Folk Club Residents' Occupations

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 05:47 PM

currently admin officer for local authority heritage and arts team.
but I have worn many hats. the most boring was the US federal code editor nightcap. snzzzxxx.. wha... huh... damn, drooled on the verifying pages again.

paid decently though.

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: Aeola
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 04:39 PM

I'm not quite sure what the significance of the thread is, however there are a lot of teachers in the folk world,but then there are a lot of other people as well. In my folk club there is quite a mix of 'Residents',
shop owner
photographic specialist
gardener
civil servant
brewery rep
entrepeneur
auditor
retired
             As for the audience, just a great bunch of people

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: TheSnail
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 12:58 PM

Our club was actually founded by a burglar but he is, alas, no longer with us.

This is true.

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: GUEST,Surreysinger at work
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 12:38 PM

Hmm Huey ... are WE telling the truth, I wonder

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: GUEST,Huey
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 12:35 PM

Our current residents are:
1 Cobbler
1 Burglar
1 Big Issue Salesman
1 Shoeshine Boy
1 Priest
1 Astronaut
1 Spy
2 Mexicans

We sure have fun!!!!

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: GUEST,John Eaves
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 11:39 AM

Our regulars include the owner of a music shop,
a solicitor and a retired lecturer. However, the wonderful thing is that what you do (or did do) does not matter, the music brings us together with people we might not otherwise meet.

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: GUEST,Surreysinger at work
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 10:48 AM

Woodsie - you said "In the UK "Residents" at a folk club, are the people who are guaranteed a spot every week come what may. They usually include the organiser(s) and a small clique of people who are not neccessarily regular, but have had the craved "resident" title bestowed upon their blessed selves by the powers that be. They do not class themselves as mere "floor spots" and will be sure to get to perform when a famous guest appears at the club, thus adding to their CV "played support to ."

What???? I don't expect a guaranteed spot each week... and I never assume that I will get one. I _do_ class myself as a floor spot ... that's what I am when I perform at our club ... I am also the resident raffle ticket seller, hassling everyone from the start of the evening. It's an honour to be considered a resident singer, but to the best of my knowledge,unlike some other clubs, that doesn't get advertised anywhere... and as for "adding to my CV "played support" ... what rubbish. You can surely only do that if you've actually got a support role... in our case as a resident at max you get to sing 2 numbers. Hardly a support role. As to being able to sing "when a famous guest appears at the club" - that makes nary a difference as far as I'm concerned. I just feel privileged at the chance to be able to sing and share the music I enjoy with other people. It doesn't matter one jot tittle or iota who is singing that night - give me a singaround (which our club generally doesn't operate) or a guest night ... doesn't matter, I just want to share the music.

What Brian posted was just about the truth of it!!

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: TheSnail
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 07:54 AM

In our club, all pretty much as Brian, DaveS and Marje have said except that we have a Family Hold Back policy so residents often don't get a floor spot on busy nights with a prestigious guest. We give priority to performers from the audience. I've heard that many clubs operate a similar policy.

On quieter nights, residents will usually fill in that slack first half hour just to make sure there is always something happening at the advertised start time and that awkward first slot after the interval when people are drifting back from the bar and nattering.

Two retired teachers
One IT
One data entry
One concert hall usher
One professional singer/music teacher
One Payroll clerk
One printer
One retired jack-of-all-trades (including miner)
One social worker

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: Marje
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 07:29 AM

All I'd add to the above lists is that there are considerably more retired people in clubs now than there were in 1980 (omigod that's 28 years ago!)

And I agree with Brian above - clubs that have "residents" (and not all do) are simply ensuring that there is a core of supporters who can be relied to to turn up regularly and are able to sing/play competently (well, usually). They may well be the same people who help organise the club in other ways - taking the money, running the raffle, helping with publicity, booking the guests, etc, and they help give a solid foundation to the club.

Marje

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: Dave Sutherland
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 07:17 AM

Thank you for that Brian. At our club the small group of residents/committee get our guarenteed floor spot (normally one song each to start the night and hopefully set the standard for the evening)after we have opened up the club room, set out the tables and chairs, put up the posters, set out the cash desk and greeted the audience members as they arrive - cliqueishness is not an option.Reverse all that at the end of the night and it is usually around midnight when I arrive home and I live nearest to the club!
We are made up of:-
1 teacher
1 librarian
1 IT worker
1 stock controller
1 quality controller
1 retired

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: Brian Peters
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 05:33 AM

I'm sure it's not unknown for some residents to behave clique-ishly, but I've always thought that they serve a valuable function in getting the night off the ground with some solid, well-performed songs and/or music. When I first experienced a folk club, it was the quality of the resident group that persuaded me to keep going back, not the booked guests. In fact one of the things that's deteriorated on the club scene over the years is the dwindling number of good resident bands and singers - probably because most of them prefer to try for paid gigs - so it was nice to hear some good residents at alex's club the other night. Remember that it's the duty of the residents to start the night, on time, regardless of the numbers in the room, so it's not always the glamour gig woodsie suggests. Those people have made a committment to be there every week, and frankly, with the fickle crowds in folk clubs these days, that's something to be applauded.

