FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Oct 99 - 03:37 PM

and when you get on the dirt/gravel road , keep going to CAMP 4..'Pleasant'....and remember to park snugly so that all the daytrippers can squeeze in!...(You can drive thru the lot to the mess hall to unload, but you CANT leave you car there..unload, park, and THEN find your accomidations)

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 06 Oct 99 - 03:28 PM

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Nancy-Jean
Date: 06 Oct 99 - 02:00 PM

I've just added a thread about the workshop on folk song collectors. Love to hear who might be there.

Nancy-Jean

("Seigel" is the correct spelling of my last name. Remember that old rule of "i" before "e" except before the letter "c"? Well, I've bent the rule to include "and the sound "seeeeee".)

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: lamarca
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 04:45 PM

Here is a site to alert you to the lane shifts, etc. caused by the construction on the Springfield interchange (for folks coming from the North):

VDOT's Daily Update site

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 04:11 PM

Well, the registrations are all in (mostly) and we fit! We're working on rooming assignments, and enough people are staying in the motel or their RVs or their warm homes that the cabins are about half full.

If you still need driving directions, they're on the FSGW website. If you're coing from the DC and the North, take I-95 South into Virginia to Exit 152. VA234 West will be a right turn at the top of the ramp. If you're coing from the South, just take I-95 North to Exit 152. VA234 West will be a left turn (go over the bridge above I-95). For anyone coming in on I-66 form the West: when you get to Manassas, you can just take VA234 East from I-66 about 15 miles.

The website also has a list of workshops (remember--they're participatory!) and mini-concerts by guests.

Here's a weather forecast.

See y'all this weekend!

--Charlie Baum

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: MMario
Date: 14 Sep 99 - 11:37 AM

sounds like an absoultely incredible weekend that makes me wish there was even a faint possibility I could get to it. That weekend is booked for me, foreve, though, so I can't. have fun!

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: lamarca
Date: 14 Sep 99 - 11:17 AM

For all our friends who are NOT from "Inside-the-Beltway", HOV-3 is Wahingtonese for Carpool Lane - "High Occupancy Vehicle - 3 person minimum. Other delightful, unexplained signs around here:

"HAZMAT" - any vehicle carrying hazardous materials (do autoharps and accordions count?)
"Weems-Botts Museum" (seen on I-95 before you get to the exit for Prince William Forest) What's a Weem? What's a Bott? Why do we keep them in a museum?

WARNING! WARNING! DANGER! DANGER! The Washington Metro Fairy in Charge of Screwing Up Roadways has embarked on a massive 8-9 year project to "improve" the mess where I-95 departs southward from its role as the east half of the Capital Beltway, otherwise known as the "Springfield Interchange", the "Mixing Bowl" or "#&!!*%%#". This is an area where unwary folks trying to travel I-95 have to instictively know which lane to be in in order to stay on I-95 and not get dumped off into westbound I-495, northbound I-395 or go to the Springfield Shopping Mall. Because of construction, the"correct" lane is changing periodically, so be alert, and watch for whatever pathetic signage the state of Virginia (Motto:We'll get back at you damn Yankees yet!) has in place this week. To get to the Getaway, you do want to stay on I-95 South to Richmond (Richmond is a hard road to travel), so read whatever directions get sent out in advance and expect things to be a bit FUBAR in that area...

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 13 Sep 99 - 11:31 PM

Barry and others-- NAT (normal arrival time) is ANY time after about 3 p.m. on Friday. But if you show up earlier, you can always help with last-minute preparations. Most people arrive dinnerish, between, say 5 and 8 p.m., though some people will surely arrive after that. (Keep in mind that I-95 leading from Washington, DC to Prince William can be absolute hell from 3 or 3:30 in the afternoon until 6 or 6:30, though you sound like you'll qualify for HOV-3 if you come through at that hour.) When you show up, you'll check in and get your ID name badge along with a packet of information and schedules; then you'll schlep your stuff to the cabin where you're staying (or go off to the Travel Trailer Village or motel to check in there if you haven't done so) and then come back to the dining hall for some pot-luck food and conversation. After dinner, the conversation will continue in the dining hall, but many folks will have wandered off to a lodge to make music, and another group will have gone off to another lodge to jam instrumentally, and maybe yet another group will go off and sing the sorts of things that the folks at the first lodge aren't singing. This part of the desciption is all rather approximate because it's all spontaneous. If you arrive before, say 11 p.m., there will be folks sitting at the registration desk to welcome you. If you arrive after that, there will be folks engaged in music-making or conversation who will have to get up and cross the room to the registration desk to welcome you. So come on by whenever you can get there, and we'll leave the light on for you. (oops--ad jingles are in a different thread...)

