Wintergrass

[Spruce]

The Midnight Mando Jam:



His feet wiggled when he soloed:



A new Smart F5....
Notice anything strange?



It's the bug hole...
Gotta love it...

[Spruce]

Ran into this A3 at the midnight meeting...
Just wow....

[Spruce]

Eric Foulke's django-inspired mandolin...
This thing sounds great...

[Spruce]

Sarah Jarosz rocks a Sullivan....

[amowry]

Bruce, thanks for bringing highlights to those of us who couldn't attend!

[Nolan]

So, what mandolins did you all like there? I really liked the F5C Gilchrist at Greg Boyds. The Heiden was #2for me. The other mandolin that I liked a lot but it was totally different from the Gil/Heiden tone was the Wilson mandolin at Craig Wilson's table. I'd never heard of Wilson mandolins before but I met Craig there and played his mandolin and that mandolin really has the Loar thing going on. If you get a chance to meet Craig and play one of his mandolins dont' pass it up!

[Spruce]

So, what mandolins did you all like there? I really liked the F5C Gilchrist at Greg Boyds.

That was my first call too....
Just a killer mandolin....

Austin Clark had an A that really spoke to me as well...

The aforementioned Eric Foulke Nuage sounded amazing, and is one of the best non-arched mandos I've ever heard...
It could hold it's own in any jam...

So many mandos, so little time...(and money)....

[mandopete]

Wow, looks like the new forum software likes BIG pictures!

First off let me say a big thanks to everyone who showed up for the Meet 'N Greet on Friday night. In my mind I had envisioned more of a cocktail party that an actual jam session, huh, silly me. And for that I apologize as we were woefully undersized in the media room. I am already working with the Wintergass folks to see if we can line up a much larger space for next year.

Now, on to the fun. I brought the Knob Creek (which disappeared fast I noticed) and I still have some of the Wild Turkey Rare Breed left. I heard there was single malt - I didn't see (or smell) it. It appears that beer was drink of choice.

But the piece of resistance was having Frank Solivann and Jesse Cobb light it up on the mando jam. Those are two of my all time favorite pickers and it was an absolute blast getting a chance to play along side them. I got Frank to kick it on Screened In which it cool tune that he wote and makes a great jam tune. And what can you say about Jesse Cobb that hasn't been said. What a truly great picker and humble musician he is.

And thanks for Spruce for clicking some great photos. Someone used my camera to take some pictures and all I can say is thanks. I was just so busy between picking and sipping I plain forgot the camera. Thanks to Martin for bringing the mandocello. I think Jesse got a real kick out of that puppy. Thanks to Rod Bachman for adding the bass (note to self - bring bass next time).

Okay here's the first shot. Jesse and I were only two Collings in the room as I recall....

[mandopete]

Okay, here's another view of the mando jam looking backwards. Not only were we graced by Jesse Cobb and Frank Solivann, but Mark Miracle from Sawmill Road sneaked in too. That's him on the left along with my friend Lance Brittain, who's mandola is the instrument I was playing when the "Post a Picture of Yourself" thread kicked off years ago. A there's Carl Chatski on the right. I also got to see some old friends like Hide Kawatsure and we took a stab at Whiskey Before Breakfast (well it was after dinner akshully) in harmony (he did better at than I did).

[mandopete]

Okay, now to answer Nolan's question about the favorite mandolin at Wintegrass. For me it was Lawrence Smart's 10-string fan fret device. I ran into him down in the vendor area and he was toting one along for Mike Marshall that he graciously let me pick on. What a cool intrument. It's like having a mandolin and mandola in the same box. I found that the fan frets worked really well (as long as you don't look down) and the short scale made it totally comfortable to play. This one was a real winner all around!

[mandopete]

...and the aforementioned Lawrence Smart.

[mandopete]

And lastly and certainly leastly. Seen at Greg Boy's display.

Hmmm, is it or isn't it?

