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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | My son Shane (he's 35) & my buddy John went with me to Bend last night to play at the mall. There weren't too many people playing last night which made it nice, since it was Shane's first time there. Probably only 20 or so people.
I think I mentioned Dean before here on the BBS? He's the guy with the ancient Gibson flat top that I usually follow when they take off playing something I've never heard before (which happens a lot). He knows about every old song they can come up with.
Anyway, he said something last night that just cracked me up. Before we "officially" started, Dean, who's probably 65ish & has obviously been playing most of his life, started playing "Bury me Beneath the Willow", kind of Chet Atkins style, so I started playing it with him, (not as well), together it sounded pretty cool, if I do say so myself :) There was another regular there watching us. He's probably in his early 40's. Nice guy. He can play the basic chords pretty well and he's working hard to improve so he never misses an opportunity to learn something. When we finished playing he asked Dean "How long did it take you to learn that?" Ol' Dean said without missing a beat "About 50 years." I almost choked. You should have seen the look on that guys face, it was priceless. We all got a good laugh :)
I got lots of compliments on the 2002 Collectors. Dennis & Ellen both played it a little bit & were way impressed. They share a Celebrity that I guess would be the Korean version of an 1868. They're the only other people there playing an Ovation. They also both play mando, fiddle & a little bit of banjo so they're always trading off. There are quite a few Gibsons & a few Taylors & Martins. Lots of Tak's.
We all had a great time.
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Sounds like allot of fun!
Is "the Bend" a mall that allows people just to get together & play? That sounds like what I am trying to get going.
Brad
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | No, actually Bend is a city about 40 miles south of me. One of the malls over there has a big room that they donate to the Childrens Theater Group & they let us use the room every second & fourth Thursday of the month from 7:00 to 9:30 PM. You can bring anything you want to play, but it's strictly acoustic. People come in from the mall & listen. Very informal & loads of fun. Sometimes there are 40 people all playing in there. They go around the room & when it's your turn you get to pick a song to do.
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December 2003
Posts: 420
Location: On the beach in Southwest Florida | Sounds like a great time! |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | That sounds fantastic!!! I can only hope that this guitar club thing I am trying to start can grow into something like that.
Brad |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | It really is a lot of fun. I don't know who originally got it going. I found out about it after my wife saw a flyer last fall in the window of the room we use. I've been going over since then. It's really a good deal for the mall too. A lot of people come to listen that normally wouldn't hang around in a mall. Sometimes there are people waiting to listen on benches outside the room when I get there. I'm sure a lot of them buy stuff even if it's only food. If you can find a mall that might let you use a room you could point that out. It really doesn't cost them anything other than turning on the lights. There is news-paper clipping about the group in the window as well, so I guess they advertised somewhat at first. They only have a few rules, no amps being the main one & since there are usually women & children present your material must be appropriate, (which cuts down my personal repertoire considerably).
Good luck getting your get-together started!
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September 2003
Posts: 782
Location: Waurika OK | Nils
That sounds like a lot of fun. It's good that all degrees of experience can get together. Those learning will learn so much faster playing in a setting like that, much better than at home.
By the way, I spent the night in Bend many years ago. My wife's sister lived there, overlooking the river. Her brother lived in Kent, then we went on to The Dalles where they were all raised.
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Latest trip to Bend