-Charlie Baum

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 Sep 99 - 11:26 PM

And I'll be anxiously awaiting the arrival of that whole crew! Looking forward to this...

Spaw

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Big Mick
Date: 13 Sep 99 - 10:59 PM

Just let me know where, Bro Barry and i will do my best to be there.

Mick

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Barry Finn
Date: 13 Sep 99 - 10:49 PM

Who's doing the addictions workshop (negative & possitive, doesn't matter). Addiction is only harmfull when it becomes unhealthy &/or turns the addicted one into an unproductive unlawful useless non-member of society, so welcome back to the place of rational addicts LaMarca, it's been a very long time & it's nice to see you posting again. It'll also be a real treat to hear you & George again (I caught a bit of you 2 a few NEFFA's ago).

It seems that it's OK to give some & ask some snips about where some of the workshops/concerts are headed. The prison songs & shanties will go where ever you want them to go, I don't really care (I think Roger & David are OK with this too) as long as those that go get to sing & hear what they'd like to or get to hear things that they might not know yet & would like. I'm not a big talker so instead giving a 10 minute intro to a 2 minute song I might give a 2 second intro to burst of a few songs, Please feel free to stop me & ask anything of me, I sometimes get shy.

They'll be 4 of us heading south from the Northeast (Dave Diamond, Jeri, Susan A-R & myself) hopefully we'll all have a little bit left in us after our 9 or 10 or 11 hr drive together. When is it considered Normal Arrival Time (NAT or ETA) on Fri (not that I'm at all normal just want the others to get off on the right foot). Mick, we should be meeting up with you along the roadside somewhere near the Roadkill Cafe, I'm not sure of what state that's in though.

Rita, this looks way cool, YOU GO GIRL.
Barry

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Sep 99 - 04:49 PM

well, I 'thought' about nagging lamarca, *grin*....but figured she's a big enough girl to fall off the wagon by herself...but I sure like reading her contributions..

glad to see you, lady...

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: KathWestra
Date: 13 Sep 99 - 04:34 PM

And it's about time lamarca showed up again back here. Those Mudcat Addiction 12-step meetings aren't nearly as interesting as these discussions. Be sure to catch not only the workshop described above, but George and Mary's mini-concert. There's bound to be some fine singing there. Kathy (the aforementioned enabler, and proud of it!)

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: lamarca
Date: 13 Sep 99 - 12:58 PM

Just a note of further explanation on our song swap/workshop "Not in My Job Description" - George and I both love the type of work songs that describe the lives and duties of the people doing that type of work. There's lots of traditional (and contemporary) songs from the lumber camps, mining, the textile industries, bothy ballads, fishing trade, cowboy's lives, etc. They weren't necessarily done to rhythmically accompany the work, like shanties or Barry and Roger's prison songs, but sang about the job, a crummy boss, the hard life, the perils of loving a miner (or fisherman or factory maid, etc.) Some songs sing about the joys and sorrows of NOT working (hoboes, being on the dole, etc.) Some are about disasters, wrecks and other occupational hazards. Use your imagination and come share a song with us!

George and I are looking forward to this year's Getaway since we're back at Prince William; I hated staying at Camp Letts, so we'd turned into day-trippers past few years. As I mentioned in another thread (looking for MIDI advice), I've fallen off the wagon onto Mudcat again, my 12-step program having failed to cure my addiction. I blame Sandy and Kathy W. as my main enablers, and y'all as my co-dependents (see, I can't even accept personal responsibility for this monumentally enriching waste of time...)

Looking forward to putting faces to the names!

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 13 Sep 99 - 12:15 PM

And a note on any and all the workshops: If you're planning to attend one, try to remember, or select or learn a song that fits in. These are participatory events; the more, the better.

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 13 Sep 99 - 12:13 AM

A note on Ex Libris, Ex Computeris:
I've been fascinated with the problems of transciption of song--especially, what gets left out when you try to transcribe it. You may put into a book (or your computer database like Digitrad) such elements as the tune and the words, but what happens with style and tempo and bent-notes and the thousand subtleties and variations that aren't marked down? How do we go about reconstituting those notated songs? It's something many of us often do, but rarely do those of us who do it sit down together and consciously analyze the process. Bring a song you've learned from a transcription (rather than from hearing someone sing live or on recording)--perhaps something you learned from this Forum or the Digitrad database, and we'll look at how you made the song come alive again.

