[Huck]

The sort of provincial, left-wing audience they wanted to appeal to doesn't listen to banjo- and fiddle-playing trios.

You're wrong about this. There's a lot of very good banjo and fiddle type music that definitely attracts more of a lefty crowd than a right wing crowd. The combination of the folk music hey dey in the early 60s with the roots based origins of rock and roll make it a perfect fit. Bluegrass music attracts plenty of Subarus and Volvos. Someone else had the right idea. They need to make a record, or do a tour, sharing the bill with a couple of old lefty hacks. Neil Young would be perfect. Neil Young and the Chix would draw a totally left wing audience.

[Alkhin]

If I may, I'd like to recommend a group from hereabouts called "Back at the Ranch" - they like to sing a lot of the Old Timey country music, and that includes western swing and the old Gospel as well as coming up with some news ones of their own. They are true Texans, but they love music and are a lot of fun and entertainment. I first saw them at a function at the museum at Washington On The Brazos and they sang a song called "Old Mexico" that was beautifully heartwrenching. Its on their second album. I like to try and promote them as much as possible.

BACK AT THE RANCH

[Glenmerle]

You're right about some left-wing banjo- and fiddle-playing bands having an audience. But I think the lefty fiddle groups draw a tiny fraction of the crowds that hip hop, rap, and alternative rock groups draw (not to mention country groups), and I believe the Dixie Chicklets were going for those larger numbers.

I realize there are some Pete Seeger holdouts out there, but they are small potatoes compared to the huge audiences the Chicklets were drawing a few years ago. Despite what they're now saying, they were going for a larger audience, not a few thousand people at some left-wing bluegrass bash in upstate New York.