|
An organization for the support, encouragement and promotion of songwriting and songwriters in the Pacific Northwest,
founded in Spokane Washington. The SS was founded in 2006 by Frank Delaney and Bill Kostelec in response to the well known lack of recognition and venue possibilities in the Spokane areas for those of us who write songs as a major
element of our musical lives. Simultaneous to the founding of the SS came, through the work of Frank Delaney, the inaugaration of the Spokane Songwriters Circle, a twice a month event held at the Empyrean Coffee House on Madison Street in Spokane, owned and operated by Alex Caruso in the former Luminaria Building in the shadow of the elevated railroad abutment that runs through the heart of the Downtown area. The Songwriters' Circle is the first activity sponsored by the SS and in conjunction with that we are creating a list of songwriters as a database for future events as well as a way of keeping in touch through newsletters and announcements. The initial response has been outstanding, and one notable part of that response is the broad cross section of age and experience. This blending of the older and the younger has the potential to engender a crossbreedingof musical styles and genres that could be of great creative benefit for all. The American folk and roots music traditions require younger musicians if they are to remain more than nostalgic and old time mementos. Those of us who are older than 40 all got hooked on these primal American musical traditions when we were 20 or so and we shouldn't be surprised when the younger musicians and songwriters express themselves with deep and obvious connections to American roots music. Every generation, however has the right and responsibility to respond to their roots in their own way and we are looking forward to hearing this happen. Bill Kostelec
|