kudzurunner
978 posts
Jan 18, 2010
2:40 PM
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[EDITED: please see my advisory re: Billy Branch, ten posts further down]
All:
I've just received word from Jason's manager, Mary, that she has just been informed by Intrepid that Jason will be in Italy from May 18th through June 6th, possibly June 12th.
This means that the Hill Country Harmonica thing won't happen anytime in May: neither of the two weekends we've been talking about here.
Mary is extremely prompt and conscientious, so no hard feelings there.
Still, I'm sure that many of you share my frustration. I certainly wouldn't have sincerely requested that y'all weigh in on possible dates (May 22-23 and May 29-30) had not Mary given me the go-ahead--penciling in the first weekend, saying she thought the latter was free--when she and I spoke on the phone early last week. We all end up looking ragged when this sort of thing happens. It's no fun.
Then again, yesterday in another thread on this same subject I was just saying that the mark of true blues-ness--the blues ethos--is that you don't quit when the going gets tough. You say, "This is the moment my whole life has been preparing me for."
I'm going on vacation on June 25. I can't make Hill Country Harmonica happen in April--I'm busy as hell with my teaching job in Oxford--and I can't do it in early May because I'm still finishing up the term.
To host a day-and-a-half long event in Mississippi that takes place ENTIRELY outdoors, albeit under a pretty fancy gazebo, is crazy in July and August. I don't want to do this thing in August or September, anyway, because Jon Gindick is hosting a jam camp in Clarksdale and I don't want to compete with him. (That's also the problem with April or early May, in fact.)
That leaves precisely one weekend: June 19-20. I haven't asked Mary for it yet, but I could ask her for it. And given what has happened so far, I can't imagine that she won't make Jason available to us.
But there's a problem: the weather.
This past summer, the high on June 18th was 95 and the low (at night) was 71. The average humidity was 70%. Those are typical temperatures around here for that time of year. On the 19th it was 96.
That is Mississippi, y'all. My question to you is: Are y'all up for this? I'm used to the heat. Foxfire has been upgraded over the past few years and I believe he's installed big-ass fans. In some ways, a blues harmonica jam camp under those conditions would be the most Mississppi-ish experience you could want. Camping won't be much fun, but the air-conditioned motel rooms, on the other hand--and the cold beer--will be spectacular. And the whole event will be truly memorable. It will be tank tops and shorts and maybe bare feet the whole way. Because the event is slightly less than two days long, the heat may be survivable.
You tell me. I can live either way. I need EVERYBODY who to weigh in, and I would appreciate if you emailed me directly with a header reading "Hill Country Harmonica - June." No need to email me unless the weekend of June 18-19 works for you. I am sending out another mailing, at a cost to me, on my mailing list. You may reply that way, too.
Sorry about all this. None of it is my fault, your Honor. And I know that they all say that. :)
Adam Gussow: asgussow@aol.com
Last Edited by on Jan 18, 2010 4:42 PM
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toddlgreene
521 posts
Jan 18, 2010
2:42 PM
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Adam-I love Jason, and would enjoy seeing him and talking with him again, but I'd still attend if he wasn't there. Do you not want to do it unless he participates?
EDIT:to clarify, I am speaking of Memorial Day weekend. That way, we're still in May and it will be a bit cooler.
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Todd L. Greene, V.P.
Last Edited by on Jan 18, 2010 2:49 PM
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jonsparrow
1745 posts
Jan 18, 2010
2:48 PM
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i dont like mary.
i will go in june. but i wont be happy with the heat. 96* is really hot. 70% humidity is pretty bad too. actually i have to think about this. but i really want to be there. i dont do well with heat. actually heat dont bother me as much as humidity. cause jamaica was pretty warm.
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kudzurunner
979 posts
Jan 18, 2010
2:58 PM
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@Todd: I hadn't imagined doing this event without Jason. There's only one other person I can imagine bringing down who could fill the space left by Jason's absence: Billy Branch.
....and frankly, I just don't want to think about not having Jason on this.
Last Edited by on Jan 18, 2010 3:02 PM
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pharpo
92 posts
Jan 18, 2010
2:58 PM
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You know....I've been listening to "Mississippi Heat" all day....maybe it was an omen. I'm still in.
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Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
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kudzurunner
980 posts
Jan 18, 2010
3:13 PM
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All:
Theoretically, a camp in October could be great. The weather is fantastic, that time of year, in Mississippi.
