Summer Holidays Continued

Did you have a happy Hillside Festival?  I sure did.

With two vacation days from work, I was able to present two different Ukulele workshops in the Performing Arts tent.  I didn't manage to obtain (m)any loaner ukes, so participants had basically brought their own and we shared them among us.

The first day several guitar players took to the new instrument quickly, and we did many songs, including the run/solo for These Boots Are Made for Walking.  The next day, one participant already knew 4 chords, which we practiced and learned together.  And then I lead about 4 songs that used those chords...    What fun!  I shared my own tune Lovecall,  just to show how easy it can be to create your own song.  Nice to see some of the participants in the music store a few days later trading in violins for ukulele joy, ha.

As for the festival overall, I thought it was really wonderful this year.  At first I was disappointed that I only took one picture...

but then I read in the program "Better yet, we hope you get so caught up in the moment that you forget to record it.  Smile.  Thanks for coming."

One of my highlights was that the workshops on the stages were actual workshops -- not just songs in the round per many recent workshops -- the musicians on stage actually jammed together.  The Prince Songs jam was a wonderful way to start a day!!  It was really enjoyable to catch so many former neighbours, friends from the music shop and around town all making such great music.

I think this year I was more interested in taking in music than making it myself, and as a result, I didn't play toooooo much at the campfires with my buddies, and I wish for more time to do so.

I had an absolutely great time dancing to Jeremy Fisher, and for the first time in years, I spent money to buy an album right after a show.  A good move if I do say so myself.

Meeting Joel Plaskett

I think I first loved Joel Plaskett's music via getting the album La De D, plus a 3 song sampler in my hands...  probably to review it for the music paper I was writing for at the time.  I loved how the album was basically invented and recorded on the spot.  It was so very fantastically re-listenable.  And I swooned for the Can I Go NoWhere with You tune on the ep.

I also remember a Harbourfront show I was working when I noticed he had duct tape on his guitar. I had really liked his phrase "drop lyrics on you," and the show was of course amazing.  I could swear it was him and the Emergency band I cut off in a rush to get there for that very show, while I was singing, out loud "its almost summer, yeeeeeeeah..."  Incidentally, they turned out to be just-as-fast-as-me-walkers I cut off in vain.

One time, while I worked in a very cool vintage guitar shop, I came back from lunch to notice only 2 customers in the store.  They were basically just going around the room making wonderful music on all the instruments...  at one point, the tall, slim, blond guy asked me if the tenor guitar on the wall was for sale, and I had to tell him no.  "Have you never been in here before?" he looked familiar.  The caption for the photo I took and posted on the store's Facebook page later was "no, dude, the guitar bolted to the wall is not for sale."  It was only after I went around the corner to the workshop, where I was informed by star-struck co-workers, "you are talking to JOEL PLASKETT" that I realized we had a talented celebrity in our midst, ha.  I wish I could find that photo.

I like how his shows are so naturally different every time.  His songs are like that too.  I really admire what he does.

Let's Talk "Working" Vacation

Merry Mariposa Everybody!  Did you attend?

On the long drive to the festival, I remembered that I haven't written a song for about 4 years.  Frustrated with my musical limits, I'd backed off creating new tunes to focus instead on developing my skills with instruments and maybe trying to add some musical theory to my repertoire... but I was shocked to suddenly realize it had been so long - 4 years?! As I paid for patron parking, I vowed to myself that I would take some quiet moments while assisting at Todd's Musical Zoo to work up a new song on autoharp or dulcimer...

But, despite the fact I took 2 vacation days from work to be at the zoo 4-8 on Friday and 9-6 on Saturday (with even more hours contributed on the Sunday), it turns out I only had time to take photos of instruments I didn’t have time to try!  There was simply an unexpected-to-me ZOO factor of the instrument exhibit because of the volume of visitors -- and I mean that in terms of both how loud  they were and how many folks came through experimenting with so many toys.

I was very, very pleased that Todd got me a backstage meal pass for Sat/Sun as member of the band.  As well as accommodation.

“What do you do?” I remember Eric Andersen asking me, as I babbled in the performer shuttle about the amazing musical zoo. With lots of free artist management/survival suggestions thrown in too… When fellow passenger Steve Addabbo showed up to check out the exhibit? I was really impressed.

It was fun to help people try the stand up bass, which was only 1/4 size and did not have a bow.  I also loved getting more comfortable demo-ing a cello and the 3/4 and 4/4 size violins.  How much rosin did I use up?  The baritone uke was very popular, and was easy for me to keep tuned, like the merlin, dulcimers, acoustic bass guitar and many other guitars and the banjitar.  I had no problem keeping the mandolin family table tuned, and went to the ukulele family table often for comfort ha.

I am much more comfortable tuning a tres and venzuelan cuatro now, although I did not replace any of the broken strings myself... and I also learned the open G tuning of the fretless tin can instrument!

By the next festival I would like to be able to tune the guitalele, charango, bluegrass/tenor/celtic/mini banjos by memory, without looking at my notes.   I also want to research more about the history of Bowed psaltery, and to hear it played properly, so I have a long list of homework!

Maybe I will let you know when and where Todd posts all the pictures he took? Maybe he should be keeping a mailing list, and handing out biz cards of a web address offering them for sale? ha.  I wish he could get more fairly compensated for all the damaged instruments he deals with, in providing this valuable hands-on experience to so, so many!

more homework? Hawaiian lap steel

What I love about this festival is how audience members who grew up attending, attend now not just with their children, but grandchildren, forging strong friendships and a continuing love of all kinds of music - new, traditional and modern, including sub genres of folk music: blues, bluegrass, traditional, singer-songwriter, Celtic, francophone and world.  I also love that it is a plastic bottle free event. 

Despite the audience buzz about a phenomenal group the Jerry Cans, I never did catch them in action.  Because of a bit of a set I did watch, I can't wait to check out Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys again at Hillside.  Other favourite acts I was able to check out were the Railsplitters.  And I was pleased to be at the Gordon Lightfoot songs workshop enjoying Tim Chaisson, Turbo Street Funk, Ash & Bloom, Rick Fines and Doug Paisley - when Gordon Lightfoot himself showed up to check out all the covers.  So much great music!

p.s. I was only sorry to miss a show in Toronto for Gordon Shawcross's CD release, and to miss hanging out with him in Guelph!