(only her hairdresser knows for sure)

[mandopete]

On balance this was one of the best (and busiest) Wintergrass' for me. I was fortunate to be chosen to emcee the main stage this year and I don't think I cursed all weekend. We had some great interviews in the media room with Tim O'Brien, The Steep Canyon Rangers, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Seldom Scene and Mike Marshall. I also spent time with local favorites Prairie Flyer, The Downtown Mountain Boys and Ranger & The Rearrangers. I got to hear some great stories about John Duffey from the source, Ben Eldredge, that was a hoot. I got to present Ron Thomasson with a nice big box of doughnuts as he was not happy that folks here in hospitality room cut the doughnuts in half. And the highlight for me was all of the great performances by the The Duo and Vasen (those guys are tall and talented).

Now can the Nyckelharpa Cafe be far off?

[Buddah]

So, what did y'all think about the new venue? I had to miss out on Wintergrass this year, but always enjoyed the Tacoma scene...how did Bellevue compare?

[Spruce]

So, what did y'all think about the new venue? I had to miss out on Wintergrass this year, but always enjoyed the Tacoma scene...how did Bellevue compare?

Bellevue simply smoked the Tacoma venue (whatever the hell it's called now)...
(You might take this with a grain of salt, as I quit going to Tacoma 3-4 years ago....)

No contest whatsoever on every level....

[Jeff Harvey]

Hey Nolan, I am the proud owner of Wilson #5. He built it to my specs and I am so happy with it. He is a great guy and charges a fair price. For a new builder, he is really starting at a high point. He is somewhat of a perfectionist and I think that comes through in his mandos! Thanks Craig!

[markd]

I agree tht Bellevue was a way better set up. For those who could not make it or who chose not to go to Wintergrass this year because of the move from Tacoma, you missed out on a really great time. The new Bellevue venue for this event was truly a great one and a very nice move in my opinion. Lot of easy free parking, plenty of places to eat, lots of room to walk around and for vendor booths, everything under one roof, super nice facility with great sound, good layout and plenty of places to jam. I spent all day Friday and Saturday there – and stayed up until about 3:00 am each night – playing and visiting with bluegrassers from all over the country. Terrific small workshops with Tim O'Brien, John Reischman, Mike Marshall - the midnight Mando Cafe gathering was fabulous as noted and pictured above and a highlight - were worth the price of admission alone to me. Great shows by Tim O'Brien (with Bryan Sutton on guitar and Mike Bub on bass - fantastic) the Stringdusters with Jessie Cobb, Mike Marshall, John Reischman and many, many more. Really good stuff.

If you did not go, you really missed out. The only thing that I missed - and most everyone I talked to said the same thing - was the old Church Stage venue in Tacoma. The old Grace Lutheran Church in Tacoma was called the Church Stage - it was a 5-6 blocks up the street from the main hotel venue and a bit of a walk for some, esp in the rain, but it was one of the greatest venues in bluegrass -in some ways, a bit reminicient of the Ryman. But you can't have everything and as cool as the Church venue was, I will take the Bellevue site anytime. Many, many kudos to the Acoustic Sound-Wintergrass folks for a job well done.

Mark

[Michael Ramsey]

Aaron really wanted to come to the meet & greet on Friday night. As evidenced by the travelling travails that the Mountain Heart crew suffered, it wasn't meant to be. Aaron's flight was supposed to be on the ground around 9 PM pst. He had planned on checking in, resting a bit and then getting to the gathering. After being re-routed through Houston instead of Detroit, his plane touched down about 12:30 AM pst (which felt like 3 AM est) and it didn't happen.

As a side note he touched down in Greensboro, NC (2 hours from our home) at 7 PM last night to find out his bag (which contained his car keys) was SUPPOSED to arrive at 10:30. That came and went and as of 11 PM last night he was still in Greensboro, hoping to get car keys so he can get home. I offered to go pick him up but he had confidence the airline would get his bag to him at 10:30. They didn't hold up their end of their delayed bargain.

[mandopete]

Aaron really wanted to come to the meet & greet on Friday night. As evidenced by the travelling travails that the Mountain Heart crew suffered, it wasn't meant to be. Aaron's flight was supposed to be on the ground around 9 PM pst. He had planned on checking in, resting a bit and then getting to the gathering. After being re-routed through Houston instead of Detroit, his plane touched down about 12:30 AM pst (which felt like 3 AM est) and it didn't happen.

