PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: reggie miles
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 10:30 PM

Did I just type idendity? Help! I've lost the abilty to spell check! ;o) Or maybe I just invented a new word. Or even the title of my next song.

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: reggie miles
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 10:27 PM

Certainly, money is not the focus for many who get involved in their communities to share music of all kinds at all sorts of special events. Many love to play and sing and have the support regular jobs of some kind, that they use to support their love of music. The vast number of those that I meet, who are involved in some capacity with musical endeavors, are either active in some kind of a job skill other than music, or they're enjoying their retirement from such. They feel compelled to be involved with sharing the music they love at social gatherings, as a community service simply because they have fun doing it.

At its root, the sharing of music freely within our communities is a folk tradition and so is the free support of such activities. For many countless generations, this is how so many of the songs, stories and ideas of our varied cultures have been handed down and keeping this simple folk process intact is important. It's more than important, it's a necessary means of sharing our collective identity.

Over the eons conquerors of various cultures have all had a hand in trying to unite those they had dominion over. Part of that process was to suppress certain aspects of native cultures and to insist that new ideas be instilled in the hearts and minds of the masses.

The pursuit of money can create much the same outcome. When money comes between the folk process of sharing our music with one another, we can all end up losing something in the exchange. We lose our idendity.

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Deckman
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 01:50 AM

I've been re-reading these interesting and thoughtful posts ... thank you everyone. I'm struck by how soon, and frequant, the issue of "MONEY" comes up. Of course we are a business oriented society, so "money" quickly becomes an issue in most of our endevors.

What I think people are missing here is just how far we've come, and what we've achomplished WITHOUT MONEY BEING THE FOCUS!

We've presented 60 or so concerts, we've sponsored and encouraged many other folk music related activities. We go out of our way to encourage the up and coming performers. We host open mikes and jam sessions. We both teach and encourage students. Both Stew and I, for years, have conducted folk music related workshops at music camps, get-a-ways, and privatly. We both serve as a resource to various communities: universities, our home towns, schools, libraries.

What I'm saying here is that I'm getting tired ... to put it simply. And most imnportantly, to me, is that I MUST GET BACK TO MY ARCHIVING.

It's NOT ABOUT THE MONEY. bob

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Bob Landry
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 12:08 AM

It`s a deal, Deckman! We'd love to meet you. We'll be in Oregon and Washington for about ten days but only one evening in your neighbourhood, April 30th. If there's no gig, we were planning to sample some of the offerings at the Diamond Knot Brewery and Ale House

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Deckman
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 11:45 PM

Bob Landry ... There is NO "in-between" between Portland and Mukilteo. I know ... I live 5 miles from Mukilteo. When you get close to that date, get in touch with me and maybe we can get you to one of our gigs. bob

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Bob Landry
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 11:34 PM

Bob and Stewart, I'll probably never have the chance to attend one of your events, since I live some 500 miles north of Montana and other than driving through Seattle this coming April 30 in transit between Portland and Mukilteo, will probably never visit that part of your country again. Looming retirement and a severe drop in disposable income will see to that. But, from what I've seen on your website, it'll be our loss. I hope you can find the help you need and the society gets the younger membership it needs to carry on. Great work, guys!

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 11:33 PM

Let's see...

First I would take money out of the tip jar
to pay the so-called "volunteers." Then the
coffeehouse owner would be upset that other
people were getting paid from the tip jar,
and he would reconsider giving us the venue
for free. Finally, we would be charging $20
admission, with a $2.50 surcharge for the
booking fee. At that point we could consider
using the Performance Center in Kirkland, the
musicians would get a big guaranteed fee,
and everyone would be happy. And look at all
the employment we would generate for ushers,
ticket-takers, stage hands, sound and lighting
techs, etc. etc.

Good Idea!

Cheers, S. in Seattle


Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Deckman
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 10:40 PM

again ... IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY! bob nelson

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: reggie miles
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 10:34 PM

mg, your points certainly strike a chord in me as being valid. It certainly would be sweet to have it all work out, financially speaking, so that everyone involved could get compensated for their efforts in these endeavors.

