Monday, October 24

Convention Report: OVFF @ 08:04 PM

I just got home from the Ohio Valley Filk Festival. I had so much fun, met so many lovely people, and heard so much great music that I’m not even sure how to explain. I’ll just stick to some highlights:

• I hosted a songwriting workshop for kids. Four brilliant young musicians showed up; rather than leading them through the writing process I soon found myself struggling to keep up as they covered page after page of chart paper with ideas ranging from the absurd to the profound. We went far longer than scheduled and would have kept going but we had to break for lunch. How does one calculate the circumference of the circle of life? If c=carnivore and d=digestion (or maybe decomposition?), then r=renewal. The Greek letter pi, you will note, looks a bit like an antelope. I swear I did not make any of this up, it all came from the kids.
• I competed in (and won!) a writing contest with the song Valent Shell, which should be posted within the next few weeks.
• I did a show on the big stage. The audience was wonderful and bought enough CD’s to raise over $900 for Kingsley Elementary School. Thanks everyone!
• Tom Smith (!!!!!!!!!) shared some valuable insights about writing, including how to manage a song-a-week project without ending up in the hospital. I don’t want to sound all stalky or anything, but talking shop with Tom was pretty awesome.