I run The Loaded Dog Folk Club and am not a performer. As I have a wonderful iMac which is apparently old & decrepit (even tho it's only 6 years old! sob.) I can have trouble listening to music on performers sites. And I can't listen to MP3s - they need downloading & putting on CD, which I can't do (yet?) So I do like CDs.

A few years back the state Folk Federation did a mini-survey of 2 clubs (mine & another) & found that almost no-one came from posters or club leaflets. Most arrived after receiving info on club or performers site/list.

I have octogenarian friends who have a computer & are on email lists & use this info - as well info as the paper newsletters they have received since they joined the folk scene in the mid 50s - to find out what's on. Our septuagenarians are also on line and there are only 2 or 3 regulars who don't have internet access.

The Dog team have put a lot of effort into the Club description on the website (below) to attract the "right" kind of artists for our audience (welcome back, George in 2011!) but I still receive applications from artists who have never read our site.

My least favourite artist was the one who addressed me by another first name & included the immortal sentence "I seem to remember that you are connected with the Dog" and even tho they were a very professional act who had appeared at many festivals, did not get a gig - or a reply. I did wonder where they found my email address.

more later - it's almost lunch time & I'm nowhere near ready to leave.

sandra


The Loaded Dog Folk Club is Sydney's finest acoustic folk venue - showcasing the best acoustic folk music has to offer, from guitar to autoharp, solo voice to community choir. (No amplification!, no mikes!)

The club is housed in the upstairs hall of the Annandale Neighbourhood Centre - the former Annandale Town Hall - a splendid example of a late Victorian sandstone public building with superb acoustics due to the 20-foot ceilings and wooden floor.

The club meets on the fourth Saturday of each month, from February to November, with occasional changes due to competing festivals. We are unable to put on extra concerts.

An evening at the Loaded Dog begins at 8pm and usually involves a main act, a support act, plus a number of floor spots of a couple of songs each. The Loaded Dog audience has a preference for traditional folk songs/tunes and original material with strong roots in the tradition. Audiences like to sing along when appropriate; they are quick to pick up choruses and love to add harmonies.