Saturday, June 16, 2007
Chris Talley Trio at Perk's Tonight!
The Chris Talley Trio will be playing in Freeburg, IL tonight (Saturday, June 16, 2007) from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. at Perk's & More Coffeehouse. Perk's is located in the strip mall in the center of town on Highway 15. Please note that Perk's is now charging a $3.00 cover to help with their expenses. (This is not going to the band.) I hope that you'll come out and listen!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Guitar Coloring Contest
We are sponsoring a guitar art contest for anyone 16 years of age and under. Come by The Bluegrass Shack to pick up a free cardboard cutout of a guitar while supplies last. We have a total of 24, but when they're gone, that's it! We will be awarding prizes, and then having an auction to help pay for the Junior Fiddle Contest that will be on Sunday, July 22, 2007.
Basic rules for the guitar art contest:
1. You must use one of our cardboard guitar cutouts (they are free).
2. No entry fee.
3. You can decorate the guitar cutout in ANY way you would like. You can use crayons, pencils, markers, paint, fabric, tissue paper, whatever you can dream up!
4. Although I probably don't have to mention this one: Please keep the artwork "non-offensive."
5. We have the right to keep, display, advertise and auction off any guitar art. We will be displaying the artwork in our shop prior to the July 22 Fiddle Contest.
Any questions? Send me an e-mail or call our shop! You'll find our phone number and e-mail address on the home page of The Bluegrass Shack.
Basic rules for the guitar art contest:
1. You must use one of our cardboard guitar cutouts (they are free).
2. No entry fee.
3. You can decorate the guitar cutout in ANY way you would like. You can use crayons, pencils, markers, paint, fabric, tissue paper, whatever you can dream up!
4. Although I probably don't have to mention this one: Please keep the artwork "non-offensive."
5. We have the right to keep, display, advertise and auction off any guitar art. We will be displaying the artwork in our shop prior to the July 22 Fiddle Contest.
Any questions? Send me an e-mail or call our shop! You'll find our phone number and e-mail address on the home page of The Bluegrass Shack.
Teachers at The Bluegrass Shack!
I just wanted to make mention of the teachers and instrument instruction that we have available at The Bluegrass Shack. We are so fortunate to have such fine musicians who are willing to share their skills and talent with others.
New! Dobro & Mandolin - Ben Fox
New! Mandolin - John Brewer
New! Suzuki Violin, Fiddle & Piano - Christine Hummert
New! Advanced Piano & Performance - Sharla Stasiak (MA from Notre Dame)
New! Hammer & Mountain Dulcimer - Rachel Neel
Fiddle - Jennifer Robbins
Banjo - Justin Robbins
Beginning Guitar (including note reading) & Mountain Dulcimer - Bev Robbins
Beginning Banjo - Terry Hill
Country / Bluegrass Guitar & Piano by Ear - Mike Easton
Any Style / Level Guitar - Bill Barttelbort
Beginning Fiddle (including note reading) - Chelsea Perkinson
All Levels Banjo (including 4- and 5-string), all levels fiddle (including note reading), school band instruments, group lessons and group instructional jams, and whatever else I end up with - Chris Talley Armstrong
New! Dobro & Mandolin - Ben Fox
New! Mandolin - John Brewer
New! Suzuki Violin, Fiddle & Piano - Christine Hummert
New! Advanced Piano & Performance - Sharla Stasiak (MA from Notre Dame)
New! Hammer & Mountain Dulcimer - Rachel Neel
Fiddle - Jennifer Robbins
Banjo - Justin Robbins
Beginning Guitar (including note reading) & Mountain Dulcimer - Bev Robbins
Beginning Banjo - Terry Hill
Country / Bluegrass Guitar & Piano by Ear - Mike Easton
Any Style / Level Guitar - Bill Barttelbort
Beginning Fiddle (including note reading) - Chelsea Perkinson
All Levels Banjo (including 4- and 5-string), all levels fiddle (including note reading), school band instruments, group lessons and group instructional jams, and whatever else I end up with - Chris Talley Armstrong
Carie's Shop Work
Carie was over twice this weekend to work in the shop on her bass. I mentioned her in an earlier post and that she was thinning the neck on her Chinese bass. She finished the work on Saturday afternoon, and so I wanted to post a few pictures of her work. She did a great job!
