All for One and One for All

[laramie]

My Cross-posted comments from a discussion in another LJ

I've been in the middle of this issue in Mpls since the early 90s. I've never liked the way the Snotty Elitist Musicians tried to distance themselves from all things Filk, splitting Minneapolis into two separate camps of music that don't exist elsewhere in fandom.

I got stuck in the 'Filk' camp, partly* because I do like music about spaceships and aliens and I like putting alternate (related) lyrics to existing music - but that's never been the ONLY thing I like. I like a wide variety of music drawn from a wide variety of sources. (*And partly because I have not been as accomplished a performer as I am currently, and have never thought professionalism should count more than friendliness in this non-pro, community-based venue.)

I do think that there's something about filk (sf related) music that's special to fandom and should be respected for that if nothing else. It's the tradition of our tribe and ought to be preserved in face of the seductive influx of music from other cultures. So, for about six years I hosted a monthly filk circle and continue to attend them now that someone else is hosting.

And I was distressed when Minicon started scheduling Filk in rooms separate from the other music, and separate from the con suite areas where all the people, food and drink were to be found. And particularly distressed that none of the people doing the scheduling thought of consulting the filkers about what we wanted.

I'm torn on this issue. Because in my heart I'd love to see the musicians of this community take an 'All for One and One for All' stance - but I do see the practical difficulties of music parties that get too large for the available spaces, as well as taking too long to go 'round.

What I found at OVFF was a community that took the size problem in stride and planned for splitting into smaller circles when necessary. And planned on having a distribution of more accomplished and less accomplished performers in each circle, so that it didn't become a Cool vs Feeble Circle competitive atmosphere and things remained friendly all around.

I don't think filk should be separated out from general Music at minicon. I'd like to see one large or two smaller music areas side by side, open to whatever music all musicians concerned would enjoy playing and singing with each other.

At the Dessicated Dodo party last night I was talking with people running the next Minicon, and making the case for having the music right in the same area as the Con Suite. (It looks like the best bet is to take over the suite that Tor was using.) jiawen asked me if I want to be in charge of music for MiniCon 43, and I'm looking into what that would entail.

Comments

[davidwilford.livejournal.com]

FYI, I talked with Chas Somdahl (of Riverfolk) on Sunday and he told me he'd agreed to run music for Minicon 43. Rachel evidently doesn't know that either. You should talk with Keith and Matt about it to make sure though.

There has been a long-time conflict between the SEMP performance and open filking circle music camps at Minicon, but I'm pretty hesitant to say that elitist musicians shouldn't have an invitation-only scene if that's what they themselves want.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

I absolutely HATE having music in the consuite, or adjacent to it so that the music is clearly heard in the consuite. I don't always want to hear music, and I particularly don't want to hear music--as anything other than the faintest of backgrounds--when I'm trying to have conversations with people.

Please consider that many of us who regularly attend Minicon are reaching the age at which it is common to have problems hearing a converstaion when there is a lot of ambient noise--which is exactly what music is in such a situation.

[lavenderbard.livejournal.com]

Because of the private party thingy, I never actually met any of the infamous music snobs of Minicon. :shrug: I don't worry that I missed much. I'm quite certain I'd far rather hang out with you. :)

Good luck in trying to make the open filking more fun, and if there is anything I can do to help from over here in OVFF territory, please let me know.

Just for the record, Marcon, which would be a better equivalent to Minicon than OVFF, has a complete filk programming track that also arranges for circle splitting and seeds circles with skilled performers and so forth. They have one dedicated filk room during the day, in which they run concerts and filk related panels, and then they take over rooms from other programming tracks in the evening, when the other tracks shut down. Usually one room is an openfilk with a host, and the other room is usually a themed circle, also with a host, and there's a third overflow room available if anyone wants it. The circle hosts are treated like panelists. They have volunteered, and are scheduled for a certain block of time, and then either they get relieved by the next host, or if its late the circle goes hostless in the assumption that it will have built up its own momentum by then. They also get volunteer credit and access to the green room and so forth, as do the people doing concerts and filk panels and so forth during the day.

The filking is NOT by the consuite. But then none of the programming is by the consuite at Marcon, the consuite is heck and gone in the other direction, and I've never actually *been* there. I think what you want is a location that it is enough out of the way that those who don't want to listen don't feel like they can't get away, and yet close enough to the main thouroughfair that people can find it easily, and even, occasionally by accident. :) At Marcon that means the last room of a dead end hallway with seven other programming rooms in it. Anyone hitting any one of those rooms during the hours of regular programming would be aware of the occasional bit of music creeping out from the last room in that hallway, but it's enough out of the way that it doesn't inconvenience anyone.

Finding enough space is rarely an issue with filking because most filking happens after the other programming shuts down. Finding the right space *is*. You don't want to be next to the movie room or the ballroom or any guest rooms. The *most* important thing however, is that where ever you decide to be, you let the hotel know that it will be used for music programming and will be creating noise all night. Get them to agree, and get that agreement in writing and signed. Otherwise any one intolerant idiot who enjoys complaining can get you shut down just for the thrill that kind of attention gets him.

There is a story of the hotel trying to shut down the filking at OVFF. Hotels will obviously *try* anything ::rolling eyes:: It didn't work, of course. OVFF had a contract, and the contract said it was a music convention and that they had access to the programming space all night, and the police told the hotel "this is *your* problem", and walked out. But there are lots of other stories of filkers being promised space and the hotel weaselling out. Always get it in writing.

Mainstream versus filk

[lakeboy-55.livejournal.com]

At the risk of alienating friends and non-friends alike I'm going to jump in here. As a musician, even one as peripheral as I am, who is not a filker, sitting through some of the long and multitudinous verses of clever and not-so-clever filk songs can be very difficult. I do like filk music in general, although I don't play it or write it. However, I do like playing music in the circle. I don't think I would favor a combined filk and "mainstream" music party. I'm not advocating "separate but equal" either. I think that what filkers want out of a music circle may be different from what other musicians want out of a circle, in the same way that a musician who does nothing but covers of songs might not be appropriate in a circle of musicians whose interest is in sharing original material.

I know that I am treading on thin ice here, and I certainly don't mean to imply that filk is any less valid or creative than any other form of musical expression, it is certainly more creative than some. I'm just saying that, as someone who does not have a passion for filking, it would be less enjoyable to me to have to wait a turn to play in a large circle where people were playing music that might not interest me, or that might be very long and involved. I have been in some of the circles, both mixed and SEMP (if that is what I think it is) that were huge, where it took an hour for a turn to come around, where some people just didn't really "get" the dynamics of the circle, and it was very painful to sit through.

With all of that pussy-footing around, I guess what I would like is to see filk on an equal footing with non-filk circles, not cast in competition with each other and not forced to cohabitate either. In an ideal convention/party world, the mainstream music circle and the filk circles wouldn't be going at the same time, and both would be put in comfortable and accessible and open venues. That way people who wanted to participate in both could have the opportunity, and those who weren't interested in one or the other wouldn't have to endure something that they didn't enjoy.

I truly hope I haven't offended anyone here. So many of my friends are in one camp or the other, and some of them are in both camps. Sigh...it's so complicated.