Topic: A Great Time For All of You

[Bluesymel]

Here's wishing you all a smashing time. I look forward to reading all the posts when you return. I hope that I can make it next year.

Mel

[Slack]

Thanks All for your kind wishes.  Keep an eye out for us on the old home front here on the site and try to plan a Port Townsend excursion next year... or for that matter plan an EBA Blues Week.  Never underestimate Weenie Power!

See you in a week,
Slack

[Bluesymel]

Thanks All for your kind wishes.  Keep an eye out for us on the old home front here on the site and try to plan a Port Townsend excursion next year... or for that matter plan an EBA Blues Week.  Never underestimate Weenie Power!

See you in a week,
Slack

What is EBA Blues week?

Mel

[Johnm]

Hi Mel,
EBA Bluesweek is short for European Blues Association Bluesweek, which will be held this year from August 14-19th in Northampton, England.  Staff will include Michael Roach, Homesick Mac, Michael Messer, Mike Dowling, Ari Eisinger, John Cephas, Phil Wiggins, Kenny Sultan, Tom Ball, Ethel Caffie-Austin, and me, among others.  This will be the fourth consecutive year I have taught there, and it is a great event with a serious core of very good participant musicians who return year after year, much as the American Weenies do to Port Townsend.
All best,
Johnm

[Bob B]

Okay, all of you Weenies smart and lucky enough to be enjoying the Port Townsend experience, how about some posts?  The rest of us are green with blues envy.  We need to hear about the bbq's, the Hornitos, oatmeal, shrimp, etc., etc.  If you find the time, we'd even like to hear about the Workshop itself!

Happy pre-soak, workshop and post-soak!

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBob

[Emma Lee]

Not yet un-sleep-deprived, but Port Townsend Country Blues Workshop 2005 was awesome. Am still downloading recordings and unpacking new instruments (KC King is buying a crazy-looking and mighty-heavy-for-a-uke banjo-uke from the inimitable Del Rey, and I picked up a set of bones in Michael Baytop's bones workshop.) What wonderful seamless blend of education, jamming, amazing shows, being with wonderful people, and being in historic Port Townsend. It really is hard to describe how inspiring and entertaining and mind-broadening and pleasant and yet how understated and relaxing it all is. It's a total immersion education for both halves of your brain. In one of Daryl Davis' boogie woogie piano classes KC remarked "That one lick right there was worth the price of admission." And there is still so very much more to absorb from it all (after getting the downloads organized and stuff and playing more). So great to meet the Weenies: Slack, Waxwing, Uncle Bud, NotRevGDavis, Thumbstyle (the Cup Artist), CMR, Kevin (handle=?), Pyroclore, Cytogulch, and more I'm not remembering right now. So much kudos and thanks are due to Phil the director and everyone who put it all together, all the amazing teachers and players and fellow learners; and also to Slack and all the Weenies for making this a place to (virtually) hang out and expand upon the experience in the interim -- looking forward to keeping the spirit alive throughout the year here. I realized during almost a week away from computers (I say almost, 'cause I did have to log in at the Cyber Bean Cafe early in the week) that I didn't miss computers or weblogging and I vowed to play more music and to blog less, though I suppose for the latter I have to make an exception for blogging-about-music...

[Slack]

Hi Bob, yes, give us a cahnce to recoup a bit and we'll post plenty about the great week at PT.

Great seeing all you old weenies again - and getting to know you all better (you are very nice folks - my kinda people) and meeting some new weenies Emma Lee and KC (your enthusiasm is infectious), CMR, Morongo, Rootsnblueslady, and others that my goggy headed mind won;t allow me to remember!

Thanks Peter, Phil, Joan and the rest of the centrum staff -- I agree with Jed -- a high water mark year -- an absolutely fabulous workshop!

You EBA workshoppers -- I sent the latest in tend in coolness, a handful of Weenie Case Stickers, with John Miller, so go bug him for one... and do it early, they go like hotcakes. 

Cheers,
slack

[waxwing]

Truely the best year since I started coming 4 camps ago. I don't think I can post much yet, still decompressing at a friend's country home north of Seattle before doing the drive home. Some good playing last night, too, he played some great clarinet to my songs. Tonight he'll play some soprano sax, too, and we'll do some MD recording for the Back Porch. Those horns sound great with the Style O. Anyway, I guess my camp is still going on for another couple days.-G-

Boy, I'd have a hard time finding high points 'cause the needle was at the redline for the whole week for me. All my classes were wonderful. John's afternoon class was just great, and Alex and I are in heaven, I'm sure, having our request for Clifford Gibson answered (Thanks again, John M). Paul Geremia was excellent first thing in the morning, too. Not so much a note for note techer, but demoing a lot of licks and slowing it down when asked. He really got me inspired to get into Lemon this year. I also had a blast playing along with him when he taught Mississippi Blues one morning. And Steve James' beginner mando class was a kick in the butt. I gotta have some songs up before he comes to the bay area next spring or he'll chew me out.-G-  He was really good at teaching the basic theory of blues harmonies and incorporating them onto the fret board. Much of what he taught will influence my guitar playing as well.

Several teachers, Suzy, Del, Steve, Mike and John M, also talked to me about the level of playing of the students, and how it just gets better every year, which really makes teaching so rewarding for them. I really feel my own ability to learn deepens every year and it's so great to hear how everyonr else has improved too.

Wow, that last night in the kitchen of #15 was incredible. Wish we had a minidisc going. Man, when Paul started playing that Bukka White number and started slappin the neck, the room went wild. Or when John M was playing Lottie Kimbrough's Rolling Log and we were all vocalizing a harmony part, John said, "Yeah, let's just do that for a while."

Having the confidence to play some of my hardest stuff in front of a roomfull of teachers and other great players was a real breakthrough for me. Several times during the week I'd be playing with my head down for a while and look up and see several teachers had come in while I was playing. I guess I just figured I wasn't nervous then so why should I be nervous now. But I really think the support of all the Weenies and all the other folks in the camp makes it a place where we can all relax and play our best. Thanks all.

I'll post more when I get back to Oakland in a few days, including a recording of the Hickory Smoked String Band's rendition of Mississippi blues, which Pyro, Cyotegulch, Desperate Stevens and I did for the student concert.

All for now.
John C.