NW Folklife Fest Report

Subject: NW Folklife Fest Report
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 01 Jun 00 - 01:15 AM

I know this topic overlaps a coupla others, but I'm gonna do it anyway, before I'm too tires to remember.

I did go hear Musicman's band Small Potatoes, and they're most definitely worth a listen -- the Northwest Stage where they were is dedicated to English and Celtic stuff. they have a strong Celtic Flavor, surprise, surprise ("Praties they grow small...")

Musicman has quite a stage presence, being large, but I confess I'm always fascinated by good female bodhran players, which they have. Great voice and what a sense of rhythm. I notice in my newsletter I still get from Chicago that they will be playing around the Midwest all summer.

I made it to Mudjack's set, which he turned into a mostly singalong session, which is fine with me because I love them. He got an encore, which he deserved. Thie year's theme was Caribbean, and a featured steel drum band was busking on the quadrangle very, very close. Jack's sound guys had him cranked up to the max, so if you sat close it was fine -- ie, you couldn't hear the steel drums. Jack, I used to do that Kate Wolf song; I'll try and dust it off for the next song circle, OK?

Artie Traum did 2 guitar workshops, to which very few brought guitars (to his surprise) so I was in good company. the finger-picking one was a good review for me; it was pitched a lot to beginners. The blues one, I was scribbling notes madly and grabbed my guitar to try stuff out. He also obliquely answered a question I have had for a long time: ie, is he related to Happy Traum? All y'all probably knew they were brothers. I popped for his new CD with lots of guests, even tho' jazzy blues isn't my usual bent. He is really big into DADGAD so once he got onto that it was less useful for me, tho' he did recommend Skip James. I hit Music Millenium in Portland before heading home (long story) and got a tape of James and am glad I did. All y'all probably already knew he was great, right?

I could only be there for Saturday and Sunday, but it was worth it; it always is.

This was my 10th Folklife! Maybe I'm finally a real Northwesterner!

Subject: RE: NW Folklife Fest Report
From: GUEST,Musicman
Date: 01 Jun 00 - 12:30 PM

Hey Mag, thanks for the good report...... this was my 2nd folklife and just as much fun as last year...

unfortunately, we are not the 'Small Potatoes' that are touring in the midwest.... I have heard that there is another duo based out of the east also called Small Potatoes....

We are playing in the Vancouver, BC area during June at Culpepper's Restaurant, but that's about it for now.....

Musicman (from work)

Subject: RE: NW Folklife Fest Report
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Jun 00 - 12:13 AM

Hey, I was there busking my brains out, whew, tough crowd. I think they were suffering from busking overload. I think I was the only one there flexin' a razor sharp handtool between his knees though. I had loads of fun. I figure I'm going to have to up the ante if I want to compete with all those jugglers. I was thinking of sawing a member of the audience in half.

Subject: RE: NW Folklife Fest Report
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 02 Jun 00 - 11:18 AM

I didn't see any musical saws amongst the buskers, guest, tho' I was looking. I really liked the one-man band. For me, the jugglers and the contortionist and some others just take up too much sidewalk room and add to the already-horrific congestion. Oh, the a cappella group over by the Exhibition Hall was great. I was sorry to have missed their stage set.

Subject: RE: NW Folklife Fest Report
From: reggie miles
Date: 05 Jun 00 - 02:39 PM

I was hangin' out up there near the childrens area in the southwest corner of the festival grounds near the participants hospitality room. It was very difficult to find a spot to play that didn't have alot of sound bleeding over from other performers and stages. I was told that my saw carried quite a distance as well even though it did not seem so loud to me. I noticed there were many more folks that opted to amplify their instruments to compete with the staged event volumes. It seems that the area could have used a more creative touch when it came to composing the volume levels of the staged and misc. unplanned performances. Those with instruments that don't have a great deal of volume are being forced out of the area by those who perform with much louder toys. I think that folks who feel a need to express themselves with instruments that by their nature are loud should find a place to play where they will not hinder so many others with their volume levels. Let's carry this to the illogical. Say I played an instrument that by it's nature could dominate volume-wise three city blocks of space. That would mean that everyone within that space would have to either find an indoor location to perform and be heard or compete with me by playing outside the range that my instrument would carry or amplify to try to match my volume level. Well that's just what's going on. It needs to be addressed but it's a sensitive issue on all fronts and not one that I'd want to tackle. Maybe another location with more room to grove is needed or as I said just a more creative touch at composing the participants volume levels.

Subject: RE: NW Folklife Fest Report
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 06 Jun 00 - 04:27 PM

I remember the yera Magical Strings was playing in the Alki Room ,which is not-far-enough away from Mercer Lawn area. There was this big wind machine there. Phil Boulding referred to it as the Giant Tuba From Hell. But that was official.

I doubt the Fest Folks want to get into trying to regulate buskers; they probably don't want to be busker police especially when so many featured acts busk for change (everybody performs free). That steel drum band was loud, tho' - I don't know what the solution is, but the congestion to me is a bigger problem than the noise. Waiting in line to move down the sidewalk gets old.

I raved about my new guitar to the guy who made it, and he gave me a Webber t shirt, which I will wear proudly.