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 07:14 PM

I would have an equal problem asking the chair setter uppers or the people putting flyers up do work for a free or low amount as I would the musicians...I wouldn't ask them to work for a free or low amount..just have a standing public offer to one and all...I would just let them gamble with the proceeds..it might be a good amount or it might not be, but I would take out for reasonable expenses. A few volunteers can get really burned out but there is a recession on and lots of people would do the set up and publicity (I would think) for a reasonable, smallish amount..perhaps a low hourly wage and a percentage of the door..the burden of this should not fall on a few shoulders...musicians able to command a great amount of money probably don't need your services..they have it figured out and the market will support them. But I think there is a group of musicians who could use a bit of extra money, appreciate someone else setting things up for them, and who would not mind part of the proceeds going to the labor required to operate things...I just honestly don't see where the problem is. Lots of people would not be interested, but a lot would...I personally would not want you two to do hours worth of work so I could make more money..If some retired gentleman or a college sophomore was to get $50 I would say bravo. mg

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 06:41 PM

Mary, it's not about the money,
it's about the music and the people.
I can do the work - I've been doing
it for the last 3+ years. What I'd
like is new ideas, enthusiasm, and
new leadership to nurture for the
years to come. That isn't a commodity
that you can outsource to the lowest
bidder.

Now the musicians. Granted, some we
get have good-paying full-time jobs
and don't need the extra money, but
a little money is a nice way of saying
thanks, we appreciate you.

Other musicians we have booked are
professionals, trying to make a living
with something they love to do. They've
given up the full-time other job for
just getting by, because of the music.
They deserve all of that money from the
tip jar. I can't in good conscience take
some of that money from them to pay others
for things we can do for free. We get
the venue for free, the venue also promotes
us for free, I can always get people from
the audience to help stack chairs after
the concert, etc. It is the ideas,
enthusiasm and volunteer giving that we'd
like to get, and money doesn't buy that.

There's no middleman, no subcontractors,
no profit-takers. It's just the audience,
the musicians and the music - it's that simple.
And it's open to everyone. But we can't
expect the musicians to do this for little
or nothing, especially those who need to
eke out a living from their music.

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 05:18 PM

It is certainly valuable and worthwhile...I don't understand the desire or necessitity of giving the musicians all of the money...certainly they would understand that you can't do all this yourselves and need to hire some of it out for a percent of the door or a fixed amount perhaps or an hourly wage for doing some predescribed publicity and setup. I would feel bad making $150 if I knew people were making $0 and doing this over and over..if I made $100 and they made $50 for twittering and tweeting and setting up chairs, more power to them. But to each his own..but I would not look at this as an either/or...either we get a string of faithful, energetic volunteers, or we close the place down...money is changing hands and some could be diverted it seems to me to make this more sustainable..and it would not take that much...p.s. I would definitely do it for $50 if I was in the neighborhood..as well as some for free..but $50 is more enticing somehow. mg

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 12:34 PM

Thanks Guest and Reggie

I guess I need some feedback and encouragement
that what we've been doing is appreciated and
worthwhile. I just got two more requests from
folks to be added to our email list yesterday
and today, so that helps.

I guess time is a scarce commodity for those
who still have full time jobs - I quit my job
about ten years ago so it's not a problem for
me. What I'd really like is someone with new
ideas to come along and give us a lift. We've
been doing this for over three years and and
are running out of new ideas and energy. And
then there's the sustainability problem of
what happens when we finally quit.

Young people. From my perspective, anyone
under 50 is young. But we have a lot of younger
musicians at the coffeehouse open mic where
we do our concerts. I have booked a twenty-
something female folk duo for April, and we
have a young old-timey duo coming up this
week. So maybe we're making progress.

Reggie, I don't recall your voice problems
when you did those two back-to-back gigs
for us. You're a real pro - that's the
difference. We've had some great musicians
who've been a real pleasure to work with.
They don't whine about this and that, demand
special setups, and obsess about the sound
system - they just get up on stage and do
their thing. The other few who do complain,
aren't going to get invited back.

