Hey ho, Just back from the Folk Alliance. Some people asked me to take notes in the workshop that Steve Earle participated on. Well, I'm not that organized, but you are still in luck. At the folk alliance they recorded all of the seminars and the tapes are for sale. Below I will give you the information on the two that Steve was one, plus one extra that I highly (really very muchly highly) recommend. Tape 209 - Music and Politics - Dave Marsh, moderator I'm going to forget everyone's name, but this included Steve Earle as well as a person from a real interesting (and exciting) group from PA called the KWRU (Kensington Werlfare Rights Union). Also on the panel was a guy who performed in prisons, a fellow who wrote and performed political music and one other person I'm forgetting. The workshop turned out to be very interesting, and quite motivating too. Steve didn't sing on this one, but he sure did have interesting things to say. Tape 216 - Information Session: KWRU & the March of the Americas - Lee Ballinger, moderator This panel started out with Steve singing about 5 songs (including an intense version of Ellis Unit One) and talking quite a bit. After that he turned the workshop over to Lee Ballinger (who was the folksinger guy whose name I forgot in the last paragraph.) Once again let me say that the KWRU is doing some really interesting things and I was highly impressed. And I'm a poster boy for political apathy (unlike in college where I was the exact opposite). and now here is the one I HIGHLY recommend: Tape 227 - The Warner Collection - Gerret Warner, moderator I hope I don't get too long winded here. First of all, this panel exists for two reasons, one to introduce people to the collection of materials held at Duke University (with copies at the Smithsonian) recorded starting in the late 40s by Anne and Frank Warner. The second reason was to notify people of a 2 CD set that Appleseed Records will be releasing (the first CD in September) of the material in the collection. The panel consisted of Anne and Frank's two kids (Gerret and Jeff), Jeff Davis (singer who has performed with Jeff Warner, and also a long time family friend), Tim Eriksen (from Cordelia's Dad, and big fan of the Warners), Peter Kennedy (English chap who collected many traditional songs here and overseas), and Josh Michaell, the record company person from Appleseed whose idea it was to pull this whole thing together. The panel is loaded with interesting anecdotes, songs from the collection as well as a ton of biographical information about the Warners and the collection (can a thing have a biography??). I got quite choked up many times while listening to this panel (and again when I listened to the tape in the car.) It struck me that the people in this room were responsible for practically my whole life. In the late 80s I though "trad" was some dude who wrote cool songs sometimes, but I certainly didn't listen to any rootsy music (besides a dabbling in country rock). As the music director at KCPR I was mainly into loud abrasive music, whether it be punk or stuff like Big Black. I received an album in the mail from Cordelia's Dad one day and it blew me away. It sounded like a lot of the stuff I listened to at the time, but there was one big difference. All the songs they performed were traditional. They instantly became one of my favorite bands. It was then that I started searching back to the origins of the songs they played, and that eventually led me to people like Lee Monroe Presnell and many other people recorded by the Warners. I ended up meeting Tim Eriksen (of Cordelia's Dad) and he really pushed me to the Warner collection, as well as the Warners sons. In fact one of the first house concerts I ever saw was one by Jeff Warner and Jeff Davis. That ended up being a springboard which led me to oldtime music as well as Celtic and other forms of traditional folk. So, seeing all these people right in front of me, as well as hearing Lee Monroe Presnell sing on the recorder it was quite powerful. I can't say that everyone will have the same experience I did with this workshop, but it is a hell of an introduction to the collection and perhaps it will send you off in some new direction. Hearing old field recordings is always powerful to me. It makes me feel as if I am transported back in time and I actually know the person talking and singing. At the same time I also always realise that they are now gone and it gets me kinda choked up. Like I said, you may not have the same reaction.....but I'll recommend this tape regardless. It was the highlight of my week. To order these recordings send $10 per tape to: CTI Conference Taping, Inc. 2520 Chama Street NE Albuquerque, NM 87110 1-800-552-5645 (credit card orders) Add the following for shipping: 1-10 audio tapes $4.00 11-20 audio tapes $7.00 21-30 audio tapes $10.00 For orders going outside the continental US add $5.00. The sound quality of these tapes are about as good as can be expected with people who often didn't even know they were being recorded. In other words, not studio quality, but good enough to enjoy and understand. There are many other tapes available, too. Check the Folk Alliance website (www.folkmusic.org) to see if they have a listing of the workshops. Every workshop was recorded...(but not the Peer Groups, Showcases and other things). I also have a full list, but don't have the time to type it all in. Overall I'd rate the Folk Alliance as "interesting." If you like cont. singer/songwriters it is surely heaven. If you don't then there surely is other things there (including celtic, traditional folk, oldtime, bluegrass) but you have to search a lot harder to find it. Cheers. Steve ====================================================== Steve Gardner * Sugar Hill Records Radio Promotion [EMAIL PROTECTED] * www.sugarhillrecords.com ---------------------------------------------------- WXDU "Topsoil" * A Century of Country Music [EMAIL PROTECTED] * www.topsoil.net ======================================================
