Strawberry

[duuuude]

Just got back from 12 days pickin' in the woods with about 5,000 of my closest freinds! Things just kept gettin' better & better, from hangin' and jammin' pre-fest with Benig and friends, to jammin' inside the lodge for the first time, to jammin' for 4 hours with my son and his cousin, twice! A musical bootcamp, learned more in that time than a month of Sundays.

Oh, and the stage acts were awesome too but didn't make it up there quite as much with all the music goin' on in the campgrounds. Do remember bein' impressed with Seldom Scene and Sara Lee Guthrie. Wonder if Arlo named her after the bakery treats? Railroad Earth, Laura Love, David Bromberg, Mollie O'Brien, what a great time!

And kudos to Benignus for knockin 'em dead at the band scramble with his version of Stillhouse, he nailed it and the folks loved it! Sorry I missed the Breakfast Club performance. Seems he's makin' a name for himself up in 'Berryland, gotta start hangin' out with him more and maybe some will rub off, LOL.

Mandolooter, CarolynBeth, stanley, we really missed all of you and hope y'all make it at least next fall. Though stanley was honored and remembered repeatedly by many one evening while pickin' at the campsite.
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[Michael H Geimer]

Man-oh-man! What a trip! I'm overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

I was completely stunned by all the positive attention I got from that Band Scramble performance. People were stopping me all weekend to ask what 'band I was in'. I'll have to find a way to get my band up there come Spring time.

But, I was severly humbled about my mandolin playing. I just cannot seem to 'hang on' at Bluegrass tempos. Part of that seems to be my three-finger grip, but also I just plain 'choke'.

I guess that's the good news/bad news side of hanging out with players who are above your skill level. I'm inspired to push myself further along this path, but I'll also be taking some steps backwards as I attempt to adjust my pick grip to the curled first-finger and thumb type grip.

I was asked to play back-up for that wedding reception going on out on Coyote Meadow. I showed up right when I was supposed to and Craig says to me, "Good you're here. We're on next." I had enough time to stap on the Weber, and walk out on stage! Eeeck! Somehow we pulled it off.

Ya' know ... I don't think I ever made it all the way through anyone's set. For me, it was all about the jams!

Plus, Strawberry is the only place left where people (Zeke, Michael Lewis, Duuude) actually call me 'Benignus'. It's nice to hear that name aloud ... it's been a while.

- Benig

[pickles]

Ah, Strawberry! Haven't been there in about 20 years. Do they still broadcast from the main stage so you can pick it up in the camping area, via a transmitter up a tree?

[Michael H Geimer]

Hog Radio 88(oink)1

Hopefully my friend Ziggy will send me a copy of my Breakfast Club performance. I feel like we played well, and if that's true I'll post up an MP3.

[pickles]

I'll have to get back there one of these years.

Love Laura Love, by the way! One year at Millpond, when my daughter was 3, she had LL sign her belly. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Michael H Geimer]

Hey ... we're totally forgetting to mention the Czech contingent.

Wednesday night - just before the festival - there is typically some 'hot' picking circles that gather on the porch of the nearby Evergreen Lodge. Well, all the jams broke up when the Czech band Fragment started playing. These folks are incredible. Word spread that they still needed tickets to the festival, but that situation changed as some passes were donated, and folks bought CDs to help pay for the rest.

I missed their gig at The Breakfast Club, but heard it was stellar. "They're the talk of the festival, and they're not even on the main stage!", was one comment I heard.

Joe Bob says, "Czech 'em out".

[carolynbeth]

Sounds like Strawberry just keeps getting better and better...Benignus, way to go! duuuude, see ya next year for sure. Maybe I'll be able to keep up with you guys by then...
well, probably not. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

CB http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[mandolooter]

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[duuuude]

Cheer up 'looter, there's always next year, and think of all the new tunes you'll be wowing us with. Maybe another Cafe reunion is in order!
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