Texas pickin' park

[Daniel Wheeler]

I will be there as of last night I'm not going to old settlers.

So where is the mando cafe jam?

Do they have instrument dealers and or vendors there?

And who's the headline band?

[Daniel Wheeler]

Nevermind I read all the thread. I know all but one of the bands. I will wear my butch band if you see it stop me and let's jam.

[Tom Mullen]

There we go!!! Right thread this time. Thanks for all the info, gang, so it does not have to be re-posted.
Hmmmm.....486 miles, 8 hours each way.....maybe. I saw Dave state that there are no hard core jams, only slow jams. Does anyone else have info to the contrary, as I am looking for hardcore only.....bluegrass, that is.

[Bill Snyder]

... I saw Dave state that there are no hard core jams, only slow jams. Does anyone else have info to the contrary, as I am looking for hardcore only.....bluegrass, that is.

That is not what Dave said. He said,
I went back in October. My son and I enjoyed it, and I played in 3 different jams with different styles. That night there was no hard blugrass, more like slowgrass.

This coming weekend (April 18-20)is the festival and I would speculate that there will be many more jams of differing levels present.

[Chiledog]

I'm in! #Just got a campsite reserved in Warrenton, and bringing a few friends as well.

Daniel, just exactly what is a "butch band"? #I am looking forward to meeting you folks. #I doubt I will be able to hang pickin' wise, but I'm sure going to try!

Is there a "secret mando cafe handshake" or something... # # Just kidding, Seriously though, how do you folks meet each other when you don't know who you are looking for?

Todd

[Hallmark498]

There we go!!! Right thread this time. Thanks for all the info, gang, so it does not have to be re-posted.
Hmmmm.....486 miles, 8 hours each way.....maybe. I saw Dave state that there are no hard core jams, only slow jams. Does anyone else have info to the contrary, as I am looking for hardcore only.....bluegrass, that is.

I know some guys that will be there. They are as hardcore as it gets.

[Chiledog]

too cool..bump!

[mandocaster]

I will be going up for the day on Saturday. It sounds like a lot of fun.

Even though I play a lot (Celtic and worship bands) I have been out of the bluegrass scene for many years (decades). I would love to hook up with any cafe folk.

[Hallmark498]

I will be going up for the day on Saturday. #It sounds like a lot of fun.

Even though I play a lot (Celtic and worship bands) I have been out of the bluegrass scene for many years (decades). #I would love to hook up with any cafe folk.

I'll be there Fri and Sat.

Will be playing mando or guitar

David

[TxRhino]

As you can all see... I am new to this site (and the Mandolin I might add). One thing is clear however, in order to improve... we must play with others. This brings me to my problem. Where do I find other like minded individuals to play with on a regular basis. That in mind I am posting here in hope of finding others in the Rio Grand Valley of Texas that have an interest in Acoustic Music. I play a fair guitar (flat picking and rhythm) and have a woking knowlege of Dobro, Mandolin, and Banjo. Admittedly, the Mando has become my new passion, hence my showing up here.

Any Warm Bodies in Deep South Texas who share a similar interest or desire to Jam... Please feel free to contact me.

Keep the Faith

Michael

[mandocaster]

My name is Mitch, I'm 51, dark hair gray beard.

I play a brown Givens A3

Please say hi if you see me.

[Joe Dodson]

I'm hoping to make it Saturday in time for the 11 a.m. Saturday mandolin workshop if anyone wants to say hello. I'm 39, have brown hair and goatee, wear nerdy-lookin' glasses, and will be pickin on a Collings MT.

If I can find it, I'll wear my "Black Hairy Possum" cap, for easy identification. Although I'm guessing you'll be able to pick me out based on that description.

[mandocaster]

I just got back...

I had a great time. I got to meet a whole bunch of folks (whose names I can't remember) and ran into a few old aquaintences like Chris Hirsch from Lonestar. I ran into a lady that actually knew Bob Givens (she noticed my mandolin) and told me some interesting stuff about him.

The good news - I was able to hold my own for the most part. My mando was easily the loudest one there, at least the way I play it. I kept up with the advanced players when we jammed on a long string of songs in B (that I think were intended to frighten off the newbies). I got a lot of positive comments and requests for mandolin lessons. I was getting a big head. Until...

The bad news. I couldn't play New Camptown Races worth beans, though I remembered the chords. Bugle Call Rag was a bugle call yuck.

I am excited about getting back in the bluegreass scene.

The money's going to start rolling in!

[GRW3]

After some deliberation I decided to go to Fayetteville instead of Old Settlers. Better to play than listen. Well, what I did not count on was getting a bad cold. It peaked Friday night but I'm still feeling here on Sunday.

Sounds like a good event, sorry I missed it.

[David Newton]

Did I miss everyone? I met a nice lady with a mando case and a cafe sticker, but she was the only one I could identify. I was there early Sat. for the swap and sell tent, had a guitar and a mando, and handed out a few flyers. That was over at noon and then the jamming started.

