My OO-15 Martin and Me

So it took me a few months to decide which guitar to take to the Blues Fest —I was going back and forth between the Webber, the OO-15 and even considered the Lowden (well no not really, but you've got to show love to all of your instruments, and yes, I did hold the Admira as well) but in the end it was the Martin who won me over. I'm glad she did.

Blues Fest Musicians Aren't Suffering the Blues

Wednesday morning John Miller focused on 1950's Texax Blues which called for a different kind of tuning that the Pre-War tunes.

After the break I asked Mark Puryear if I could join his class. He seemed surprised. "Of course, there no need to ask," he said. Google Mark, and you'll find he's played guitar behind quite a few well known artists, among whom Blues Fest's Phil Wiggins. For a listen, check out  Songs of Peace and Forgiveness. Mark's class was focused on Bluesy Jazz, diminished and augmented patterns of finger pickin'. Great stuff.

Jefferson Glassie and Julie Littell of Peace Evolutions, LLC write:

Cool Down (3:59) – Phil Wiggins and Mark Puryear. Phil wrote this song in 1995 to tell young people to chill out. In this newly recorded version, Phil plays an edgy harmonica with Mark Puryear’s steady guitar. Phil is internationally famous and one of the best harmonica players in the world. He has toured and cut numerous CD’s with John Cephas over the years. “People automatically think of sadness and depression when they think of blues. But the blues is uplifting music, music to rejuvenate you, to nourish the spirit,” says Wiggins. 

Later in the afternoon we gathered in the Wheeler for an hour to listen to Corey Harris interview Taj Mahal, who gave a great performance in the evening.

Today another John Miller class, all the good stuff just keeps adding up. Later  and prep for participants presentation. The line-up was so long people played until about 1 a.m. or so. Having learned from earlier years, I put my name on the list as soon as it was posted. As number 5 I had to wait only 30 minutes before it was my turn. Before me a Frenchman who had indeed come all the way from France for the Blues Fest performed with Jerron Paxton. So I had the audience on my hand saying my song "France" by Keb' Mo' seemed an appropriate follow-up. It went well. Laughter in all the right places and I really enjoyed myself.

Guy Davis said, "You really got away from behind that guitar."
That's what I'd told him and other participants in his class, that I needed to sing more and not hide behind the instrument (in the theater we call that projecting your voice at the back row).
John Miller said, "Great job," and Jeff Scott told me he wanted me to do some recording at the end of the year. Talk about feeling good after playing!

The Blues reflects life in its many aspects; happy, sad, tiresome, painful, or fun. ~ Glassie and Littell

World Music | Fingerpickin' | Patterns and more @ Blues Fest

beach hotel

After the first night at the dorm I thought I might have to sleep on the beach for some shut eye. Luckily I ran into Gordon, a musician I met at Centrum in 2008. He gave me his extra pair of ear plugs, so last night I was able to muffle the sound of the all-night jam session in the common area on my floor. I'm glad to say I slept well, like a log.

John Miller

First class on the first day was with John Miller: Drop-D tuning and Pre-World War II songs. Had been looking forward to another live class (after Blues Fest 2008). The DVDs John puts out our great, especially for freelancers like me whose working schedules are so unpredictable they never manage to take live classes from beginning to end, but there's nothing like a live session. Today I went to his class again, probably will continue taking them every morning.

Guy Davis had each of the participants in his class come to the front to play something. When he heard my last name he came up to me, and embraced me saying, "Oh, brother, brother".
My version of Keb' Mo's "France" went down pretty well.

I joined Phil Wiggins' porch jam from 3:45 - 5:25 PM and man, my fingers hurt, but it was fun. After dinner I just listened to Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton play piano and others jam with him.

Cheik Hamala Diabate

Cheick Hamala Diabate's class today was part storytelling. Each pattern he shows has a story attached to it.
World Music Live!

After the African beat I got my uke and joined Lightnin' Wells. This must be the first time that ukelele is taught at the Blues Fest. Lightnin' promised it would be easy to pick up the cords, and he was right too.

This afternoon Cheick and the Blues Fest's artistic director Corey Harris led an inspired porch jam in African music. Everyone was still going strong when I left for dinner, got to eat in time. Period.

There's a lot of good stuff going on, all day long, and you have to accept you can't do everything, and need to sit back and just listen at times too. But I've my mind set on taking an intermediate Piedmont class with Jeffrey Scott and check out Mark Puryear and then some...

Port Townsend Blues in the Clubs 2011

  Thinking about coming out to hear some Blues off campus?

BLUES IN THE CLUBS

$25 per-night club pass

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5

The Undertown - 211 Taylor St.

8:00 PM - Son Jack, Jr. & Michael Wilde
9:00 PM - Lightnin' Wells
10:30 PM - John Miller

Key City Theatre - 419 Washington St.

8:30 PM - John Miller
9:45 PM - Phil Wiggins & Nat Reese
11:00 PM - Jeff Scott

The Boiler Room (all-ages) - 711 Water St.

