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Port Townsend Post-soak/Decompression

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Slack:
Greetings All,

Just a quick note to start the topic in case anyone wants a place to post.

What a grand time!  I keep thinking the workshop cannot get any better - year after year!  Superb faculty (in increasing numbers), great classes, great afternoon and evening workshops and entertainment - the particpants concert was even a standout - (relatively speaking  ;) ). Great work Bruce, Although I'm sure there was a hitch or two - I did not hear of any - very smoothly run and great flexability shown in handling the Armstrong tributes.

The Weenie house was great this year - what a hang out! - the wit, bullshit, laughs, jokes, smart-ass comments, dumb-ass comments, food, coordination, alcohol consumption, cooperation, morning walks to town and just plain good company were.... simply superb.  Really great that Johnm, Ari, David Evans, Lightnen' (Mr. Party in-a-box!) and other faculty dropped in often and stayed late!

Thanks all for the *fantastic* time!

OK, back to staring at the wall and other attempts at work - this reality stuff is brutal today.

cheers,
slack

kid reno:
Hi Guys,
I want to thank all the weenies for making my return to Pt. Townsend great.  I too really enjoyed the faculty that hung out at the weenie house and felt that we had concerts every night.  Great food, drink, but mostly the company.  
I came home sleep deprived, overweight, and with very sore fingers.  I must haave had a great time.  A special thanks to my roomy Front Page for letting me share his space.
On the flip flop,

Heric
 

Johnm:
Hi all,
I'd just like to extend my thanks for all the hospitality the Weenies showed everyone who came by their primary domicile (whether on staff at P.T. or not).  For old-timers like me who know how bad the food service can be, it is a great improvement over the past to be able to have delicious dinners in good company, but for newcomers like David Evans, Paul and Judy Luis Watson, and others, I'm sure it made a special difference to be able to walk into such a welcoming situation.
Music and teaching were really fun for me at camp this year (though I didn't have a tremendous amount of energy for heading up to 204 in the evening).  Having Lightning, Ari , and John Dee back made things a lot of fun and just juiced up the general level of musical energy.  There really was too much for me to take in, but that's okay, such abundance means there is "something for everyone".  It is great to see how quickly people are picking up things in classes now.
Apart from the music and teaching, though, it was tremendous fun, as John D. said, good and bad quips, we may remember the best and some of the lame ones, too ("Lock and load!).  And the walks kept my energy up all week.  A great time.
All Best,
John      

Bill Roggensack:
Well - it was another great year at PTCBW. Kudos to Bruce Reid and his able right-hand gals, the ubiquitous JoanG and the lovely BonitaZ. Also, thanks to JohnM, PeterM and all the others who helped Bruce put the program together. I wish I could do it all over again in about a month so I could sit in on all the other classes that held interest for me - Stgeve and Del's classes on guitar duet playing, Ari's Blind Blake sessions, Lightnin's ramble through the obscure and divine, and maybe even some of the blues singing classes (God knows I could use the help, if for no other reason to crack the secret of learning lyrics!). I arrived home pretty tired, but that will pass. Unlike some of my more sensible 'aging' colleagues, I refused to succumb to the urge to be in bed before midnight. I have Jed to thank for sending Heric to room with me - I'll blame all my late night indiscretions on him and Lightinin'. It was a treat to have Kid Reno in attendance, and despite a bit of friendly bickering between us homies, I think we got on at least as well as the 'Odd Couple'. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

First - the classes. I pretty much stuck to Rich Del Grosso's mandolin classes in the morning and John Miller's late afternoon recap, and floated around in the after-lunch time slot. I caught David Evans on Tommy Johnson one day, and made jambalaya on another. Rich did a superb job with his choice of material, hand-outs, and excellent teaching technique. I was ready to absorb at exactly the level he hit, and four classes has given me a wealth of new mando material to build on. As usual, John Miller's classes were a treat - some very cool songs, and in particular, my personal thanks for covering athe Robert Belfour material. I've had a chance to listen to his new album, and I agree with your assessment that "What's Wrong With You" is a much stronger outing. I clearly have my work cut out to master all (or at least some) of the materilal I've collected on MD.

