View Full Version : Camp bluegrass 2008
Camp Bluegrass
Levelland, TX
July 20-25, 2008
I kept a journal while attending Camp Bluegrass this year. After Camp I transcribed it to the PC and shared it with my friends. Several have said I need to post it. Since I took mandolin class and the journal is real mando centric I decided to post it here on the Cafe and post links on my guitar forums.
I hope this does two things:
- Gives you an insight to a residential camp
- Leaves a favorable impression of Camp Bluegrass
They have done a lot to organize it to be family friendly. There were several families their - Parents/Children and Grandparents/Children. While the kids were in clases they organized special jam opportunities for the younger players.
Levelland in about 20 miles west of Lubbock. I used Airline miles to save wear and tear on my car but most people drove in.
The first site of Camp - The Baker Center
Sunday July 20th
I thought I would never get here! I overslept! (I overslept!) The event I have been waiting for all year and I overslept. I am like anal about trip timing; you just don’t understand how traumatic this was. Wake up at 6:06 am and boarding time is 7:10 am (push back at 7:40). Thank God I’d (mostly) packed. Grab my bag, my mandolin and a grocery bag full of last minute items and it’s off to the airport.
The airport entrance is closed! Around the back we go. I get out of the car at 6:30 and “Where’s my phone?” Suddenly I see it clearly on the nightstand. “Can you go get it please?” I curbside check my bag to make sure it’s on the plane. 6:55… 7:00… 7:05… There she is!
I was going to buy us breakfast but I overslept. I was going to pick up something at the airport but I forgot my phone. I’ll get something in Dallas… “Ladies and gentlemen, there will be a delay while mechanics…” It’s going to be tight. Arriving at C4 and leaving from B7, not the farthest but it would be impossible on foot. Typical AA torture – land on the opposite side of the airport, taxi slooooowly, ground crew chatting instead of getting ready to receive the plane so we have to wait. Off the plane at 9:45 and boarding time is 9:50. I walk on the plane at 10:00 and… “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re waiting on fuel…” Thank goodness, at least my bag should get to Lubbock with me. (It did.)
Lubbock airport and all I spot open is Starbucks so it’s a Danish and milk for me, at least I won’t be light headed. Paula said to go all the way to the south and wait for the shuttle but since the terminal is a semi-circle and the sun is almost straight up I just have to guess. The shuttle arrives as planned and it’s Al Munde driving. He picks me up and we go to about half way and there are more people. I guess they could not figure it out either. On the way to Levelland Al gives us some local color commentary. When we arrive Paula takes pity on us and gives us our room keys before the official check-in.
As I’m unpacking “What’s this goop?” Turns out my Planet Waves humidity pack burst in flight. It didn’t actually hurt anything but what a mess. I checked the recall list but my packs were not on it. It was in the luggage because you can’t carry anything over 3 oz onboard the plane. I’m guessing the pressure change was a problem.
So I walked across the street for a Whopper, went to the gas station for a water bottle, deodorant, and soap (things I did not throw in the grocery bag) and came back and took a nap, whew, what a start. A little later I got up to check in. Paid the remaining fee, chatted with the newcomers and then drug out the mandolin and jammed a little. Back to the room to start this tome and get ready for the evening. By the end of registration I have no roommate, maybe it’s the reduced attendance and/or the fact I told Paula about my CPAP breathing machine and she’s being considerate for someone else.
Dinner was BBQ, OK but I ate too much. I met some new people, the best part of mealtime. Then it’s off to Tom T. Hall for the intro section. Joe Carr was in fine form joke and story wise. His humor has always been the epitome of its use for working an audience. The crowd, as always, adores him.
Back to the dorms for jamming. I participated this year. Not in a structured but a nice casual intermediate group. Sang, took breaks and had a great time. Last time I was there, in 2002, I was a little more timid. Not as bad as Joe’s ‘guy who disappears until Wednesday’ but I was hesitant. If it had not been for the structured jams I probably would not have jammed at all. Of course, what I learned last time plus some actual jamming in San Antonio has made me a little more confident. We were playing outside and I hung in until the mosquitoes became a problem. Only one senior moment, couldn’t remember the name of Cripple Creek, just tired I guess. Right now I’m relaxing, listening to my Altec Lansing IPod player since I am still by myself. I’m really looking forward to one week with no TV, no radio, no newspapers, no Internet, no e-mail and not much phone.
