http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com reports and reflects on news that affects the traditional / revival / labor / social justice folk, old-time, bluegrass and Celtic music communities in the greater Boston area.
"In this era of pop-driven acoustic music, notloB is keeping the folk tradition alive."
~ Jack Hardy
Back on November 1, 2008, notloB Music* had the honor and privilige of presenting The Folk Brothers (Jack Hardy & David Massengill), with very special guest Peggy Seeger; Fionnuala O'Donovan and Emma Beaton opened. We cannot believe it has been FIVE YEARS since his Jack's passing! Jack was instrumental in Fast Folk "In December 1977, singer/songwriter Carolyne Mas started a songwriter's night at The Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village, New York, after a less formal group started by singer/songwriter/Greenwich Village legendJack Hardy lost its spot at a local tavern called The English Pub..." continued at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Folk On the anniversary his passing, Smithsonian Folkways has created a compliation album....
Note: Whenever the word "folk" appears in this article it is used in context with the definition set by the National Endowment for the Arts, "Traditional arts are those art forms that are learned as part of the
cultural life of a group of people whose members share a common ethnic
heritage, language, religion, occupation, or culturally united
geographic region. Folk and traditional arts are shaped by the
aesthetics and values of a shared culture and are passed from generation
to generation, most often within family and community through
observation, conversation and practice."
Writing this generated images of Pete Seeger wielding a fire axe, but it
is something that has been bothering me for quite some time and I had
to let it out. The see was planted by something the late Jack Hardy several years ago
said to me walking the grounds of the Falcon Ridge "Folk" Festival -
"(this festival is) a bunch of pop singer-songwriters trying to be rock
starts, and doing a piss-poor job of it."
Is it appropriate to incorporate the word "folk"
into a festival's title when the music presented is not folk? I
understand festivals book certain artists outside the core genre for
their popular appeal in order to draw day patrons, the revenue from
which is gravy, but if over time the music presented shifts from folk to
pop, is it appropriate to retain the word "folk", or better to
re-brand?
Let's put this into another context. The MG brand has been purchased by a Chinese company who are manufacturing and marketing a sedans as "MG". See
Here is a photo of the classicMG, designed and manufactured at the
1954 MGTF
2013 Chinese MG6 sedan
Concept MG SUV
Just as the Chinese usurped the MG brand name, turning a small sports car into sedans and SUV's, certain so-called "folk" festival promoters have usurped the word "folk" and are booking mass-appeal pop artists, their motivation being the bottom line, to draw day patrons. It may be clever marketing, but as long as there are folk artists not booked and displaced by popsters, it certainly is not cricket.
The precedent for renaming festivals that have dropped or reduced folk presence certainly exists. Before it was
terminated, the "Boston Folk Festival" was re-branded as the "Boston
Music Festival." When its focus moved away from bluegrass to
"Americana", the Ossipee Valley Bluegrass Festival became the "Ossipee
Valley Music Festival."
Should one expect a sedan or SUV from the MG company? No!
Should one expect bluegrass at a blues festival? Nae!
Should one expect rock music at a classical concert? Never!
Should one expect pop at a folk concert? Certainly not.
At any festival containing a music genre in its title inevitability there will be some cross-over and some edge-pushing, but pop concerts should be so labeled and marketed. "Folk" is not pop festival marketeers' word to usurp.
1. Non-folk artists appearing at the NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL: "Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer, sometimes known
as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to
prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo
The Dresden Dolls" -Wikipediato is a featured artist. Is she a folk
artist? Apparently the producers of the Newport Folk Festival think she
is, as she and several others popsters, including Feist, Jim James, the
Lumineers, Milk Carton Kids, Shovels and Rope...you know, Boston's NPR music stations' playlist are on the bill.
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer, sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer
The Newport "Folk" Festival claims this is folk music.
The Milk Carton Kids: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Published on Jul 17, 2012
Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale get a lot done with subtle gestures, but there's real sophistication to the three gorgeous, harmony-rich folk-pop songs they recently performed in the NPR Music offices. Set List: "Michigan" "Stealing Romance" "I Still Want A Little More" For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts video podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.
The Newport "Folk" Festival claims this is folk music.
Shovels & Rope - Birmingham
Published on Feb 22, 2013
"Birmingham" is the first single from O' Be Joyful, the debut album from Shovels & Rope. Produced by The Moving Picture Boys, this video was shot in the band's home city of Charleston, SC.