But Jon Gindick is doing a jam camp in Clarksdale Sept 28-Oct 2nd. Jon is a friend of mine, and I'm supposed to teach at that camp. I am NOT putting on my own event in Mississippi in October--at least not this October.
I've emailed Mary; she's asking Intrepid about June 19-20. That is the only weekend that will work for me in 2010, at this venue or any other, assuming that Jason is part of this. And I want him to be part of this.
Last Edited by on Jan 18, 2010 3:14 PM
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toddlgreene
524 posts
Jan 18, 2010
3:15 PM
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I'd do June 19-20;I just wouldn't camp.
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Todd L. Greene, V.P.
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pharpo
94 posts
Jan 18, 2010
3:51 PM
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Todd...the cabins at wall doxey state park have AC.
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Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
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OzarkRich
82 posts
Jan 18, 2010
4:09 PM
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June 19-20 works for me. Don't care one way or the other about the heat/humidity especially if there's shade. I'll of just come back from a yearly Royal Ranger (similar to boy scouts) camp where it's usually in the 90's and of course rains at least once, turning everything into a humid mud pit, so I ought to be acclimated by then!
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Ozark Rich
YouTube: OzarkRich
Facebook: php?ref=profile&id=100000279894342
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pharpo
95 posts
Jan 18, 2010
4:30 PM
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OR - They still have Royal Rangers ?? I was a RR in the early 60's.
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Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
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kudzurunner
981 posts
Jan 18, 2010
4:38 PM
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All:
It's too bad about Jason not being able to participate on the May weekends when everybody wanted this thing to happen.
Although I'll think about the mid/late-June weekend with him, if he's available, I'm also going to speak with Billy Branch ASAP.
This event obviously won't have the same cutting-edge element if Jason isn't a part of it, but Billy is a kick-ass teacher--he basically invented Blues-in-the-Schools 25 years ago--and one of those rare guys who combines total mastery of the traditional Chicago stuff with quite a lot of innovative energy.
Hill Country Harmonica could work with Billy Branch. I'm working for your tips, y'all. One way or another, we'll achieve liftoff.
"I have not yet begun to fight." --Adm. John Paul Jones
Last Edited by on Jan 18, 2010 4:39 PM
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OzarkRich
83 posts
Jan 18, 2010
6:23 PM
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pharpo: Royal Rangers is still going strong. they updated the curriculum a few years ago and changed the age group names from buckaroos, pioneers, trailblazers to discovery, adventure, expedition rangers etc. The outpost & sectional campouts, along with the yearly district Pow Wow, are a great opportunity to sit around the campfire and catch the boys interest with something more than the typical 1st position playing that they're expecting to hear. Last weekend we did an outpost cave campout; lots of chambers, passages, and interesting acoustics.
Didn't mean to hijack the thread so back to business...
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Ozark Rich
YouTube: OzarkRich
Facebook: php?ref=profile&id=100000279894342
Last Edited by on Jan 18, 2010 6:24 PM
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pharpo
96 posts
Jan 18, 2010
6:23 PM
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Billy Branch is one of my favorite players
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Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
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shanester
67 posts
Jan 18, 2010
6:39 PM
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Adam, I will do my best to make my schedule work for whatever. Fuck the heat, pardon my French. In Austin this past summer it seemed like it was over 100 or even 110 most of the summer, although lower humidity which makes a difference.
Folks consider it a journey into the heart of the blues, that's the dirty ol' South! At least we'll be livin' large doing the musician thang instead of picking cotton!
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http://www.youtube.com/1shanester
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Kyzer Sosa
86 posts
Jan 18, 2010
11:17 PM
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bring water... all im sayin'...
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Bluzdude46
394 posts
Jan 19, 2010
3:02 AM
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My old fat ass can take 2 days of heat, hell no worse then the summer festivals here on the East Coast. Go for it. I'll sweat off a coupla pounds
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jaymcc28
214 posts
Jan 19, 2010
7:25 AM
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@Adam: I can deal with the heat, although I am a pasty white guy who burns just day dreaming about a summer day. Hell, I spent 3 days in an open field in Houston in July helping with a lacrosse camp so I should be able to sit under a roof w/a beer.
My issue, though, is I can't commit to June 19th yet. I won't know about that date until March when my soccer schedule comes out. If it's open, I'm there.
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"Take out your false teeth, momma, I want to suck on your gums."-P. Wolf
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