The real discouraging thing is to get a
great musician, but who isn't well known,
and have just a few people show up for the
concert. All that work for such a small
return. The worst time for a producer is
that fifteen minutes before showtime, and
there are only a few people in the house.
Maybe that's why folk music concerts always
start late.

Okay, we've got a show coming up this Friday,
and I've got to get to work.

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: reggie miles
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 01:18 AM

I think that this call for assistance is a great way to start. If help is needed, then asking for it is a great first step. I've liked the idea of the PNWFS since first hearing about it. I wasn't aware that it was primarily just Bob and Stew behind all of this flurry of folkish activity being generated.

I am one of those who have enjoyed performing a couple of concerts sponsored by the efforts of the society. Thanks Stew and Bob! There were two shows, a house concert and a library concert that were scheduled back to back, a couple of years ago. I felt so bad, because my vocals had taken ill, due to some unknown affliction, just before the events were to take place. I muscled through by dropping the keys to my songs 2 - 2 1/2 steps but I felt really awful about not being 100% for these events. My voice eventually recovered but it took months to do so.

I've only just heard about the society needing help and I would dearly love to get involved. However, I'm not certain what I can do to help. I'm in the awkward position of being a full time musician but most of that time is spent offering my music for donations on the street. Via my time spent doing this activity, I get invites to perform at all sorts of various events, festivals, cafes, private parties... you name it.

Most of my days are spent in pursuit of this endeavor, playing music. It leaves me little time and even less energy to do other miscellaneous related creative projects, like offering my head, heart and hands, together with other like-minded folks, in such a worthy cause.

I am also limited by the distance that I live from anywhere and everywhere. Given the current price of fuel and the way that my gas guzzlers consume it, I am forced to limit my driving. This keyboard and the internet have largely become my link to the outside world. I've been in this hunker down mode for a long time during these post recession inflationary depression times.   

I did manage to send Artis their way. Stew was asking me to write an article about busking. I know that I can blab on and on, about this and that, in these various chats until all hours but I wasn't certain whether I was the best choice for writing an article about busking. I would have no doubt just rambled off on some tangent that was recently rubbing me the wrong way and heaven knows if I would have ever gotten down to making any kind of useful point. I knew that Artis was a fine writer and would likely be interested in the project. I think he's done a great job and I think he likes having a place to air his views about the subject, to which he's devoted so much of his life and passion.

So, perhaps asking for specific help might be a good way to clarify the goals you hope to see achieved by the society. I would also suggest, that if one door doesn't open, you try another. There are many doors to knock on and many rooms to explore.

Stew you've mentioned wanting more young people to get involved. The best way to get young musicians and singers involved is to invite them and make them feel welcomed.

Here's what a coffeehouse in the nearby town of Snohomish did that solved this same issue for their open mic attendance. They merely posted flyers/posters of their activities in the music department of the local high school. In no time, the open mic was flooded with under aged players and their fans. That included moms, dads, grandparents, friends... I could hardly even get in the door and find a spot on the list to play. I was one of oldest players at this event. {:o(

There are so few all age places where high school kids can go to hang out and be with their friends and even fewer where they're able to feature their talents, that this niche is almost a no-brainer. Invite them and they will come.

Another good example of this kind of a space was at the cafe right across the street and just north from The Couth Buzzard. The last time that I stopped in, I learned that they had lost their sound person, who was running the open mic event. Once that one revives itself, it will make three open mics per week in the same neighborhood. The one at that cafe, I think it was called The Neptune, featured more under aged participants. If you want to attract that age group go to where they are to advertise.

The talent and desire is there, it's just a matter of placing your requests "where" they can be seen by those whose talent and energy you're hoping to attract. Is there a high school near the events? Perhaps, stopping by to talk to the head of the music department and asking if you could leave some info about the events on a bulletin board would help to pique their interest.

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 12:58 AM

Sorry, that got posted before I was quite finished (got carried away, I guess). The point I was going to make is that it looks to me as if Stew and Bob are already doing most the things you suggest - small, free venues, no minimum guarantees, no sound system, no lights, no big setup hassles - all they need is a good core of volunteers and a little cooperation from the local press. And without that, they've already made admirable progress at establishing a really nice, low-key (under the radar, as Stew said) music series. I really hope they can attract more of a community to share the load.

