WOLF FOLK CLUB NEWSLETTER
June 2006	Back to TheWolf Folk Club
Progress so far
We seem to be making steady progress which is good. We have been averaging just over 75 people in the room for the last few meetings. If we get many more we'll have to rearrange the furniture a bit or elasticate the walls. We continue to see new faces bringing their talents to the club which is marvellous. Who would have thought that there was so many talented people in our area? We seem to be getting around the singing circle about twice in the evening. That's about as low as we can go. The singers and players get disappointed if they don't get much of a sing (or play), so we have to make a big effort to start as promptly as possible and keep the "beer-break" down to a minimum, it does tend to drift on and everybody enjoys the chance to chat. But, we have to take care not to stretch it out too long. Performers too, need to take care about the length of songs. Three to four minutes each number gives a fair share to everyone. Please save those songs over four minutes in length to perform at some other less pressured venue or occasion.
The Mummers Play
If you recall, we had a request to get a Mummers Play team together to perform at the Wisbech Folk Fayre in early September. The Mummers Play is a traditional thing which, years ago, used to take place in villages all over the country. Village lads would get together and do their play in pubs and big country houses to raise a few bob. They dress up in outrageously funny costumes. The lines they speak are all in rhyme. Last newsletter included a notice for anyone who felt they would like to take part. We needed a minimum of six but we also need a few extra in case anyone went off sick etc. The good news is we have a least six volunteers. Al Smith is working on the script and adding some good funny lines and when that is done we all start learning our words. We still need a couple of volunteers, so, if you are up for a bit of fun, let us have your name. I am sure that we will perform it here before we take it out into the big wide world so you will get a chance to see what it is all about. If you want more information before deciding, we have a book on the subject which tells you all about it. Ask Patsy for a loan of the "English Mummers Play" book. If you prefer to go to the Internet (the information highway) try having a look at this website - http://www2.prestel.co.uk/aspen/sussex/mumming.html It has lots of good information on it, or just do a Google search on "Mummers Plays".
Guest Performer Nights
Some people have suggested that it would be a great idea to book some guest performers. This is something we have planned from the beginning but it's not as straightforward as you might think. There are lots of terrific performers from this country and from other countries who are well worth seeing and hearing and who never come to East Anglia at all, never mind West Norfolk But there are two or three problems we have to get round. The first problem is that guests tend to be expensive and come with travel and accommodation expenses, so the costs all mount up. A hundred quid doesn't go very far - well, ask yourself how much you would want to do the same thing. But it's not "mission impossible", we can do it, if we want. This is why we have the raffle, to steadily build up a fund to pay for things like guest performers and poster promotions etc. We have about £350 in the kitty at the moment but it has taken us since October last year to build that up. It has averaged about £20 a meeting. We are raising more per meeting these days than we did last year because we are getting more people in. The cost of raffle prizes, tickets comes out of that sum and the "Everybody Sings" binders and stationery too. It would be difficult to have a guest performer on our normal singaround nights. We are only getting around the room twice per meeting as it is. Many of our regular singaround supporters come because they want to sing and enjoy singing along. For them, an opportunity to sing only one song per meeting would make it not worth coming. Our audience would be reduced. There is another problem and that is, that guests usually do not meet everyone's taste. This means that the audience is likely to be reduced because of that.
So how do we get round these problems?
Well, the singarounds take place alternate Thursdays and they remain sacrosanct. We leave them exactly as they are so the singers and players get to have their fortnightly sing. If we want to book a guest anytime, then we book them for a Thursday between our regular meetings. We would perhaps have something of a singaround on a guest night or maybe what they call "floor spots" where we invite three or four local singers or players each to come and do a small set, say, three numbers. But all of this is "pie-in-the-sky" at the moment. After 8 months we hardly have enough dough to book a good act especially if it involves more than one person. The guests themselves have commitments and though we may book them, we have to take what dates they have available - it won't be next week, that's for sure. It would be good if we could start having a monthly guest from October which which is when we will be one year old. We can plan as hard as we like but it comes down to one decider in the end. It all depends on your generosity in supporting the raffle. The result we get out in the future is equal to the investment we all put in now. If you have thoughts, ideas, suggestions, criticisms about this subject which you would like to get across, grab Roger or Patsy and bend their ear, or, write it down on a bit of paper and hand it to Patsy. Your suggestions as to who would be good guests is also required. Hey! Who are your favourites? Remember though, we are unlikely to be able to afford the Dubliners or Fairport Convention.
