At what age did YOU start a folk club?

Subject: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Nick
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 10:50 AM

Not quite sure what a folk club is - so let's not go there. Go for the spirit of the question not the actual. I didn't want to post this on the "Why well run folk clubs are important" because it's tangential.

I started the ball rolling to create the musical gathering that myself and some friends started that keeps going after 4+ years when I was 48.

It's changed a bit since then - eg venue (thanks Mr Smith) - but the same things still broadly hold. There is an old thread here rather than crowd this thread.

I played music when I was young and then there was a 30 year gap.

I wonder why now.

I have a lot of thoughts on this but would be interested in people's views.

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Rasener
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 11:23 AM

I started Market Rasen Folk Club about 3 and a half years ago at the tender age of 58. Must have been God's way of punishing me :-)
Currently in third venue, but things are fine. Got a lot of very good talent coming through the club.

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Sooz
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 11:25 AM

16 - I started one at school.

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Rasener
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 11:28 AM

And she is only 21 now :-)

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Splott Man
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 11:35 AM

I discovered folk clubs at 16, and started one in college at 19 or 20. That's when you could get John Martyn for less than a fiver.

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: GUEST,Bruce Baillie
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 11:51 AM

I was 20 years old when me and Peter Fawcett started the Hartshead Moortop Folk Club (near Cleckheaton, just up the road from the Hartshead Moor Services on the M62) that was 31 years ago, it only lasted a year but it was good while it lasted. We had some good guests on, Bonnie Shaljean, John Leonard & John Squire, Tom McConville, Martin Wyndham-Read, Bob Stewart, Peter Bond and others. We also encouraged less know artists as well. I've never run another since! although I am involved with Cleckheaton Folk Festival.

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 03:25 PM

Started one when I was about 13. However, it was a collection of kids who wanted to sing and I was learning guitar. We stayed together for two years and even did some gigs for money.

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Schantieman
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 03:35 PM

15. At school.

I'd taught myself to play the guitar, and some American songs (Moses Asch's '124 Folk Songs' was invaluable) and discovered just one kindred spirit. He was into Steeleye Span (this was....ermmmm...1973 or thereabouts) and his older sister was a regular at Herga. Just one other bloke turned up, who declared himself 'a staunch traditionalist' at the ripe old age of 17.

Steve

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Ebbie
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 04:00 PM

"Not quite sure what a folk club is..." Nick

Last year at age 70, with three others I started a monthly thing that we don't have a label for. In the planning stage we had a lively discussion as to what it would be called, seeing as how we wouldn't have paid artists in the foreseeable future.

We still don't know if we have a folk club, but it is a popular event and we have exposed many performers and audiences to each other. I know a number of performers who now plan to apply for a spot on the Alaska Folk Festival stage; people who never had the nerve before.

Our format consists of 5 sets, each of about 20 minutes. A 15 minute break with coffee and cookies after the third set, and the whole thing is over by 10 o'clock.

Oh- we simply call ourselves 'Gold Street Music- Music of and by the Community'. Our performers range from singer/songwriters, duets, quartets, accordionist, clarinetist with grand piano backing, bluegrass, country band...

This Saturday I have scheduled 1)a guy who sings old timey/folky/country songs along with his guitar and fiddle, 2)a professional musician and music teacher who is best known for his jazz piano talent but is playing acoustic guitar this time, 3)a guy on the grand piano who used to play on cruiseships and who is now the best mail carrier I have ever known and who plans to play bosso nova for us, 4)a guy who sings a lot of Silverstein, Prine, Goodman and Newman, and 5)a lesbian couple who do wonderful harmonies and have introduced a lot of great songs to this community.

It will be a fun night. Whether or not it is a folk club.

:)

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Ernest
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 04:08 PM

So a folk club is NOT a piece of wood that you use to beat those b******s that play songs in wrong keys/on wrong instruments/without their fingers in their ears etc????????????????????????

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: breezy
Date: 01 Dec 06 - 09:38 AM

you creep Villan

you 61 year old creep even

at least your eyes are fine

whenever you feel the urge is my considered response

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: GUEST,JT
Date: 01 Dec 06 - 10:03 AM

I'll start one when I'm as old as Methusala and have gained the wisdom of Solomon. Until then I don't think I'll have the qualifications.