2. PHILADELPHIA "FOLK" FESTIVAL: "Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop star, supported by the certified gold solo double LP" -Wikipedia
Is Todd Rundgren a folk artist? Apparently the producers of the Philadelphia Folk Festival think so, as he is billed, in capital letters no less, as their Saturday headliner.
http://www.pfs.org/event/saturday-main-stage-concert-mavericks-todd-rundgren-pocket-black-prairie-more-08-17-2013-1600
Todd Rundgren
See also "BIG news everybody! Joining us at the 2013 Philadelphia Folk Festival: Todd Rundgren..." What the Folk? from 6/6/13.
The Philadelphia "Folk" Festival claims this is folk music.
Marketeers and branders are clever people, they will do apparently do anything (except consult with and respect ethno-musicologists) to usurp a word and fill the corporate coffers, but don't hold your breath expecting these popsters to be booked into Clifftop or Harry Smith Frolic or Lowell or other folk festivals.
A believer in truth in advertising, I would have more respect for the Philadelphia and Newport festivals to re-brand themselves as "Philadelphia Pop Festival" and "Newport Pop Festival."
Or here's a novel idea, Philadelphia and Newport could return to their roots and let Amanda Plamer and her fellow travelers find bookings at Bonnaroo and similar pop festivals.
Thanks for allowing me to vent, I feel much better now and am heading to the Lowell Folk Festival.
Today Jack Hardy would have turned 65. Jack passed away on March 11, 2011, after a short battle with cancer. We all mourn his loss and send our most heartfelt condolences to his family and others close to him.
Today I reflect on Jack's words, HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE!
Ask Questions
The dust bowl is flooded the northwest is dry Someone strike a match to shed us some light But all that is burned is a cross in the yard And a flood in the ninth parish ward Climb up the hill to the capitol Dare to hold them accountable
Ask questions
Jefferson the patriot fearless and bold Takes Sally Hemmings when she's fourteen year old Who cannot resist who cannot deny The way his descendants now have to try Climb up the hill to the capitol Dare to hold them accountable
Ask questions
(chorus:) And history has eyes history has ears History finds secrets that are buried for years Exploded explained exposed and explicit History will judge us either stupid or complicit And we know we are not stupid
Ask questions
Remember the Maine, Lusitania too The Gulf of Tonkin and Peal Harbor Two Where there's a will there's a way to go to war And a profit without honor no more Climb up the hill to the capitol Dare to hold them accountable
Ask questions
Joshua believes in heaven and in hell Polishes his trumpet in a dessert motel Gambling and whoring till his time comes around And the towers come tumbling down Climb up the hill to the capitol Dare to hold them accountable
Peggy graced the notloB stage with Jack Hardy and David Massengill in October, 2008. More recently she was my guest on "In the Tradition", WCUW community radio serving central Massachusetts at 91.3fm, streaming at www.wcuw.org, where we chatted about her farewell concert and life as a folk singer and activist.
Safe travels, Ms. Seeger.
Goodbye
Folk legend Peggy Seeger is leaving Boston, but she’s not slowing down
“Essentially what you’re trying to do is wedge these songs into other people’s heads, the way they’re wedged into yours,’’ says Peggy Seeger. (Michele McDonald for The Boston Globe)
By Scott Alarik Globe Correspondent / April 16, 2010
Asked how she would describe her long, rich, and profoundly important career, Peggy Seeger is stumped. “Whoo,’’ she says, and “Oh, my.’’ Then the 74-year-old folk singer answers slowly, intimately.
PEGGY SEEGER FAREWELL BOSTON CONCERT Tomorrow night at 7:30 at International Community Church, 557 Cambridge St., Allston. Katie McD opens. Tickets $20 at 617-265-9200.
“First of all,’’ says Seeger, who is returning to Britain after living in Boston for four years, “I take utter and complete pleasure in singing the songs. One of the nicest things about folk songs is that I can sing them by myself, wherever I am. And the words and music are so completely physically satisfying to me that you just want to share that. Essentially what you’re trying to do is wedge these songs into other people’s heads, the way they’re wedged into yours.’’
Peggy Seeger, song-wedger. It is revealing that she presents herself this simply, and not as the musical revolutionary she is.
Seeger, who gives a farewell concert tomorrow night at International Community Church in Allston, began her career in the early 1950s, when female musicians were still expected to perform in chiffon gowns, singing daintily while the menfolk played the instruments. But she was a multi-instrumentalist, accompanying herself on guitar, banjo, dulcimer, autoharp, piano, and concertina. And her haunting, silk-and-steel voice was anything but dainty.
