Newsletter Grass Clippings Hey all you picker and grinners! Hope your surviving the heat! (Those of you braving out the summer months in the Old Pueblo). Well once again, a number of Tucsonans (13) gathered in beautiful Levelland, Texas for another great week of bluegrass instruction. Levelland, Texas (The American hotbed of bluegrass music!???), Is home to South Plains College, which has degree programs in country and bluegrass music. So this makes the perfect environment for a summer camp. The concert hall, where the faculty perform a nightly concert, is as professional as it gets. Each year the camp has a theme paying tribute to an early pioneer of Bluegrass music. This year they went pre-bluegrass and looked and listened to the music of the Carter family. They, along with Jimmie Rodgers and others, were the first to record "country" music at the "Bristol sessions" in 1927. 20 years prior to the birth of bluegrass. Many of the Carter family songs were the foundation of bluegrass artists. Tim May gave a great workshop on Maybelle Carter's guitar style picking which also influenced modern guitar styles. I asked some of our DBA members to give you their thoughts on camp: (. Continued on Page 3 ) PAGE 2 GRASS CLIPPINGS OFFICERS President: Dave Polston (520) 245-6126 [email protected] Vice President: Carole Wothe (520) 760-0993 [email protected] Secretary: Mike Headrick (520) 760-0745 [email protected] Treasurer: Marlene Simpson (520) 355-4000 [email protected] TRUSTEES Jerry Wothe (520) 760-0993 [email protected] Scott Warren (520) 419-7556 [email protected] Paul “Doc” Simpson (520) 298-9746 [email protected] Bonnie Lohman (520) 349-4812 [email protected] David Lanham (520) 749-0335 [email protected] Sean Nicks (520) 576-2332 [email protected] Dale Lynne Vickroy (520) 664-0340 [email protected]. Newsletter Editor--Sean Nicks: For information concerning letters to the editor, reviews, contributing newsletter articles, submitting Concert & Band Listing information, email [email protected] . Webmaster--Dale Lynne Vickroy: For information concerning the DBA website www.desertbluegrass.org contact the webmaster at [email protected] Membership Secretary--Mike Headrick: To join the DBA, renew a membership or submit an address change, contact Mike via phone at (520) 760-0745, email, [email protected] or snail mail, 13308 Placita el Algodon Tucson, AZ 85749 Publicity--Mike Headrick: Contact Mike at (520) 760-0745 or [email protected] Advertising: Carole Wothe NEWSLETTER ADVERTIZING PRICES 1/4 PAGE--$25 PER ISSUE, $100 ANNUAL 1/2 PAGE--$40 PER ISSUE, $160 ANNUAL FULL PAGE--$60 PER ISSUE $240 ANNUAL CLASSIFIED AD--$5 FOR 5 LINES OR LESS* *DBA Members Free, Space Permitting The opinions expressed in the DBA newsletter are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of the Desert Bluegrass Association, its staff or members. Reviews, concert listings, band announcements and advertising are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement by the Desert Bluegrass Association. In the event of an error, our liability is limited to printing a correction. Copyright 2013,. All Rights Reserved. GRASS CLIPPINGS PAGE 3 GREETINGS FELLOW BLUEGRASS LOVERS By Dave Polston (. Continued from Page 1) I asked some of our DBA members to give you their thoughts on camp: “My highlight was getting to be part of the staff, teaching beginning guitar, running one of the two nightly slow jams and getting to lead the final song of the final faculty concert, a Carter classic close to us all, Will the Circle be Unbroken! All faculty jam!!” -Dave Polston “I had so much fun at camp that I’m still smiling a week later! I have a list of tunes I want to learn that’s longer than my arm, I have so much music buzzing around in my head that I can hardly sit still, and I got more licks and tips than I know what to do with. All of the professional musicians were very involved and approachable, and they seemed genuinely happy to be there. Best of all were the awe-inspiring faculty concerts every night and the energy and camaraderie of my fellow campers. As an added bonus, a small group I play with who mostly went to camp got together a few days after, and we sounded so much better! It was an absolutely wonderful week, and I can’t wait to do it again. I’ve already committed to going next year.