Tuesday's Jam with Special Birthday!

Just wanting to let you know that at this Tuesday's jam, July 20th, we will be celebrating Stan's birthday.  We hope that you'll come out to enjoy some great bluegrass music and food!  We'll have a table setup for all the goodies. If you want to bring a food to share, feel free, but it's not expected or required! 

Happy Birthday, Stan!

Chance

You know, every once in a while, a chance comes along that is kind of unbelievable.  Last night was one of those times.  It is homecoming here in New Athens.  That means food, rides, parade, and best of all -- music!  And New Athens is kind of known in the area for hiring good bands.  Not bluegrass, but still pretty good!  Last night's band for the homecoming was the Smash Band.  This is where the fun comes in!

Three of the four girls from The Pickin' Chicks were there for the homecoming, and we just so got the chance to perform onstage while the Smash band took their break.  Johnny Shy, the illustrious sound man, made all the arrangements for us.  Grant Texier, the fiddle player for the band, was kind enough to let me use his guitar.  How cool is that??!!  We decided that we would do Seven Bridges Road because none of the girls had their instruments with them (of course!).  Grant even stayed onstage for almost the entire performance, and then shook hands with each of the girls.

I don't normally perform with the girls, but with one girl missing (Millie was at The Kentucky Opry) and with a borrowed guitar, it only made sense.  I have to admit that I was kind of nervous because I'm not used to doing this song (it's not bluegrass) and I don't practice it with the girls.  The Smash Band and the New Athens crowd loved the girls, and after it was all over, we all decided it was a lot of fun!!!

Here's a video, and you can go to our Facebook page for some pictures.

Fiddle Contest on Sunday

Just another friendly reminder about our fiddle contest on Sunday.  Also, don't forget that we are in a new location this year due to the closing of the building that we have used in the past.  We will be at the New Athens Community Hall.  It's very easy to find, especially if you look for the New Athens water tower!  When you turn from Highway 13 onto Van Buren (the only stoplight in New Athens), stay straight until you see Chester St.  Make a right onto Chester, go three blocks, and you are there!  The Community Hall is at the corner of Chester and N. Johnson.

Not only will you hear some great fiddle players, but you can also enjoy some great food!  The Pickin' Chicks will be serving up pulled pork, hot dogs, nachos, potato salad, chips, baked beans, and assorted HOMEMADE desserts.  (I hear there will be gooey butter cake, carrot cake and pineapple upside-down cake and more!!!!!)  There will also be soda, lemonade, coffee and water available.

The fiddle contest registration starts at Noon, with the contest itself starting at 1:00 p.m.  There are FIVE divisions:  Junior III (12 & under); Junior II (13-15); Junior I (16-18); Open (19 & up); Senior (60 & up).  All juniors will receive a medal regardless of placement.  Trophies and/or money awarded to the top 5 places in each division.  For complete details and rules, CLICK HERE.

For other questions, please contact us by e-mail or phone here at The Bluegrass Shack.  We hope to see you!

Bluegrass Retreat: All Information and Flyers!

Here is the much awaited information on the first annual Bluegrass Shack Bluegrass Retreat!  You will be able to download flyers and workshop information in .pdf format straight from here.

We are going to be starting the weekend out on Friday night with our Meet & Greet potluck, which is free for all.  Just bring a food to share with everyone.  It can be as simple as a bag of chips or package of store-bought cookies, or as fancy as your own homemade chili or pie!  This will be your opportunity to meet other musicians and families.  I am still working on getting a teacher and caller for square dancing.  Bring your instruments for jamming!

Saturday morning we will be starting out at 9:00 a.m. with our hands-on banjo workshop where participants will actually take apart their banjos and put them back together again!  We have several workshops where you will learn playing techniques and several workshops that will teach you technical things about your instrument or instrument setup.  The workshop list gives a complete description of the workshops and what time they will be starting.  The workshops will be taught in the cafeteria and in the chapel.

After lunch on Saturday, the workshops will continue until 4:00 p.m.  At that time, we will start our bluegrass shows.  We will kick things off with our own Hee Haw show featuring all kinds of local talent and comedy.  We will break for dinner from 6:00-7:00 p.m.  At 7:00 p.m., we will start things off again with local bands performing in the chapel.   You will get a chance to hear Charlie & the Girls, the Pickin' Chicks, The Chris Talley Trio, and more!

Sunday morning, we will be having a gospel show in the chapel. Our two featured groups include Stan & Abby Farlow (from McLeansboro, IL) and John & Rosemary Brewer (from New Athens, IL).

