The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #45461   Message #673885
Posted By: GUEST,Declan
22-Mar-02 - 05:51 AM
Thread Name: What's wrong with 'Folk Music'
Subject: RE: What's wrong with 'Folk Music'
I'll settle for that definition of entertainment.

I sometimes find myself in situations when playing in a pub where everyone around is talking loudly and not apparently listening. I think if we were to change what we were playing to some more popular type of material we'd get more attention, but that wouldn't be the type of music we'd want to play. You occasionally meet people who seem to think that you are a juke box. "You call yourself an entertainer and you wont play ...". Or "sing something we all know" - that song hasn't been written yet and the ones who ask you for that usually know less songs than most other people. I don't feel any particular obligation to entertain those people on their terms. In my case they haven't paid in to see me, if they had it might be a different story.

However even when people don't seem to be listening you are probably adding something, even if its only 'atmosphere' - I don't fully understand what that is, but people talk about it a lot. I remember at a party a long time back saying to somebody that I wasn't going to bother playing any more because no one seemed to be listening - he pointed out that when the music stopped the level of conversation died down, so it must have been adding something.

Quite frequently people say things like, I always enjoy you're session because it doesn't interfere with our conversation the same way that some of the other (amplified) singers who come here do. Sometimes I think this is a bit of a backhanded compliment, but I usually take it in the spirit in which its meant. But maybe they'd enjoy it more if they stopped talking and listened for a bit!