Following: The Outside Jam
Monday July 21st
Up at the usual time 6:30 am. Breakfast – mixed bag as usual with food at SPC. (Somehow breakfast sticks out, probably because at lunch and dinner I’m more on track and they just don’t stand out as much.) On the way in yesterday, “Happy Al” Munde pointed out the closed Reese AFB. Evidently the powdered egg stores weren’t thrown away. I would hate to think they were real eggs. Sad…
Back we go to Tom T Hall for the ‘Meet the Faculty’ session. Man, what a bunch of great players. Each was given a personal introduction and they played a little to give a flavor of their abilities. Only Eddie Adcock was missing. After this intro we were sent off to our varied classes.
There were supposed to be three mandolin instructors but Joe Carr could not hold the beginners class. So Roland White took the beginners and the intermediates wanting to concentrate on fundamentals. Steve Smith took the advanced players and the intermediates wanting to stretch. No audition, just choose. Now I can do some things pretty well but I have had NO formal mandolin instruction. Other than what I read in books it was all self taught. I wanted fundamental instruction and review so I went with Roland.
Roland did start with fundamentals punctuated by his review of ‘personal experience’ Bluegrass history. We had visitors from the Lubbock paper in our class. They did a nice article (online and maybe paper too) about this group. (BTW, I almost forgot about this because of my media blackout.) I was doing some things right from the start and others needed subtle change. I particularly like his starting form for getting set to play. Strapped up, left arm out with the neck resting in your hand with a straight wrist and your right arm coming across the body with the ball of you thumb just dusting the strings while your pick is in the right place. Today we got through “Bile ‘em Cabbage Down” and “Angeline the Baker” plus the chord structure for “Salty Dog”.
Chord structure was his big topic for today. He showed us closed chords to use in place of the traditional chop form he calls the “Bluegrass Grip”. He didn’t say to do it his way exclusively but to add these forms to our arsenal. The more chords we know the more flexible our instrument. In addition if we “keep our pups at home” we will place less stress on our hands. He emphasized hand care, in particular if you have pain stop playing.
As part of his philosophy he discussed his feelings about playing breaks for tunes – they have to hold to the melody. That is there has to be an obvious link. He illustrated by playing Bill Monroe’s version of “Bile ‘em Cabbage Down”. It got very sophisticated but the melody was always there. He says that assorted phrases played over the chords is not a break, it’s just exercise.
New to camp (since I went last anyway) were structured jam sessions every afternoon, that were divided into slow, intermediate and advanced. We were encouraged to attend a jam by a different instructor to broaden our experience. I went to Gerald Jones’s intermediate group. Gerald is very funny and multi-talented as he can play/teach guitar, mandolin and banjo. He was teaching guitar this year so I found myself the only mandolin player. I was mildly surprised that the ‘Bluegrass Police’ didn’t come get him for teaching Bluegrass guitar with a cedar topped Lowden. Besides the Lowden he also played his mandolin and banjo during the session. During the announcements before the show they made mention that Dede Wyland was actually holding an intermediate vocal jam, not the slow jam mentioned in the camp manual. Great, I love singing and it was a toss-up between her class and Roland’s.
Monday night is always ‘Guitar Night’ at Camp Bluegrass. The entire concert was great starting with Adam Granger and his typical cool-to-comical set. I really like his song about practice. He was followed on stage by Tim May. First a solo performance to demonstrate his prowess and, oh, that boy can pick. Then he is joined by Steve Smith (mandolin), Bill Evans (banjo) and Bill Honker (bass) for a really hot set.
I followed the concert with a little jamming out side. Fortunately, the mosquitoes had already gone through their post dusk subsidence. After going a few rounds I went back to my room to practice my homework and write more of this tome. Now it’s time for lights out.
The nightly Baker Center Jam
Tuesday July 22nd
The eggs were edible today with good bacon and Dutch fries, much better. We get silly talking about old comedies (Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, etc., etc.). Roland White joins us and we get to talking about accents, not musical but spoken. We covered New England, England and Scotland. Being from Maine, Roland had the leg up on the New England accent but he could do most any of the ones we discussed.