Sunpie Barnes

8:30 PM - Cheick Hamala Diabate
9:45 PM - George Rezendes
11:00 PM - Sule Greg Wilson

The Public House - 1038 Water St.

9:00 PM - Lauren Sheehan & Mark Graham
10:15 PM - Jerron Paxton
11:30 PM - Washboard Chaz & Jay Summerour

The Cotton Building - 607 Water St.

8:30 PM - Mark Puryear
9:45 PM - Guy Davis (pictured)
11:00 PM - Son Jack, Jr. & Michael Wilde

Sirens - 823 Water St.

9:00 PM - Otis Taylor
10:15 PM - Otis Taylor
11:30 PM - The Ebony Hillbillies

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6

The Upstage - 923 Washington St.

8:00 PM - Arthur Migliazza
9:15 PM - Pura Fé
10:30 PM - Erwin Helfer

The Undertown - 211 Taylor St.

8:00 PM - Mark Puryear
9:15 PM - Jeff Scott
10:30 PM - Lightnin' Wells

Key City Theatre - 419 Washington St.

Guy Davis

8:30 PM - Lightnin' Wells & Mark Graham
9:45 PM - Cheick Hamala Diabate
11:00 PM - Sule Greg Wilson

The Boiler Room (all-ages) - 711 Water St.

8:30 PM - Washboard Chaz
9:45 PM - Lauren Sheehan
11:00 PM - Jerron Paxton

The Public House - 1038 Water St.

9:00 PM - The Jelly Rollers
10:15 PM - The Jelly Rollers
11:30 PM - Phil Wiggins & Blues Faculty All-Stars

The Cotton Building - 607 Water St.

8:30 PM-11:30 PM
Zydeco dance featuring Sunpie Barnes (pictured)

Sirens - 823 Water St.

9:00 PM - Corey Harris & Phil Wiggins
10:15 PM - Crow Quill Night Owls
11:30 PM - Crow Quill Night Owls

The Upstage - 923 Washington St.

8:00 PM - Son Jack, Jr. & Michael Wilde
9:15 PM - Sule Greg Wilson
10:30 PM - The Ebony Hillbillies

Blues Fest Summer Camp for Musicians

I've arrived!

Yeah! Back at camp!
I've got the best view I've ever had, the window of my room looks out on the bluff and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
There's picture of a fish on the wall at the foot end of my bed (I'm Pisces) so I've landed well.

Blues Fest 2011

Made my reservations for this summer's Blues Fest!
Which guitar to take?

The Beatles Project | The Rubber Souls - Across the Beatle*verse

In May of this year Steve Collins asked me if I knew any acoustic songs by The Beatles. Of course I did, I've been a fan and playing their songs since I was a kid. All through the summer we got together for jam sessions. We came up with a list of 11 songs. Initially we were going to record them ourselves, but were fortunate to be able to work with Wrick Wolff at his Silver Asylum Studio this Fall. And here it is! It ain't the Blues, but there's a lot of finger pickin' involved and yards and yards of strumming.

DVD Guitar Lessons Work

My work schedule as a stage technician is so unpredictable that it's practically impossible to take classes so I was really glad to find that some of my favorite musicians have teaching DVDs out.

I highly recommend Mike Dowling's Swing Series produced by Homespun.
Also John Miller's Mississippi John Hurt Vol. 1 + 2 and his Intro to Chord Theory, all produced by Steve Grossman's Guitar Workshop

 My latest find is Learn the Classics of Bossa Nova Guitar taught by Aaron Gilmartin also available through Homespun.

DVDs are the way to go for folks like me who can't take a regular class because of their work.

Blues Fest 2010 Musicians Play the Pubs in Port Townsend WA

Jeffrey Scott at Undertown in Port Townsend

At breakfast yesterday morning Jeffrey Scott told Mark and me to always carry our guitar with us, "Just like your credit card, never leave home with out it."

On the last night of Blues Fest 2010, I rode the bus down the hill, downtown Port Townsend was where it was at, not out at Fort Worden, the beach or the lighthouse. Blues was in the clubs downtown Port Townsend and I strolled from one to the next with my guitar on my back. Found Steve James, Lightnin' Wells, Suzy Thompson, Terry Bean and Jeff Scott playing full houses.

Nobody seemed to be where I thought they were going to be according to the paper, and I wasn't the only one, even the musicians were running around finding there next venue. On my way to one or the other I ran into Terry Bean. Got a chance to thank him for his generosity, the ease with which he brings reluctant musicians to sit down and play.

Jeff Scott meanwhile had moved from the Undertown Coffeehouse and Wine Bar to The Boiler Room. I stood listening to him, with an eye on the bus stop, when I heard him say, "There's a student of mine here, who might want to play." So I did, doing my best to keep the rhythm while he let the audience hear his fancy fingerpickin'.
"I hear you, I hear you," he said now and then.

"Always carry your guitar with you," is the line that I keep on hearing, that's the line I take with me from the Blues Fest.

Fort Worden at Strait of Juan de Fuca

If you've been here, you know what I mean when I say, "This is where it's at."

