Folk music has always been about traditions. The idea of songs being shared from generation to generation, often accompanied by acoustic instruments gives the genre an appeal to people who try to celebrate the treasures of the past – and try to maintain a sense of connection to those times by eshewing the trappings of modern day. If you attend a folk festival you will probably notice an audience that embraces values that are more in tune with nature and simpler times. The idea of folk music has always been to create your own entertainment without relying on the enticements of modern counterparts.

Yet, the digital world that we all live in offers new and exciting possiblitites for the perpetuation AND the preservation of our folk traditions. Now, in the comfort of your own home, you can sit at a computer and share the treasures of music that is available for downloading, meandering through archives of important audio collections such as those from Alan Lomax, Robert Winslow Gordon, and others.

If you have not visited their site, I urge you to check out efolkMusic.com . The site is run by a non-profit group that is dedicated to sharing the music that is created by the community we love. Like this website, efolkmusic.com offers wonderful articles about the music scene, concert news, and much more.

The main reason you should visit is to discover the music that is available – either for purchasing a high quality MP3 download or a CD that will be mailed to your door. It is a wonderful opportunity to sample songs, at very reasonable prices, and to expand your musical horizons.

Like all organizations that are involved with folk music, money is tight. There is a good reason why “folk” rhymes with “broke”. I would hope that you would support an organization like efolkMusic.com and all the wonderful artists that they share.

Unlike other online music sites, efolkMusic.com offers some nice articles and information about the aritsts. Downloading is quick and easy – even for those of you still clunking the keys on an old PC. Visit their website at www.efolkmusic.com .

Below is an e-mail that I received from their CEO. They are good people and deserving of your support.

Here is the note:
From the efolkMusic CEO’s desk (ha! Me, a CEO? You must be kidding…):
April 15,2008
Carrboro, NC
www.efolkMusic.org

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Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child…

…and sometimes I feel like I’m standing out in the BLAZING SUN in a HOT DOG SUIT waving my arms, yelling “HEY- HELP SAVE FOLK MUSIC and I know how good the music is and how nobody’s buying music anymore , music is everywhere, can’t get away from it, what the heck are we going to do???…

Sure the kids are buying some downloads but what about this most non-commercial art form we call folk music, and all the outstanding independent artists out there on the “bluegrass highway”, what are we gonna do, how can we have a reasonable life making music???

All the dance companies and theater troupes have their sponsors and grants (I’m not saying they’ve got it easy, but they have it “together” in a lot of ways), while the folk singer remains alone, out there on the prairie, no “organization”, nothing that you would call business-like, cuz, hey, are you a player or a suit, come on!!!!

I’ve been volunteer of the year for eight years running, and I’ve got to tell you, it’s getting toasty in this hot dog suit. My arms are tired, I’m tired of being boss, how ’bout you be boss for a while (in the words of Randy Newman)?

All seriousness aside, it’s time for the discriminating music lover to step up. The picture is not pretty- I see No Depression magazine stop publishing, and Bluegrass Now, I see the next-to-the-last indie record store close here in Chapel Hill-it’s tough out here on the fringes of a dysfunctional music business (not that we were a part of it when it was functional), gas is $4 a gallon and my VW microbus blew up on the beltway around Nashville in 1979.

LUCKILY we’re probably in a reccession, or may even a DEPRESSION, so that’s good for liquor sales and live music, isn’t it? (Why didn’t I buy Halibuton in 2001???) It’s not much help when music sales are tanking like .

HAD ENOUGH ALREADY, GET TO THE PITCH: We tried raising the price for membership, that didn’t work, so how about a “recession special”, just plop down $4.95, you’ll be able to download up to ONE HUNDRED TRACKS a month from our nearly-2000 track member download library, get our groovy RSS feed “Song of the Week” (yours to KEEP, even if you bail after a month!!!!), 10% off all purchases, cancel at any time. Pah-leeze, one more time, check us out, help us out, or tell us to get the hell out (unsubscribe, link below).

SO IF YOU WANT TO HELP, Here’s the link, click away: That link again: http://www.efolkmusic.org/HowToHelp/join.aspx

Sincerely,
Chris Frank
CEO, CMO,CTO, GTO, KOKOMO, etc

PS re the “Hail Mary” reference, I cite Wikipedia, “A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary play in American football is a forward pass made in desperation, with only a small chance of success. The typical Hail Mary is a very long forward pass thrown near the end of a half or end of a game where there is no possibility for any play to work. This play is unlikely to be successful, because of the general inaccuracy of the pass and the defensive team’s preparedness for the play makes it likely that it can intercept or knock down the ball – the pass is thrown and a prayer is said, hoping a receiver catches it
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NEWSFLASH-
(April 14, 2008, from Carrboro, NC, USA 10 22 PM ET) 27,000 folk music fans get this newsletter- can a few of y’uns forward it to yur pals? We’ll get that viral thing happening, folk music will be the next big thing, get jiggy with us, come on, it’s like MySpace, but for fans of the real thing, no empty cowboy hats here!

ANOTHER NEWSFLASH-
(April 2, 2008, from Carrboro, NC, USA 10:29 PM ET ) efolkMusic is as GREEN as it gets, all MP3s are 100% CARBON FREE, zero-emission, and we’ve got a yard full of trees just in case!

That link again: http://www.efolkmusic.org/HowToHelp/join.aspx

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