Bob Kanefsky interview cont'd

Julia Ecklar

It was hearing "I Like Little Firelizards" followed immediately by "I Hate Little Firelizards" on an early Bayfilk tape that made me realize that the filk community was a perfect place for a parodist. It was almost better hearing it on tape than seeing the live concert, because it gave the illusion that it happened just like in a filk circle, with Julia singing the original and Frank immediately springing the parody on Julia for the first time.

Apparently Julia used to make a show out of wanting to do violence to Frank for doing violence to her songs. For all I know, this could be how the whole tradition got started, of pretending that original songwriters hate it when their songs are parodied.

I'm glad "Acts of Parody" wound up being the first song on Roundworm, because the ending of it serves as a tribute to Frank. Although he also wrote original satirical songs (and still does, on occasion -- "When I Was a Boy" is a recent example), he used to be the main person that filkers associated with the word "parody", even though he'll be remembered longest in filkdom for his tendency to forget his own lyrics. He was my main early influence, although not my only one.

Julia was the main vocalist on Minus Ten and Counting , Horse-Tamer’s Daughter , and other albums that got me hooked on filk. She's also a good songwriter, and I've filked a number of her songs over the years. It worked out well that "Acts of Parody" could make reference to that fact, in the context of Roundworm . When I wrote it, I never expected to eventually have the honor of having Julia Ecklar perform on an album of my parodies.