FolkScene

FolkScene is a weekly radio program featuring recorded music, artist interviews, and in-studio live performances. It was founded in 1970 by Roz and Howard Larman, at KPFK-FM, the Pacifica Foundation public radio station located in Los Angeles, CA. With a focus on acoustic music, its broadcasts reach across the country, and through streaming, the world. Considered by many to be one of the most influential folk radio shows in the U.S., FolkScene has hosted legends of the folk and acoustic music world, as well as helped launch the careers of many notable musicians.

History

In the late 1950s and 1960s, Howard and Roz Larman were avid music aficionados and collectors, with a focus on a broadly defined category of “folk” music. They amassed a comprehensive knowledge of acoustic/folk music recordings, musicians, and history. Howard, who had attended the Don Martin School of Broadcasting in Hollywood, worked part time at KPFK in the 1960s. A colleague, noting his passion and knowledge, recommended that he pitch a show to management. As the Larmans were members of the local folk music preservation organization Songmakers, they initially suggested broadcasting the Songmakers’ popular Hoot Nights, which were live music performances by a number of artists doing 2–3 songs each. The station agreed, but by the time they got the go-ahead, the Larmans had ended their membership in Songmakers. They instead pitched a show of their own devising—a combination of recorded music, live performance, and interviews. When KPFK agreed, FolkScene was born.

In 1970, when an opportunity arose to visit folk music icon Guy Carawan, the Larmans drove to his Montecito home and conducted an interview with their own equipment. This became the first interview of the first official FolkScene broadcast, on February 3, 1970. They continued to seek interviews, and would often tape the shows in the living room of their home in the San Fernando Valley for later broadcast. Both acted as producer, talent booker, and engineer. On the air, Howard conducted interviews and Roz introduced recorded music.

In 1973, Peter Cutler became the “board op” for FolkScene, who handled the mechanics of playing recordings and controlling the microphones. A short time later, he was promoted to the position of mixer, working with the performers and mixing their sound for the broadcast. Cutler became an integral part of the production team, working with the Larmans for decades.

The Larmans’ knowledge and amiability, and their ability to find and promote under-exposed talent, made FolkScene a popular show in Los Angeles. Appearing on the show became a badge of honor for local and touring folk musicians. It became well-known in folk circles across the country, inviting comparisons to country music’s Grand Ole Opry. Howard’s “calm, courteous inquisitiveness and warm sense of humor put both his guests and his audience at ease,” drawing larger and larger audiences. Through informal syndication agreements the show was heard over different regional stations within the US, and in New Zealand.

FolkScene was a volunteer project for Roz and Howard Larman, who also relied on their own funds to produce the show. “We buy our own tape, pay for our phone calls, use our own equipment,” Howard told the Los Angeles Times in 1990. They maintained creative control of all aspects of the show, and were especially protective of the interview portion. Howard conducted all interviews until his death in 2007, when Roz took over. She conducted all interviews until her death in 2016. Since then, their son Allen has conducted the vast majority of the FolkScene interviews, with occasional guest interviewers such as Debra Hand-Cutler and Kat Griffin.

The mid-1990s saw the Larmans retiring from their day jobs to focus more attention on FolkScene. With their son, Allen, and long-time producer Peter Cutler, they expanded their output by publishing a magazine, and mounting music shows and festivals. They also produced three compilation CDs of music by performers who had appeared on FolkScene. They were fixtures at local clubs and festivals, building the folk community and seeking new talent.

In October 2000, a dispute between the Larmans and KPFK management came to a head. Station administration said the point of contention was about material recorded in their studios, using their equipment, and its implications in commercial endeavors. The Larmans, claiming the issue was ownership rights to FolkScene content, left KPFK. For the next 17 months, FolkScene was not broadcast in the Los Angeles area. When they lost access to KPFK’s studios, LA folk music luminary Wendy Waldman offered use of her home studio, allowing the show to continue in syndication in some US markets, including the influential KPIG in central California, as well as in New Zealand. FolkScene recorded all live performances at Waldman’s studio until shortly before the pandemic in 2020.

Being off the air could have been a death knell for a local public radio show. FolkScene, however, had a large and loyal following in the greater Los Angeles area. Roz Larman recalled, “Someone said to us that ‘after you’ve been gone a year, people forget about you,’ (but) they didn’t. People were always asking us when we were coming back.” In 2002, control of KPFK changed hands, and then-interim manager Steven Starr welcomed FolkScene back, saying that the Larmans “are legends in this field,” and calling them the “premier proponents” of folk music.

In June 2006, Roz and Howard Larman were in a car accident. Howard Larman passed away on April 21, 2007, at the age of 73. The night after his death, Roz took the helm of FolkScene, conducting the interviews and announcing the music. She continued to host the show until she had a heart attack and stroke, leading to her death on October 10, 2016. With Peter Cutler remaining as the main technical producer, their son, Allen Larman, who had been an engineer and producer of FolkScene for years, took over the show, conducting most of the interviews, and hosting with his wife, Kat Griffin.

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