I have received around 1,000 e-mails so far this year, and recently two turned up on the same day, asking the same question. It must be a sign, I thought. I feel a couple of paragraphs of ‘Folk on Line’ coming on. The question they both asked was whether I knew if Harvey Andrews was still around and whether he had a Web site. Well, I knew he was still around and it only took a moment or two with a search engine to find Harvey’s site, which is looking as good as ever.
I wrote about it back in issue 79, but a lot of work has been done since, and at the time of writing it is being given a full makeover as it moves to the much more easy to remember www.harveyandrews.com. The diary, though perhaps a tad contrived (no offence, Harvey), is great fun. Check out this list of floor singers at one of his Les Cousins gigs in 1965: “They were Al Stewart, Jackson C Frank, Peter Bellamy, Bert Jansch and an American called Paul Simon who I’d met before at the Jug in Brum.” Mmm, nice. I was at Les Cousins to see Al Stewart the night he introduced during the interval a shabby young man who came on stage and sang ‘Save the Life of my Child’, just before “Bookends” was released. To this day, I have resisted writing a diary entry about it, but that could change (still no offence intended, Harvey).
When it comes to publicising folk clubs, the Web is a real boon for preparing information about forthcoming guests. Artists on this circuit are not always that helpful when it comes to putting publicity together – which of course you need a few weeks ahead if you are going to get it into the local press. While preparing the Ram Club Web site’s guest list for the autumn, which I was doing well ahead of schedule for a change, I was able to find details on all the guests, even the one who hails from Canada!
I found Phil Beer’s site particularly interesting. Developed by fivetrees, the same firm that produces the Show of Hands site, it is far less “professional” looking, which is fine, as the band is more informal. Parts of the site are almost ramshackle, indeed the overuse of graphics in some parts make it downright messy, but the information on the different bands Phil has played in and with is interesting, and I am even beginning to find his diary required reading.
Canadian singer Eileen McGann’s site is I am afraid little more than a promotional device. So while I found it useful, I could not recommend it as required reading. John McCutcheon’s site, on the other hand, is well worth a visit. I first became aware of this superb American singer songwriter when I picked up an LP he co-recorded with Si Kahn in a festival bargain bin. That's where I picked up the LP, of course, not where they recorded it. It includes the wonderful ‘Where is my Home’, which our own Roy Bailey often performs quite beautifully and movingly at the end of his shows. The Web site not only provides you with details of the albums and how to buy them – it gives you the lyrics! No reason why you shouldn't learn them from the album or a concert, but at least there’s no need to splash out on sheet music or songbooks to pick up the tricky bits.
A superb resource for anyone who plays any fretted stringed instrument – whether guitar, banjo or mandolin – is Frets.Com. Developed by Frank Ford, a Californian fretted instrument builder and repairer, it is packed with advice on everything from stringing your instrument or buzz diagnosis to more specific stuff such as refretting a 1935 Martin 000-28. The illustrated glossary is excellent and there is handy FAQ section, as well as pictures and reviews of instruments. There are book reviews, articles on subjects such as the development of the 12-string guitar, and “fun stuff”. And why not.
By the time you are reading this, the Napster fiasco will probably be over. Napster is one of several companies developing so-called peer-to-peer technology, which lets people search and retrieve music files directly from one anothers’ personal computers. The technology has been hailed as a revolutionary development for the Internet, much as Web browsers were just a few years ago. It has also been vigorously attacked by the entertainment industry, which fears peer-to-peer networks could make piracy unstoppable.
Napster’s defence against a lawsuit brought by the Recording Industry Association of America rested mainly on the idea that downloading copyrighted songs for free isn't actually illegal. It claimed a “fair use” for its members that rests on the idea that people using Napster are doing so for personal use, not commercial benefit. The initial judge clearly didn’t agree, writing: “Given the vast scale of Napster use among anonymous individuals, the court finds that downloading and uploading MP3 music files with the assistance of Napster are not private uses. Moreover, the fact that Napster users get for free something they would ordinarily have to buy suggests that they reap economic advantages from Napster use.”
The injunction, which Napster said would force it to close its service completely, was only stayed pending an appeals court review of the judge’s decision. If that court found the judge's conclusion – which says the record industry will suffer “irreparable harm” as a result of millions of downloads of its copyrighted songs on Napster – convincing, it will probably have reinstated the injunction.
So by now, I suspect Napster will have closed down. But there will be others continuing to develop the peer-to-peer network system, so the concept of sharing recorded music will continue. In the meantime, I have an idea. Why not learn the words of songs you like. Perhaps learn how to play the music as well. Then sing and play them to your family and friends. They could learn them and play them to their friends. Not a penny need change hands.
And we could call it folk music.