Acoustic Guitarist Pat Donohue @ Rainshadow Recording | Centrum Campus | Fort Worden

From the desk of Everett Moran, Owner & Sound Engineer at Rainshadow Recording:

Grammy winning fingerpicker Pat Donohue's devotion to acoustic guitar has made him an American standard, as he echoes the tones of Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Merle Travis or Muddy Waters. 
This versatile guitarists guitarist enjoys entertaining fans with intricate fingerpicking, easy wit, and nimble interpretations of old blues, swing, R&B and original tunes. For 20+ years he's been lead guitar player and songwriter for the Guys All Star Shoe Band on the NPR favorite A Prairie Home Companion. 

Now Donahue is touring the US, playing a variety of venues including Performance Halls, Coffeehouse series and in blues, folk and eclectic listening rooms. We're pleased to have him include our intimate performance space at Rainshadow Recording in Port Townsend.

In May 2016, Pat Donahue released his new recording, Blue Yonder. You'll find solo tracks on the CD, clever new original songs as well three new instrumental numbers. On some cuts he's accompanied by members of the Prairie All Stars who were also members of the Guys All Star Shoe Band. 

His performance at on the Centrum Campus on March 3rd provides an extraordinary opportunity to hear an American Master up close and in an intimate setting. 

Join your host Everett Moran at the Rainshadow Recording at Fort Worden!

Who:    Pat Donohue
When:  Friday, March 3rd, 8pm (Doors at 7:30)
Where: Rainshadow Recording Studio
            200 Battery Way, Bldg 315 (west side)
            Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend

Tickets: http://patdonohuept. brownpapertickets.com
Info: (360) 301-09291 or centrumrecording@gmail.com


UPCOMING SHOWS

3/3/17    Pat Donohue
3/16/18  3hattrio
3/17/17  David Jacobs-Strain
4/22/17  Steve James

All shows at Rainshadow Recording unless otherwise noted. 
Tickets available at http://www.brownpapertickets. com.

Teens & Young Adults Soar at PT Workshops & Blues Fest

It's heartening to see how many teens and young adults are participating in the workshops and jam sessions. They're all over the Centrum campus, boys and girls with or without guitars, players and singer, engaged in conversations about music, and who knows what. Some of them I've seen before. A lot happens in six years, they've grown literally and in their craft, they're on to something good, and they know it.

As is the case every time I come to the Blues Fest I'm a little overwhelmed the first few days, but eventually I settle into a pace that's comfortable. Sometimes I skip a period, go for a walk on the beach, take a nap, or practice in my "cell"by myself. Every night there are jam sessions in the dorm, in the hallways, in people's rooms. There's a curfew now, no all nighters allowed, at least not in de dorms. what happens elsewhere I don't know. I'm sure the kids do. I did when I was their age.

My old bud Everett Moran was doing sound at the McCurdy Pavilion for Maria Muldaur and her Red Hot Bluesiana Band. Hanging out with Ev off stage left was just the right place for me, old stage hand that I am.

Tonight and tomorrow night it's Blues in the Bars in Port Townsend proper.
Centrum's Acoustic Blues Show Case on Saturday afternoon is going to be too, follow the link, and take a listen. All of that'll bring a lot of folks to town, glad I've got a place to stay already.

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.