The Canadian moment captured above is courtesy of the Calgary Folk Music Festival, Julie Doiron, and a gaggle of camera-mooning geese. Overall, the weekend featured excellent bands amid intermittent showers (and some hail). As discussed with Mr. Alscher on Friday, I made sure to catch a set by the powerfully polyrhythmic Master Musicians of Jajouka – they were awesome! But, the weekend was not all fun and samosas for me, I was on a mission.
Since folk fests, one would assume, generally appeal to the socially-minded, enviro-activist music fan (at least that’s the impression I get from the t-shirt slogans, hemp jewelry, dreadlocks and batik patterns), I thought I’d do some recon work between sets to find out what the artists’ perspectives are on current social issues.
1. What is the biggest problem facing musicians in Canada today? Among the Canadian artists I talked to, Darcy Yates and Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers), Julie Doiron and the three gents from Torngat all agree that rising gas prices have made touring difficult.
As for the Americans, the main difficulties revolve around:
"Performance fees and work permits to play in Canada and vice-versa for Canadian musicians" (Martin Dash, drummer, keyboardist, and live sampler for Andrew Bird)
"Customs officials ask lots of questions. I felt like they were a little more rough on us than they needed to be" (Dom Flemons, Carolina Chocolate Drops)
"It should be free for artists to circulate between the U.S. and Canada" (Gurf Morlix, bluesman)
2. What was the most environmentally conscious decision you made this year?
In this area, I got a variety of answers:
"Deciding to become vegetarian." (Tony Dekker)
"I compost everything I can using the Bokashi method." (Mathieu Charboneau, Torngat)
"I don't use paper towels, plastic bags, or disposable coffee cups. I don't own a car. I am trying to do more research about what I can do better. It's important for people to be mindful and think about what they can do to reduce their impact. I also live as a vegan. When I started to research the environmental impact of being a meat-eater, I found out that it is huge." (Julie Doiron)
3. What was the most environmentally unconscionable decision you made this year?
Nobody likes to admit that they may need to make difficult decisions, but I appreciate everyone's honesty:
"We fly everywhere, but there's no way to get around that given the huge distances we need to cover between shows." (Julien Poissant, Torngat)
"Plastic water bottles. I feel horrible every time I have to use one. A lot of times I use them out of necessity or improper planning." (Tony Dekker)
"I drink cola. I got hooked at a young age." (Dom Flemons)
What do you think of the proposed changes to the copyright laws?
"Sharing music is OK. It's good for musicians to have their music heard. The downside is that people may feel entitled to not pay for music. That being said, I've noticed more and more vinyl being sold at concerts and I think that's great." (Martin Dash)
"How people consume music now affects me a lot. It's important to educate about people about how to appreciate music. Artists work on music for years at a time before releasing it, and I don't think the digital format acknowledges the amount of effort that goes into it. I prefer to buy a product with a big picture and liner notes. " (Julien Poissant)
5. What could festivals do to reduce their environmental impact?
"The Calgary festival organizers are doing a good job. When I asked for some juice, they gave me a reusable cup that I could use for the entire weekend." (Tony Dekker)
"This folk festival is handling things really well. The beer cups and utensils are bio-degradable. They reuse the plates. It's great." (Julie Doiron)
I think all of these questions are still up for debate. Feel free to add your opinion below!
