Musical meetings of the San Francisco Folk Music Club are held every other Friday at 885 Clayton Street, between Carl & Parnassus Streets in San Francisco. Singing and jamming in three separate rooms start at 8:00 p.m. Snacks are provided through $1 food kitty donations or finger food contributions. Guests are always welcome, no one is expected to “perform” and there is no charge.
| Date | September 11 | September 25 | October 9 | October 23 | November 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Jennie Woodward | Susan Wilde | Joel Rutledge | Joel Rutledge | Melissa Sarenac |
| Bulletin Board | Faith | Yvette Tannenbaum | Debbie Klein | Jean O | Susan Wilde |
| Host/ess | Susan Wilde | Paula Joyce | Laura Goldbaum | Paula Joyce | Paula Joyce |
| Host/ess | Marisa Malvino | Pazit Zohar | Tes Welborn | Marisa Malvino | Melissa Sarenac |
| Singing Room | Estelle Freedman | Melissa Sarenac | Jennie Woodward | Melissa Sarenac | Marisa Malvino |
| Theme | Celebrations | Love ‘n stuff | Kate Wolf Songs | Ships/Water | Sky & Beyond |
| Cleanup | Melissa Sarenac | Al Goodwin | Jim Letchworth | Marlene McCall | Ken Hayes |
The SFFMC board meets on the second Tuesday of each month — potluck at 6:30 p.m., meeting at 8:00 p.m. All Club members are welcome to attend the potluck dinner and the Board meeting.
NEXT FOLKNIK FOLD-IN/FOLK SING: Sunday, October 25, at the home of Abe and Joan Feinberg
Evo Bluestein has been inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame, joining autoharp heroes Kilby Snow and the Carter Family. The award is presented annually at the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering and voted on by the living members of the Hall of Fame. Read the proclamation at http://www.evobluestein.com/news.html
Michel Kotski has digitized a recording of the 1977 New Year’s Eve concert in Arequipa. Included are the “California Hummingbirds”, composed of Faith, Tony, and Katie, singing The Pasadena Song, and Kate Wolf singing songs before she recorded them. Michel says “The audio is not great — all I had was a cheap recorder — but this is such a great vignette of the early club campouts, when we were only around 150 strong.” Includes Van Rozay, The Pratt Family, Ed Bronstein, Larry Hanks, Sandy Darlington, Eric Park, Liz Browder, Debby McClatchy, David Jones and others whose names Michel regretfully doesn’t remember. Write and he’ll email you the Pasadena Song in MP3 format. Or send him your snail mail address, and he’ll mail you the entire 100-minute recording on 2 CDs at his cost of $5. thirdeyephotocreations.com/
by Steve Gilford
On August 25, Rounder Records, in conjunction with The Woody Guthrie Archives, inaugurated the new Woody Guthrie Legacy Series with a 4-CD boxed set, My Dusty Road. The boxed set includes 54 songs on four CDs, including six previously unreleased tracks as well as Guthrie’s “hits” such as “This Land is Your Land,” “Going Down the Road (I Ain’t Gonna Be Treated This Way),” “Talking Sailor,” “Hard Travelin’”, “The Sinking of the Reuben James” and “Pretty Boy Floyd,” to name a few.
The Woody Guthrie Archives contributed previously unpublished photos, as well as artwork and illuminated lyric sheets by Guthrie himself, for the package and accompanying 68-page book. The entire package, with thematically-organized discs in separate sleeves, comes in a durable replica of a 1940s-style vintage suitcase, complete with handles and latches. Not just a CD boxed set but rather an essential piece of American history. Info: Jennifer Sacca 617-218-4503, Sarah Leach 617-218-4480, or visit www.rounder.com/publicity.
The e-mail address for the SFFMC has changed. Please delete sffolk@aol.com in all of your address books and replace it with the new address:
by Phyllis Jardine
An open mic was the program on Sunday, August 9. What a turnout! When we arrived at 7:30 p.m., there were two pages of signups — about 55 performers. The estimate was that it would last until about 12:30.
Some of the performers waxed nostalgic about the about-to-be closed Freight, leading off with “Freight Train,” and including a Freight & Salvage song. When we left about 11:30 p.m., the show was still going strong, and the count was up to about #23. Out with the old, in with the new.
Next is the Grand Opening Celebration August 27-31 at the greatly expanded facility at 2020 Addison Street. See www.thefreight.org for more information, plus photos of the new building.
On Labor Day, September 7, celebrate maritime labor history at SF Maritime National Historical Park with “Songs of Sea Labor”, featuring a double bill: Salty Walt and the Rattlin’ Ratlines at noon, and Holdstock and Macleod at 1:00, aboard the historic 1890-built ferryboat Eureka, berthed at Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco.
Chanteys, the work songs of sailors, set rhythm and lightened the burden of backbreaking shipboard tasks. The choruses to these songs are easy to sing, and the audience is invited to sing along. Adults $5, ages 15 and under are free. Free with National Park passes. Additional info at 415-561-7170 or www.nps.gov/safr/parknews/labordaycelebration.htm.
Four members of the terrific house band that was originally put together for July’s Hootenanny Night tribute to The Band will continue as an ongoing group performing The Band’s music. Bandleader/ lead guitarist Johnny Harper, SFFMC members Doug Jones (keyboard) and Mike Buczek (drums), and bassist John Tuttle, all sharing lead and harmony vocals, along with renowned keyboard wizard John R. Burr, will be performing under the name Walcott’s Medicine Show. At Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage on Saturday, October 3, the group will present a fortieth anniversary celebration of the Band’s classic second album, The Band, performing the entire album live in sequence, plus other Band classics. A night no Band fan should miss!
Details at www.freightandsalvage.org, or contact Johnny Harper directly at or by phone, 510-710-5969.