Folk Alley - In Folkus (( March 2007 Archives ))

Ethnic Holidays that We All Could Enjoy

March 28, 2007

This month, Chris put together a sidestream of Irish Celtic music in honor of St. Patrick's Day (which, in the U.S., is celebrated by wearing lots of green and seeing how drunk you can get). I was thinking, are there other holidays, specific to an ethnic culture, that would make focus for a Folk Alley sidestream? The holiday should be something that involves or inspires special music (kind of like Christmas). And, not every holiday should be built around drinking (kind of like New Years).

Posted by Ann VerWiebe at 10:25 AM | Comments (67)

This is your room maestro...

March 19, 2007

Contemplating an upcoming period of unemployment (my job with the NHS is finished - any FA fans out there need a commercial/copywriter/journalist/subeditor (UK English!)/comedy writer or pornographer - please drop me a line). I have procured a four string tenor banjo with which I intend to busy my idle hands and amuse my neighbours.
I gather the damned thing uses fiddle tuning. Are there any alternatives? Are the strings supposed to be half an inch clear of the frets at the top of the neck (nearest the bridge)? If I mess with the action will the infernal machine explode like a grenade?
The last time I was this nervous of an object this weight and this noisy, I'd been handed my baby daughter for the first time (she was a couple of pounds lighter and wasn't full of fragments of rolling tobacco, but the panic is reminiscent).

Help!

Posted by Huw Pryce at 2:56 PM | Comments (31)

New Webcasting Royalty Rates Mean Trouble for Internet Radio

March 7, 2007

Last Friday, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) announced its decision for new Internet royalty rates to be paid by all webcasters.

Click here to read about the decision.

To put it mildly, it was not happy news to anyone presently operating an Internet music site. If these rates stand, it will mean certain end to many Internet stations. I�ve read that these new royalty rates put forth by the CRB �will cost most webcasters 100% of their total revenues� � which of course equals death. The new rates pose a real threat to Folk Alley�s survival too, but we�re not sure how immediate it will be and to what degree.

For anyone who loves Folk Alley and Internet radio as a whole, please visit this sites to read more about the new royalty rates, the consequences to Internet radio and what you can do.

This is certainly the time to contact your Congressional representatives in Washington and let them know how important your favorite Internet stations are to you.

Here�s a petition you can sign, too, if you�re so inclined.

Thanks! We�ll keep you informed as this issue unfolds.

Linda

Posted by Linda Fahey at 5:44 PM | Comments (45)

The Alleycast Podcast for March!

The March AlleyCast features Folk Alley's exclusive concert recording with Iris Dement from January of 2007. To celebrate the Irish spirit of March, we present a special Irish Celtic montage featuring music from Folk Alley's special Irish/Celtic music stream. We'll listen to a segment from Folk Alley's exclusive interview with Eric Bibb about his new album Diamond Days. We also listen to three Open Mic songs about whiskey from Circled By Hounds, Bob McCarthy, and Ron Trueman-Border. Plus, we feature a story on the very important and often forgotten sounds of Ireland's Sweeney's Men.