Hey Michael - we missed Aaron too! I don't know if you caught this or not, but the Mountain Heart boys wrote a little triobute to our favorite airline

[Rob Fowler]

Did anybody that attended the festival check out The Absynth Quintet's set? There a local Humboldt County band and were pretty stoked to be invited to Wintergrass this year! One of my local favorite bands here for sure!

[Michael Ramsey]

Hey Michael - we missed Aaron too! I don't know if you caught this or not, but the Mountain Heart boys wrote a little triobute to our favorite airline

Oh yeah, I saw that one. They had the word out via YouTube, Twitter, the Mountain Heart Facebook page, via Delta's Twitter page and brought the news of their troubles (due to Delta and Continental's failures) to THOUSANDS. I don't know the complete details, but the Delta folks contacted Mountain Heart's band manager, Brian Smith.

Whether or not the airlines have seen the error of thier ways, Mountain Heart got their attention via the internet.

As a footnote, Aaron just arrived home about 9:30 AM today, via Clay Jones. At this point he still has no bag and no keys for his car, as the parking fees accumulate at the Greensboro airport parking lot. I'll probably have to carry him down there this afternoon after work, with his spare key for his car.

[Nolan]

Glad Aaron made it home Mike! Sunday, when I finally got up after jamming into the wee hours of the morning, I managed to put 2+2 together and realized that Aaron was taking turns on bass in our Jam with Zach from Kenny and Amanda's band! I'm not sure if it was the lack of sleep or what... but I'm glad I didn't figure out who he was until after the jam! I would have been too nervous to take any breaks! Those guys are AWESOME bass players by the way! I was laughing all night at all the cool things they were doing on bass....

[mandopete]

So, what did y'all think about the new venue? I had to miss out on Wintergrass this year, but always enjoyed the Tacoma scene...how did Bellevue compare?

Now to answer this - To a person I have not heard a single complaint. I expected that parking was going to be the sore issue, it wasn't. As an example when I arrived on Thursday I had a ton of recording equipment in the car so I expected to valet park the car after I unloaded and accepted the fact it would probably cost me to do so. Not the case - the valet guy said just unload your stuff, we'll haul it up to your room and you can self park the car. The parkling lot was open and free to all for the entire weekend, didn't cost me a dime. That never happened at either the Sheraton or the Murano.

The Bellevue Hyatt hotel really embraced the idea of having Wintergrass in their facility in a way that the previous hotels never did. Case in point, they had their staff wearing Wintergrass t-shirts - how cool is that? Seems like it was a two-way street on this. The people at the festival really appreciated the efforts of the hotel staff (I left tips all over the joint) and the hotel staff was more than accomodating to what must have seemed an unusual event at the outset, but by the end of the weekend was just second nature.

My only gripe? Those magnetic room keys. Just get it near your cell phone and you're locked outta yer room. (Note to self - don't go for ice without getting fully dressed)

[Chip Booth]

Okay, now to answer Nolan's question about the favorite mandolin at Wintegrass. For me it was Lawrence Smart's 10-string fan fret device. I ran into him down in the vendor area and he was toting one along for Mike Marshall that he graciously let me pick on. What a cool intrument. It's like having a mandolin and mandola in the same box. I found that the fan frets worked really well (as long as you don't look down) and the short scale made it totally comfortable to play. This one was a real winner all around!

I'm really glad to hear Wintergrass was a success this year! I miss it a lot, as I haven't been able to attend for several years now.

I played Lawrence's 10 string just before he left to go to WG, and that is indeed a great instrument! The fanned frets were no problem at all, I didn't notice them after paying it for less than a minute. Some chord shapes are actually more comfortable in my opinion. The mandolin is not a dry, bluegrass instrument, but what a wonderful voice it has. I can see it fitting into most any style with ease, and certainly you can play grass on it if you want.

[Nolan]

Besides the great parking situation like Pete mentioned... I really liked how you could jam almost anywhere in the hotel and it wasn't super noisy and didn't feel like you were in an echo chamber. The Sheridan (or Murano... whatever they're calling it) was too noisy to really hear well in a jam. I actually was able to sit down at the vendor tables and play mandolins and get a good idea of how they sounded. I always felt like the vendor areas at Wintergrass, when it was in Tacoma, was the absolute worst place you could give an instrument a trial run.