“ -Suzette Sommerer PAGE 4 GRASS CLIPPINGS “It was my 6th year at Camp Bluegrass and it was, as usual, amazing. I’m learning to play the dobro and Jimmy Heffernan is the best instructor ever! I feel like I made a breakthrough on solos and am looking forward to spending this coming year practicing what I learned. The lessons alone are worth the price of Camp, but the faculty concerts and dorm jams are like icing on the cake! I’m planning to go again next year if the creek don't rise!” -Doris Schatz PAGE 5 GRASS CLIPPINGS “Best camp ever! The instructors are all excellent! I really enjoyed the nightly concerts, those are worth the price of going. I like the aspect of how the sound systems work and Matt, the sound professor at South Plains, gave a workshop on how and what makes the best sound for acoustic setups.“ -Dale Vickroy “Hello Tucson Pickers and Grinners! Just returned from Camp Bluegrass and all I can say is: AWESOME, WOW, TREMENDOUS, AND EVERYTHING ELSE IMAGINABLE! The staff, the format, the concerts, and the jams were wonderful! I know you have heard this before, but I will repeat it: GO NEXT YEAR!” -Jim Wagner “Ditto what Jim said, Camp Bluegrass is no less than Summer camp for adults complete with making new friends and picking partners, eating ice cream with every meal, fast track learning of your particular instrument all day and jamming till the wee hours all night. It's immersion therapy for Bluegrassers, it's a hooting good time, it's concerts and hobnobbing with your favorite Bluegrass artists, it's the joy of being a groupie and pretending you can play better than you can.. Ah, heck, just go, you won't regret it! Set aside the latter part of July next year, save your pennies and just do it.” -Jennifer Johnson PAGE 6 GRASS CLIPPINGS “What a wonderful camp experience this year. I attended the mandolin classes and really enjoyed them. I received enough material to work on for the next year. The highlight for me was jamming with new pickers and learning new songs. I was excited about the opportunity Dave was given. He did a great job and was a great representative of the DBA. I am always sad when its over.” -Nancy Hildreth “This was my first Camp Bluegrass, and what a time it was! From start (locating my room and finding a bunch of DBA'ers already jamming right across the hall) to finish (performing with the same bunch at the student concert, then joining the entire Tucson contingent onstage to close out the camp with Fast Train to Georgia and Will the Circle Be Unbroken), I was floored by the energy, support, and camaraderie at Camp Bluegrass. I met many new jamming friends, got some great instruction, and pushed myself to try new things. It was a blast! I hope to return next year.” -Mike Mitchell PAGE 7 GRASS CLIPPINGS “My crazy event started the first night when I fell on my head and lost hearing for about a day or two. Then the piano bench fell on my foot and ended up in the ER! That was the 'not so good part'. Super highlights were: Having Suzette as a compassionate, 'going above and beyond' caring roommate, the Slow Jams with Dave Polston...that I tried to get to and in those were AMAZING! I am 'getting it' with the notes, the numbers and how it all goes together. (As a BioChem major it was truly a new part of my brain I really needed but since I am getting better daily...with a few hiccups) I REALLY feel like I got the concept of this and look forward to DBA! My fiddle instructors were very understanding that I was a true beginner and they were both great! I loved playing with my 'tribe' of Tucson people the last two nights and was thrilled to be part of the DBA group. People were so friendly at camp!” -Beverly Jutry PAGE 8 GRASS CLIPPINGS “The highlight of my week was getting to pick with both my Colorado friends and my Tucson friends. I took DeeDee Wayland's vocal workshop which was awesome. I now can sing like a bird -in theory. Pulling that off in practice is going to take some work” -Mike Headrick It was a great year and you have a year to put a little money aside each month and plan to join us next summer. We also have a scholarship program to send kids to this camp. We didn't have any this year, but if you know any kids, encourage them to join you at Monday or Tuesday night workshop. There are other youths at camp but not enough. Let's keep this going with the next generation -Dave PAGE 9 GRASS CLIPPINGS Free to a good home.. ……..or actually any home Old reel-to-reel tape recorders, three of them. a Sony, a TEAC, and a Roberts. All three (3) have bee "project machines" They are in various states of condition and repair.