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Victoria Hodgson
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Biographical Details

Born and grew up in Cheshire. My dad, uncles, aunts and various friends of the family are to blame for getting me into music. Studied music at GCSE, A-level. Now studying for a BMus Music degree at Bangor, focussing on composition. (I’d love to make a living out of composing, but the contingency plan is music teaching.) Classical pianist too (in a manner of speaking).

Being interested in folk music myself, and having visited Conwy Folk Club once before my project began and been warmly received, I thought it the perfect place to investigate a local music culture.

"Clwb Gwerin Conwy Folk Club" (the bi-lingual title consisting of both the English and welsh terms for ‘folk club’) meets every Monday evening at the Malt Loaf Public House in Conwy. The area where the music takes place is a separate room from the main bar, on a slightly lower level, with a lit, raised stage area and a P.A system including four microphones and stands.

The club runs on an ‘open-mic’ policy where the host (a different person each week according to a rota) collects names of performers at the beginning and sometimes throughout the night and gives them generally a two-song spot during the evening.

The music starts usually at around nine o’clock. The finish time depends on the number of performers on a given night, but generally the music is finished by the end of normal licensing hours. There are two halves to the evening, separated by an interval or ‘beer break’ as is it generally known. The second half begins with a raffle which is one of the club’s main funding sources. The other source is a bag pass during the second half. During the interval and before the evening begins there is sometimes an informal session too.

This format has been largely the same since the club’s establishment in 1996 when the founders eventually decided on it, although with some disagreements. However the eventual agreed format seems to be successful and as one regular, Tony Franks observed, the running on the night goes very smoothly and "there are more points of contact than points of friction." There are many regular performers and listeners at the club from the local area, and in addition there are often occasional visitors, tourists and during academic holidays, students too. My project focuses on what the club and the music means to the regular performers I have come to know.

It seems the club means different things to the different individuals involved, and often they attend for a combination of different reasons. The chance to perform at the club is important to some. Through performing at the club myself, I have discovered it is particularly conducive to relaxed performance as the audience are always supportive and encouraging with all performers. John Taylor, a regular at the club agrees: "Monday night at the Malt Loaf where the musically advanced and the beginner receive the same generous encouragement." Delora, another regular performer at the club, with ‘The Mountain Oyster Band’ tells me "I am totally hooked on performing… I’m addicted." Andrew Knight, another regular performer says "I guess that it is…important to me that the sort of stuff that I do seems to go down well, so it is pleasing to perform there." Ceri Ashton, who also performs with ‘The Mountain Oyster Band’ at the club, agrees: "I like the relaxed atmosphere to perform in." Ceri also told me she enjoys the session performing during the interval but is sometimes disappointed that this does not take place as the break can be very short, or there might not be enough performers involved.

Many people have told me they also enjoy listening to others at the club, and indeed there are a number of regulars who do not perform therefore these presumably fit into this category. Many people particularly enjoy certain repertoires, but most of the audience also seem to value the variety of music performed. Andrew told me he enjoys the evening because "the music is varied." Denis Bennett, the club secretary and regular performer and listener says "I enjoy the variety." Vince Mehlin, a club committee member and regular for six years informs me that at the club "any sort of music can be played and appreciated, from Rock to the Classics…but Folk is our main genre." I think this varied repertoire is thanks to the much praised welcoming and friendly atmosphere at the club. Perhaps it is because much of the audience consists of those who get up and perform, that they give such a warm reception to each performer. Even when asked to name some performers they particularly liked hearing, many people were keen to tell me they appreciated every performance because "I know what it takes to pluck up your courage and get up and perform" (Denis) or because "getting up there to perform can be most daunting, it really doesn’t matter if you cannot play or sing, the people who entertain us are greatly appreciated," (Vincent). Vincent also tells me he enjoys his chance to host the evenings and when he does he tells me "I love the banter with the audience."

This friendly atmosphere at the club shows that many people enjoy the evening as a social event, and indeed many of the regulars know each other well. Vincent’s intention when he first came to the club was to meet new people and he has now built friendships with many people at the club. I myself, even in the short time I have attended the club have been very warmly welcomed in my capacity as an ethnomusicologist but more so as another valued regular attendee at the club as both a listener and a performer.

Derek Taylor, another regular performer, reveals his main reason for attending the club, and I think an important attraction for many others since it is happening all the time there, is this: "I enjoy the sharing of the music and those extraordinary moments that happen when people share an activity together." Through the method of participant-observation, I have become involved in this sharing of music in many ways. I perform music and listen to others, thereby sharing the experience of performing, sharing the songs I play, and enjoying the music others share with me. Also on a more literal basis, others have shared lyrics and chords for songs with me. John, who was one of the first regulars I spoke to at the club, now regularly sends me emails with attachments of web pages containing lyrics and chords for songs he thinks I might enjoy. Derek Taylor has also been kind enough to lend me a book which has been relevant to some of our conversations about folk music, and performed a song that was contained therein on the 18^th of April at the club. Derek Smith, another regular performer, shares information about related music events. Similarly Bill Conde, again a regular at the club, has invited me to attend a similar folk club at Rhyl.

