Hi all,
I'm kind of late to the de-briefing, but I just wanted to say what a treat it was to see and hear and visit with all of you who were in attendance at Port Townsend this year. Classes were really fun for me. It's a tribute to the work that people have done over the years that it ends up being possible to teach some pretty dense songs in the course of one class period and having people playing all the way through them by the end of the period. It was exciting for me to see the enthusiasm for the Post-War Jesse Thomas tunes, Hayes McMullan, Blind Willie Johnson's non-slide material and other topics, including the music of Robert Pete Williams and Cecil Barfield. It's great when people are willing and able to reject a "one size fits all" approach to playing music, and are open to trying all kinds of different approaches. Of course, they won't all resonate equally well or feel natural in every instance, but when you hit upon one that really connects, man, it is exciting.
Apart from the teaching/learning aspect of the event, it is just so good to see friends that I otherwise see way too infrequently to suit me. It is truthfully the most important part of the event for me, and really sticks to my ribs. Taken in combination with the music, it's pretty hard to beat.
All best,
Johnm
I'm kind of late to the de-briefing, but I just wanted to say what a treat it was to see and hear and visit with all of you who were in attendance at Port Townsend this year. Classes were really fun for me. It's a tribute to the work that people have done over the years that it ends up being possible to teach some pretty dense songs in the course of one class period and having people playing all the way through them by the end of the period. It was exciting for me to see the enthusiasm for the Post-War Jesse Thomas tunes, Hayes McMullan, Blind Willie Johnson's non-slide material and other topics, including the music of Robert Pete Williams and Cecil Barfield. It's great when people are willing and able to reject a "one size fits all" approach to playing music, and are open to trying all kinds of different approaches. Of course, they won't all resonate equally well or feel natural in every instance, but when you hit upon one that really connects, man, it is exciting.
Apart from the teaching/learning aspect of the event, it is just so good to see friends that I otherwise see way too infrequently to suit me. It is truthfully the most important part of the event for me, and really sticks to my ribs. Taken in combination with the music, it's pretty hard to beat.
All best,
Johnm