She played a pivotal role in launching folk revivals in the United States and Britain; helped popularize Appalachian folk music; wrote folk ballads so organic, like “The Ballad of Spring Hill,’’ that many believe they’re traditional, and political songs that are sung on picket lines and at protest rallies. In one of musical history’s sweetest serendipities, she is both the author of the song that helped launch the feminist movement, “Gonna Be an Engineer,’’ and the subject of Ewan MacColl’s adoring love song, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.’’
She was certainly to the folk manner born, raised in the Seeger family with musician brother Mike and famous stepbrother Pete. Her parents were ethnomusicologist Charles Seeger and Ruth Crawford Seeger, an acclaimed modernist composer who wrote brilliantly simple transcriptions for seminal folk songbooks by John and Alan Lomax, B.A. Botkin, Carl Sandburg, and her own children’s books.
“I just osmosed folk music,’’ Seeger says with a laugh. “It was sponged onto me as a child. There were no radios or televisions in our home, but you could always hear music. My mother taught piano, so there was always someone playing in the daytime. And in the evenings, there was lots of piano playing or singing, and people visiting, like Woody [Guthrie] and Lead Belly [Ledbetter].’’
After two years at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Seeger rambled through Europe. Folklorist Alan Lomax was trying to create a British version of the Weavers, Pete Seeger’s hugely successful folk group, and asked her to join. The band bombed, but introduced her to MacColl, the British folk lion.
“I met Ewan on March 15, 1956, at 10:30 in the morning,’’ she says, the love palpable in her voice. They were together until his death in 1989, raising three children, performing as a duo, and collaborating on nearly everything.
“It was a partnership from the beginning,’’ she says. “There were dire predictions, with him being 20 years older, but we worked well together. We were total opposites in so many ways, but maybe that was part of the fascination.’’
In 1970, Seeger wrote “Gonna Be an Engineer’’ for a satirical revue. In it, a woman dreams of a career, meeting resistance at every turn: “No, you only need to learn to be a lady / The duty isn’t yours, for to try to run the world / An engineer could never have a baby / Remember, dear, that you’re a girl.’’
She wrote it in two hours, and says it wasn’t about her. She never wanted to be an engineer, and “nobody ever told me I couldn’t do things.’’
The song spread like wildfire. She was soon being invited to sing for feminist groups, scurrying to fill her repertoire with more feminist songs. Female musicians all over the world had the same experience after hearing that song.
“Sometimes a song puts an idea in the air,’’ says women’s music pioneer Holly Near. “Peggy wrote that before I even knew I was a feminist. She sang about the things that go on in women’s lives at a time when we couldn’t imagine those ‘little things’ were important enough to sing about, because we didn’t think we were important enough. Her song said, yes, you are.’’
Seeger has lived in Jamaica Plain since 2006, but is returning to Britain, where her children and seven grandchildren are. But she has no plans to slow down.
“I am 75 this year,’’ she says, “so I reckon I’ve got about five more years of galloping around — unless somebody wants to advertise me as the only 81-year-old banjo player on the go.’’
She means it as a joke, but the smart money is that Peggy Seeger will soon be cracking open another glass ceiling.
It is with mixed emotions that I share news that Peggy Seeger is moving away from Boston. I spoke with Ms. Seeger this evening, she said the time is right to move back to England. I cannot use her exact words without permission, but they were humorous and delightful. Let's wish her well, and give her a big send off at the concert detailed below.
Peggy graced the notloB Folk Concerts stage with Jack Hardy and David Massengill back in October, 2008. It will be my pleasure to have her as guest by telephone on "In the Tradition" on Tuesday, March 30, at 7:30pm (WCUW, 91.3fm, www.wcuw.org).