To download the flyer & workshop signup sheet CLICK HERE.  (2 pages)

To download the workshop list CLICK HERE.  (2 pages)

To make reservations to stay at Lake Sallateeska, you will need to contact them directly.  They have an on-site motel, RV hookups and group bunk houses.  They also have a cafeteria that you can make reservations for.  Download the flyer for the phone number and address of Lake Sallateeska.  This is a GREAT family park that has an indoor pool, fishing lake, paddle boats, hiking trails, game room, and more!  You can visit their website by clicking HERE.

One last note:  This is a Baptist Camp park, and even though our retreat is not a religious event per se, there may be other groups on-site at the same time that are.  There will be no smoking and no alcoholic drinking allowed on the premises.  This is not our rule, but is Lake Sallateeska's rule.  Please don't come if you can't agree to this.

Bluegrass Shack Retreat: List of Workshops

Here is the first installment, so to speak, of more information on the upcoming Bluegrass Shack Retreat to be held the last weekend of August in Pinckneyville at Lake Sallateeska. This is a list of the workshops that we plan to hold during the retreat. Workshops will be held on Saturday, August 28. Exact times will be coming soon, but at least you can see if something we are offering is of interest to you.  To view the workshops, please click HERE.  This is a 2-page .pdf document.

In addition to the workshops, we will be having jam sessions, a Hee-Haw show, bands performing, a Sunday morning gospel show, and a Friday night potluck free for all!  We are hoping to have some sessions on square dancing Friday night as well.

Does Not Play Well With Others

You've probably seen that on a shirt by now. Well, I want to change that to "Plays Well With Others." Truth be told, you would like that, too. Wouldn't you?

This blog entry is once again hitting on something that we've talked about before. Practice what you want to be able to do! I'm telling you this again because I hear it all the time. I see it all the time. My students want to play with others, but many of them only do it once every two weeks when they meet for the instructional jam.

I've heard all the excuses.
1. I can't keep up. Everyone plays too fast for me.
2. I just can't play with a recording.
3. There's no one near me to play with.
4. I get nervous just THINKING about playing with others.
5. I don't know enough songs.
6. I'm too bad. Too embarrassed. Too shy.
7. I don't know the chords. The songs. The people.
8. I don't want to bore everyone. Or drag the others down.
9. I'm not getting any better even though I've been playing with others.

I'm here to tell you that if playing with others is your goal, you just can't give up! YOU CAN DO THIS! I'm going to address each of these issues. Have you got one I'm not covering? Lay it on! E-mail me or respond to this blog entry and I'll answer you!

1. I Can't Keep Up: Of course you can't keep up! If you never practice it with others, you will never be able to keep up. That's like trying to run a marathon without training for it. If certain songs are too fast for you, play on the ones that are slower. When it's your turn to pick a song, pick something slower. You are the leader! You get to do whatever you want!

2. I Just Can't Play With a Recording: Once again, of course you can't! You have to practice it to get at it. You have to keep trying. Again and again. If the recording is too fast, then use a program to slow the recording down to a speed you CAN keep up with. Or find a different recording that is slower.

3. There's No One Near Me to Play With: You might have to practice with a recording, a DVD, a CD, the radio, etc. Maybe you could post a note at a local music store. You could also try asking people at jam sessions.

4. I'm Too Nervous: Try to relax. Don't drink any caffiene. Start off slow. Maybe you will just play backup to start with. Ask someone else to play along with you when you take the lead. Having someone else play with you will go a long ways towards making things better. Once again, to get over your nervousness, you'll just have to make yourself do it.

5. I Don't Know Enough Songs: When you get to where you know all the songs, let me know! The whole purpose of jamming is to meet new people and learn new songs! How can you learn them if you don't hear them? Usually at jam sessions the same people will tend to sing or play the same songs for a while until they learn new songs. You will be doing the same thing yourself! Take a pencil and paper with you and make a note of the songs and the keys they were played in. You might even want to take a note about the chord changes.

6. I'm Too Bad, Too Embarrassed, Too Shy: We all were at one time. I'll bet just about every musician that currently jams can tell you a story or two about when they first started jamming. It's good to remember where you are coming from because you will be that person helping someone else down the line get over feeling that way! Jamming isn't about being the best. It's about learning and having fun. It's about friendship and comraderie. If you are worried about being too loud while you are learning, then use a mute unless you are the one leading the song. Another thing to remember: Folks like to eat. Bring some cookies or other goodies and you'll be an instant hit! :o)

7. I Don't Know the Chords, the Songs, the People: Once again, of course you don't! How are you going to know that without doing that? You will learn the chords and the songs once you start going. Grab that pencil and paper and start taking notes. Better yet, bring a friend or relative along who likes music and have them help you with notes. You'll have a built in friend and support system!

