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!

...new members, new styles, new sounds, more joy in the art

In the last week of April, the Wahkiakum Acoustic Guitar Society meeting was treated to a featured performance by one of our newer members, and our ranks grew a bit with the addition of another local guitarist bringing a bit of a European flair.

Our newest member, Alex Docker, played a number of oh-so-sweet Irish melodies utilizing an alternative tuning that gave the musical pieces a touch of Gaelic feel to the sound (Alex, care to post the tuning you were using here?)

Before we started the featured performance of the evening, each guitarist in attendance took a turn to play a song or so, demonstrating once again the impressive overall range and scope of guitar styles wielded by WAGS members.

As is our way here at WAGS, we regularly ask one of our members to do a featured performance, taking 30-45 minutes to do a set -- sometimes with a bit of description as to the history and styles, sometimes with more music and less talk, playing a only lightly interrupted sequence of songs. Tonight's featured performer was Glen Bristow (nephew of Rick, guitarist in his own right), whose writing, progressions, and fingerings amply demonstrated his own enticingly eclectic and innovative approach.

Glen's engaging performance highlighted his diverse exposure to musical genres, leveraging licks and chord patterns from multiple styles, blending classical and jazz influences that melded into some serious rock with an intense underlying drive to it.

Songs varied from some instrumental expositions, a country style song (complete with lost love angst), to expressive rock-styled constructions whose complexity was complemented by Glen's dexterity with the fingerings and chord patterns.

Glen's integration of familiar blues, jazz, rock, and folk riffs with his original compositions brought a fresh appeal with complexity and innovation.  It seems with each new member of WAGS we add dimension and scope to the styles of guitar being played at our meetings, and Glen was a wonderful example of this -- interesting, exciting, and refreshingly divergent!  If you haven't heard Glen play yet, you will just have to come to wAGS to hear him play...I guarantee that you won't be bored!

The next WAGS meeting has been moved to May 9th (instead of the traditional 1st Wednesday May 2nd) to make the logistics work a bit better for all involved.

See you there!

...a musical enchantment by a magical trio...

What a wonderful evening! Stewart and Betty Hendrickson and Jerry Middaugh came down to the Inn at Lucky Mud (in Skamokawa, WA) and treated us all to a concert of traditional & contemporary music.

Stewart kicked off the concert with a recital of a poem entitled 'There is music in the glen tonight', and then launched into a number of haunting 'Irish airs'. Between Stewart's fabulous fiddlin' and poignant Irish folk songs (some that carried a bit of well-delivered melancholy) the musical ambience was established and the audience was well captivated.

Building on the melodious introduction, Betty charmed us all with beautiful renditions of tunes on her hammered dulcimer, spanning styles from waltzes to ragtime. The sweet sounds of her melodious strings wafting through the acoustically bright room enchanted the room into still silence punctuated only by the enthusiastic applause at the end of each tune.

The enchantment was sustained and enhanced by the alluring songs performed by Jerry Middaugh, his dexterous guitar playing well matched to his engaging singing style. The selection of songs ranging from trains and hobos, to cowboys and philosophy kept us all ensnared in an auditory spell, and left us with toes a tappin' and quietly singing along.

The musical tapestry so creatively woven by the ensemble--Stew with his poetry, guitar, fiddle, and beautiful sonorous vocals, Betty with the delightful, delicate melodies dancing from her hammered dulcimer (joined by Jerry's quiet underlying counterpoint), and Jerry's precise guitar work complementing his resonant vocals--kept the audience mesmerized from start to finish.

Overall this was a great concert and a marvelous experience--an eclectic collection of traditional folk music from the British Isles and America played with sensitivity, expertise, and flair--if you ever have the opportunity to hear them play, jump at the chance, as it is an experience you will cherish!

The hootenany / jam session that followed the potluck dinner (after the concert) was also a heck of a lot of fun, with local musicians jumping into the musical fray, with a bit of fun guitar work and even a washtub bass! There were many superb musical contributions played around the song circle, with each cycle highlighting the depth of the rich musical histories of all those singing and playing late into the night.

...just another evening of heavenly strings...

The meeting of the Wahkiakum Acoustic Guitar Society was another open (read "unstructured") evening on April 4th.

We met, we played, we romped, we frolicked, we had a good time.

Ok, ok, so there was a lot more to it than that--we are graced by such an abundance of talent, it sometimes gets hard to come up with adequate descriptions without being totally redundant with previous posts.

As a partial reflection on this scrumptious smorgasbord of musical skill and experience, I would mention Rick with his range of expertise and repertoire of flamenco and jazz progressions, Sunrise with his extensive scope from years of professional performances playing rhythm and lead guitar and singing his expressive vocals, Randy playing impeccable classical melodies (with bits of Clapton et. al. thrown in), Jerry doing some fine picking of contemporary and folk songs, Andrew's exhaustive knowledge of traditional music, multi-instrument skills, and pristine vocal stylin's, Kerrie's sweet melodious renditions (of everything she sings), etc. etc. etc. I could go on and on (and sometimes do) but you probably get the idea.

If you haven't been at WAGS listening and or playing, you have indeed been missing out... *grin*

Upcoming Concert on Sat Apr 21st 5pm

The Wahkiakum

Acoustic Guitar Society

presents

Stewart &

     Betty Hendrickson,

        & Jerry Middaugh

              in concert

An afternoon concert followed by a potluck dinner and jamming into the evening hours. The concert will feature traditional songs from the British Isles & America, along with fiddle, guitar & hammered dulcimer.