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: GUEST,woodsie
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 05:16 AM

In the UK "Residents" at a folk club, are the people who are guaranteed a spot every week come what may. They usually include the organiser(s) and a small clique of people who are not neccessarily regular, but have had the craved "resident" title bestowed upon their blessed selves by the powers that be. They do not class themselves as mere "floor spots" and will be sure to get to perform when a famous guest appears at the club, thus adding to their CV "played support to ..." I agree that a high proportion of folk club performers are school teachers. At my local club (folkmob) there are at least eight that I know of!

We also don't have "residents" we have a committe, but they all get equal play/sing time to any punter who walks in the door. There are currently no teachers on the committee. Blackheath folk club on the other hand is run by three teachers!!!

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 05:10 AM

Hello Splott Man,

I'm fascinated...what is an historical shoemaker?

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: Splott Man
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 03:54 AM

From memory we have:

Graphic Designer
Cleaner
Retired journalist
Something in insurance (not sure what)
Historical shoe maker
Accountant
Retired IT person
Soft furnishings maker
HGV engineer
Social worker
Charity tallyman
Retired teacher
Baptist minister

I'm sure I'll add to this later

Splott man

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: GUEST,Girl Friday
Date: 16 Oct 08 - 01:11 PM

My residents at present, teachers 2 (both science) one due to retire soon.
One professional musician, so we don't see him often
One in a Government Agency (EX Civil Service)
One retired policeman
Retired Double Glazing salesman
Two medically retired, one of them has been in every occupation on your list bar teaching, plus double glazing salesman ,the other worked for British Telecom.
Classroom Assistant (nearly a teacher)
And until recently we had an oil man (proper not a parafin salesman).

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: Gervase
Date: 16 Oct 08 - 02:54 AM

In my last club we had an eclectic and wonderful bunch - a painter and decorator, a trades union organiser, a Foreign Office mandarin, an actress and author, a supplier to the catering trade, a builder, a professional yacht skipper, a builder...all of them terrific people and all of them sorely missed now I'm out in the Wild West.
Oddly, I don't recall any teachers or IT people, which probably made it an unusual club!

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: Surreysinger
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 07:35 PM

Ok - I'm one of the residents at the Music Institute in Guildford. Currently retired (with a few casual stints on the box office at the local theatre), but for a large number of 28 previous years, gloried in the title of HM Inspector of Taxes. One of the other two residents is a computer programmer working on computer games - I'm not sure what the other is currently doing!

I'm intrigued to know what point if any this proves (apart from the fact that we're not sons or daughters of the soil) ?

Subject: RE: Folk Club Residents' Occupations
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 07:00 PM

Score so far - IT & Computers 2
Teachers & Education 2
Business Person 1
Caretaker 1
Bakers 1
Retired 2 - but what profession?
professional Performer 1

Terry's definition is nice and concise, but residents can also read regulars in clubs that have a less formal structure.

If I was regularly involved in a club then I might class myself as either: voluntary organisation consultant or social entrepreneur to coin a trendy phrase, though I think cooperator is much more grass-roots.

Subject: RE: Residents' Occupations
From: Mark Ross
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 04:25 PM

Habituees & Sons of Habituees.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Residents' Occupations
From: Barry Finn
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 12:24 PM

I don't think that there is much in what you've discribed here in the US. Last & only one I knew of was in Boston (the Boston Traditional Singer's Club) & that closed in the summer of 2001. Of the regulars there was a contractor, professional musician, 2 retirees, a professor, a computer geek. Don't know about the others.

Barry

Subject: RE: Residents' Occupations
From: Leadfingers
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 12:12 PM

In general the UK Folk Club has a Regular (Weekly at Most) meeting , with a paid guest (Sometimes) and Floor singers . The Floor Singers do either a set number of songs , or perform for a set period of time . Most clubs have Residents , who are normally there at MOST meetings , and usually perform . Other Floor Singers can be Artistes looking for a booking , or occasional visiters . Most Clubs are in Hired rooms in Public Houses , though some are in other venues . An Admission Fee is charged for all attendees .

Subject: RE: Residents' Occupations
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 12:02 PM

Sorry to distract from ther main thread topic (although a lot of folks don't open threads till they have 10 posts or more), but all this is another example of how different the US/UK folk scenes are.

~S~

Subject: RE: Residents' Occupations
From: alex s
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 12:01 PM

Our residents are an IT chap, a baker, a business man, a caretaker.....and a teacher.

Subject: RE: Residents' Occupations
From: Terry McDonald
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 11:49 AM

Common UK usage.

Subject: RE: Residents' Occupations
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 11:34 AM

Different from habitues/members/audience?

Your term, or common UK usage?

Thanks,

~S~

Subject: RE: Residents' Occupations
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 11:17 AM

Very loose definition - I suppose someone who is known to perform regularly at a venue and as such is associated with the venue/club/session

Subject: RE: Residents' Occupations
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 11:12 AM

Curious in US-- please define "club residents."

~S~

Subject: Residents' Occupations
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 11:07 AM

When I started going to folk clubs around 1980 the club residents and organisers seemed to be primarily school teachers or social worker. Is this still the case today, or are other day-jobs becoming more prominent?