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The WorlDream FAQ

What was the WorlDream?
Where did the idea come from?
Are you nuts?
So, what's with the song?
So exactly what happened?
Did the conventions help?
Why were there contracts?
I'm seeing these T-shirts about. What were they for?
I've heard something about a quilt?
I thought this was a Millennium project? There's a recording from 2008?
Aren't CD's passé?


 

What was the WorlDream?
The WorlDream was an attempt to get as many filkers on the planet as possible singing on the same song at the same time to celebrate the beginning of the new Millennium. And hey, even if it wasn't your Millennium-that's ok, too!
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Where did the idea come from?
I had attended both Consonance and FilKONtario in 2000 (these filk cons are only a month apart). As it turned out, several of my German friends attended Consonance. Several of my British friends attended FKO. The end of each convention was particularly poignant and difficult- knowing that it was going to be more than a year before I saw these friends again. Filk is my community. My neighbors, my friends, my family. I've been introduced to new family all over the world because of filk, the music it creates, and the fellowship it brings.

So- I decided that since we're starting a new Millennium; I wanted to see all my friends and family. And there's only one way I know of doing that- by going to every filk convention- in order. Yep. Crazy.

So, we recorded at every filk con in 2001 (and one later). The WorlDream, in a way, continued past 2001 because the East coast has a three year cycle of conventions between the DC area, the New York area, and the Boston area, and there was a new con in the Seattle area, and also one in Germany!
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Are you nuts?
Well, yes.:)
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So, what's with the song?
Well, I figured that as long as I'm going to every convention, I might as well do something useful... :)

But actually, it's much more than that.

Everyone who considers themselves a filker contributes in some way to the community. It doesn't matter if you sing and perform, or sit and just listen- you belong. It doesn't matter whether or not you can carry a tune in a leaky swimming pool- or if you struggle to find that next note on the harp, or play the bagpipes. This is a thing for all of us. Something that we can hold in our hands when it's all done and look at it and just feel a small "wow" in our hearts...

And it doesn't hurt at all that I also want a CD that even the folks who will never produce a recording can say "Hey- I'm on that!" I get kinda geeked just thinking about it... :)
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So exactly what happened?
There was an optional rehearsal session at each convention for those who wanted the practice and an opportunity to learn the song. When we have all the recordings together, the idea is that we'll take the master recordings from all the filk cons and cut and paste them together so that filkers from all over the world are contributing on the same song at the same time.
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Did the conventions help?
You bet they did! You know, the CD would be pretty darned short with only the one song. So, I asked the filk conventions to decide what songs they would like to see on the CD. I asked them to focus on local composers and performers, and focus on music that either exemplefies their convention or universal community songs that were written locally. Of course, this means more recordings to gather...
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Why were there contracts?
This was a real recording, for a real album. Your voices and instrumental talents have value, and deserve acknowledgement. This also allows you to have a record of your participation, and the knowledge that you've actively helped to contribute to the various worldwide fan funds.
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I'm seeing these T-shirts about. What were they for?
Well, the simple answer is that I was planning on funding the travel and recording of this little 10 con jaunt from my own pocket. When I committed to this course of action, my pockets (in the form of the US tech stock market) were much, much deeper than they are now (thank you, Worldcom). Yes, yes, I know. Silly of me. Just refer back to item #3.

The t-shirt design is the WorlDream logo designed by Beckett Gladney, the silk screening and reproduction were done by Offworld Designs.

So, the t-shirt sales supported travel and convention costs through the year (remember, this was before Kickstarter...). They were only on sale during the rehearsal and recording sessions.
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I've heard something about a quilt?
Yep, and you can see it here.

Every year, GaFilk has a circle of quilters. In 2001, they bought a tshirt, cut out the logo, and used it as a centerpiece for a quilt.

The quilt was worked on at every North American convention, and in the end, it was HUGE. Each subsequent border around the central logo was larger by an order of magnitude; and 10 conventions makes for a pretty large piece of art.

I sold raffle tickets to the quilt at every WorlDream con- the proceeds helped defray travel and hotel costs.

In the end, a German filker won the raffle!
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I thought this was a Millennium project? There's a recording from 2008?

Originally, yes, this was a project for the New Millennium. However, as I hadn't been able to complete the project earlier, an opportunity arose to add a filk community that was otherwise unrepresented.

In 2001, I attended every single filk convention on the planet. I expanded the definition of "filk convention" to add Worldcon to the mix, in order to catch filkers who might not have had an opportunity to attend one of the other regional cons.

So, if a convention happened in a region that I already had a recording, I did not do a second recording session. But I did attend, in order, the first filk con to take place in every region starting from January 2001:

  • GaFilk: January, 2001 - US Southeast
  • ConThirteena: February, 2001 - UK
  • Consonance: March, 2001 - Northern California
  • FilKONtario: March/April, 2001 - Canada
  • Conterpoint: June, 2001 - US East Coast
  • ConChord: August, 2001 - Southern California
  • HarmUni: August, 2001 - UK
  • Millennium Philcon: August, 2001 - All Filkers
  • FilkCONtinental: September, 2001 - Germany
  • OVFF: October, 2001 - US Midwest
  • Contata: June, 2002 - US East Coast (no WD recording made)
  • Concertino: July, 2003 - US East Coast (no WD recording made)
  • Conflikt: January, 2008 - Pacific Northwest
  • DFDF: May, 2009 - Germany (no WD recording made)

Therefore, because the project was extended, the rule became, "Try to record every filker in 2001; and then record the first convention in every region that there doesn't already exist a recording for the first decade of the Millennium."
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Aren't CD's passé?

Yeah, they are.

When this site was written, the intent was to distribute the results of the project on CD- which cost more money than I had at the time. To solve this dilemma, we were going to use pre-sales to fund the Project. After costs were recovered, any additional funds collected through CD sales were to be split among Filk charitable organizations.

Well, it's 20 years later, and

  • the organizations are all healthy and funded
  • it will STILL cost a fair amount of cash to create CDs
  • I never worked out the actual mechanics of delivering money to organizations in 4 countries
  • which bears its own costs... and lastly...
  • we can now access music online for free.

Therefore, distribution of these recordings will be available for free download. Share away!

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