Farewell Boston Concert and Benefit for Eastern Service Workers Association (ESWA) at International Community Church, 557 Cambridge St., Allston, MA 02134 on Saturday, April 17. Opening at 7:30pm by Irish singer/guitarist Kate McD. (Doors open at 7:05) Suggested Donation of $20. Call ESWA at 617-265-9200 for tickets or donate at the door. http://www.peggyseeger.com
No true folk radio station would have a play list, rather it would trust its hosts to be knowledgeable of their genre and artists and allow them to produce their own shows. AAA / "music mix" WUMB (the "community" radio station of UMass, Boston), and whose Google search page makes this outrageous claim
The letter under the === below was sent to its general manager and music director today, almost two years after a promise to investigate why a "playlist task force" had purged Jack Hardy (and as a consequence, due to its artist censorship policy, caused its events calendar listing for the 11/08 notloB Folk Concert production of the Folk Brothers concert announcement to be printed as "David Massengill and More" when in actuality submitted as "The Folk Brothers, Jack Hardy and David Massengill". If an answer is ever received it will be appended here.
By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACK!
I am sorry this lingering issue detracts from the celebration of your birthday, but WUMB's stupid and unresolved action has angered me for nearly two years. Perhaps the sharing of "adult beverages" in high camp next year will help.
==========
With the reissue of Jack's first 10 albums and the 2009 release of "Rye Grass" I urge you, your music director and the other members of your "playlist task force" (ref our Winter 2008 telephone conversation when I discovered the WUMB calendar changed my submitted "The Folk Brothers (Jack Hardy and David Massengill" had been edited to "The Folk Brothers, featuring David Massengill) reconsider its decision to purge Jack from the WUMB play list. At that time you promised to look into the matter and correct the purge, but I never received a follow-up report of your findings nor confirmation that Jack had been be reinstated.
Perhaps this Boston Globe review will give you additional reason to reconsider:
"With the reissuing of Hardy's first 10 albums, the full range of his talents is showcased for the first time. [...] With his songs set firmly in the centuries-old tradition of Celtic balladry, Hardy shapes his metaphors in a vision that successfully blends history, mythology, romanticism, and politics."
==============
3/11/11 UPDATE: Up until the day of Jack's passing, no response was received. WUMB's Jay Moburg further added insult to injury, read the announcement of Jack's passing and subsequent posts in the tread.
Jeff Hardy, Jack's brother and long-time bass player in his band, was a victim of the September 11th World Trade Center tragedy. Jeff worked as an executive chef on the 101st floor of the north tower. He played on many of Jack's albums and toured with Jack for 11 years.
Known as "Moose" to his fans, Jeff was a regular on New York City stages in the 1980s before reducing his playing time to focus on his culinary career and better provide for his young family. Those who met Jeff immediately noticed his warmth and good nature. He reached out and included people, regardless of their positions or ideologies.
A memorial service on October 13th at The Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church was attended by over 400 family and friends.
Anyone who would like to make a donation in memory of Jeff might consider the Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund. The fund provides aid to the families of victims of the World Trade Center tragedy who worked in the food service profession throughout the complex.
Today marks the passing of folk artist extrordinair Dave Van Ronk.
I'd like to share part of a recent message from David Massengill . Back in the day, Dave took a young Massengill under his wing as his driver/road buddy.
"Thanks for remembering Dave. I think of him so often. He always had time for me. Roy Bookbinder admired many things about Dave, one being his ease at being a gracious celebrity. I thinks the world of his artistry but also personally his brotherly concern for his many, many friends and admirers. I will pass on your remembrance to Dave's wife Andrea Vucollo. Last year the People's Voice Cafe in NYC had a Dave Van Ronk night that I hosted and we are repeating it this year .... I'll send more info later....."
Dave Van Ronk was a catylist in the creation of Jack Hardy's "Fast Folk ". Jack tells the story of some trickery used for the first meeting. Jack told all other artists that Dave was aboard, and all the others that Dave was aboard. When Dave heard so many others were aboard, he said "sure" (I'd love to have the exact wording, sure it was much more colorful).
Note: This topic is a work in progress. Due to the nature of its significance to the Boston-area folk community and the length of time it has been simmering, it is posted before all supporting information has been gathered. More background facts will be added, but for now the story of how WUMB has shown great callousness and disrespect for one of our most highly regarded folk artists just had to be published.
On Thursday, October 24 I had an interesting phone conversation with Pat Monteith, WUMB's general manager. I ended up speaking with her because the call intake volunteer could not answer my question about a web calendar event error. The November 1 concert, submitted on October 6 as "The Folk Brothers (Jack Hardy and David Massengill)" had been posted as "The Folk Brothers (featuring David Massengill)".
