There are a couple of other factors here that go into the mix.

I know that most of the tapes that Bob has are of "hoots" or song fests—parties where people sat around and swapped songs. I was there, and I'm on many of these tapes. Most of the time early on, there was an open-reel tape recorder or two in evidence, and later, there might be a half-dozen battery operated cassette recorders whirring away. Everybody knew they were there, and that they were being recorded.

I think it is important to note that these were not public performances. It was not like someone sneaking a tape recorder into a Gordon Bok or Joan Baez concert.

I believe Bob's intent here (correct me if I'm wrong, Bob) is to get the material off the old tape medium and digitize it for the purposes of his own archives and perhaps for the archives of the Pacific Northwest Folklore Society, and to put some of it on CDs to give to the people who were there at these "hoots."

I don't really see how there can be any rational objection to this.

As I say, I'm on many, perhaps most, of these tapes, I trust what Bob is doing, feel that it is a valuable and worthwhile thing to do (a great nostalgia trip for some of us!), and I truly appreciate the fact that he is willing to take on a monumental task. As far as I, personally, am concerned, Bob has carte blanche.

Don Firth