Then - the concerts. I thoroughly enjoyed the Ari/John concert on Tuesday evening, and I got the whole thing (minus the final tune) on MD with a recording that sounds pretty good. There was some truly beautiful playing that night, and Ari's dry humour was icing on the cake. I also enjoyed the Participant's Concert - there were actually some pretty decent  performances (especially 10 year old Jonah doing Skip James - watch out David Jacob-Strain!). A trip to the Public House on Friday night allowed DougT and me to catch two sets of the Yes Yes Boys - I particularly enjoyed the clarinet/sax work of Craig Flory.

Next - the 'events'. It was great to get together with everyone, and to once again have the opportunity to stay on Officer's Row - deep thanks to BruceR and JedP for making this happen. There were some truly great meals whipped up at Weenie Central, and I was really pleased to see so many faculty members taking advantage of this 'service'. Everyone pitched in with the prep and clean-up, so mmany hands made light work. Where else could you score 'all you can eat' BBQ salmon and halibut, gourmet hamburgers, jambalaya, grilled pork chops, corn bread, collard greens, and Greek salad all on the same menu. PeterM and JoanG - thanks for all the fresh produce, especially that mutant onion! David Evans, Ari and Andy Cohen became kitchen regulars - frequently entertaining us with their renderings at all hours of the day, including breakfast. Some of the story telling around that table brought tears to my eyes. JohnM - I've already gotten pretty good mileage out of your 'Hindenburg maneouver' story! Another highlight was Lauren and Ed's cocktail party - a real success with a professional bar tender and all. But the highlight for me was the entertainment - first, a Mexican band, then Lightnin' Wells with his ukelele repertoire. My next favoirite event was the Weenie chorus lending authenticity to Lightnin's verson of 'Cecelia' (not the Paul Simon tune). And I will finish up my list with Lightnin' and PeterM leading the pack into a couple hours of hillbilly and Louvin Brothers tunes - albeit at 2 in the morning!

Finally - the regrets. I wish I had slept more. I wish I had drunk and eaten less. And I wish I wasn't such a lousy liar!

In closing, I think that word of Howard Armstrong's death took a bit of the shine off the week since so many of the faculty and students knew and loved Howard. He will always stand as an example to me of how one can live life to the fullest. If there was ever a self-actualized man, it was William Howard Taft Armstrong. The CENTRUM memorial service on Friday afternoon was both fitting and touching. FYI, PBS is running 'Sweet Old Song' in encore on August 12, 2003 at 10 PM EST (check local listings). This film premiered on July 30, 2002 and is well worth watching. Here's a link to Howard's obit in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/02/obituaries/02ARMS.html

All for now,
FrontPage

frankie:
I had a good time at Clifftop this year, but missed you guys sorely.  Strangely enough, I did manage to get something of a Country Blues fix while I was there:  I ran into Nate Layne, who can sing eerily like Clarence Ashley and knows tons of Mississippi Sheiks and Papa Charlie Jackson songs.  I also met a guy named Todd Cambio, who happens to build amazing replicas of Stella 12 strings under the name Fraulini.  I talked PT up to him - maybe he'll make it out there...  

He had one 12 out there with him - a Francesca model (jumbo body).  Poor guy was walking it around the camp looking for somebody who was interested in that kind of thing.  All the old-time guys kept giving it the hairy eyeball - then he stumbled across me.  I can't play any Leadbelly or Blind Willie McTell to speak of, but it sure was fun to play (and, to my credit, I recognized exactly what it was as soon as I clapped eyes on it!).  He's a player too - with a nice touch and a really nice guy.

Anyway, I'm gonna see Ari over the weekend, so I'll try and get as many good stories out of him as I can!

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