San Diego Folk Song Society

We've been getting together to sing and play since SDFSS was first founded by Sam Hinton in the 1950s. We meet on the second Sunday of each month at Old Time Music in North Park, at 2:00 PM, unless otherwise stated on the Meetings page. We welcome all instruments and people at all levels of musicianship, from beginners up, so, please, don't be shy. We invite you to come, bring your songs, your instruments, and, your friends, to join us anytime.

“All music is folk music; I ain’t never heard no horse sing a song.”
– Louis Armstrong

ALLEN SINGER
SDFSS COORDINATOR

I play and sing folk, blues, country, traditional music, old time tunes, and bluegrass with a little jazz guitar on the side. I grew up listening to the music of The Carter Family, Jimmy Rodgers, The Almanac Singers, The Weavers, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Cisco Houston, Leadbelly, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Dave Von Ronk, The New Lost City Ramblers, The Greenbriar Boys, and Bob Dylan. At night I listened to WWVA, a country music station from Wheeling, West Virginia, where I got a chance to hear Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubbs, Hank Snow, Ralph Stanley, Johnny Cash and Mother Maybelle Carter.

I played my first guitar chords during the 1960s folk revival in New York City. Dave Von Ronk renamed it the "great folk scare." I flat and finger pick acoustic guitar and play harmonica and have been performing and playing guitar for over 42 years.

Keep on picking and singing!

--Allen Singer

Coordinator: Allen Singer allens@allensinger.com

ALLEN'S CD IS AVAILABLE NOW!

Our very own Allen Singer has found time to make a CD which has a lots of the songs he's performed for us over the years at our song circles. His choices range from songs by Woody Guthrie, Jimmy Rodgers and Harlen Howard to the Delmore Brothers and Bob Dylan.

Allen accompanies himself on his beloved Collings guitar and a harmonica. He is ably assisted by Rob Edwards on slide guitar, piano, acoustic bass and strings. Rob, who was our wonderful guest leader at the June meeting, also recorded and engineered Allen's CD at his studio.

Go to www.cdbaby.com/cd/allensinger and give a listen. It is available for $14.00. Or, if you don't shop via computer, catch Allen at the next meeting and he may have some available then.

The CD is now also available at E folk Music: http://www.efolkmusic.org/

Be sure to visit Allen's web site: http://www.allensinger.com/

Old Rolling Stock at the 2008 Poway Train Song Festival
Chris Clarke, Dane Terry and Allen Singer

WITNESS TO THE GREAT FOLK SCARE
THE ALLEN SINGER STORY

The SDFSS Coordinator is the subject of a feature article in the November 2006 issue of the San Diego Troubadour. Greenwich Village in 1962 and Allen was there! Don't miss it!

Larry & Tanya Rose
Newsletter Editors

TROUBADOUR ARTICLE
ABOUT YOUR EDITORS IN JULY 2006 ISSUE!

If you go to www.sandiegotroubadour.com and access "The Front Porch" section of the July 2006 issue, you will find a very nice article about Larry and me written by our very own Allen Singer. Allen's article tells a lot about what you might want to know about us.

As you well know, Allen is an articulate writer and this is an accurate recounting of our musical journey and life together. Mentioned in this article is our debt to Sam Hinton, the man who really put us on the path of singing traditional music when we were both youngsters. We were so pleased that he came to the February 2006 meeting. His presence makes each song circle complete and we hope to have him attend many, many more.

~ Tanya

He who sings, prays twice.
--St. Thomas Aquinas