Wednesday 10 June 2009

It has been a long time since St George's day which was the last post to the diary. What has happened since then? Well it's a case of same old, same old I'm afraid but there are some observations which might be pertinent.

I know there are some regular readers who eagerly await the next entry but it gets harder and harder to write for two reasons. The main one of these is that more people read the diary so there is a much greater risk of upsetting somebody! Shelagh suggested writing a new one which was entirely fictitious but closely modelled reality, changing names to protect the guilty. It's tempting.

First observation then: the Irish Session still struggles to achieve critical mass for regular sessions, but there was a good turn out for a Sunday Session at the Unicorn at Bekesbourne. Not only were some of the old George crowd there, but a couple came all the way from Battle to join us. The pub is advertising Folk and a BBQ every Sunday. Whether this is genuine love of the genre or a way of attracting punters, I know not but it is a nice venue and we wish it every success.

Second: An old rant, but sessioneers play in sessions, singers go to folk club. In the words of the famous Alexander Orloff, Simples!

So why do singers turn up to sessions and take up valuable playing time? This is a genuine question, because they do.

Not that their output is unworthy of an audience, it is just a case of propriety.

Not that the individuals aren't nice people - they are. It's just a question of what that line is in the sand of folk that delineates one type of activity from another.

Maybe sessions are an entirely Irish concept and in England a session is a general folk gathering. Maybe it's to do with the concept of what the gathering is in the mind of the leader. Some like songs, some don't.

Then there is the idea of the clan. That is a small community of folk minded people who travel together as an entity. If there is a session, you get the singers, poets, jugglers, worriers and audience thrown in. But it's the same for a folk club, open mic etc. - the whole shebang work as a whole. Come one come all. Or a permanent BOGOF offer. This is probably essential in a small community to keep the music and song alive but not so essential in a richer environment.

Or perhaps it's a confidence thing. Maybe some singers are more confident singing in a session environment rather than in front of an audience.

Now most sessions can be enlivened by an occasional song and many musicians sing an occasional song in both the Irish and English session. But I hate it when the singers (who only sing) compete with musicians for spots so it becomes a competition. I just want to go and play music.

There is one other small problem as well. If you have a good session going with the right pace and drive, a song can kill that mood instantly and ruin the 'groove' for want of a better word. There are some who go as far as suggesting that some kinds of music do the same - like trying to get back into reels and jigs if someone plays a slow air or a waltz.

Life isn't easy being a sessioneer.