Catching up with folks
By Bruce Mason, Gabriola Sounder
Monday, October 15 2007
Folkies can be forgiven for thinking they have died and gone to heaven, or make that Gabriola.
Last month’s Coffeehouse was packed, not only by folks who wanted to experience Joan Wallace and Barry Hall’s original performance: “Deep River: A Blues Journey,” but also to sing, play and enjoy two hours of live, open stage music.
“More!” they shouted and Plain Folk were more than happy to oblige. The trio - Penny Sidor, Judith Heather and Rich Williams - staged the first of a second monthly Coffeehouse at Agi Hall, October 13th at 7 pm.
“No feature - everyone’s the feature,” said Sidor. “It’s another opportunity - as well as our wonderful Coffeehouse - for local and nearby singers and players to gather for some music-making, in an informal community setting.
She is also bringing Fraser Union back to Gabriola of a concert on Saturday, October 27th.
“Have you noticed more interest in folk music in Vancouver?” the Sounder asked Roger Holdstock, a member of the group that was formed in 1983 by folks who had already been playing for quite some time.
“Yes, definitely,” he said. “After we played at the Vancouver Folk Festival this summer, people told us how good it was to hear real folk music again, unadorned, unvarnished, and not singer-songwriter folk rock passing as folk music.”
Once again in a world awash in consumerism, war and urgent social problems, it seems that more of us are turning to folk music, much as people did in the ‘60s.
“There is a renewed appetite for acoustic music with meaningful lyrics that go beyond individual angst,” Holdstock reported. Once again, folk music stands out as something vital and real.
“Fraser Union has also noticed that people really enjoy a capella,” he added. “We start sets with unaccompanied singing and immediately people begin to listen very closely; obviously they want to also hear the human voice, unadorned.
“People are hungry for musical simplicity with profound lyrical content, rather than pointless sound,” Holdstock continued.
Fraser Union played here on the island in the spring, but as a trio, when one of the quartet suddenly had to go to England after his father died. They are looking forward to returning with a full compliment of instruments, able to perform from a repertoire that includes material from three CDs.
And it’s quite a collection of instruments, including a rarely seen and heard octave mandolin (see the photo) Dobro, steel, six and 12-string guitars and banjo.
However it is the songs themselves that will be centre stage. Many come from the workplace, fishing, logging, mining, and are all are about us, with a decidedly Canadian bent, especially West Coast.
One of Fraser Union’s CDs - From There to Here - spans three centuries and geography from the Scottish Highlands to Vancouver Island, while touching on contemporary topics such as computer programming and globalization.
Sidor said: “I enjoy an evening with Fraser Union immensely - their humour, their friendship, their songs. The songs reflect the lives of everyday people - struggles, love, social justice, history. I’ve known them a long time now. They’re good people.”
One thing that is missing - young folks. Perhaps you know someone who might get as much out of a song about striking miners in nearby Cumberland as say, inner-city rap. Tickets are $12 at Artworks, $15 at the door, children 10 and under by donation. Call Penny for more information, 247-7344, and visit www.fraserunion.com.
To get you warmed up, the Coffeehouse is the previous night, Friday, October 26th, same time, same location. The feature act is the David Kosub Quartet.
We will have more on that next week. Gabriola needs all the folksingers it can find. Who knows we may have to sing “We Shall Overcome,” to Chairman Hahn and assorted officials, elected, and otherwise who aren’t listening to what we are saying about skyrocketing ferry fares that are a threat to life here and all the Gulf Islands.
And it may be time, once again, to dust off a few bars from the ‘60s. And once again, young folks would be most welcome, especially since they are going to be left with the mess.
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