Folkstreams.net (documentary resource)

[Pedantic Wretch]

Thought I'd make a rare post on a music-related subject. I just stumbled across a website called Folkstreams, and don't recall it being mentioned here before. It's a relatively large archive of freely-viewable documentaries on American folk traditions, including several by Alan Lomax (I've just watched a good one on Appalachia). Here is a link to the list of the titles, which can be viewed in RealVideo or MPEG.

I'm sure there must be several people on this forum who might be interested.

[Gary Sisco]

Thanks for that!

[Lore]

Mark me down as another fan of the Folkstreams site. For a while there I was in the habit of watching one of their films every evening. There's a nice mix of material that I knew I would find interesting (Gravel Springs Fife and Drum, the story of Peg Leg Sam, etc.) with pleasant surprises, such as Stoney Knows How. Here's the synopsis:

http://www.folkstreams.net/film,150

Stoney Knows How is a visit with a master of the Oldest Art In The World - Tattooing. Disabled by rheumatoid arthritis since the age of four, and forced to use a wheelchair, his growth stunted, Stoney St. Clair (1912 - 1980) joined the circus at 15 as a sword-swallower. A year later, he learned to tattoo, and for the next 50 years, he continued to work as a tattooist traveling with circus and carnivals across the country. As we watch him at work, we see the determination which led Stoney to overcome his handicap to heal himself and others with the magic of symbols. The film ends with a visit by New School master tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy who pays Stoney the highest compliment by asking him for a souvenier tattoo. For more information on the life of Leonard L. "Stoney" St. Clair, see Alan Govenar, Stoney Knows How: Life as a Sideshow Tattoo Artist", Schiffer Publishing, 2003

Stoney Knows How is an extended interview with 'Stoney' St. Clair, an ebullient little man with the gift of gab of a circus tout and a fund of bizarre stories about tattooing and other matters. One of these is the tale of a Florida snake handler and tattoo artist who was squeezed to death by his own python. His widow made a fortune touring the South with the guilty snake. "After all," says Stoney, "how often do you get a chance to see a snake that's squeezed a man to death?" Not often, nor does one often have the opportunity to meet a man like Stoney. The film makers treat him with respect, fondness and appreciation, and he responds in kind.
--- Vincent Canby, The New York Times


Finally, PW or anyone else who is interested in the music of Appalachia should definitely check out the Digital Library of Appalachia, which has a ton of free music and information. They are at http://www.aca-dla.org/.

[Dr Dave]

Great site! Lots to see and hear. Thanks!

[Gentle Giant]

Nice! Particularly interested in this one, having heard some fascinating music from the Gullahs of that area some years ago:

Home Across the Water
Benjamin Shapiro. 1992. (Color, 27 minutes)
A film about the efforts of Sea Islanders in South Carolina and Georgia to preserve their cultural identity and cope with the development of the islands as exclusive resorts.

[rollhead]

PW... thanks!