I'm not a crook. I'm an opportunist - Bernie, owner of the Nightshift Tavern, Bremerton spoken to Texan JohnD after Bernie tried to sell him a pint of Alaska Amber for $6
Hi all, I just wanted to let you know that I will be teaching at the EBA Winter Blues Week-end, to be held March 2-4 at the Artrix Art Center in Bromsgrove, near Birmingham, in England. I hope that some folks I missed seeing last summer will be able to attend. I've done a couple of these week-end events before and they are really fun--sort of a "total immersion" experience. Also on staff will be Sonny Black, Eddie Martin and Michael Roach. For more information, or to sign up, go to The Artrix's website at: www.artrix.co.uk . All best, Johnm
That's great you can make it to the Weekend, Andrew. I'll look forward to seeing you and other friends there and getting back into the scene a bit. All best, Johnm
Hi all, Just a bump for this event--I'm sure there is still space for anyone who is finding at the last minute that he/she is able to attend. Look at the first post on this thread for a description of the program and how to sign up. I hope to see you there! All best, Johnm
Hi all, I'm so happy that Michael Roach asked me to do this event and that I was able to attend. The trip was a pretty rapid turn-around, and I showed up bringing a cold with me, but it was great to see old friends, hear what they're up to musically, visit a bit, and meet some new people, too. As always, I was so impressed with the way people hung in there in the teaching sessions, because they are long and pretty intense. Perhaps my favorite teaching moment came when introducing Alec Seward's raised B string tuning that he used for playing in C: EADGCE. It was a treat seeing the expression on the faces of many of the players as they saw what is normally a pretty lackluster key for blues-playing, C, transformed into a ripping blues key with tons of untapped potential, simply by altering the pitch of one string one-half step. I fully expect to be making up some accompaniments to utilize that tuning and wouldn't at all be surprised to see some of my English friends using it as well the next time we see each other. All best, Johnm
Thanks for coming John it was great to see and hear you again.
you say "hung on in there" it is not that difficult ! We learnt some great songs, you broke down your guitar arrangment process from a cappella songs, we updated a bit on ear training (always helpful) and gave a great insight to chords and playing up the neck and helped me out a little bit more on Snooks Eaglin.. on top of the Alec Sewards tuning you mentioned..........all in the course of a weekend.
Of course, you neglect to mention the real highlight. Namely, choosing the wrong pub on Sunday lunchtime where the Landlord proudly told us that the sports pundit on the television didn't like him, because he'd once "smacked him round the head" for no obvious reason
As for the guitar stuff... I've been interested in Waterbound for some time, but not really got anywhere by going to some of the original country versions- and now I almost have it down, which is great.
There's just a chance I'll manage to get a vocal over it by Euroweenie weekend, but I can't guarantee it...