The Family Folk Machine is immersed in a virtual choir project, and we’re pleased to have released our first video.
The video features the song “That Cause Can Neither Be Lost nor Stayed,” a text translated from the Danish and set to a Danish folk tune. FFMer Susan Stamnes created animation with images in a Danish folk-art style to illustrate the idea of the lyrics: spreading good ideas about environmental preservation in the same way that seeds scatter and grow.
The text talks about the power of a storm to spread seeds even when it is shattering great trees, a theme that felt a little too familiar to many of us after the recent derecho.
You can find the video on the FFM Facebook page or on our website, familyfolkmachine.org.
One of the things we’re missing most during pandemic time is socializing with our singing friends. We’ve been getting some social time by gathering on Zoom for “Open Mic” events. Our August Open Mic featured 13 performers. It cheers you up to hear your friends sharing a song through your computer or phone. When someone sings, you hear a little bit of what that song means to them in their voice, and you can feel a little bit of their spirit when they sing it to you.
Eight of the 13 songs at the August Open Mic were originals, many of them brand new. That proportion illustrates the strength of the songwriters’ group that has been fostered within the FFM. While a few of our songwriters have been writing for years, our intentional FFM songwriting journey began in 2017 with an Iowa Arts Council-funded collaborative songwriting project with Iowa City band the Awful Purdies. Some of our current songwriters began with that project and never looked back. We are now fortunate to have songwriter Gayla Drake as an associate director, and Gayla has provided teaching and mentoring to many of our songsmiths.
We’re recording one of Gayla’s songs for the virtual choir project, a much-loved song called “The Old Straight Track,” along with two brand-new original songs and a tune that a group of FFM kids wrote in 2018 under the leadership of Nicole Upchurch. The kids’ song is a catchy and whimsical number about Hickory Hill Park: “I never want to leave, even if my toes start to freeze.”
If this had been a normal fall, the Folk Machine would have recently begun rehearsals for our fall session. We’re grateful that we have a vital and engaging project to work on while in-person rehearsals are on hiatus. We are still accepting new singers into our project, so get in touch if you’d like to add a socially distanced musical experience to your life. We can’t wait to share more of our songs with the community.
If you’d like to learn more about the Family Folk Machine, please visit familyfolkmachine.org or send an e-mail to jean@familyfolkmachine.org.
Jean Littlejohn lives with her husband, Michael Sauder, and kids Claire and Ben in Iowa City. She is the Artistic and Executive Director of the Family Folk Machine.
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September 01, 2020 at 09:58PM
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Family Folk Machine releases its first video - Iowa City Press-Citizen
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