The "Everybody sings!" folders
The folders of words seem to be doing good service and an especial thanks to Dave Cooper who has led the singing. There must be favourite songs you have which you would like included in the book. If you have a song in mind, please let Roger know and we will get the words put into the folder.
Early learners group.
We are thinking about starting an "early learners" evening designed to help and support those just learning instruments or tunes to help them get some practice in playing with other musicians. The format for the evening is envisaged at present as:-
8.00 to 9.00 pm Fiddlers only (they have the hardest job and need special attention) 9.00 to 10.30 pm Slow Jam - all instruments -this may go on a bit later.
It is intended to start in September but venue and day of the week are not yet decided. We need to see how many are interested and to listen to their needs before making final decisions. If you are interested in this idea please let us know - talk to either Roger or Patsy
Tune Sessions
These days it is quite common for Folk Clubs, or sometimes just in pubs, to have substantial "Sessions" where the fiddlers, melodeon players and other instrumentalists etc just sit around and play tunes and it can be a lot of fun and pleasant enough to listen to. At the moment we don't really have a strong enough assembly of regular musicians to undertake anything like this but - we are working towards it. The instrumental sets which we do at the start of the evening will gradually build until we have enough tunes and enough skill. At that point, which will be at some time in the future, we can then establish an Instrumental Evening Session which will probably be on one of the remaining Thursdays of each month. We will then have "Singarounds" with a few instrumentals for variety and "Sessions" with a few songs. We will be strongly resisting any tendency to imitate the ninety m.p.h. session showoffs who play so fast they leave the tune, the music and the audience behind.
What do you know about Norfolk's own Folk Music?
Did you know that Norfolk is actually a very special part of our country as far as folk music goes. This very rural and agricultural part of England was one of the last remaining havens for really old, uncontaminated English folk music with its continuing tradition going way back into the mists of time. Norfolk people were still singing the old songs in the old way when they had completely died out in many other areas. Fortunately, folk music collectors came with their tape recording machines and cameras and were able to preserve many of these songs and their performers so that we can see or hear them these days.
Watch out for recordings of Harry Cox, Walter Pardon, or Sam Larner. "The Wild Rover" is a song made so famous by the Dubliners, that everyone thinks it is an Irish song. In fact it is a Norfolk song. The same is true of of another very lovely song the Dubliners took up, "The Black Velvet Band". The Irish seem to think more of Norfolk's songs than the folk in Norfolk do
. Do you know which musical instrument is particularly associated with Norfolk?
The answer is - The Hammered Dulcimer. Years ago, players of these instruments would carry them from pub to pub to entertain the folk and to make a bit of money. They sound a bit like a honky-tonk piano - so much so, that they are known as " The Ploughboy's Piano".
Did you know that the fishermen all around the coast of Norfolk used to show off their strength, agility and stamina with step dancing and that Norfolk still has its own tradition of this form of dancing. It's a bit like clog dancing, or tap dancing. They would do it in the pubs on a Saturday night when they had had a couple. They danced to the music of the melodeon or the fiddle.
If you are interested to see "Norfolk Step Dancing" or a traditional Norfolk Hammered Dulcimer player, there are a couple of videos available. DICK HEWITT Norfolk Stepdancer BILLY BENNINGTON Norfolk Dulcimer Player
Patsy looks after these so ask her if you can borrow them for a couple of weeks and bring them back at the next meeting. If they are out on loan you may have to join a list. More information on the folk music of Norfolk next time.
