Re: [Harp-L] Spah Conventions

[Joe Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Apr 22, 2011, at 2:17 PM, Slim Heilpern wrote:

> I'm not disagreeing with this, but I do think there may be some ambiguity as to the definition of "younger people".

I couldn't have said it better. 
> 
> I attended my first spah convention at age 52 in 2006 and hope to live long enough and be healthy enough to attend another 25 or more of them.

I was 49 (in 1991) and this Aug will be my #16 (out of 20) spah. I get excited and look forward to it. It's the high point of my year. And this should be strange because I play anywhere from 1 to 3 times a week. I get more play time in in one night than I get at any fest. But I love to hear the OTHER players. (And you're one of them). :) 
> 
> I'm wondering, was there ever a large number of actual young people attending spah?

No, not even a small number. The youngest I saw at Detroit 1991 were: Dennis Gruenling (abt 18?), and Chris Michalek (abt 19?). 

> Or do folks tend to start showing up when they start to have more leisure time in their schedule, the kids leave home, or perhaps when they are finally able to afford it?

In my case, I was enough junior in seniority and it was impossible to get anything in Jul & Aug (or first week of Sept.) for vacation time. My kids were 22, 20, & 16. The 2 elder were in Carnegie Tech. Univ.. Towards the end of the month, we were eating the shelf paper out of the pantry. Money was a problem. Now I am solvent.   
> 
> When I was struggling to make a living as a musician (first career) and later struggling to get good at my current second career, just taking the time out to attend a convention for a week was unthinkable. Now that things have settled down I can afford to take the time to go.
> 
> Perhaps significant recruiting efforts should be aimed at the middle-aged? ;-)

This is what I do. I have been relatively active in S.W. Fla., and always trying to promote harmonica. So far no luck. The many people I have talked to on breaks that DO express an interest, also state: 'I could never play like that'. I tell them that they will never know unless they try. I have had numerous musicians (piano, sax, guitar, etc.) who have told me that they tried chromatic and gave up. Because they couldn't SEE where they were. 

jo-jo  
> 
> - Slim.
> 
> On Apr 22, 2011, at 9:10 AM, Richard Hunter wrote:
> 
>> 
>> The demographics are simple and non-negotiable. The audience at SPAH (as well as the performers) are getting older. People get older to a point, then they die. If younger people aren't actively recruited into the organization before that, the organization dies with them.
>> 
>