Deep Community: Adventures in the Modern Folk Underground

by Scott Alarik

The mainstream music industry is in historic decline, but the small substream world of folk music is thriving as never before. Why? This book, written by renowned folk critic Scott Alarik, creates an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972027017
• ISBN13: 9780972027014
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Black Wolf Press
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An essential primer to the continuing folk revival

Library JournalAlarik, folk writer for the Boston Globe and music critic for National Public Radio's Here and Now program, has compiled nearly 125 of his brief articles to capture the spirit and substance of folk music at the turn of the 20th century. Initially published in Sing Out!, the Boston Globe, and Folk Music Magazine, these sketches portray a wide range of folkies, including the well known (e.g., Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, and Emmylou Harris), the seasoned veterans (e.g., Utah Phillips and Ronnie Gilbert), the up-and-comers (e.g., Bill Morrissey, Dar Williams, Greg Brown, and Chris Smither), the relatively obscure (e.g., Jerry O'Sullivan, Natalie MacMaster, and Aine Minogue), and important folk entrepreneurs (e.g., Chris Strachwitz and Ralph Jaccodine). Though focusing on singer-songwriters and the sounds of his home base of Boston, the author defines the folk genre to cover a broad expanse of musical styles, including Celtic music, bluegrass, country dance, acoustic blues, the women's music movement, and the Latin revival. He emphasizes such themes as the crippling effects of the fickle music business, the potential of the Internet for folk, the importance of tradition, the definition of folk music, gender in folk, and the sense of community engendered by folk artists. Fascinating, informative, well written, and enhanced by Corwin's photos, this book offers an essential primer to the continuing folk revival that first blossomed during the 1980s. Highly recommended to anyone remotely interested in American music, folk, and the music industry.-Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Sing Out!

Appeared in Sing Out! the Folk Music Magazine, June, 2003 by Rich WarrenScott Alarik is arguably the finest contemporary journalist covering the folk community. Alarik begins with a succinct, well-reasoned definition of folk in his introduction and moves on. (He considers the word 'folk' to include the contemporary aspect of the music, and prefers using 'traditional' or 'traditional folk music' when describing the older music.) For this book, Alarik has collected more than 300 columns primarily written for the Boston Globe (along with a few written for these pages) over more than a decade; from Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer in September 1991 to The Mammals in August 2002. As a performer himself, Scott brings considerable knowledge to the table, knowing what questions to ask and how to approach his subjects. You'll find conversations with Dar Williams, Pete Seeger, Gordon Bok, Hankus Netsky of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, a good number of Irish artists and even Patricia Monteith, station manager at WUMB. However, unlike some others writing about the community, Scott is objective without an axe to grind or a chip on his shoulder. He handles the descriptive prose and invites the artists to do the talking. While Scott removed dated references, the book does read like a collection of columns, often ending abruptly. As a newspaper writer myself, I know the brick wall of column length limitations. Many times I wished the short pieces were longer with a more graceful flow. One very distracting newspaper style element is putting one quote in each piece in large type, about 10-points larger than the body text. Obviously, the book is Boston oriented, but that should not lessen enjoyment for readers in Omaha or Sacramento. Sadly for researchers, the book is not indexed. The sub-title, Adventures in the Modern Folk Underground, captures the essence of this book. It is rich with nuggets of intelligence and insight. Scott gives us the stories behind the songs, the singers and the music. He covers a multitude of subjects, with many artists turning up in more than one chapter. Even if you never read a word, the scores of Robert Corwin's black and white photos are worth the price of admission. Corwin's lens brings to light whatever soul Alarik might miss with words. While some interest in the folk community is likely a prerequisite to an interest in this book, others would do well to understand that, in a broader sense, the folk community is a microcosm of the larger music community. There's a lot to learn here. If someone approached me wanting to know more about this music that I love so dearly, I would buy that friend a copy of Deep Community.

