Welcome to Real Folk Music

Real   Folk Music is the umbrella organization for all my musical projects; songwriting, publishing,   performing, promoting, recording, and live sound engineering.    The Real Folk name is intended to serve as a statement about what it means to be ‘folk singer’.

Since the first folk boom of the 1950s and 60s, the term "folk music" has had an unduly narrow definition; encompassing practitioners of musics traditional to narrow, specific, ethnic and regional groupings; made exotic by geography, history, or social class (as if only oppressed people can make "folk" music). When the folk musician is not himself a member of an oppressed or exotic group, he or she takes on the trappings of working class dress and shows up onstage carrying an acoustic guitar, wearing demins, flannel, and ugly shoes, mumbling between songs disparaging remarks about at least one other current genre of popular music. All this works to turn "folk" music into a classical form, as strict in rules of sound and presentation as concert music or heavy metal: play particular instruments, maintain a particular attitude, wear a particular set of clothes.

We at Real Folk believe that in the last half of the twentieth century, voices from all the cultures of the world; Western "high" culture, American pop culture, and a thousand traditional cultures have been talking to, and more importantly, listening to each other. That conversation is the process of producing a new world folk culture that includes elements of everything that has become part of the environment we all live in. A real folk music will include all the sounds we hear now (on radio and CDs and movies and commercials) and all the musics that preceded these sounds; the chants of medieval troubadors, polyrhythms of West Africa, rock'n'roll, rap, Celtic, flamenco, bluegrass, ragas, heavy metal, blues, Balinese gamelan music, western concert music, CW, funk, and on and on and on. Real"folk" music for the next century will be inclusive of all these. And a real folk music will speak for and to the high-rise working, computer geeking, information-market-world-economy wage slaves and entrepeneurs, as well as to the granola-crunchers and hemp-wearers of the world.

Real Folk Music has produced two records so far, with work recently begun on third:

Loky's Here in Paradise brings elements of 60s psychedelic rock and old-time CW into a mix with multiple hand percussion to create a groove that evokes Afro-pop and reggae as interpreted by spaced-out hillbillies. The songwriting has strong roots in its native locale, urban Houston, and tells real-life stories with humor and intelligence.

Life is Good, by David Fahl, is Real Folk's second release. It includes songs that are molded in classic folk, blues, and country forms, as well as experiments that stake out new territory for folk music. Fahl's vocals and guitar playing are enhanced with contributions by players from Houston's blues, techno, and jazz scenes.

We’ll be putting out a new studio album by Fahl & Folk, entitled We Meant to Do That, currently scheduled for release in fall 2006.

Another project of RealFolkMusic is producing special shows. Our “Thanks, Bob” and “Thanks, Bob 2004” Bob Dylan tribute shows were exciting for all involved. As of spring 2006, we’re getting ready to put on two “Thanks, Bob 2006” shows, one at DanElectro’s in Houston and one at the Old Quarter Acoustic Café in Galveston. They will be happening May 19 and May 20. Each show will feature Houston and Galveston musicians from all genres doing their versions of Bob Dylan shows. More news when line ups are set.

Future releases will feature songwriters from Houston's pool of exceptionally talented unknowns and sounds from players who thrive on the cross-pollination of the musical cultures in this city; a happy byproduct of Houston's status as a crossroads for the world energy business.