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 12:45 AM

I'm not a regular mudcat reader (or any other forum for that matter - not enough hours in the day) but as long as I've stumbled onto this thread and allowed myself to be drawn in, I'd like to commend and congratulate Stew and Bob for all they have accomplished in the past 3.5 years. I think it's great, and wish I was in the PNW enough to get involved.

And to Mary: to suggest that doing a concert is "a few hours work" for the performer misses the point. The few hours that an act is onstage sharing their music with an audience is the FUN part. If we could bill somebody for all the hours of work we put into making that show happen - even at minimum wage - we'd be RICH !!

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Deckman
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 09:00 PM

STEW ... I'm thinking that it's time you and I walk away from this. We've spent our time in the trenches ... to say the least. If the folk musicians of the Northwest, in ALL the sizes and shapes they manifest, want to continue the Pacific NW Folklore Society, it's time for them to step up to the plate. bob

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 07:11 PM

What expenses would a local nonprofessional musician have? Gas or a bus ticket. Maybe lunch or dinner. $50 for a two-hour performance sounds great to me but I have a job and wouldn't need to string together 30 or 40 of these every month. I can think of lots of people in the same boat who are quite talented..I don't know what their financial requirements are but some would be available for not too much money, or whatever the door brought in, minus say $50 for someone setting things up...and some would need the money and work for not too much. There are people in the middle that wouldn't like this arrangement...

If I were doing this, and I am not as I don't have the energy..I would have a take it or leave it attitude, especailly with prima donnas. I would say you might make $50, you might make $30, you might make $200. And I am not really thinking of concerts as much as informal things in a coffeehouse or too bad about libraries not taking tip jars...not requiring sound people, special setup etc. Just a person or two with a guitar or banjo or whatever.

If I were a performer, which I am definitely not, I would jump at the chance to make between $50 and $200 for a few hours' work...mg

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 05:47 PM

"And I would let capitalism work or not work."

I don't think so.
I went to a concert in Kirkland (east side of Lake
Washington) last night at their brand new Performance
Center, because several of my good music friends were
performing. Tickets were a bit steep - $22.50, but
they must have had a huge overhead - ushers, ticket
takers, CD sales people, box office personnel, a
couple of stage hands, sound and lights technicians,
etc. A state-of-the-art-theater, a grand piano on
stage, plush seating for 400. But there were not
more than 50 people there. I can't see how anyone
made any money, particularly the musicians. But
it was a great concert.

In order for that operation to succeed they need to
book acts that will fill the house rather than the
best music or performers. That's the capitalist
approach.

On the other end of that spectrum is our other
folklore society here. I just produced a concert
for them. The hall seats a max of 120 and costs
$6o or $1 per attendee, whichever is greater.
Subtract that from the gross door, minus $20 for
insurance, $50 for the sound person, and 20% of
the remaining for the society to give the net
take for the performer. At a ticket price of $17
($2 off for members), and only 40 in attendance
my performer got about $400. For the society it
was not a capitalistic success - they need at
least an audience of 60 for a successful performance.
So there is a strong incentive for the concert
committee to only book performers who they know
will bring in a good audience. My performer was
great, but not well known to the community -
he came from England and this was his first time
in the Pacific NW. And for similar reasons the
society seldom books local performers, even though
we have some great local talent - they are not the
"big-name, audience-drawing" acts.

What the PNWFS is trying to do is showcase the
local talent, which is often much better than
that from out of town, and do this at an
affordable (free, or what you can afford to pay)
price. If we paid the "volunteers" I'm afraid
the musicians would not even cover their own
expenses. It's a dilemma - maybe there's no
solution.

"I would focus on perhaps recording them and
putting them on you-tube. "
There's nothing like a live audience to bring
the music alive.

"I like the idea of a monthly or oftener thing
in the libraries..can they accept donations there?"
Our libraries don't allow tip jars, can't afford
to pay the musicians anything with their budgets
drastically cut, and many are operating under
reduced hours.

S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 03:32 PM

I would focus on perhaps recording them and putting them on you-tube.