This is a picture of the neck after several hours of thinning. You'll notice it has kind of a square shape to it.
This is Carie after she switched from a scraper to file to round the edges of the neck and do the final shaping.
This is the finished product. After filing and shaping, Carie had to sand with several grades of sandpaper, and then 0000 steel wool.
This is a picture of the neck after several hours of thinning. You'll notice it has kind of a square shape to it.
This is Carie after she switched from a scraper to file to round the edges of the neck and do the final shaping.
This is the finished product. After filing and shaping, Carie had to sand with several grades of sandpaper, and then 0000 steel wool.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Big Banjo Makes Front Page of Newspaper
I was so happy that the designer and maker of our big banjo sign, Terry Hill, was interviewed for the front page story of the this week's Journal Messenger. The Journal Messenger is the local paper for New Athens and is part of the Belleville News Democrat. Here is a copy of the story. If you click on it, it will open larger so that you can actually read it.
Chris Talley Trio Plays at Highland VFW Hall
If you are looking for something to do this weekend, The Chris Talley Trio will be playing at the VFW Hall in Highland, IL on Sunday, June 10, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. It is a benefit concert, so come on by!
Still Here!
Well, it's been a while since I've been able to post here. I'm so happy that we're busy, but it does make it hard to get blog entries in!
Yesterday, we had about 10 people in the shop at once. Carie and I were working in the shop, each doing something different, when everyone decided to come visit The Bluegrass Shack. I guess it was fiddle day! I did four fiddle setups while customers watched. I forget how fascinating some of this stuff is because I do it everyday. People like to watch me set soundposts because it has to be done through the f-holes in the top of the fiddle. It used to take me 3 hours to set a soundpost! It was so frustrating learning how to do it. Now it takes only a minute or two.
Carie was working on the neck of her bass. It is one of those Chinese basses with the really thick necks. I was showing her what to do to thin out the neck, and she was working very hard to get it done. Carie will be over again today to finish up the job. It will be very nice when she's done! Carie said it took her four hours to take 1/2" of thickness off the neck, so you've got to have a lot of patience to do this!
I finally finished the neck reset on the old archtop guitar. The customer came by to pick it up same day, too. It wasn't anything expensive, but I just loved the pickguard. It was a thick, plastic tortoiseshell-look pickguard with a rhinestone treble clef inlaid into it. I've never seen another one like it, but I'm sure there are more. I guess I'll always have my favorites.
I've got a ton of work to get done today, so I'm going to end it here, but I'll try to get back again sooner and post the happenings here.
Yesterday, we had about 10 people in the shop at once. Carie and I were working in the shop, each doing something different, when everyone decided to come visit The Bluegrass Shack. I guess it was fiddle day! I did four fiddle setups while customers watched. I forget how fascinating some of this stuff is because I do it everyday. People like to watch me set soundposts because it has to be done through the f-holes in the top of the fiddle. It used to take me 3 hours to set a soundpost! It was so frustrating learning how to do it. Now it takes only a minute or two.
Carie was working on the neck of her bass. It is one of those Chinese basses with the really thick necks. I was showing her what to do to thin out the neck, and she was working very hard to get it done. Carie will be over again today to finish up the job. It will be very nice when she's done! Carie said it took her four hours to take 1/2" of thickness off the neck, so you've got to have a lot of patience to do this!
I finally finished the neck reset on the old archtop guitar. The customer came by to pick it up same day, too. It wasn't anything expensive, but I just loved the pickguard. It was a thick, plastic tortoiseshell-look pickguard with a rhinestone treble clef inlaid into it. I've never seen another one like it, but I'm sure there are more. I guess I'll always have my favorites.
I've got a ton of work to get done today, so I'm going to end it here, but I'll try to get back again sooner and post the happenings here.
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