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: JennyO
Date: 01 Dec 06 - 10:08 AM

I started my folk club North by Northwest Folk Club 9 years ago, at the age of 52. It's still going strong!

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Rasener
Date: 01 Dec 06 - 10:09 AM

>>at least your eyes are fine<<

he he if only

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: MBSLynne
Date: 01 Dec 06 - 01:59 PM

I started the Ashby de la Zouch folk club (Although it was called "The free and Easy Folk Club" then) when I was 37. It ceased to exist in Ashby about 12 years ago but still continues at the Volunteer in Sidmouth on the first Friday of the festival and at Miskin on the Saturday night.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Old Roger
Date: 01 Dec 06 - 03:04 PM

I started the "Blues at the Honeysuckle" in Gateshead, together with Ray Stubbs in about 1971 - I would have been about 33 then. After about a year and a half I had to move down to Milton Keynes.

Started a folk club at The Cannon in Newport Pagnell in about 1977 and then had to move to Norfolk. There followed a long period of work work work until I got made redundant.

Started a folk club last year at age 68. It's wholly acoustic, very popular and attracts some good talent. Mostly older folk who have done a lot of practice on their instruments but some beginners too. Not really a folk club in the old sense - more a folk club in the new sense. We had 24 performers last night with renditions ranging from a medley of popular Christmas tunes on solo serpent through to a superb version of "Get Back" on fingerstyle guitar (with a stylistic nod to Martin Simpson).   

It's a fun place to be.

Cheers
Old Roger

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: GUEST,Sue Tuckey aka Girl Friday
Date: 01 Dec 06 - 09:16 PM

I helped start Friday Folk Orpington in 1987 at the age of 39 , and, am still running it, 19 years later at the same venue. Regulars come, and go, but I'm still there, but next year may be the last if attendance doesn't improve. Anyone else in the doldrums?

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Ebbie
Date: 01 Dec 06 - 09:23 PM

What numbers are you drawing, Guest Sue?

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: greg stephens
Date: 02 Dec 06 - 02:34 AM

I started a club at school in Tonbridge, Kent when I was 14(I think).In 1959 0r 1960. I don't think it is still running!

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: stallion
Date: 02 Dec 06 - 08:47 AM

Maggie, Stuart, Locky and I started the Ayton Folk Club (Forge Valley Inn, West Ayton Nr Scarborough) in January 1993, I was 42 Maggie around the same age as me, Stuart was 20 something and Locky was thirty something, it growed very quickly and is still going as a singaround on a Thursday night.

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Gedpipes
Date: 02 Dec 06 - 03:55 PM

I was two :-)

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: The Sandman
Date: 02 Dec 06 - 04:06 PM

We used to call it the stoned age.

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Ned Ludd
Date: 02 Dec 06 - 06:20 PM

Started on at about 25 still running one,,,,, on my third! at50 +

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Deckman
Date: 02 Dec 06 - 09:28 PM

I was one of the founders of a very successful "folk club" in Seattle, Washington, USA, in 1953. I was 16! It started the ball rolling in the Seattle area and we lasted about four years until the FBI put us out of business. This was in the heyday of the "McCarthy Era." At our peak, we had a membership of something close to one hundred. But the "powers to be" decided that since we sang "subversive songs", such as Marching to Pretoria, etc., that we must be subversives. I was hauled into the FBI office and asked why I sang "Communist songs?" I said, "Because they have the BEST songs!" They didn't like my answer. Oh well ... Bob(deckman)Nelson

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 01:26 PM

Schantieman - who was the older sister?


Kitty

PS John Heydon was quite young (early to mid-20s)when he took over the running of Herga, but he didn't start the club!

Subject: RE: At what age did YOU start a folk club?
From: GUEST,Sue Tuckey aka Girl Friday
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 06:40 PM

Hi Ebbie. "What numbers am I drawing". Somewhere around 6, 12 on a good day and 25 on a really good day. For all they say about us Tone Deaf Leopard drew the biggest audience all year 30 plus!

Cut and paste this into your post:

Tone Deaf Leopard