The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #131641 Message #2981042
Posted By: Don Firth
06-Sep-10 - 02:46 PM
Thread Name: The Concept of FREED Folkmusic
Subject: RE: The Concept of FREED Folkmusic
". . . uppidy folk pros. . . ."
I've been at this—lemme see, now—since 1952, I've seen some big name singers of folk songs and had a chance to meet and talk to many of them. Names you would recognize, including such people as Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger (a couple of times), Joan Baez, Richard Dyer-Bennet, and on and on. I met them either when they traveled through Seattle, or when I went to events out of town, such as the Berkeley Folk Festivals in the 1960s. NOT ONE of them was anywhere near what could be called "uppity." In fact, every single one of them was friendly, outgoing, responsive to any questions, and generally very helpful and encouraging. Both Guy Carawan and Barbara Dane, after hearing me sing at a post-concert party (they were interested in hearing local singers) made some good suggestions as to a couple of songs they thought I could do particularly well (Thanks again, folks!!).
Conrad, you don't know what the hell you are talking about. "Uppity folk pros" and "jet set folk musicians?" This graphically proves that you are totally ignorant of what professional singers of folk songs are really like. And in your abysmal ignorance, you are contemptuous of and insulting toward some of the people who are doing far more to spread interest in folk music than you ever dreamed of. Otherwise, you would be a whole lot more appreciative and much more polite and respectful.
If things were the way YOU want them to be (all free, strictly local), the ultimate result would be that folk music would die out entirely and be replaced by whatever is currently playing on pop radio stations. Rock, hip-hop, rap, and "easy listening" (elevator) music. Singers of folk songs would gradually fade away, to be replaced by kids forming garage bands and doing rock.
So you want to tell stories. Are you familiar with the work of Richard Chase and his collections of folk tales and folk songs (among his published collections of tales and songs, he has one of the best and most unusual versions of The Three Ravens [Child #26] that I've ever found). How about a story teller with the unusual name of Pleasant DeSpain? I've heard him giving a story-telling "concert" a couple of times, and he's bloody brilliant! Fascinating stuff! VERY entertaining!
Look them up. Try to LEARN something yourself instead of wasting everybody's time by trying to tell those who ALREADY KNOW what they are doing that they're doing it all wrong, and then displaying the magnitude of your ignorance by trying to tell them how you think they should be doing it.
[Now, sports fans, wait a bit and we'll hear Conrad bitch and complain that he went looking for Chase's and DeSpain's books of collections of folk tales and discovered that he'd have to PAY for them instead of getting them for free. And because they're folk tales, Chase and DeSpain should give them away FREE!]
Don Firth