scene is rosy is wrong. To say it is all crap is wrong. There is good and bad in it just like there is good and bad in everything. All that people, including myself, are trying to do is get that across but because we are doing so we are, apparantly, just a bunch whingers who do nothing to help. Beats me.

Cheers

Dave