Wolf Folk Club gets technical
You will probably have noticed on the club poster that Wolferton has it's own web page which you can find at www.norfolkfolk.co.uk/Wolferton.htm At the moment it doesn't tell you much apart from where and on what dates the meetings are held. We are planning to make much more use of this page, so that for instance, you will be able to download and print off your own copy of the sheet music which we play for the instrumental sets. Or you will be able to listen to Norfolk dance tunes which will be stored on the webpage as MIDI files. It is very "up-to- the-minute" these days to do podcasts and we intend to set up a section on the webpage where people can download a podcast of material from an evening at the club. They can then listen to this at their leisure.Of course this means that we can reach a much wider audience and raise the awareness and status of the club. It is a bit like creating a virtual folk club. Of course someone has to o round at each meeting with the gear. There will be small recording machines and digital cameras used to capture sound and images for use in the podcast. But you don't have to be recorded if you don't want. Nobody is going to force this on anyone. We are conscious of issues relating to copyright and performance rights and other "Intellectual property" issues and also to the fact that some people just don't want this happening while they are singing or playing. No problem! It is entirely in your control. On the other hand, there are some who may find the idea interesting and worth exploring. If this includes you, then, before we record anything we need your written permission. Ask Patsy for a "consent form". The permission will only be for a limited period and will need to be renewed when that period expires. If you are even slightly interested, the best thing to do is to talk to Roger, Patsy or Nick Irving about it. It is an experiment and a learning experience in which we will take on board your ideas or concerns and try to answer all questions. If you want to see what some Scottish folkies are doing as podcasts then go to www.gardensessions.co.uk where you can download files to your computer and listen at your leisure. Alternatively you can go to www.radiobritfolkhome.co.uk/
Who's who?
Fraser Reich & Helen Waters
Helen Waters and Fraser Reich perform together with one guitar and two harmony voices. They have been singing together for about two years now, after Fraser heard Helen at a local community choir and knew immediately he wanted to sing with her. The combination of a female (contra) alto voice and a male tenor voice allows for a man and a woman to achieve unusually close and even inverted harmonies. They now write music together that they reckon is folk music, because it is written by folk like them, is acoustic and doesn’t seem to fit into any other category. Their influences are drawn from the 17th century through to the present, and they have built up a diverse repertoire of songs. They sing whenever they can at functions, folk clubs, birthday parties, and in any pub that can cope with spontaneous singing. Helen was born and raised in rural Essex and now lives in Downham Market. She teaches in a primary school and is a mother of Amy and Jack, a partner to Rich, a contralto, a coiled spring, and a physical exercise (netball) junkie. She only discovered that she could sing a few short years ago. Born and raised in Manchester, Fraser lived in the U.S. for ten years before returning to the UK five years ago. He earns a living as a scientist in Ely. He lives just outside Downham with Carole and son Galen, and has a very odd last name for an Englishman with a Scottish lineage going back a long way. He bought and renovated an old electric guitar when he was twelve, and since then music has been an integral part of life. He played in college bands and later, as a side benefit of some of his travel for work, has played in coffee bars and clubs all over the world, fired by the notion of live music made by ordinary people. He says that watching peoples’ faces light up when performing English folk songs in a mountain village in Korea taught him how universal the language of music really is. As well as singing as a duo, they have a three-piece ensemble called the ‘Black Earth Energy Ensemble’, singing acapella, three-part songs from all around the world, drawing on the black and nutritious depth of the Fen soil. The chair for the third voice is currently vacant, so the ensemble isn’t performing right now, but will when the right voice is found again.
Wisbech folk club now meets only twice a month, first Tuesday at the Angel Wisbech and fourth Tuesday at The Swan, Parson Drove.
Castle Acre Folk Club have changed their venue which was at The Ostrich. They have moved to The George & Dragon, Newton by Castle Acre. It's not far away, just up the road on the main drag from Swaffham to Fakenham.
Got something to say? If you'd like to contribute something to the next newsletter, and any items would be welcome please hand the copy with any pictures to Roger.

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