Today a guy can go into a studio and make a record, just any guy. Today you are judged by your records. You make a record overnight. A guy makes a record and overnight he's a big recording star and you can't say anything to him. And most of the time he can't even carry his instrument - Sam Price, to Paul Oliver, 1960
One the high spots has to be Johnm's class rendition of a BBB song incorporating cumquats.... low spots, the food ain't so good and to prove it somebody even took back the vulcanised steak
Personal high spot, actually being brave enough to perform a number. Far from acurate and nervous as hell in front of "that" audience, it's the equivalent of doing Carnegie Hall, however a few bum notes and two chorus in it got itself together...
My thanks to Colm for the vid and his brilliant dressed to the part performance John Hurt some, well who else? I trust you will be posting a link....
It was a great debut singing / playing (as opposed to cardboard box drumming) effort Richard. Especially with that mic setup which I found very disconcerting the only time I played with it.
I ought to have been less cowardly myself and put my name down
That said, the standard was higher again this year and left me thinking that I'd better go away and practice a lot in a darkened room to raise my game!
Highlights of the week?
John and Grant's set at the public concert was fantastic.
Our Italian friend's exuberance ("No Capo No Party!", "more women less rabbits!")
Some of the student performances on Friday night in particular, were stunning.
Svante Svoblom, who attended on a scholarship 6 years ago, coming back at the age of 26 with remarkable guitar chops and possibly the best (and certainly the biggest) voice on campus.
Very kind people, I feel like I could now do it again without the bum notes. The strange thing is it was the singing I was most worried about as the guitar part usually comes out fine. Ah well, next time!
This was my first EBA and generally enjoyed it. I thought some of the teaching was a bit variable and would?ve liked to of come away with some tutor supplied material rather that just what I managed to scrawl down and record. A ?20 dvd might be better value in that respect.
I didn?t think the food was too bad, perhaps I was lucky! It did seem to deteriorate as the week went on though. I did start experiencing calorific overload and missed a few of the meals.
Due to playing like a numpty all week I wasn?t brave enough to take part in the student concerts. Perhaps going to bed at 4am every morning didn?t help!!
I do think a decent audio recorder is an essential tool for the week. Its by far the best way of recapping lessons when you need them.
I understand the desire for some written material as an aide memoire, but I also understand the view that many tutors have that he best way to REALLY learn, is to do so by listening.
I trust that you worked out by the end of the week that its probably worth skipping the odd lesson in order to catch up on some sleep!
I thought your song was very good. If I can ever afford the air fare, I will come. lwoodblues ( I was there when weenie came to life. The only participant to do that.)
And a weenie welcome to morning wood, an interesting name if I may say so glad you enjoyed EBA although I can't picture you just athe moment! Trust you will be appearing for the fun next year?
And a weenie welcome to morning wood, an interesting name if I may say so glad you enjoyed EBA although I can't picture you just athe moment! Trust you will be appearing for the fun next year?
Thanks for the welcome Richard. We shared a table on the first night of drinking I think. I might come again in the future, but more for the social side rather than the tuition. I've got bags of material here from other sources to work on, but I just need the time and talent!
Bit late into this as I'm still trying to shake off a virus picked up in Northampton, but I'll try to summarize the week (my 11th).
Just one new tutor this time, Rich Del Grosso, no doubt known Weenies over the pond but new to Bluesweek. Rich was teaching slide guitar and covered most of the styles of the masters in a nice coherent style.
Numbers were down by about 20 this time but the level of enthusiasm was up there and the evening jams were well attended, if short of new faces putting themselves forward.
The harp contingent was, as usual, large and keen, speaking some foreign tongue about 5th positions and crossed harp - sounded a bit like something from Kama Sutra to me!
The staff concert was lifted by the performance of the Miller/Dermody duo already mentioned.
Each year the standard of the student concert continues to rise, particularly the singing, where folk who couldn't/wouldn't sing a couple of years ago now do quite well. This was illustrated by our own Richard (see above).
On the other hand, we can always drag things down to Earth with our Boogie Boys orchestra composed of students and selected faculty members, with Richard and yours truly as founder members. Resplendent in our new uniforms, we gave the students a heavy ear bashing.
Hi all, I had a great time at Blues Week, as per usual, and the ongoing exciting thing for me to see is how much the general level of playing continues to improve from one year to the next, as well as does the ability to pick up new material. This really speaks to the level of commitment that attendees are putting into the music and the fact that they're playing it and working on it year-round, not just hoping to get better on it by working seriously one week a year. Good for you all, it was great to see and hear you and visit again--a high point of the year for me. All best, Johnm