The best bit about writing a column like this is that I can justify spending an hour or six surfing the Web - rambling would be a more appropriate description of my activity - just hoping something interesting turns up. Obviously, when I find something useful, it makes it even more worthwhile.
More and more artists are now promoting themselves on the Web. Steve Ashley, who Geoff Hall has been writing about in this and the last issue of “Folk on Tap”, and Dave Webber and Anni Fentiman are recent arrivals. Both sites are reasonably well laid out and contain discographies and biographical information - and of course details of how you can buy their “product”. While Dave and Anni’s site has an interesting guest book - reading it is like taking a ride around the folk circuit - I was surprised that neither site yet includes a gig guide - a lot more useful and to my mind less “advertorial” than details of CDs. Another newcomer, but far more sophisticated, is the Old Blind Dogs site. Stunningly presented, it has sound files of snippets from their new album, which cunningly only those who are on their mailing list can access - how do they do that? As far as promotional sites go, Steve, Dave and Anni get cheese spread awards for at least being there, OBD get the cheese slice prize for technical proficiency, but this quarter’s big cheeses are - surprise, surprise - The McCalmans. Maybe it is because they are truly of “the old school”, but they choose also to include lyrics to some of their songs. Applause, please.
Moving on to the fanzine approach, there is an excellent site devoted to Dock Boggs - which I conveniently discovered within days of buying Boggs’ “His Folkways Years 1963-1968” double CD. Kaliph Hayes, who hails from Mishawaka, Indiana, has put together a site that provides a convenient setting-off place for information about the legendary singer and banjo-player. And taking the fanzine a step further - some might say way over the top - “Blue Lena” runs The Keith Shrine from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The site is dedicated to the work of Rolling Stone Keith Richards and I have no hesitation in recommending a visit as Keef is one hell of a guitarist and the site has quite a bit of information about his guitars and alternative tunings.
Speaking of which, a superb resource for anyone interested in guitar is Guitar Notes. There are hundreds of links here - searchable if you don’t have all day - to all kinds of sites to do with guitar playing. You can find information on anything from picks to pickups, on building, maintaining or selling guitars, and on guitar players and music in every category, from classical to indie, with jazz, folk and blues along the way. I have found the tablature and alternative tuning sections particularly useful.
Another excellent resource - this time for the collector of songs - is Lesley Nelson’s Folk Music Site. Lesley (aka the Contemplator) is in the process of changing career and studying for his teaching certificate in Chambersburg, also in Pennsylvania, and has an amazing site where not only does he get various philosophical musings off his chest, but - to get back on-topic - he has begun the work of getting the Child ballads on to the Web. Not to mention sections on the folk music of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and America, popular song in American history and the tunes of Turlough O’Carolan. Tastefully presented with appropriate black and white illustrations and in most cases with midi files playing in the background, this site is a treat. At the time of writing Lesley has lyrics to around 75 Child ballads on site, each with background notes, links to other versions and related sites. Not a bad piece of work.
There has been quite a bit of discussion in the uk.music.folk newsgroup lately about the difficulty of getting hold of the Child Ballads, but if Lesley carries on the way he is, they should drop in price. And before we get into a copyright argument, no one has yet outlawed second-hand bookshops, which do not as far as I know pay any money on to distant relatives of long-deceased authors. Just my two-pennyworth.
Another fine site I have stumbled upon in my rambles - OK, ramblings - is run on this side of the Atlantic by Rufus Sargent. Rufus’ site provides information, lyrics and a few midi sound files for around 25 English folk artists, together with details of about 600 of their album tracks. It is good to a see a site dedicated to such overlooked, Web-wise, talents as Peter Bellamy, Cyril Tawney and Annie Briggs - and there is even a section on Nic Jones. Much of the material is plundered - notes from CD sleeves and so on - but the lyrics here are mainly traditional, and I shouldn’t think Cyril Tawney minds the words to ‘Sally Free and Easy’ being made freely available, especially when Rufus also provides full details of how to get hold of the albums.
Before I ramble away, I quick technical recommendation. Microsoft’s latest version of its Internet Explorer browser - version five - is a big improvement on its predecessors. Download a page, click on File/Save As, and it creates a folder where it puts all the graphics for that page, so you can see and read it offline with fancy visuals intact. The Favorites (sic) and History windows are much easier to use as well. And there is an integrated Radio Bar to let you listen to radio stations around the world as you browse. Mind you, when I went to WindowsMedia.com, clicked on World Music (there is, surprisingly, no Folk category) and chose a US station promising a Celtic Flavor (sic) I was subjected to something sounding scarily like Sinead O’Connor singing Abba’s ‘Chiquitita’. You can’t win them all.