Morning class again and we’re into the double stops. We did some yesterday on “Bile ‘em Cabbage Down” but today’s efforts are more sophisticated in nature. I might have been able to hang with the other class but Roland is really hitting the subject I care about the most – fundamentals. I’m not the only one as ‘semi-staff’ member Susan Dailey (who runs the official Slow Jam for Joe) is there for the same thing.
My Eastman hangs in but I feel a little on the other side of the tracks, as in the room are a couple of custom built, two Gibsons, three Collings and a Henderson. Still, nothing but Roland’s light lacquer Gibson really stood out. (Peaking through the door I noticed that all the other Eastmans, the MKs and the Kentuckys were in the advanced class.) I played “Cripple Creek” with Roland and Susan after yesterday’s class and today we are trading off on “Kentucky Waltz”. Boy, talk about a confidence booster. I’m not in his league (can’t even see the field) but just the fact that he will play with me means the world. In fact most of the Camp Bluegrass instructors seem to be very generous with their non-class time.
Tuesday afternoon was the ‘Harmony Singing Workshop’ where they teach us about Bluegrass harmony. They always use a gospel tune because those typically have the best harmony arrangements. In addition to the usual information on the tenor working from the third of the lead, the baritone working from the fifth of the lead and the bass singing the chord root, this year’s class dealt with call and response variations. Besides just dividing us up by part and leading the singing they also did a demonstration on how to work out a harmony in a band setting. This was very interesting to see demonstrated and it’s something I want to explore further.
This afternoon I went to Dede Wyland’s structured vocal jam. I love to sing and I had considered taking her vocal course but I just needed the mandolin fundamentals more, for now. I thought that this would be a good way to get a feel for her as an instructor. As we were getting settled she had to step out for a minute. I was fooling around with an intro to “Rank Stranger” and the group asked me to just kick it off, so I did. It went pretty well as far as getting the breaks in and remembering the words. Dede came in while we were singing and noted it was good we were a self-starting group. The best part was when she told me “That was good singing.” Wow! She keeps the group flowing really well, making sure the song selected is not so obscure that no one can play or sing it. During the session I was doing my adaptive rhythm for the different songs (by just playing what I hear in my head). The mandolin players left a little early to go to Joe Carr’s workshop and as we were leaving she leaned over to me and said, “That was really good mandolin playing.” Wow, again!
Joe Carr’s ‘Simple Mandolin Breaks” workshop was great. I always enjoy his wit and having him wrap it around something really useful like this is a big bonus. His approach is to reduce a tune to its basic element. That’s where anybody who knows the tune will recognize it for what it is, but it’s simple. This ties in very well with Roland’s concerns about staying true to the tune. I too want to feel the tune in the music. You can do a lot creatively without abandoning the basic structure.
The concert tonight started with Peter Langston. He did a solo set starting with a western swing tune. He had the crowd on his side when he did the mouth trombone. The next set was by SPC’s newest instructor, Beth Meade (who has taken ‘Happy Al’ Munde’s banjo slot). Her set was very nice with the highlight being the vocal trio of her, Dede and Chris.
Next up was the legendary Eddie Adcock. There was much talk at camp about his health problems and it was apparent with the effort required to get up on stage that it is serious. Once he was seated he addressed that and noted how the (unspecified) surgery was going to make him a new man. His body may need to be renewed but his picking was still hot. He tore it up on banjo and guitar, trading off the latter two with Al and accompanied by Roland. Al spoke with deep affection for Eddie and it seemed mutual. The commentary was little edgier than typical for Camp Bluegrass but crowd seemed to enjoy it. The final set of the night featured Roland White. He interspersed his tunes with stories of Bluegrass history as he lived it.
Tonight I went and checked the Slow Jam. I’m interested in using some the materials and techniques locally. I also want an organized group with which to practice some of the things I’ve been learning in class. (Experience has shown me that playing with people is an important tool for getting technique right.) In the same vein, I’ve been asked several times why I’m in the beginner class. Well I remind them that it is the ‘beginner-intermediate’ class (with Steve Smith running the ‘intermediate-advanced’ class). The reason is getting those mandolin fundamentals. I’m self-taught coming from guitar perspective. I have books but I just don’t think they have the same value as an expert instructor. (Roland said that when they wrote his book the first draft had over a hundred pages!) I probably could have hung with the other class but I just wanted to go back to the basics, to get the firm foundation. I’m writing this sitting in the Baker Center enjoying the music from the indoor jam.