8. I Don't Want to Bore Everyone or Drag Them Down: As long as you don't jump in the middle of the jam session while you are still learning and play really loud and make a scene, you'll be okay. It's not like you are the one leading every song. It's about you learning to follow them for the most part. They only follow you once every round.

9. I Don't Feel Like I'm Getting Any Better: Chances are good that you ARE getting better. You just don't FEEL like you are. Try recording yourself every once in a while so that you'll be able to hear the difference. Maybe try easier songs for a while so that you can be more confident and more successful.

When I first started entering fiddle contests, I'd get so nervous I didn't know if I was going to throw up or pass out first. I'd be in the middle of my songs on stage and inside my head I'd be asking myself why I was doing this. It was very hard to keep my concentration on my playing. All my mistakes sounded HUGE and my bow wouldn't stop shaking, especially on my waltzes. I didn't give up, though. I decided that I would start playing songs that were easier for me. I picked songs that I could play in my sleep, so to speak. This allowed me to play better and also helped me with my confidence. I continued to practice the harder songs that I wanted to play in the contests, and eventually I did play them in contests! I also tried to play the songs that I was intending to play in the contest for other people BEFORE the contest.

More than anything, don't give up! You CAN do this!

Shooting Your Own Low-Budget Video

Now this is fun!  Pure and simple.  I had no previous experience doing something like this, but then the need came about, and you know what they say...necessity is the mother of invention!  Since I didn't have a lot of time, money, experience, or expensive equipment, this is something you can do yourself!

The Pickin' Chicks decided they wanted to try out for the YouTube edition of America's Got Talent.  Our job was to shoot a 90-second video that had to be live.  (In other words, we could not dub the music into the video.)  I ended up shooting two videos, with one of them being a little bit more creative than the other.  Here's what we did.

There are four girls in the group.  Since they come from three different families, I had three moms to help.  We decided to shoot the video of the girls singing "Seven Bridges Road."  We needed a completely dark room, as the idea was to shoot the video in complete darkness.  If we had had more time, we could have done it at night outside, but this wasn't an option due to time constraints.  The room had to be big enough for all four girls, me and the three moms.  One of the teaching rooms at The Bluegrass Shack has no windows in it and is just big enough that we thought it would work out pretty good.

Here's the setup:  All four girls were laying on their backs facing the ceiling with their heads together.  Diane (Nikki and Mallory's mom) stood on a chair with a very small, LED flashlight.  Directly opposite of Diane, Rhonda (Millie's mom) stood on a stool with my digital camera.  Her head was literally in the ceiling!  Dawn (Paige's mom) helped with the flashlight and getting the girls properly positioned.  I stood in a corner with my guitar next to the lightswitch so I could turn it on and off.

Diane worked the flashlight by using her hand to block and unblock the light.  She also moved it back and forth, twirled it, and made it like a strobe light at times.  Rhonda turned the camera as she was shooting the video, and she also moved the camera closer to the girls.  I played the guitar in my little corner when it was time.  Let's just say that it took several times to get this right because it was completely black and I couldn't see any strings!!!!  Dawn kept repositioning the girls and was helping us get everything together properly.  She and Diane took turns doing the flashlight. 

It got really hot in that room.  We shot the video at least 8 to 10 times before we quit.  We couldn't have any fans or air conditioning running because it would interfere with the sound quality.  We were laughing and the girls were having the time of their lives!  I told the girls to clap for themselves when the lights went out at the end.  Me and all the moms were clapping and hollering along with the girls, and Brad (Nikki & Mallory's dad) stood outside the door (there wasn't room for him in the room) and he hollered from out there.

When the video was done, I had to edit it so it would only be 90 seconds.  I used the free program Microsoft Movie Maker to edit and publish the movie.  The only effects I used were:  1) Add text to the end; 2) Add transitions to where the cuts were made; and 3) Add a color effect so the shirts the girls wore would all be the same color and would change colors together.  Here is what we came up with.  I hope you enjoy it!  We sure had fun making it.



Oh, by the way, we didn't make the cut to America's Got Talent YouTube edition.  We got beat out by a woman singing in her bra...no kidding!