Don't kid yourself - the new bourgeoisie won't be any better!

Having volunteered at a public radio station since 1975 (WFDU - owned and operated by Fairleigh Dickinson University), I'm afraid the folk scene and radio suffer from the same problems - changing public tastes.

The original post in this thread moaned that there isn't a "PAID, PROFESSIONAL place" in NYC that would serve as a homebase for a folk revival. The reason that there isn't one is because the attendance in previous incarnations dwindled where it wasn't feasible to operate. I believe Folk City closed it's doors when their landlord raised the rent and a new home was never found. Speakeasy and the Fast Folk Cafe suffered the same problems. Attendance is down at most venues in the city, folk and non-folk, so starting a new venture is difficult. Sounds great on paper (or on a computer screen!) but unless somebody with deep pockets is willing to take a chance, it won't happen in that fashion. Thank god there are groups like Pinewoods still keeping it the music alive!

Likewise radio has changed. I consider myself lucky to be part of WFDU-FM where we are given relatively free reign to produce our programs. Many of the other "public" stations in our area have become very commercialized because IT PAYS THE BILLS!! We are in the middle of our fundraising, and while we are doing well enough, the numbers are less than they were a year ago. If management realized they could put a more "profitable" program in our time slot I wouldn't blame them for exploring the possibility. When the choice becomes changing programs or shutting down the business, what do you do?

I guess it boils down to what the public wishes to support. Many people still think that the village is a mecca for folk music and take comfort that it will be there. The reality is those people haven't been to the village in years and don't know what is happening in the clubs and coffeehouses. The same with radio - our show TRADITIONS has been on Sunday afternoons from 3 to 6pm since 1980. People take it for granted and assume it will be there year after year. The same with other shows and stations.

We could get into a philosophical discussion that folk music doesn't need coffeehouses or radio stations to survive. Van Ronk used to say that once a song was recorded it no longer could be considered a folk song. His point was that it lost the oral tradition. He was right, however, whatever label you want to slap on the music that most of us on Mudcat love - it will return to the backporches and living rooms and disappear from the radio and clubs without an audience to support it. Sometimes I think that might not be such a bad thing afterall.

Since Suzanne Vega's comments started this thread, I will try to remember a joke that I once heard her tell - how many folksingers does it take to change a lightbulb? 10 - one to do the work and 9 to talk about how good the old bulb used to be.

Ron Olesko