Our conversation boiled down to three points:
1. Jack Hardy, a founding member of Fast Folk and creative force behind at least 16 folk albums, who had been on the WUMB playlist, had been removed from the play list! The de-listing apparently occurred some time after September 25, the last time he was played
Music Log For WUMB Boston Thursday, September 25, 2008 .... 13:29:51, Jack Williams. He Will Break Your Heart ... 14:29:52, Jack Hardy. I Ought To Know ... www.wumb.org/playlists/2008-09-25.html - 94k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
(thanks to Dan Tappan for doing the research)
2. Music director John Laurenti does not make the playlist decisions, it is done by a "committee of four" (she was not specific who sits on the committee, but some members are on-air personalities).
3. An intern uses the playlist when reviewing calendar submissions and edits accordingly (deletes names or changes to "and more").
There are two issues at play:
1. The play list committee. If a founding member of Fast Folk can be de-listed, what guideline is WUMB management giving the committee? This speaks ill of WUMB having any semblance of honoring its folk station roots as it sinks into the world of AAA.
2. The management (and too often mis-management) of the dual "on air" and "community" calendars.
This is certainly not the first time WUMB has sabotaged one of my concert listings. I remember last December WUMB changed "Pat Wictor and Jud Caswell" to "Jud Caswell and more".
Posting these stories of disrespect out to NorthEastFolknRoots and HouseConcert has resulted in personal and public messages of support, and disgust with Ms. Montheith's policy.
If anyone wishes to take any action, here are five options:
1. Call WUMB - (617) 287-6900. Determine when the next "ask the manager" will air. Share the date/time here. Call in.
2. Call Pat Monteith at the number above or send email to pat.monteith@umb.edu
3. Call or email Kathleen Teehan, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management 617-287-6020 kathleen.teehan@umb.edu
It's ironic that its mission statement still emphasizes serving the folk and roots community, I thought that had been scrubbed:
Serving radio listeners, particularly the folk and roots music audience, through WUMB-FM, the university's public radio station; and promoting WUMB-FM and its relationship to UMass Boston.
4. Contact/copy Chancellor J. Keith Motley, Ph.D.
Chancellor's Office Quinn Administration, 03, 0054A 100 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA 02125-3393 p. 617-287-6800
5. And since WUMB is operating outside the community interest, file a complaint with the FCC!
FCC.gov > CGB > Filing a Complaint > Form 2000
Please be sure to remember Jack's de-listing when the time comes to renew your WUMB membership.
If you are unfamiliar with "Fast Folk", courtesy of wiki
"In December of 1977, singer/songwriter Carolyne Mas started a songwriter's night at The Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village, New York, after a less formal group started by singer/songwriter/Greenwich Village legend Jack Hardy lost it's spot at a local tavern called The English Pub. The group, which included artists like Jack Hardy, Carolyne Mas, David Massengill, Tom Intondi, Cliff Eberhardt, Michael Fracasso, Jeff Gold, and Rod MacDonald, gave writers a chance to perform for their peers, work on songs in front of an audience, and receive feedback from fellow songwriters. This group, sans some members, and with some new members added, eventually became known as the Songwriter's Exchange, recording an album on Stash Records which was released in 1980. The album was made possible due to the efforts of Robin Hirsch, one of the owners of The Cornelia Street Cafe, who single-handedly had turned the increasingly popular cafe into a hotbed of artists, musicians, poets, and writers. The Greenwich Village music scene was also booming at the time, receiving lots of media attention from major newspapers like The New York Times, which also helped fuel the popularity of the New York singer/songwriter scene in general. The Songwriter's Exchange eventually evolved, and under the guidance of Jack Hardy, the group formed a cooperative and took over the booking of Greenwich Village's SpeakEasy in 1981. The Co-oP, which was launched in February of 1982 , was later renamed Fast Folk, and gained status as a non-profit organization...."
Joan Anderman, pop music critic for the Boston Globe, in a recent article tipped me off about hipsterrunoff.com. THE 1 BLOG ABOUT ALT-CULTURE (NOT) Hipster Runoff is a side-splitting blog that spoofs alt-attitude, alt-fashion, and alt-lifestyle. Among the site's spot-on sendups: alt-syntax and alt-spelling, the obsession with crafting, and nonstop commentary about Justice and Girl Talk. Go to www.hipsterrunoff.com and you may even get the answer to this pressing question: "Are stepdad jeans the future?" - JOAN ANDERMAN
When I checked it out I spied this photo....
...imagine my surprise, it's remarkably similar to this one held by two "partners in crime."
Is Sufjan Stevens the newest member of "Fast Folk"?
.jpg)