And I would let capitalism work or not work. Let someone earn $50 or $100 or a percentage of take in exchange for doing the work of setting up, publicizing etc...there are plenty of semi-retired people who could use an extra $100...figure out what to do if there is not much "take" at the door, how to split it. Lots of performers have day jobs or are somewhat retired and don't necessarily need huge amounts of money, but might not have time to set up things themselves.

I like the idea of a monthly or oftener thing in the libraries..can they accept donations there? Afternoons are great..easier to get to etc. Child friendly is good if kids are well behaved.

You are under no obligation to provide this service..focus on what you can do that others can not do..a high school student could set up chairs and take money and set out cookies..you are needed to do the writing, the historical stuff and I hope the web presence. mg

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Deckman
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 01:57 PM

Thanks for your posting this thread Stew. I'll jump in here with some more thoughts:

The audience building and promotion is probably my greatest personal frustration. WE KNOW just how great these performers are ... that's why we book them. But sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get people to turn out for a live concert. And I well know the hours and hours of work performers must put into a concert, as well as the travel time and expenses.

I'm personally feeling a strong need to get back to my archiving ... I've haven't archived a tape in four months!

So ... I hope that the dedicated folkies in the Puget Sound region will read these comments and step up to the plate. CHEERS, bob nelson

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 01:47 PM

You're probably right, Mary.

The concerts are a big drain of energy.
We've had some great performers who
were a pleasure to work with. They supply
their own promo material, come prepared
and perform professionally. But then,
even some of the best fail to attract
audiences, because they are not well
known, and people seem unwilling to
come and hear performers that they
haven't heard (or heard of) before.

A few others are a pain to work with.
They don't promote themselves, come
unprepared, want all sorts of perks
and special conditions. That isn't fun.

The other thing is we're running out of
good performers. You'd think they'd be
breaking down the doors to get a booking.
Oh yes, we get occasional requests from
national booking agencies to book their
national (international) stars with
huge guarantees, etc. - that's a laugh.
Or even some locals who won't even consider
playing for the tip jar (our performers
usually get from $100 to $300 from the
tip jar depending on the audience size
and generosity).

Then there's the promotion. We send out
dozens of press releases - mostly ignored.
Our local community public radio station
rarely gives air time or announcements
for our performers - we continually
badger them with requests, to little
avail.

We could use a few volunteers. Setting
up for a concert is no big deal - the
coffeehouse has it mostly set up and
we don't need a sound system. But we
could use someone with better or different
ideas about promotion. And help with
booking - others with a broader acquaintance
of local talent - we've gone through most
of the local talent we are familiar with
and are reluctant to book the same people
over and over again.

These are some of the problems that make
it hard for just two people to handle.
The question is - is there a need for
this organization, and is it worth all
the effort?

Waiting to hear from more of you,

Cheers, S. in Seattle
and B. in Everett

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 01:05 PM

I think what you have done is very valuable..I think you need to cut way back and would suggest focusing on the web site and archives etc...newsletters, posting information...I would let others produce the concerts etc...there is only so much energy anyone has. Perhaps when a bunch of us retire we can pick up some slack but I sure can't right now...let groups like schools and libraries know who is available and let them h andle their own productions etc...as well as the musicians themselves...mg

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 12:14 PM

anyone out there in the Pacific NW?

should we continue?

S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 02:54 PM

This has been mainly a two-person production
by Bob "Deckman" Nelson and myself. In spite
of all the skepticism and criticism that we
did not initially reveal who we were - "the
whole thing would be a lot more credible if
the responsible parties made themselves more
visible", "if it is a legitimate group it
needs a little more transparency regarding
the setup" - we have managed to do a lot in
just 3 1/2 years. This is not about us, it
is about Pacific Northwest Folklore and we
seem to be about the only group preserving
and promoting the folk music and rich folk
history of this region.

We have produced over 60 concerts in the past
3 1/2 years, including a monthly coffeehouse
concert series, several series of Sunday
afternoon concerts at the Everett Public
Library, and occasional house concerts.
We have provided venues for many of our local
folk musicians as well as some great performers
from outside our region.

