A birthday wish for one of filk's unsung heroes

[thatcrazycajun]

jslove has a birthday today. Without him and his tireless efforts the past couple of decades, both on convention staffs and within his own entrepreneurial business, filk music—as a genre and as a community—would likely not be what it is today. Certainly, we'd have had a whole lot fewer nifty recordings of filk music to enjoy...and a whole lot fewer hilarious stories to tell. Congratulations, thanks and many happy returns to him and his better half, persis, and their daughter Not-So-Wee-Anymore Talis.

What do you think is his most important contribution to the community and the genre? Or do you just have a good Spence story to share? Either way, put it here.

Comments

[terriwells.livejournal.com]

My favorite is still the one referenced by the "music" you quoted; I was there when Gary performed it, and Spence nearly killed him -- which was followed up by the "eulogy" for Gary in song performed by Steve Brinich. :-)

[gorgeousgary]

And of course my moment of fame (infamy?) would not have been half as funny if not for gimmeahand's "Don't Move That Mountain" from the first Concertino the year before.

[hms42]

Don't forget he is one of the early members of the Filk Hall of Fame.

He also was instrumental in providing sound gear (and a great help, that I REALLY appreciated) for Contata 2008.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Many Happies to Spencer! And, yeah, his diligent and high-quality recording set a new standard for us all to aspire to, not to mention his willingness to shlep hither and yon to record....

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday! Spencer, if you're reading this, your ongoing birthday present is still in progress, as you know.

TTTO BFA

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Our proper, cool Stage Manager* was drugged with something brown,
It was cold and sweet and fizzy and it tingled going down.
And when Kanefsky's latest song electrified the crowd,
He got so stimulated that he almost laughed out loud.

* Spencer Love, dedicated Sound Engineer, sound recordist extraordinaire, Chief Cook and Bottlewasher of Love Song Productions, commemorated in at least two filksongs ("Don't Move that Mountain" and "Spencer's Volunteers"), and father of Talis the Younger. Normally quiet while working.

(from Con from Argo)

Well, you never said it had to be a true story!

Re: TTTO BFA

[terriwells.livejournal.com]

I've never heard "Spencer's Volunteers"! I'll have to request it sometime when I'm at an appropriate filk con.

[sodyera.livejournal.com]

My fave Spencer memory is still the Lunacon in 1983 or thereabouts when a bunch of us piled into his Subaru station wagon after filking till dawn and going to breakfast together. I'm still friends with these folks to this day.

[cellio]

He shleps good equipment all over the place and volunteers a lot of time to record cons, and (speaking personally rather than communally) he provided some really good feedback to my group about both sound stuff and performance stuff.