Dede's Structured Jam
Wednesday July 23rd
Well it’s ‘hump day’ and classes are half over. Anytime I do something like this the midpoint is bittersweet, I mourn the coming close. This opposed to a business trip, though I like what I do, where the midpoint is a relief.
I could not take the eggs this morning – once again very overcooked. I know I shouldn’t complain but even McDonalds can do better. Maybe it’s just something about music camps as I have heard, and read, the same thing about several other college based camps. Well it’s not about the food anyway…
I have some amount of technique but I still feel like a beginner. My playin’ has got past my learnin’. In particular I’m learning a lot about the effective use of double stops. I do OK getting most tunes down by ear but the richness has been lacking, even with the use of tremolo. The double (and triple) stops really fill a tune out. Roland also uses some amount of cross picking to express the same notes. So you can double-stop, cross pick or tremolo the same pair of notes depending on the effect desired.
Today’s music was “My Old Cabin Home on the Hill”, “Clinch Mountain Backstep” and “Kentucky Waltz”. We also spent some time on intros and turn-arounds, from the simplest ‘potatoes’ to the I-V-I to the use of a characteristic phrase. Roland demonstrated these with above tunes. “Kentucky Waltz” is one of my ‘jam songs’ (everybody in a regular jam has personal favorites, and boy don’t you feel stepped on when another regular takes it). Today we did it with a bunch of different chords than the ones I use though it was in the same key of D that I play it in. They’re interesting but I’m not sure I’ll change the way I do it completely. I do need to get the lead down lower on mandolin to follow the low vocal notes.
This afternoon I went back to Dede’s structured jam. She called on me to lead it off. I started with “Katy Daley” it went around the room once and I called “Nine Pound Hammer” for my second song. I really liked this jam but I’ll go to Gerald’s or Bill Evan’s tomorrow. There’s going to be a seminar on sound tomorrow that, once again, cuts into the structured jam. I’d like to know if it’s practical or lecture/demo.
The evening concert started with Gerald and his son, Ian (also Django), playing classical pieces on mando and octave mando, respectively. I’m not sure the Gilchrist is the best at the classic repertoire but it still sounded pretty good. Then they were joined by ‘Happy Al’ and Tim May and played some classic rock, swing and jazz – very cool stuff. Tim can really blaze away but I was more impressed tonight by his more reserved and tasty licks. After that there was another pickup band playing some familiar tunes. I hate that I can’t name them specifically, tunes or players, but we were all waiting for the night’s most anticipated act – Dede Wyland.
Oh, my! Can That Girl Sing! Her whole set was great but a couple of things stand out. She does a yodeling song where she holds a long high note (in 2002 they did two ABs of “Old Joe Clark” under her) only Bill Evans forgot he was supposed to end the song when she gave him the high sign. Wow, does she have breath control. Then came the highlight of the show – The Rodeo Song (actually Dan Seal’s “All That Glitters Isn’t Gold”). Everybody cried, particularly when she hit that high a capella phrase “… but oh---------------------------- sometimes I think about you…” that was magic. She dedicated the song to Joe Carr. The show ended with an encore performance of “Angel Band” as a group sing-along. We still had plenty of emotion to give.
Whew, what a day. Tonight I didn’t jam. I’m not hurt like last time (when I tripped and fell flat on my face at Wally world), I’m just running out of steam. I’ve stayed true to my plan of not taking extensive notes and I didn’t even bring a recorder. I think I’ve done better by paying attention. I’ll digest the classes into a document a couple weeks after camp.
Roland White Jamming With Campers
Thursday July 24th
It’s 11:30 pm as I sit here and recount the day’s events. I can hear the last late night jams down the hall. Some people are bothered but I am soothed by what Bill Monroe called “the ancient tones.” I’m writing this with pen and paper. That’s right, real writing not word processing. No display, no mouse, no incessant noise other than the sound of pen on paper. There is a reality to pen on paper that you don’t get with a computer. It’s also analogous to my media blackout. This week I have watched no TV, listened to no radio, read no newspaper, surfed no Internet, answered no e-mails and only spoke on the phone with my wife.
