O.K.,... Uhm, I er ah,... well?,...

To me the Iconish quality, Museum display, textbook variety of "folk music" is a necessary evil. We often take the form to be exact, which it often isn't, and in doing so I would say that the fumbling essence of the music is lost. Handed down, refined, smoothed, and shaped to perfection, these songs are often not even close to the origionals, and may have the touch of many composers.

What I am getting at here is this; there is a living and breathing aspect to traditions that we often get snooty about. Starting a new song, or heaven forbid, changing an old one, is not quite acceptable. This is silly. The essence of traditional is not classical. Classical worships the form, to the exclusion of the artist, and I'm just not certain this is an accurate description of folk/traditional music. When the folk musician performs, personality and interpretation are part of the show, and discussion too. Personal feelings are shared.... ITS ALIVE!