There I was, sitting in one of the Nashville Mellow Mushroom pizzerias after spending 3 days totally geeking out on everything Dobro. Yep, for the dobro heads reading this I am reporting as a student from the aftermath of that annual apocalyptic event called Resosummit. The Mellow Mushroom has a special place in my errr heart because they started in a small building on Spring Street next to Georgia Tech in Atlanta. In fact the Mellow Mushroom was the closest pizza joint to Georgia Tech and I enjoyed many, many, many of their pizzas. It was once rumored that if you were known at the Mush, and were willing to pay a premium for your pizza, they would sprinkle special ingredients on the topping that were supposed to enhance your appetite and enlighten your gustatory appreciation. I do not personally know if this rumor was true, but it is an interesting mythology appropriate for the 70’s.
Now, while I love living in California, I’m a Georgia boy at heart and one of the humorous asides I tell people is that I had to move from the South to California to learn how to play bluegrass. I think this is funny in a backasswards kind of way, but there is no mistaking the influence California has had on bluegrass music. Let’s start with the Resosummit. This annual gathering of sliders is the brainchild of a California son, and one of the best resophonic players, and musicians in the world, by the name of Rob Ickes. If you are into bluegrass and from California you know Rob and probably know someone in his family, a real California bluegrass family. Rob, a Californian, started Resosummit 10 years ago, produced in collaboration with Betty Wheeler, a Californian, with volunteer support from Dwight Worden, a Californian and ex-IBMA board member, and with instructors from California, Rob, Ivan Rosenberg, and Mike Witcher, whose father, a Californian…along with another 3 or 4 Californians were also at the ‘Summit. Are you catching my drift here? Let’s see what else Californian bluegrass we can unearth…consider Roland White, his brother Clarence White, Peter Rowan, David Grisman, Leroy Mac, Laurie Lewis, Kathy Kallick, Bill Evans, Molly Tuttle, John Mailander, Jim Nunnally, Keith Little, Daryl Anger, Frank Solivan, Vern and Ray, The Kentucky Colonels, Front Country…and I know (and apologize) there are more than I am listing here, but I am brain dead from dobro overload and sleep deprivation.
What do most of these California bluegrass pioneers have in common? The CBA Music Camp. Some of those folks went through one of the CBA music programs, many taught at the CBA music camp or youth academy, and some have done both. All are internationally known as ground-breaking musicians in many genres, not only bluegrass.
Are you catching my drift yet?
If you are not, let me explicitly spell it out for you…this is our rollout article for the 2017 CBA Music Camp. I mean think about the stuff I wrote above…if you want to get some serous bluegrass chops there isn’t a better way than to come attend the CBA music camp. Are you catching my drift now? But really, it is a great experience and we have a wonderful, thriving community at camp that is hard to find elsewhere.
The countdown has officially started, so pack your bags, get your computers at the ready, mark your calendars, and set your alarms because registration for the 2017 CBA Music Camp will open at noon 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.
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 11.