Today I hit the wall for processing new stuff. I could see what was to be played, I understood how to play it, and I just could not get it done. A lot of the problem was with the double (and triple) stopping. Because it’s not part of my fundamentals (yet) it just doesn’t come naturally. It humbles me to fail, teaches me that I need to do what Adam says – practice. (Oh, and you rush too. Thanks, where’s that metronome?) When I reduce it to the melody it was better and the things we had done before were OK. No pain, no gain… they say. Everybody was getting a little tired so we encouraged more story telling from Roland and he indulged us. BTW, his Monroe impersonation is eerie it’s so good.
The best part of the afternoon class was when we went down to Bill Honker’s bass class and played with them. 10 basses and 10 mandolins together with Bill playing the guitar. Bill noted that many basses in unison sound like a tuba. I listened and it did! The coolest thing was when Bill had them demonstrate walking the bass to “All of Me.” Roland picked up the tune and Bill did rhythm. After the morning crash, I was surprised to find that I could pick a pretty good match to what Roland was doing. I think that showed the value of my ‘think of a tune, play it’ practice. Further, I think this means as I go forward with my practice on what Roland was teaching it should fall into place too.
Jam time and I wanted to go to Bill Evans jam but the banjo group was still in their meeting. So I went over to Gerald’s. There were a lot of people in Adam’s slow jam but Gerald’s didn’t get off home plate. It was cool just chatting with Gerald, like always. I then went to the sound reinforcement seminar. It was interesting but not much help for me as it was oriented to festival / concert hall sound. What I want to know is when I go to Harwood and step up to their system what do I tell them. They talked briefly about working a vocal mic close but what about the use of vocal and instrument mics in smaller settings or recording. You can’t do everything of course.
The last instructor show was tonight. Steve Smith’s band and the Alan Munde Gazette were the prime acts. Steve Smith was up first with a really nice high energy set. There was an intermission with Ian (Django) Jones playing two classical pieces on octave mandolin. (If Gerald’s son and Jerry Jeff Walker’s formed a band they could be the “Djangoaires”. If they did a Christmas album it could be “Djangle Bells”… Stop!) Up at last was the Alan Munde Gazette. They played new songs and they were real good. I particularly liked “Haul Away” (maritime grass?) The hurricane song was good. I know it’s about Katrina and New Orleans but it seems to speak to every one who has lived through one – you never forget it. I wonder how our friend Pat felt about it after worrying about her house in Pt. Isabel during the first days of Camp. Still, I would have liked to have heard some of the old Gazette tunes.
I went to Susan’s slow jam for the last evening. I was too tired to put in much effort at a jam, I thought. Once I got to playing I regained some energy, good thing because Susan persuaded me to join the “Slow Jam Band” for the show tomorrow. We’re doing “Old Joe Carr Clark”. The bass player came up with this joke - it made us hysterical. Back to the room and back to my writing. I don’t have to rush my departure as I’m on the 4:00 pm shuttle to the airport so there’s plenty of time to pack after lunch. I’m sure glad they gave me that Camp Bluegrass bag, my grocery bag split.
Now it’s time to say goodnight. I’m anxious about the performance. BTW, true to my plan my sum total of notes is one line, the chord pattern to “Salty Dog” that Roland told us to jot down.
Here's the Slow (and Homework Practice) Jam
Friday July 25th
All packed and sitting in the Baker Center with Helen playing sad classical music on the piano. It’s a little over an hour until my shuttle but the room (no longer mine) is too close, too small, too confining now that I have packed. In the Baker Center I will at least see the people coming through. Mark from Pennsylvania comes by and we start talking about the Martin factory and its history and presence. Jeff and Rose come out and we talk about finding good instruments, traffic in Austin and good places to jam. Mary from Pennsylvania comes out to wait for the van.
The van arrives and we pile in and, except for a few extra minutes waiting for Dede, it’s off to the airport. The Texas High Plains roll by – and boy is it flat. The ride is punctuated by quiet conversation.
Through check-in and it’s up to the gate. Late plane, a little at first then really late. I call the AA Gold line and get my flight to San Antonio rebooked to the late one. Maybe it’s just me… no, no it’s not… it’s American.
But I skipped ahead…
Morning, up at 6:30 again. I should have brought aspirin for the stiffness but it dissipates fast, well not forever. Since I’m going to pack later I don’t make the bed. I’m not sure why I have been making it, being by myself this week. Maybe it’s a sense of order.