I met a woman named Sue playing an open back banjo who tried to teach me "The Crow" who was also playing with Cowboy Bob (I think)on Resonator. We began jamming and gathered two fiddles, two other guitars, then a mandolin, then a sax! We jammed hard and fast for at least an hour and a half. The best jam was "Soldier's Joy" that we did for maybe 20 minutes. That sounds wierd, but everyone was in a groove and didn't want to quit. We were leaning into each other and singing harmonies that may not have been perfect, but made up in spirit. Absolutely the best bluegrass jam that I've participated in, in years.

I was worn out after that and hardly played any more that day, just sat and listened and talked. Thank you Texas Pickin' Park!

[mandocaster]

I didn't get there until almost 5 in the afternoon, so I missed a lot of the early jam action

[Joe Dodson]

I was there for a couple hours Saturday. Went to the mandolin workshop, jammed with the group under the tent for an hour or so, had lunch, and then jammed under a tree with a few friends until about 3 p.m.

It was yet another demonstration for me that I need to get out of my comfort zone more, increase my speed, and spend more time learning to improvise on tunes I've never played before. I know a good number of fiddle tunes, but I've never committed myself to getting them into the 200+ bpm range, and can't yet do a tolerable break to songs on the fly. I'm going to have to both skills under control there if I'm going to be able to step out like I'd like to.

[Chiledog]

I was there from about 11:30 to 5:30 Saturday, and had an awesome time listening to all the pickers. #It was my first Bluegrass event, and I promise it won't be my last. #I thought there would be more mando players there, but it was all good.
#I took my guitar but chickened out on really getting involved. #I need to get an Intellitouch tuner, and a capo before the next event I attend.

#I don't know who the mando player was that I talked to briefly about his tuner, but I sure did enjoy watching him play!

#I do have some pics if I could just figure out a way to share them easily. #I have them up on the Kodak website, but I think I have to send you an invite to see the pics. #

#If anybody has a suggestion on how to do this I would love to make the pics available for anybody interested.

Peace,
Todd

[Hallmark498]

My wife and I had a great time! I got to meet alot of really great pickers/singers. Did any of you meet the guy in the overalls? I think his name was Scott. That guy had a set of pipes, his voice could be heard from the other side of the square. Im now working on projecting vocals.

[David Newton]

Was Scott the tall fellow with a gray beard, playing a 57 J-45? Great voice, we did "Banks of the Ohio" together.

[Hallmark498]

Naw, the guy I was thinking of has a sunburst d-28.

Hey chiledog, post some pics. Were you in the mando workshop sat?

[GRW3]

I talked to some more attendees tonite at the local jam. Rave reviews, can't wait until next year... etc.,etc., Mucho kudos to the organizers.

Still not in game shape myself, sang one song and thought I was going to cough up a lung. Sooo I concentrated on my mando rhythm and practiced laying in lead lines over the chording.

Now despite what you might think, we do not have to have an accordion in our groups in San Antonio... As long as we stay north of Highway 90

[Chiledog]

Ok, let's see if I get this right!








Ok, only 3 pictures at a time...yikes!

Enjoy,
Todd

[Chiledog]

Ok, folk the board has "flood control" so 3 pics at a time, and then having to wait 30 seconds to repost, if you want to see more pics, PM me, with your Email address and I will send you a link to the Kodak site.

Thanks,
Todd

[Sheryl]

Hi! George sent me this link and as a VERY beginner mando player I signed up. Wow, so much to say... For Dave in Tejas who posted,

I met a woman named Sue playing an open back banjo who tried to teach me "The Crow" who was also playing with Cowboy Bob (I think)on Resonator. We began jamming and gathered two fiddles, two other guitars, then a mandolin, then a sax! We jammed hard and fast for at least an hour and a half. The best jam was "Soldier's Joy" that we did for maybe 20 minutes. That sounds wierd, but everyone was in a groove and didn't want to quit. We were leaning into each other and singing harmonies that may not have been perfect, but made up in spirit. Absolutely the best bluegrass jam that I've participated in, in years.

I was the first fiddler to "gather" with the guitar and bass player. Everything you said is right on. We didn't want to leave as that was the best jam of the day! But I've been waiting a long time to hear Blue Creek and I'm glad we did.

Chiledog - the jam in those pics was really good too. You can't see me because I'm behind the bass head talking to the guy in the HCAMP t-shirt.

From what I've heard of each, Fayetteville was hands down the best deal over Old Settler's. This was an awesome festival because jamming was the focus but there were concerts too. The vendors were also great - who knew I'd be buying horse equipment at a blugrass festival. I'd pick Fayetteville over any other festival and next year we'll be staying for Sunday. Being a 3+ hour drive, we'll have to think about the monthly jams though.