FILKING 101:
The Folk Music of Science Fiction
3. What is a House FILK?
Asking whether machines can think is like asking whether submarines can swim.
-- Anonymous
A house filk is a gathering of filkers at someone's house. While the description is easy the history is a little more complicated.
We are sure that there may have been sings at people's houses in the past before the 1970's, the current tradition of a house filk started back in November, 1977 in Los Angeles with a group of people calling themselves the Los Angeles Filkers Anonymous.
Because there was no regular outlet for filk music the only way to enjoy filking was to get together with friends and create your own. These get-togethers started at Science Fiction conventions, as unofficial events late at night. Being unofficial, filkers were forced to find any place possible to sit down and start singing, much to the horror of the night staff of the hotel. This is where the stories of filking happening in hallways, elevators, and women's rest rooms started. (These stories are true)
Conventions continue to be a regular meeting point for filkers, many people feel they couldn't wait for the next convention, they wanted music more often. Paul J. Willett, Ev Turner, Gary Anderson and Ron Bounds started gathering people together at a convention held in November, 1977 , nicknamed Turkey con by the people who attend, and passed out flyers to the very first house filk the following month. The group really started to take off right after the 1981 Los Angeles Westercon.
Soon after that convention the group organized into the Los Angeles Filkers Anonymous, a.k.a. LAFA (and gave us the name). Paul Willett provided flyers with information on whose house was to be the site for next month's bash. He established the prototype filksing (one Saturday per month, except in months with filk conventions, to begin some time in the afternoon and ending in the wee hours of Sunday morning) and set the standard for several years; his house became the traditional location for the December/Christmas filk. Paul also put out a filk fanzine (Philk Fee-Nom-Ee-Non, or PFNEN) once a month regular as could be, and even got nominated for the best fanzine Hugo at the 1984 (LA Con II) WorldCon.
Keep in mind that in these early days there was no way to hear filk other than to go to a convention or to a house filk. These are the days before filk had been record or put on tape/CDs and there were darn few songbooks also. One of the major features of filksings back then was to write and/or transcribe a song and then make a few copies and to pass them out to other people attending. This collection of songs became know as the slush pile.Times and people have changed. Ron Bounds and Ev Turner dropped out of fandom. Gary Anderson passed way. And Paul Willett is raising his three children. Too many other people have also come and gone out of the group over the years to mention here.
However, LAFA still meet once a month and raise the roof with music and fun. When asked why met once a month? The answer you will get is that the people enjoy filking too much to limit it to conventions a few times a year and the Los Angeles area has too few conventions any way you look at it. This tradition of meeting at someone's house once a month will continue as long as there is an audience and performers wanting to get together and wonderful people willing to open their homes for them.
The tradition of house filks has also expanded to many locations, not just in the United States, but also to other countries. Current locations include:CANADA
ENGLAND
GERMANYUNITED STATES
ARIZONA
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
FLORIDA
GEORGIA
ILLINOIS
KANSAS/OKLAHOMA
MD/VA/DC AREA:
MASS/NH/RI
MINNESOTA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
OREGON
RHODE ISLAND
TEXAS
WASHINGTON
WISCONSINFor more information on where and when house filks happen please check the following
Filking.net: The Dandelion Report by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
http://www.electricpenguin.com/filking/or The Filk FAQ
http://www.kayshapero.net/filkfaq.htm
Versions of LAFA have sprung up across the country in many different areas. The best place to make contact is at local Science Fiction Conventions or to contact local Science Fiction clubs.
If there is not a house filk in your area you can always start one. LAFA has put together a helpful guide on how to hold a household filksing, and Rick and Deborah Weiss has published the Filker's bill of rights. Both of these documents are helpful in further understanding what a house holds filksing is all about. Editors note: I hope to put both the Households filksing guide and filker's bill of rights here on-line. (I can't find my copy - anyone have a copy?)
Go back to part 2:
What Goes on at a Filksing
Continue on to Appendix A: Glossary of Filk Words