One last breakfast, I sit with Harold who is hysterically funny. I have to run back to the room for the mandolin before the concert starts. I get to watch the start and it’s very entertaining. I have to leave for Slow Jam Band rehearsal. Susan is still practicing with the trio that will play immediately before us. Since we’re a big group we have to have a plan to get on stage and, being a tech geek, I drew one up while watching the early performers. When Susan is free we line up by the plan and practice. I want to speed so I try extra hard to get the tempo under control. The bass room really muffles the bass sound so it requires concentration. Susan comes back to shoo us to the hall. Up on stage, find our position and off we go. I’m singing tenor to the lead. I think this is only the second time I’ve sung with a microphone and I try to keep the advice to choke up to it in mind. The tune and song go pretty well. We start and stop together. We may have sped up a little but not a terrible amount. We get a nice round of applause at the end. Later several people stop me and say how much they enjoyed our performance and my singing. What a nice thing to do.
One last lunch and a chance to say goodbye to everybody. Walk back to the dorm with Harold and wait with him for his shuttle. Back to the room, pack it up and go hang in the Baker Center.
Meanwhile back at the airport…
More delays on top of the earlier delay… It turns out the Dallas flight we were scheduled on is going out later than the next flight, so I get that changed too. As typical for Dallas with time to spare, I have no worries. We land on the same side of the airport, the gates are 100 yards apart and I have over an hour to wait. Mark, Mary and Dede, on the other hand, may have been stranded.
Back in the real world… bright lights, big city… TVs every 50 feet… CNN Airport News… USA Today… Is this actually progress?
Oh, why did I subtitle this “Do Not Spit in the Water Fountain”? These signs are all over the campus:
PS: I mentioned many times the evening concerts. The venue is excellent. The sound is excellent. There's a good view from every seat in the room. Here's a picture of Roland's band playing:
birdman98
Aug-19-2008, 1:24am
George,
That made for some great afternoon reading material. Thanks for sharing!
mandolirius
Aug-19-2008, 3:51am
I had a really great time at Camp Bluegrass around ten years ago....thanks for bringing back some happy memories! I was there as a sort of "guest of the camp" as I was a staffer at another, very similar camp. Everyone was so friendly and hospitable, especially when they found out I was Canadian. I think there's a bond there because Canda's pretty big too and big is important in Texas. I saw steaks in the grocery store you'd need a forklift to carry. Anyway, sounds like you had as good a time as I did.
mandopete
Aug-19-2008, 9:25am
Thursday July 24th
Here's the Slow (and Homework Practice) Jam
Looks like my friend Ken Weil (with his arm raised).
bryankimsey
Aug-19-2008, 12:02pm
Oh, why did I subtitle this “Do Not Spit in the Water Fountain”? These signs are all over the campus:
It's Texas, dude. Half, maybe 3/4 of the male students (and some of the female students, too!) dip snuff. Gotta spit somewhere. When I went to SPC in '80-82, a) I started dipping, b) they didn't have those signs, c) most of the instructors dipped, too. One big happy family. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Enjoyed the report.
Ted Eschliman
Aug-19-2008, 12:11pm
It's a gross but legitimate concern: the detrimental health effects of second-hand chaw...
Chiledog
Aug-19-2008, 6:25pm
Wow GW, thanks for posting this. It's nice to know what actually happens in a camp. Now if I just had some money for next year...
Peace,
Todd
Well this year it was $600 for classes, room and board. I did walk across the street each day to get a coke for a buck. You could try some simple strategies: (from easy to hard)
- Pack your own lunch
- Have water instead of soda or beer when you eat out
- Have one beer instead of two
- Stay home and practice instead of wandering around in your car
- Drink house brand liquor instead of calls
- Quit smoking or reduce by half at least
Thursday July 24th
Here's the Slow (and Homework Practice) Jam
Looks like my friend Ken Weil (with his arm raised).
He's signaling the chord by the Nashville number system. A good idea for a large slow jam. Susan made some cards with numbers and that was easier to see. She also made cards with instrument pictures to tell which group to take a break.
ElJefe
Aug-22-2008, 5:03pm
My 2nd year to go. #I want to take mandolin next year.
Great people with a few strange ones...like me.
See you there next year.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2006/2353730048_3f1fd9838b.jpg