We have a web site full of lots of information
about PNW Folklore, including audio and video
clips, and a bimonthly e-zine, the NW HOOT
with interesting articles and videos of our
recent concerts. And we have collected and
preserved over 45 songs of the Pacific NW
(we need more songs from Oregon - come on
your Oregonians!).

All of this we have done on a minimal budget.
All our concerts are free, but with a well-
promoted tip jar (all the money goes to the
musicians). We operate on the busking
principle, so well articulated by Artis the
Spoonman - "Busking has no cover charge, no
minimum drink, no ethnic, sex, age, religious,
or economic segregation and there is no
'middle man' restricting material. Busking
is presented to everyone, whether they slept
under a bridge or on the 40th floor the night
before. Busking is performed for fair exchange,
i.e., the audience pays what they determine
applicable, having viewed and enjoyed
the show, they care to contribute at all.
However, as essential as the money is, the
first contribution an audience member makes
is when they stop." What we do is a labor of
love, We have no committees, membership dues,
fund drives, etc. but we have accepted some
gracious donations from time to time to keep
all this going.

But we are concerned about our sustainability.
We would like this organization to include more
young people (we have had some young performers
from time to time, and are trying to include
more), to grow the tradition and not be just a
museum of what was, and to include more genres
of music - there are only two types of music,
good music and bad music. We would like this
to continue after we get too tired to do this
any more.

So this is a reflection on what we have done
in the past few years, and how we have evolved
in ways that we never expected. It is also a
call for others to become involved and eventually
to take over this project that we have begun.

Cheers, S. in Seattle
with Bob in Everett

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 06:59 PM

Correction: I missed the links in the following paragraph

We've hosted some great folksingers from out of town -
Jeff Warner, Jed Marum, Brian Peters, Kate Power & Steve Einhorn,
Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, Joe Hickerson, Charley Groth ...
as well as local folks - Alice Stuart, the Canote Brothers, Ginney Riley,
Pint & Dale, Tania Opland & Mike Freeman, and many, many others.
posted over 45 Pacific NW songs with lyrics and mp3 recordings
lots of historical information about PNW folklore,
expanded into Everett with Bob "Deckman" Nelson, and more.

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 06:49 PM

just to include this post to the earlier thread

Subject: RE: Pacific Northwest Folklore Society
From: Deckman - PM
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 06:42 PM

STEW ... I echo your thoughts exactly. I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired. I know you're younger than me, by ONE MONTH ... but I don't think I can keep up with YOU much longer. But more importantly to ME ... I'm losing momentum on my archiving project. I need to get back to it.

It's time for new, and younger, blood. bob nelson

Subject: PNW Folklore Society - 3.5 yrs later
From: Stewart
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 06:43 PM

I am just re-reading this thread of Sept. 13, 2007 about the Pacific NW Folklore Society
It's hilarious - Maggie being paranoid about who's behind it (sorry Maggie)
John Ross cussing out my Irish friend, MartinRyan, for using his name in vain
Mary Garvey saying it's a great idea, regardless of who they are
etc. etc. it's just a barrel of laughs
It really got everyone's attention!
what's really interesting is to see how far we've come,
how we've evolved, even beyond our first expectations
I don't think any of us could have predicted it.
What a Hoot!!

We've hosted some great folksingers from out of town -
Jeff Warner, Jed Marum, Brian Peters, Kate Power & Steve Einhorn,
Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, Joe Hickerson, Charley Groth ...
as well as local folks - Alice Stuart, the Canote Brothers, Ginney Riley,
Pint & Dale, Tania Opland & Mike Freeman, and many, many others.
posted over 45 Pacific NW songs with lyrics and mp3 recordings
lots of historical information about PNW folklore,
expanded into Everett with Bob "Deckman" Nelson, and more.

Now we need to think about who's going to carry this on
when we can't do it any more. Any volunteers?
We'd like to have some younger people involved,
grow the tradition, expand the musical genre's,
but still keep it a grass-roots, low-budget,
below-the-radar organization.
Any ideas?

Cheers, S. in Seattle
along with Bob "Deckman" Nelson in Everett