A Masterpiece and A MUST for Your Folk Library

CORRECTED REVEIW:DEEP COMMUNITY by Scott Alarik July 15, 2003 Reviewer: Susan E. Naiman-Pascar (see more about me) from Lynn, MA United States "Deep Community," authored by Scott Alarik, is an incredibly insightful, exquisitely written and well put-together book, a patchwork quilt woven of stories and reviews about the modern folk genre and the music that comes out of a music community segregated (Thank goodness!) from the mainstream of the pop music culture. It has always been so, and as most mainstream music trends have been born and died, folkmusic stays ever-bouyant and followed by its loyal fans. It has evolved to include ancient, traditional, topical, blues, and merging new styles of music such as "Afro-Celtic." "Deep Community" is a DEEP examination and look inside the hearts and minds of the artists, songwriters, singers and musicians who create this music and perform it. I have been a "folkie" since I attended my first Newport Folk Festival in the summer of 1963, entered art school in Boston that same September and Harvard Square became my "hangout." I became a member of Club 47 on Palmer Street just outside the Square and was a regular attendee every Friday and Saturday night until the club closed its doors in October of 1968. The club opened again a few years later, has changed hands several times and is presently a strong and ongoing folk establishment now known as Club Passim. Once again I am proud to be a member and recently attended a book release and music night the club hosted for Scott's book. Present were Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Robbie O'Connell, Catie Curtis, Aoife O'Donovan and Aine Minogue. To start off the evening, and between the two sets by all of the performers, Scott read exerpts about each one from his book. It has to be one of the best evenings of folkmusic I've ever attended. Like that evening, "Deep Community" is a collection of reviews I've been reading for many years from Scott's career as Boston Globe's folk critic. The artists run the genres from Pete Seeger, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Bill Morrissey, Joan Baez and Utah Phillips to newer and younger artists such as Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Dar Williams, John Gorka, Eddie from Ohio, Christine Lavin, Richard Shindell, Patty Larkin, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, just to name a few. Aside from Scott's individual, truthful, creative and unrepetitious reviews, the artists' thoughts and feelings about their reasons for being folk performers, their love of the music, and their dedication to preserving and keeping folkmusic alive are interspersed throughout the book. The book is written from Scott's own experience as a folk performer and his perspective as a gifted writer. I don't want to say too many specifics or make too many references because I want you to buy the book, read it for yourself, and see why it should be an important and integral part of your folk library. Along with Paul Stookey's and Geoff Bartley's reviews, and art

Scott Alarik is the best!

I have had the pleasure of hearing Scott Alarik in concert as well as in the role of promoting other folk musicians here in the Boston area. He is a unique combination of artist, writer, and true folk fan in the best sense of all those roles. This book is a perfect reader for anyone interested in exploring names known and not yet known to them. I recommend it to long-time folk fans as well as to anyone who is new to the music. In folk, and in Scott Alarik's "Deep Community," there is something for everyone.

Looking in the Boston Folk Window

In writing Deep Community, Scott Alarik has woven a picture of folk singers that goes beyond their songs. Yes, the music is what draws me to this folk world. Scott shows it is also a world where people smile at strangers and the "star" chats at break with the audience while she signs CDs. The music is what sets my heart a spinning. Scott has captured some of that spin on these pages. It was fun to read about my favorites like Brooks Williams and Maria Sangiolo. It surprised me how much fun it was to read about folks that I am not familar with, folks like irish harpist Aine Minogue or bag piper Jerry O'Sullivan. Reading about them makes me want to see them live. Deep Community is full of stories about folk musicians. If each story is a thread then Scott has made a wonderful folk tapestry. Woven through out are gems like "If I thought I was going to live as long as I have, I would have changed my oil." said Gordon Bok. When the second printing comes out I hope it has an index so I can find the articles so I can show my friends faster. This is ostensibly about the Boston Folk Scene. Really it is about the whole folk music world that lives in the basements of Unitarian churches all around the country. If you like folk music treat yourself to Deep Community. You'll be glad you did.