Hey from your Slide & Steel Artistic Director…
This is Orville Johnson and I’m stopping by the blog to remind you
what an exciting program we’ve got coming up in the Slide & Steel
arena. I’m psyched about the fine group of instructors coming to the
Dobro Intensive on July 10-13. I tried to gather great players who are
also great teachers and who can illustrate the diversity of styles and
genres that the dobro can slide between.
A lot of folks think bluegrass when they think dobro and we have a
master to cover that subject in Michael Witcher. Michael comes from a
family of fine bluegrass musicians and he carries on that tradition
while, at the same time, breaking new ground with his group Missy
Raines and the New Hip. They have a new EP just released. Check it out! Stop by Michael’s website for info about his music AND his beautiful photography.
Mike Neer will be giving us a taste of 30s style swing-jazz-Hawaiian
slide reminiscent of Sol Hoopii, King Benny Nawahi, and Bob Dunn. He’s
a master of this slide guitar style, having played with New York City’s
premier 30s swing band the Moonlighters. I’ll let him give you more
details about what he’ll be teaching on his MySpace page.
Don
Rooke is a unique player and composer who, with his group the Henrys,
has issued several CDs filled with haunting and rollicking music built
around his slide sound interacting with powerful rhythm section and
trumpet, pump organ, chordette, and other musical appliances. He uses a
tuning he developed, based on a G tuning, and will share his ideas on
creativity, composition, and getting the music from your brain to the
guitar. He’s also, strangely enough, another fine photographer. (Note
to self: ask Mike Neer if he’s a photographer too. We could have some
workshops on that!) Check out some tunes and video on his Myspace page.
The format will be similar to the Bottleneck Slide Intensive in
January with opportunities to take classes from all the instructors and
get some one-on-one time as well. I’ll be there all weekend and, while
I’m not teaching a formal class, I’ll be available to help out people
on the more beginnerish (is that a word?) side of slide. Space is
limited so if you’re thinking about coming, stop thinking and sign up!