THE FOLK WEASELES and MICHAEL WEISKOPF

MICHAEL WEISKOPF
Coming of age in the 60s was a lucky break. It was a turbulent time that was transformational not only to my world view but also in lifting the gates on the limitations and fears on which many of us were raised. For me, the music of the time was the doorway to my liberation. It began with access to R&B, the Motown explosion, and then the Folk world which was expressed in the voices of Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Lightening Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Jack Elliott, Phil Ochs, Tom Rush, Joan Baez. The marriage of Country to Blues to Folk and ultimately Rock and the “British Invasion” made those who tried to define popular music by segment seem out of touch. As these definitions began to blur, so did the barriers between people begin to break down. It was a time of turbulent change that tore down the laws that permitted segregation, dared us to challenge convention, and forced us to question a government that pursued a war which seemed wrong to many of us being told that we had to fight it. I was never content to just listen; I wanted to learn how to express myself with music as my language.
In addition to my solo work, I am the lead singer of The Complete Unknowns, a band that celebrates the catalog of Bob Dylan. Virtuoso guitarist Randolph Hudson III is a co-founder of the band, and we have been performing for the past five years. I have also been a member of The Lost Keys and The Psychedelic Summer. Both bands celebrate the music of the 60s.