--Charlie Baum

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: catspaw49
Date: 12 Sep 99 - 11:08 PM

Sounds just great Rita!!! We'll be catching what we can!

Spaw

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Big Mick
Date: 12 Sep 99 - 08:36 PM

I am absolutely beside my big old self in anticipation of this event. Rita, superb job on the lineup. I am going to break every land speed record known to man to get there on Friday. Do to the boss screwing me up, I will be coming from Traverse City, Michigan instead of just south of Grand Rapids. It will turn an eleven hour drive into a thirteen hour drive. But it is going to be worth it for this gathering. I can't wait to sing with you all.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: campfire
Date: 12 Sep 99 - 06:29 PM

Sounds like fun- wish I could be there. Next year!!!

campfire

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: KathWestra
Date: 12 Sep 99 - 06:25 PM

Just show up. Sample a little bit of one workshop, then wander on to another if you'd like, or stay for the whole thing. Almost anything labeled a "workshop" implicitly includes opportunities for members of the "audience" to contribute a song on the topic at hand. Since some of the workshop leaders might not know you, holler out when you've got something to contribute. It's all very informal. The only "rules" are those of inclusiveness -- no one person gets a second song until everyone who has one to sing has done so. At the Open Sing on Friday night, we generally go around the circle so that nobody gets missed. That's about it. Looking forward to seeing everybody. If we get weather like we've had down here this weekend, we'll be truly blessed. Kathy

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Ferrara
Date: 12 Sep 99 - 06:18 PM

moonchild and everybody, You just go to any workshops or other sessions that look interesting. Around here "workshop" is also used to mean "sing-around" or "song swap" or "jam". At most workshops there's a lot of contributions by everyone there who feels like it, time permitting. Something like Song Collectors will focus most on people who have collected in the field, with questions and comments from others. I've asked Barry and Roger to include a half-hour mini-concert in the Prison Songs workshop, because they know so much about this specialized kind of music.

As you can see, it's pretty fluid. Lots of people treat it the way Bill treats cable TV, ie they change channels a lot; going to one workshop for 20 minutes or so, singing or playing if possible, then heading off to hear what's going on at another workshop.

We do have a sign-up sheet for Lisa Null's vocal clinic, for volunteers who want her to help them with a singing problem. Volunteers have to be willing to stand up in front of a room full of people and do vocal exercises. But you can go to the session and just watch and learn without signing up.

In workshops end up with light attendance, you may get to sing three or four songs during the session.

We do have one request: Be Prepared. If you use The Book or a cheat sheet for lyrics, just use it as a reminder. Joe, that doesn't mean you can't use RUS!!! -- I've said over and over, we had a few people who came to every open sing, opened RUS, picked a song at random, and stumbled through it without knowing the tune or the words. Nobody here would do that, right? So we're fine.

Oh, we are so looking forward to this Getaway. It is wonderful, wonderful that so many Mudcatters are coming!

Oh, my! -- I forgot to put in the schedule that Max is leading the Blues workshop! Well, he is. - Rita

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: bbelle
Date: 12 Sep 99 - 05:00 PM

Are we supposed to formally sign up for different workshops? Or do we just "go?" moonchild

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Bill D
Date: 12 Sep 99 - 04:18 PM

re: humorous songs...I hope to make the focus the varieties of things people find funny in songs...some laugh at slapstick, some at surprises, some at silliness/nonsense, etc.There are songs that are only re-telling of jokes..("Why Paddy's Not at Work Today".."The Scotsman")...there are songs which paint a comic look at the serious side of life.."When I First Came to this Land"...there are songs that are pure bawdy farce..("The Bastard King of England")....and people sure do laugh at DIFFERENT things...so...bring examples and variations on the theme and we will all giggle and argue till we drop.

Subject: RE: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: karen k
Date: 12 Sep 99 - 03:19 PM

Thanks for posting this. It's a great help for those who are first-timers. Really can't wait to get there now! >BR< karen k

Subject: FSGW GETAWAY 99 Program
From: Ferrara
Date: 12 Sep 99 - 02:42 PM

Okay, those of you who have asked, here's the preliminary list of workshops & mini concerts for the Getaway. The final schedule will be available at the Getaway when you register.