David Bromberg Quartet and Chat at P.T. Blues Fest

Nate Grower, Mitch Corbin, Butch Amiot, David Bromberg

How in the world can those guys talk to each other when they're playing music the way they do?

According to the Blues Fest program booklet members of the Quartet would be teaching their own workshop, but that was a misunderstanding David Bromberg said. That was just as well, for instead they all came out to #204. After Bromberg gave a talk, they all played —and chatted!

Afterward I went up to ask them about their gig at TheTriple Door in Seattle where I sub now and then as light man. They liked the room and the food and really enjoyed having a whole day off between 3D and the workshop and show at the Blues Fest on the Peninsula.

The concert at the McCurdy Pavilion was good, but I enjoyed the workshop, being up close with the musicians and hearing personal stories the most.

Mark, who'd been in Jeffrey Scott's introductory Piedmont workshops all week invited him for breakfast this morning and asked me if I wanted to join them and Bev at Hudson Point Cafe (used to come there when it was the Otter Crossing). Great breakfast with good food and a lot of talking. Funny thing is that listening to Jeff made me start talkin' like a Texan again.

Restore Personal Performance at Blues Fest

It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the classes and jam sessions that are going on all the time. And I mean all the time. This time around I participate way more than two years ago. At the time I was new to Piedmont finger-picking, man my pinkie got a workout like never before.

For someone such as me who can't really commit to a regular class the DVDs put out by master musicians have been a tremendous help. And last fall I was able to take Centrum's Piedmont Blues Intensive with John Dee Holeman, Lightnin' Wells and Michael Roach here at Fort Worden. That was intensive and intense all right.

What amazed me my first time around, then at the Intensive and now again, is how generous the master musicians are. Take Terry Bean, he waved me down on the first day, to come play with him. After a while these highschool age kids kind of hang around listening and he waves them down, tells them to play as well. And after a while he gets them to play a song of their choice too. No egos here, just the love of music.

Now and then I need to let the fingers and my mind rest though. I call it reboot, just like the computer. Yesterday after the morning sessions, I took a break from the meals at the Commons to have lunch at our fave Thai restaurant downtown Port Townsend with my old buddy Everett Moran,  He and I go way back, Texas way, that is. Since I skipped the afternoon jam, my fingers were rested and I was happy to play for two and a half hours with Lightnin' and Jeff Scott and some other folks in the evening.

Everett had told me his pal George Rezendes was at the Blues Fest too, so after this morning's session with Terry "Harmonica" Bean I took George's Ragtime class. I'm not that familiar with playing that music and had to really pay attention. Three-quarters through the class I noticed I couldn't take anything in anymore. I may not be jammin' till two in the morning like some others do, but I feel like I've been going non stop from the get go.

So instead of going over all the stuff I've been soaking up like a sponge, I decided to go to town. There's a bus that takes you from Fort Worden to Port Townsend proper. Want to exchange a fleece jacket I bought at Swain's yesterday, have coffee somewhere or an ice cream cone, sit back, hang out. Sometimes you've got to reboot to regain optimum performance.
That's what I need, a reboot to restore.

Tonight there's going to be a dance party on campus. Peter McCracken has been telling us it's going to be great. I didn't bring my dancing boots, so perhaps I'll have a chance to play some more instead of doing a two-step (what is it going to be Pete?).
There's bound to be some jammin' goin' on at Fort Worden.

Jammin' with Lightnin'

Jerron Paxton and Suzy Thompson Lead Jam at Fort Worden

Jerron Paxton and Suzy Thompson lead the jam session on Monday evening and to my great surprise I played another two hours and ten minutes!

The Seattle P.I. did a great interview with Jerron just before he came to Port Townsend two years ago, in 2008. I remember thinking, man, this kid (he was 19 at the time) must be channeling some real old blues artists a-ma-zing.

Phil Wiggins and Nat Reese at Centrum's Blues Fest

This is how it works at the Blues Fest, you pick the classes you want to take and then when you come outside, you find great guys like Nat Reese and Phil Wiggins sittin' on the porch, playin' like they do, and if you've got some licks left in your tired paws you join and otherwise you hang out and listen. Listen and watch. Wow.

Michael Kline did a great article on Nat Reese in 1998, I wanted to say interview, but Reese is a storyteller and he only needs a hint of a question to get started.

Jammin' on Porch of Lounge #204

Nice surprise last night when I  ran into old neighbors Mark and Bev. She's been to the Fiddle Tunes at Centrum before, but they're both firsttimers at the Blues Fest.


Today I took two classes, one with Terry Bean and one with Lightnin' Wells.
After that I played outside on the porch of the Commons with Terry for two hours straight. At some point someone came to get Terry to play for some Art in the Schools administrators I think and he asked me to go with him. So there I was first day at camp, playing along as if it was planned.

Sun broke through as usual after lunch. Realized I forgot my shorts. So did Mark.Will have to pick some up.

Arrival at Fort Worden's Dorm

First moments at camp, looks familiar?