And what a location for the concert! It will be held at a beautiful B&B - the Inn at Lucky Mud (Best Places Northwest, 2007) near the Columbia River in SW Washington.

Stewart plays traditional songs and fiddle tunes from the British Isles and America. He plays in local Irish sessions and open mics, and has performed at the Northwest Folklife Festival. For more info on Stewart, click here.

 
Betty plays traditional music on a hammered dulcimer--a lovely stringed instrument that is played with wooden hammers.

Jerry has been performing folk music for many years. Rooted in old fashioned music and folk songs, Jerry has played in various old-time string bands, bluegrass groups, and related folk music ensembles. His repertoire includes songs about work, trains, cowboys, hobos, loss, women, and philosophy.

When:          Saturday,  April 21, 2007

Starting:       5 pm       

Tickets:        $ 12

Where:         The Inn at Lucky Mud

Call 800 806 7131 or 360 795 8770 for reservations
       44 Old Chestnut Drive, Skamokawa, WA 98647

Also, don't miss the introductory hammered dulcimer workshop (led by Betty Hendrickson) on Sunday, April 22nd from 12-2pm (only $10)

...random bits leading to blues...

Once again the Wahkiakum Acoustic Guitar Society was fortuned to be hosted by the wonderful folks at the Inn at Lucky Mud, relaxing in the warm, comfortable, and acoustically bright main room right off the foyer. Pluck a string, play a riff, unfetter your fingers a bit, and you can hear every tone clearly.

As the first to arrive this evening, I had a chance to talk with a resident musical savant (and one of the professional musicians in the group) Sunrise Fletcher, babbling and bantering a bit about styles, scales,  and other scintillating subjects of a musical sort.

Our scheduled featured performance was delayed due to life's logistical  liquidity (ok, ok, so I'm stretching my alliterations a bit here),  but we hope to see the much anticipated Glen Bristow debut in the near future.

The songs rather rotated around, providing each of us an excuse to trot out any tried-and-true or even transitory demonstration of digital dexterity. The manual manipulation of melodious mastery was interspersed with technical discussions of the relationships between chord changes and scalar structures--bits of which went over my head (but in a good way, in that it helps my understanding of the underlying music/guitar theory grow to encompass new dimensions of jazz, flamenco, and classical). At any rate, it was yet another wonderful evening of guitar, music, theory, and bits O' frivolity.

Our duly (s)elected president (perhaps "drafted" would be more accurate) Rick Nelson came up with a *theme* (blues) for this upcoming meeting on Wednesday the 4th of April (at 7pm, the usual time, at the Inn at Lucky Mud). For Wednesday night's gathering, everyone should bring a blues tune or three.   

Hope to see you there!

...gratifying guitar glimmerings...

This first WAGS meeting of March blew in blustery, like the weather outside--squalls of classical, gusts of flamenco, a drizzle of blues, and followed by rhythmic downpours of innovative guitar from all around the room.

The evening was a bit relaxed and informal--a warm and inviting environment with friendly folks and a meandering cat (Lily) taking up residence on perfectly good laps that weren't doing anything else...

...this evening, the responsibility for guitar recital rotated, circuitously cycling through the circle of  genuinely grand guitarists, gratifying the entire audience with ambient artistry--a seriously sumptuous set of auditory sensations...

Ok, ok, so we really had a bit of fun, each guitarist taking a turn or two, some singing songs familiar enough that many joined in, some playing fascinating instrumental arrangements, as well as some tidbits from singer/songwriters in the group demonstrating personally developed instrumentals and vocals.

This was yet another marvelous meeting at the wonderfully warm and welcoming environment of the Inn at Lucky Mud, and many thanks to our hosts Sunrise and Jessica Fletcher for supporting our musical madness and minor mayhem!

The upcoming featured performer for the March 28th meeting is Glen Bristow. While he cites his uncle Rick as one of his sources of inspiration, his guitar style exudes an eclectic energy derived from a wide range  of musical styles and artists. For those who have been fortunate enough to be at the last couple of meetings, we've been treated to a number of exciting examples of Glen's enticing guitar work, and thus know that this upcoming performance is one not to be missed!

See you there!

Flamenco in flagrente...

Tonight's attractions included the featured performance of the flamenco stylings of Rick Nelson.

Rick's ease of playing belies the finesse of the fantastical left hand fingerings and flamboyant right hand strums and tremelos -- the auditory complexity is complemented by the visual display of manual dexterity.

Rick's performance provided a set of fascinating combinations of a specific flamenco piece with the background history and stories relating the sub-genre or style of playing (such as variant time signatures or alternative start points within the time signature).

I can wax poetic about Rick's playing, but you all know how delightful of an experience it is, so instead of my usual alliterative digression I'll point you toward some resources and an explanation of some of the terms that Rick uses when describing elements of the flamenco he is playing.

Flamenco Guitar

An introduction to Flamenco

Flamenco FAQ for Classical Guitarists

For a bit of the Flamenco culture...

A brief on the flamenco dance...

A Flamenco site with even more resources...

The Flamenco Information Page

Flamenco World - a diverse site

Explanations of some flamenco terminology

What is flamenco?
   
What is cante?

What is toque?
   
What is baile?

What are palos?

What is compás?

What is quejío?

What is ole?

What is falseta?
   
What is tercio?

What is escobilla?

What is desplante?

What is copla?

What is ayeo?

What is marcaje?

What is zambomba?

What is soniquete?

What is rasguear / rasgueo?