guitarsociety

...Willapa Hills at the Seattle Folklife Festival

Although I couldn't be there to see it, the (local) Willapa Hills group went to Seattle this Memorial Day weekend to play at the Seattle Folklife Festival, and (no surprise to me) they were well received with substantial appreciation and enthusiasm, enchanting the crowd into singing along...

But don't take my word for it--we should let the folks in Willapa Hills give you the first hand account this Wednesday night! 

... a scrumptious treat at the Taste of Wahkiakum

Over the weekend we caught one of our illustrious members playing at the Taste of Wahkiakum, and the local crowd was delighted with his artistry and repertoire.

A number of event-goers (would that be "Tasters"?) commented on the melodious strains emanating from Randy's (very) sweet Martin guitar, the well-mic'd balance of voice and guitar carried gently and clearly throughout the "Taste" environs, blending perfectly into merry ambiance down at the marina.

As you can tell by the grin on his face, Randy was also having a great time, his guitar strings dancing the to bidding of his well-trained fingers, ever coaxing his Martin into a harmonious counterpart with his voice...

On Saturday when we were there, the sun was shining, the musical wafting through the air, and the folks wandering through the "Taste" quietly enchanted by Randy's musical spell...

Alluring... enticing... a fabulous evening of guitar!

"A great night of music!"

"The best WAGS meeting ever!"

"A wonderful range of different guitar styles!"

These and many other comments were voiced by WAGS members following the meeting on May 9th (and I couldn't agree more! This was a wonderful and inspiring evening of music and guitar talent on display!).

This meeting was the largest to date, with eleven musicians in attendance, and each reflecting a bit of their own style and presentations of guitar music.

The meeting was kicked into gear by Sunrise Fletcher quiet (but efficient) aural summoning in playing Mr. Bojangles, beckoning all to join in, with a very pretty set of (8 part?) harmonies complementing Sunrise's clear resonant vocals and tight guitar accompaniment. 

This WAGS meeting was graced by the attendance a new member (Mike McAvoy) and a couple of out-of-town folks, namely the renowned Maggie Savage (a legend in Pacific NW folk music since the 1950s) and Alex Docker's son Alex who lives in England but flew in and enchanted all of us with renditions of Celtic classical guitar that were ethereal, beautiful, and left us wanting more (and more, and more...). In fact, later in the evening, even after Alex had put away his guitar, we managed to convince him to pull it out and play a bit more. (p.s. Alex said he was open to us having WAGS meetings at his place in England--now all we have to do is figure out the commute!).

Alex Docker (the elder, living in Cathlamet) who also plays facinating Celtic melodies in non-standard tunings (such as DADGAD) with such reasonant Celtic tonalities that they impart a sense of the magical--you can almost see the leprechauns chasing the faeries, nixies, pixeies, and sprites. Alex's multiplicity of tunings (he talked about 2 or 3 others in addition to DADGAD) provided an meliflous enticement for us all to stray into alternative tunings (Hey Alex, perhaps we can get you to do a short workshop on such alternative tunings and how you play in them?)

Andrew Emlen, drawing upon his experiences in Mexico, where his guitar repertoire was internationally enhanced and expanded, expertly played and sang an endearing Mexican song in Spanish to the crowd's demonstrative appreciation.

As members of Willapa Hills in attendance, Sunrise, Andrew, and Kerrie consented to combine their oh-so-melodious harmonies with their dexterous fingerwork in chording and companion lead riffs in performing one of the sweetest songs on their CD (and one of my favorites) "All My Trials". (p.s. The Willapa Hills CD is available for sale at the Inn at Lucky Mud, or directly from Andrew Emlen or Kerrie McNally).

Rising to the inspiration, Jerry Ledke's fingers flew in an impressive fusion of Dylan-esque folk and Cajun Blues, a down-home creation that would make any student of American blues styles proud. (Jerry, you've got to show me how to play that!).

Contributing to the diversity as well as our appreciation of the deep art of flamenco, Rick Nelson intrigued, charmed, and baffled us with several tight and exceptionally pretty flamenco songs that I can neither name nor play (yet--but someday I hope to!)

Randy Williams both entertained and amazed us with several songs from the American popular music scene in the last few decades (though I suppose it isn't exactly correct to label the Beatles as 'American', even though their music seriously pervaded our musical and cultural consciousness--however we can lay claim to Eric Clapton and others). Irrespective of country of origin, Randy's impeccable fretboard work and precise delivery brings home the stylings of the original artist, and ensorceled us into a musical reverie where we all found ourselves singing along.

After such a amazing demonstration of style(s) and skill, and with such an international flavor (Andalusian flamenco, Celtic classical, and Mexican folk), it was a challenge to come up with what to play next. When Maggie asked me what my favorite song was, Paul Simon's American Tune came to mind--I hope that I did it justice! 

The next meeting of WAGS (May 30th, Wednesday 7pm) will be held at the Inn at Lucky Mud.

Hope to see you there!