I like to think of the Wizrocklopedia as not just a news site, but a place that tells the story of wizard rock and its community. Most people know the story of how wizard rock started, with The Switchblade Kittens‘ song and then the DeGeorge brothers’ backyard concert. Of course, like most music, wizard rock has a predecessor that might be considered the original inspiration. I wanted to explore the idea of how wizard rock has been influenced by and, in turn, influenced, other music. This is the first in a three part series on wizard rock’s past, present, and future. Luckily, because they relate so closely, there are people in our own community to help us sort it all out and tell us their stories.

Before there was music about Harry Potter, there was filk. Filk can mean two things – either reworking lyrics to a previously existing song to make it somehow relate to fantasy, sci-fi, or something else deemed “geek” culture, or it can mean what Scott of The Blibbering Humdingers defines as “the music of fandom… It is not a musical genre. It is a community like wizard rock.” Scott has been filking “since age 8 or so. I didn’t realize other people did this until hearing Weird-Al in the early 80s. I didn’t realize there was a filk community until 1992 when I started playing in the SCA.”

Scott actually discovered wizard rock “whilst searching for HP filks to perform at our local HP club meeting.” He had been writing filk songs for years, so wizard rock was just new source material to draw from. And as it turns out, the filk community isn’t too different from our own. “Lots of people host house-filks, bardic circles and the like. This is extremely common in the SCA. It’s all about the local folks getting together, singing, laughing, drinking and having a good time.” And while we have our summer cons, filkers do, too. “Most of the best filk is heard at larger venues like cons, big SCA events, and filk conventions.” However, Scott did tell me that there aren’t as many touring filk bands, nor has he ever heard of one playing at a library.

Much like wizard rock, the filk community is “very accepting and encouraging. We are (for the most part) amateur musicians having a good time, re-living great stories together through music.” There are a few differences, though. The filk community tends to be older, “geekier”, and the music tends more toward folk. Wizard rock fans are more likely to be female. An interesting difference Scott points out is that “filk tends to center more around circles where people just all sit together and take turns performing. Because of this, you tend to hear a higher percentage of bad performances. Most wizard rock is centered around concerts. While the overall quality is better it’s harder for people who aren’t on the ‘a-list’ get heard.”

Don’t think that Scott doesn’t have love for the wrock community, though. “Doing wizard rock and becoming part of the community has just been phenomenal for us. We’ve made tons of new friends are really just having lots of fun. We’ve been challenged to become better performers and have been to lots of great shows. Kirsten [also of The Blibbering Humdingers] says her singing has improved by singing more rock than folk type songs, and it has carried through to our medieval and folk music performances. Kirsten says she’s also gained lots of new confidence as a performer through wizard rock.”

So, want to get to know the forerunners of wrock? You should check out Scott’s band, Efenwealt Wystle, or what he deems “‘old-school’ filkers” Mercedes Lackey, Leslie Fish, Joe Bethancourt, Brobdignagian Bards, Heather Alexander, and Michael Longcor. He also recommends Heather Dale, or Ken Theriot, or just “hang[ing] out in the filk room at a local gaming convention, or a bardic circle at an SCA event.”

Scott has found a way to incorporate these communities into his everyday life. He operates the store, Camelot Treasures, with his wife Kirsten. “Our store is all about fantasy fandom, and the music is certainly an important part of that. Many of my best friends are SCA bards, folk singers, and filkers. I love to promote their work and sing their songs.” There may not be a storefront at the moment, but you can find them online, at cons, faires, and festivals.

Next up: Nerdcore!