THE FABULOUS GATEWAY SINGERS
Gateway Singers Ethos
A hallmark of The Gateway Singers was the manner in which they approached their craft and product. This meant a very serious attitude towards the music, no matter how much fun they appeared to be having (and sharing) on stage. Getting under the skin of the old and newer folk tunes necessitated research, experimentation and heightened perception to bring out the heart and soul of the material they were uncovering.
Part of their ethos was to bridge the gap between what was considered `folk' and that which was regarded as `popular' music. The one being on the charts and lips of the younger generations, the other often tired from time or dormant in archives.
And that's precisely what they did! In their own words, from the liner notes of “At the hungry I”:
“When we first started singing folk music professionally, we were appalled by the fact that the United States was the only country in the world where the "popular" and `folk' music were not the same.
Thanks to many fine artists and a growing public realization that folk music is as much a part of our natural heritage as our national parks and forests, this is no longer completely true.
In our attempt to make folk music more acceptable to the public, and to offset, as much as possible, the mistaken idea that folk songs are outdated bits of antiquity sung poorly, we use modern musical settings, the beat of present-day jazz, and what we consider to be a very modern method of presentation, without removing the intensity and feeling with which the songs were originally sung.”
Though dominated at the onset by Lou Gottlieb's strong and dynamic personality, the group was ostensibly a democratic unit with all members having a final say on those Gottlieb (and later other members') arrangements. Universal approval was invariably the norm.
In contrast with many acts which blend together musically, but not in fellowship, The Gateway Singers were a very happy organization, each individual prizing the opportunity to be part of the whole, and every one feeling lucky to belong to this scintillating company.
But the camaraderie was only one more element highlighting the individual importance of each singer to the success of the group. There was also an intense commitment to the music, what it stood for and how it was presented as an expression of their own philosophy, perception and attitude about its content.
Thus developed their rich and extensive repertoire- cutting across a variety of styles, lands, genres and ages (from melodies which went back centuries or stories with the newsprint still moist).
With The Gateway Singers, the operative phrase was Anything is possible!
You won't want to miss
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You might not have realized that Gateway Singer Travis Edmonson was also one half of the ground-breaking duo Bud & Travis, and that all their great albums were remastered to the highest standard, and are available for purchase on Travis' official site www.travisedmonson.com
Keep the Bud & Travis legacy alive. A must visit for all Gateway fans!
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 The Folk Memories Archive at
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Enrico Banducci's hungry i lives again!
Be sure and check out the website celebrating the great San Francisco club at www.hungryi.net
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Experience your own hungry i reunion with the wonderful DVD featuring commentary by Enrico Banducci and performances by The Kingston Trio, Limeliters, Mort Sahl, jonathan Winters, Stan Wilson + rare Lenny Bruce footage. Just click the icon to order direct from Amazon!