So much of the club’s success, and the root of all the reasons people enjoy it so much seems to be the atmosphere created each Monday evening where every person feels valued, comfortable and in good company.

I have already noted that the repertoire of the club as a whole is widely varied and any performance is appreciated by the audience. From my observations over the period of my research I have heard many different styles performed: traditional British Folk music; contemporary folk music and ‘Folk revival’ material; Blues; Classical music; acoustic versions of Rock and Popular music; and occasionally peoples own compositions. I wanted to find out the reason why individual performers choose the repertoire they do and how they interpret the music for their own performance. Of course I could not speak to each individual performer but I managed to gather information from several regular performers.

Of course the most obvious reason for performers’ choices of repertoire is their own personal taste. I think in this kind of informal and encouraging situation in particular, performers feel free to choose the repertoire they enjoy. This being the case, it was important to find out exactly what in particular the performers like about their repertoire and what it means to them to perform it.

Again people enjoy different aspects of the music. Delora told me she enjoys performing folk music with the Mountain Oyster Band because in this genre she feels "on very solid ground – these particular words and some of the particular melodies and instrumental parts have been around since the beginning of time." She also feels that the lyrics often portray universal, timeless themes: "Men and Women have been having these problems for all of our civilization." Delora also enjoys folk music because there is plenty of room for one’s own interpretation. Ceri, who often plays with Delora and the Mountain Oyster Band, is appreciative simply of the notes themselves: "I think the tunes are really pretty." The fact that she also enjoys playing original tunes in the same style shows that this is her main motivation for performing in this style. Ceri also points out that she particularly enjoys performing traditional Welsh music because grew up in Wales and also, it is less common in the club than, for example English and Irish music. Andrew tells me he enjoys playing traditional English Folk as "the tunes are wonderful and the stories intriguing."

Some performers have a very varied repertoire themselves, and in these cases they seem to choose pieces to perform on their individual merit. Tony Franks told me nothing is ruled out of his repertoire and that "the songs I choose are either humorous, fun to play or portray some emotional depth/truth that is difficult to express in other ways." Derek Taylor tells me he "was fascinated by the beauty and power inherent in the songs and tunes" which he heard growing up.

This leads me to another reason for some people’s choices of repertoire: influence of family, friends and other surroundings. In my opinion, this reason is probably more significant than is easy to see as our surroundings always influence us on many levels. Derek has told me about traditional folk music he heard whilst growing up in a family who were heavily involved in music. Ceri also mentioned to me that her elder sister was one individual who got her involved with the folk music scene. I think the influence of others has an important bearing on this music culture because of its nature as a social event.

Other reasons for choosing repertoire are more practical. One such reason is related to performers’ musical abilities. Some people say they choose songs to suit their voices or to match their ability. Through participant observation, as suggested by so many ethnomusicologists, I have found myself choosing a repertoire based on my abilities and sometimes I have purposely interpreted songs differently to simplify the chord changes or the vocal melody. Another important plus for folk music in particular, cited by Delora again, is that there are no worries about copyrights and royalties. Although this does not seem to be a problem in this context, it seems to influence the repertoire of this act that performs outside the club and have made recordings as well.

Interestingly two people (Tony and Mike, a committee member and sometimes host) have quoted Louis Armstrong to me, who said all music is folk music. This is reflected in the varied repertoire of the club, and the way it is treated. Many people interpret the songs in their own ways, which I think is a defining feature of folk music – there is no one standard or correct version of a piece, keeping the music alive and changing, even if some of the repertoire is age-old material.

The experience of working with the club has been very important to me in my role as an ethnomusicologist and as a musician. Through the process of participant-observation I have experienced the club from within and enjoyed all aspects. I intend to return to the club regularly in the future; Monday night at the Malt Loaf has become an important part of my musical and social diaries.

Through my research at the club, I have found that the answers to my questions often lead to more questions, and they cannot all be answered here. In the short time I have been conducting my project, I have found it difficult to find any patterns between repertoire and age or sex for example. Indeed the only similarity I have found in all areas seems to be difference; different repertoires; different meanings associated to music; different reasons behind performers’ choices. However I think this shows the very nature of the club: one club but many different individuals coming together to share much different music. There are of course certain people who work especially hard for the club: the committee and the hosts for example. However, in my opinion each individual helps to create the wonderful atmosphere we all experience there each week and therefore each performer, listener or occasional visitor should feel proud to be part of the making of the club’s success. Mike’s comment sums up this theory: "The performers would be nothing without an audience, and the audience would be nothing without the performers."