Kicking Off Our Run-Up to Music Camp 2016 by Geoff Sargent and Peter Langston
Sunday November 15, 2015
Some of you might know that at least one of the authors (and I suspect both) have a fondness for Monty Python and an overactive imagination for all things irreverent. I can only imagine what kind of fertile ideas that comedy troupe could find in our little Music Camp and Festival, but instead I challenge you to create something special for 2016 at our gathering under the pines in Grass Valley, CA from June 12-19. Oh my, I can imagine flying killer rabbit drones targeting banjo pickers on their quest for what I can’t imagine, a bureau of funny bass player walks, the infamous dead parrot….err dead fiddle skit, the “Is your dobro a goer, Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Nudge-nudge. Wink-wink. Say no more.” skit and grassified rearrangements of the Lumberjack song (Oh I am a guitar picker and I’m ok…) and Philosophers song (Aristotle, Aristotle got his wisdom from a mando, Renee Descartes was a merry old fart, I pick therefore I am…).
So Yes ladies and gentlemen, musicians, campers, and even banjo players, it is that time of year where we start thinking about things like the 2016 Father’s Day Festival and our most excellent music camp. To tease you a bit for 2016 I want to ask you to look at the announced bands for the 2016 festival and imagine just who you would like to take a class from at Music Camp. So far the bands we have announced for the festival are Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass, Crary, Evans, and Spurgin, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, Rocky Neck Bluegrass Band, Barwick and Siegfried, and The Roustabouts.
Ok now, close your eyes, click your heels three times (sorry wrong musical genre) and imagine yourself at Music Camp, sitting under the pines and maybe in a mandolin workshop with FRANK SOLIVAN (!)…..just maybe. Imagine it. Oh you could go down the list of bands and have a good old time with this exercise. We will be teasing you with additional possibilities and certainties over the next few months. Hee hee I’m going to have fun with this (of course Peter is shaking his head and saying “now Geoff…”).
The 2015 camp was a smashing success. It seems like Peter and Janet outdid themselves and we can look forward to an even more interesting camp for 2016. Apparently the success of 2014 was not a fluke in that 2015 was similarly successful. Once again, the 2015 roster of instructors was of extremely high quality, and consisted of both perennial teachers and long-time favorites such as John Reischman, Sally Van Meter, Bill Evans, Molly and Jack Tuttle, Laurie Lewis, Jim Nunally, Kathy Kallick, Carol McComb,and Keith Little, and newer favorites such as Bruce Molsky, Sam Grisman, Mike Witcher, John Mailander, Mike Compton, Joe Newberry, and Chris Henry. All the instructors received glowing praise and some of these favs will hopefully return for 2016, it just wouldn’t be the same without them!
Every year we help out some of our students and in 2015 twelve full or partial scholarships were given out to students who would not have been able to attend otherwise. The CBA has a strong mandate for education as part of our mission to promote bluegrass, old time music and gospel and this is just one way we get to help. Overall, we try to keep the number of camp attendees at just over 200, 225 to be precise, but in 2015 somehow we ended up with 260 students. I was gob smacked when I heard that, but from my perspective the camp vibe didn’t feel crowded and had a good energy.
So start the countdown, mark your calendars, set your alarms because registration for the 2016 CBA Music Camp will open on February 7. The music camp website http://cbamusiccamp.com will contain new information as the teachers are hired.
And we would like to remind you that you can give CBA Music Camp as a gift for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Graduation, Birthdays Valentine’s Day, and even April Fool’s Day. Check it out at our web site.
We’d like to leave you with a sampling of quotes from the evaluation for the 2015 music camp. Keep the batteries fresh in your tuners, keep your strings clean and polished, and keep your picks close at hand because we’re agonna be kicking up some sand come June 12.
“Wonderful job! Thank you so much! See you next year.”
“Thank you for all your hard work to make the music camp such an enjoyable experience!”
“Mealtime was such a luxury, made it a real vacation for me, and I loved eating all together – had many lovely conversations with other students and teachers.”
“Thank you Janet & Peter….You both get a 10. You might not be from Nashville but you’re the only Tenn….I see!”
“The instructor for old time banjo was excellent! He included everyone; he made everyone feel good about what they were doing; he taught the tunes well; he played each phrase over and over while we played along until we got it. He was also a genuinely nice guy. Thank you for a superb camp!”
“I like the increased number of electives. I liked the range of offerings. Also the themed jams.”
“Everything ran very smoothly. The staff at check in were very kind and helpful, both Peter and Janet are so nice and enthusiastic. There was so much to choose from. I liked the singing electives, too. I loved the gospel singing elective on the last day; it’s just what I needed. It was very well organized. Just great, thanks!”
“I think the camp does a good job of providing instruction and opportunity to improve jamming skills. Keep up the good work”
“You folks do a great job running this camp. I’ve never been to another camp, but see no reason to do so!”
“Let’s do it again next year!”
