This has been an amazing experience. Yesterday we taught a workshop named "putting the unusual in your sound". At first we said what on earth do they mean by this??? and then we realized that this is exactly what we do the best and above all other workshops that we have ever taught this one sorta suits us best. We pieced together each part that each of us play then built it section by section and for us it was even so fascinating to see what everyone plays individually. I think i felt a reflection of wow i'm so proud of what we do. Anyway, we got them playing hip hop beats and playing one note like you mean it. It was really great fun. Then benjy and i taught our class Ilan's Tune as we call it. Sax, 3 violins, mandolin and dulcimer. It's a rockin band they came up with ideas for arranging, which included ending the tune with vocal percussion sounds and walking off stage. Such professionals. called themselves Vlad and the impalers.
Sxip and Rima did a workshop on pushing boundaries, they did cluck old hen with guida, mandolin, fiddle and guitar. This fiddler was awesome she rocked like rima, literally came up with lines that rima would have played, a little fiddle rima coming up.
But dang this experience was amazing, the people that put this on and come to it are music enthusiasts and they are into learning new stuff, they don't have those confidence things and can't do something new. they are funny people they laugh alot. The other teachers there were truly inspiring too. Joel Macabeus who is a singer-songwriter played amazing charming funny songs, then songs with a cause and songs with a story, really moving. Then this awesome oldtime band called orpheus Supertones, made really excited to get down to mt. Airy fiddlers convention.
This camp has a lot of work to do on the food situation,i ate chocolate coffee floats 3x's a day, wait...ok that wasn't the bad part. Nevermind, i was happy with coffee floats 3 times a day.
A pretty funny moment was walking up campus sidewalk and hearing "you are my sunshine" sung by over 100 people holding their instruments and posing for group photo. funny and sweet.
And to top it all it's perfect springtime weather. On friday i walked by the peonie patch and they were tight little blossoms on sunday they were in full bloom releasing all their infectious scent. It was such a flashback from my childhood. I remember waiting for the bus at the end of the lane and watching the same progression. For a few days the peonies would be covered with ants crawling all around over the tight buds then one day magically they would burst and it was one of my most favorite smells, right after the honey locust smell that came out of the 4 trees in our front yard. Ahhhh, springtime.