35TH ANNUAL FSGW GETAWAY
Friday - Monday October 8-11

FRIDAY EVENING :
Registration, Potluck Supper and Open Sing

SATURDAY and SUNDAY WORKSHOPS:
AMERICAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC - Judy Cook
BALLADS - Sue West. If a song tells a good story, it's a ballad.
CAMP SONGS FOR KIDS - Joe Offer
CELTIC SONGS -- Dan Milner (Liam's brother). Irish, Scottish, Breton ...
COUNTRY & WESTERN JAM - Nan Goland . Bring instruments and voices.
DRINKING SONGS - Dave Diamond & Dwayne Thorpe
EX LIBRIS ET COMPUTERESE - Charlie Baum. Ways to learn music you've never heard, including methods of representing tunes via computer.
GOSPEL - Carly Gewirz
HISTORIC SONGS - Jennifer Woods
INTERNATIONAL SONGS - Shana Horrigan (Uillean)
THE LIGHTER SIDE - Bill Day (Bill D). Humorous songs that aren't parodies.
MUSIC FROM THE MUDCAT CAFE' - Rita Ferrara (Ferrara). Music by members of this on-line folk community.
NOT IN MY JOB DESCRIPTION - Stephens & LaMarca. Rewards & hazards of various occupations.
"MAKING IT IN HELL" - PRISON WORK SONGS -- Barry Finn & Roger Himler (Roger in Baltimore). Songs sung to help make the work easier: axe-cutting, flatweeding, cotton-picking, cane cutting.
OLD-TIME PICKIN' AND SINGIN' - Rebecca "Bootsie" Clayton
PARODIES
SEA SHANTIES - Barry Finn & Dave Diamond
SACRED HARP - Tim Slattery & Miriam Kilmer. Harmonies from the shaped-note tradition. Books provided.
SONG COLLECTORS - Nancy-Jean Siegel.
SONGS OF LOVE & LUST - Dennis Cook
THE LAST HALF-CENTURY: FOLK/POP CROSSOVERS - Barry Schlesinger
THE OTHER SIDE OF ME, or, WHEN I'M NOT BEING A FOLKIE - Kathy Mack. Yes, some of us have a guilty secret: We sing and play other kinds of music.
THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT GOES - Dick Greenhaus - Unusual versions of songs that everybody sings. Extra credit for each new version of "The Fox."
UNLOVEABLE CHARACTERS - Lorraine van Buren (Lorraine)
VOCAL CLINIC - Lisa Null
MUDCAT BLUES - Mudcat Max Spiegel

MINI-CONCERTS Bob Clayton (Songbob) & Friends
Judy Cook
Dick Hamlet & Corinne McKenna
Dan Milner (Liam's brother)
Dick Swain & Nancy Mattila
Lisa Null
Sandy & Caroline Paton
Eric & Linda Rice-Johnston, David Scheim & Lucy Goldberg
Peter Sailer & Friends
George Stephens & Mary LaMarca
Dwayne Thorpe
Lorraine van Buren (Lorraine)
Andy Wallace
Kathy Westra
Jennifer Woods
Bob Zentz

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES:
FAMILY CAMPFIRE - Annie Storr and Joe Offer
HEALING CHANTS AND TONES - Shana Horrigan (Uillean). Sunup or early morning, by the waterfall if weather permits.
INTERACTIVE ADVENTURES - George Rathbone. For kids.
KUNG FU - Darriel Day.
PIPING THROUGH THE CAMP - Eric Rice-Johnston. After breakfast on Sat and Sunday. Bring penny whistles and kazoos.

GENERAL INFORMATION :
Jamming and Singing: The dining hall (outside of mealtimes), and most of the unscheduled lodges, are available for jamming and open sings.
Ad Hoc Sessions: To lead a session that's not on the schedule, find a blank spot on the Master Schedule (in Dining Hall), write in your workshop, then have it announced at mealtime.
Sign-up For Vocal Clinic: A sign-up sheet will be posted in the dining hall.
Crafts table for kids: One table in the dining hall will be set aside for kids' crafts but MUST BE CLEANED OFF at mealtimes. Parents willing to lead an hour of kids' crafts can post the time & craft by the crafts table. Or, just bring materials for the crafts table.
Walking and hiking: There is a small lake and stream with waterfall behind the B and C cabin areas.