Hi, Greg - yeah, I forgot about Martin and Ewan's tarnished American folk wannabe past... Martin can still belt out American-style rock n' roll, as evidenced by "Tortoise from Hell" in the style of "Maltloaf", on the first Mrs. Ackroyd Band album, and his great rendition of "Heartbreak Hotel" recently!

I think that music from other cultures has the appeal of the new and exotic, which is why so many Brits from Carthy to Clapton were seduced by American country blues, and so many Americans (like me) are into English and Irish folk songs. I've had several folks say to me "You should learn more American songs - it's your own heritage!" But, really, as a 2nd generation Polish-Italian American raised as an academic faculty brat in the American Midwest, a song from Tennessee or Vermont working class manual laborers is just as foreign as one from England - so why shouldn't I sing what I really enjoy!