The following article appears in the Sept. - Nov. '97 issue of FolkNotes.

Finding Those "Common Threads"

For folk music fans in the area, the new radio show Common Threads on WAER (FM-88) every Sunday afternoon is a dream come true. But for none more so than the host, long-time Syracuse New Times music journalist (and FOF president) Larry Hoyt.

"For years, I, along with scores — hundreds? thousands? — of other Central New Yorkers longed to hear a variety of good quality folk music on the radio," he says. "A great many worthy performers, from Tom Paxton to Phil Ochs, from David Massengill to Dar Williams, were just not being played on any of the many radio stations in the Syracuse area.

"Gospel, blues and bluegrass music already had their specialty shows, but contemporary folk music, a major part of the music spectrum, was unavailable to the public on the publicly owned airwaves of Central New York."

It's largely due to the efforts of the Central New York Friends of Folk that Common Threads was added to the schedule of WAER (88.3), the primarily jazz and news formatted radio station licensed to Syracuse University. Prompted by the advocacy of FOF, the station's General Manager Joe Lee, Program Director Ron Ockert, and Music Director Eric Cohen have been, in turn, supportive and helpful in making Common Threads an on-air reality. (The show first aired on July 6 of this year, and continues every Sunday, from 3 to 5 p.m.)

Larry calls the opportunity to host the show "a great pleasure and privilege," adding that he approaches the show each week "with feelings of joy, excitment, and a sense of humbling responsibilty for what is aired."

Indeed, Larry has rather publicly suffered to find just the right definition of folk/acoustic music, and continues to seek programming input and advice from the Friends of Folk and other interested listeners. "My own concept of folk music is fairly broad," he says. "For me, folk music is music of, by, and for the people. This includes variations of acoustic blues, old-time country and mountain music, ethnic, regional, and urban acoustic music. But the main focus of 'Common Threads' falls on today's many talented acoustic singer/songwriters who are, in my opinion, part of the evolving folk music process. In today's jargon, singer/songwriters represent the major thrust of 'contemporary folk.'" Larry's offerings thus far have ranged from old standards, such as Dylan and Guthrie, to new names of the Shawn Colvin and Ani DiFranco variety.

On October 19 and 26, WAER will conduct its periodic fund drive, and it's "crucially important," Larry says, that the folk community chip in a little. "I hope all folk music fans in Central New York will show their support for Common Threads at that time by making a financial contribution to WAER. This would be a very real, necessary, and appropriate way to say thanks to WAER for bringing folk - this wonderfully varied music- back to the airwaves."

• See also: An update on Common Threads.

This page maintained by Dana Cooke. E-mail me at djcooke@aiusa.com.