Message-Id: <01BDEE1C.598AB740.lnktheriot@csi.com>
From: Ken Theriot <lnktheriot@csi.com>
To: "'minstrel@pbm.com'" <minstrel@pbm.com>
Subject: minstrel: sundries...
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1998 15:50:15 -0400
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Sender: owner-minstrel@rt.com
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Eogan - I have lots of old Irish stuff, but I don't find the title Jack 
Haggerty.  Can you give me the first line?

Heinlein - I didn't say you couldn't get a good meal in Ireland (I have, 
but it was tough), just that traditional Irish fare is pretty appalling 
next to traditional Chinese fare.  I was also making a point about taste; I 
come from the land of strong flavors (most savories that leave my kitchen 
can fell a vampire at 20 paces) and in my own personal Hell they serve only 
boiled cabbage and turnips...

Mikal - WE BELONG TO THE SAME UNION!  I have been around long enough (as 
the lady checking membership at Estrella a couple of years ago said when 
she beheld my low member number, "Gosh, you're a dinosaur!  You must know 
Frederick of Holland!") that I know good old songs from the bad old days. 
 My last stint as a throne bard was won specifically because I knew "the 
old songs".  I have excised the really bad (most of it) filk, but you can 
always get a laugh with "We are Called the Chivalry", and there (alas) is 
always a political situation which calls for "Lie to the Council" (one of 
the good filks, as few people know the proper lyrics to "Retreat Along the 
Wabash").  If someone asks for really bad filk, I give a lame enough excuse 
("my dog ate my last copy of the lyrics....") to make it plain that I won't 
do the song without having to be snotty and say "I'm sorry, but that song 
just isn't up to my standards..."

Finally, on reciting - I'm on T's bandwagon that working without prompt is 
always the goal; however, I keep a songbook around in case someone asks for 
an old song I'm not actively performing anymore.  I try not to use it as a 
crutch for being too lazy to rehearse.  If you can get yourself down to 
just needing the first word of each stanza, can you write it on your hand 
so the audience can't see your notes?  Also, if it fits, consider adding a 
burden or refrain (if it won't ruin the flow of the piece) which acts as a 
break to buy you time to remember the next line (then you only need 
remember couplets instead of stanzas!).

T-shirt thought for the day:  If the world made sense, MEN would ride 
sidesaddle....


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