Whether you play an instrument or not, take advantage
of the chance to meet the artists up close and personal
at Podunk's workshops throughout the festival.
See the full workshop
schedule.
Autoharp Workshop with Henry Simpatico
Slow Jam with Paul Dube
Dobro Workshop with Stacy Phillips
Band Workshops - New this year!
Here's a taste of the workshops we have in store for
2008:
Slow Jam with Paul Dube
Here is a workshop designed specifically for beginning
jammers. If you have always wanted to share in all
the fun that jammers seem to be having, but are not
sure of where you fit in, this workshop is for you.
We will provide you with the recipe ingredients
for making the best jams. Learn the basic essentials
of a good jam...how to play in a jam setting, how
to listen and how to "play with your ears".
We will cover what to expect in a jam, jam etiquette,
how to find the right jam for you, but mostly (and
best of all) we'll be jamming!
For the past 18 years, Paul Dube has been having
the time of his life jamming Folk, Blues, Irish, Cajun,
Old Timey and Bluegrass music on Guitar, Accordion
and Harmonica. When Paul is not leading his Slow Jam
Workshop the Podunk, Grey Fox or Joe Val bluegrass
festivals, you can find him playing with Rhode Island
based bands the Sidewalk Stompers, Loose Roots and
Kevin Fallon's Gobshites.
Autoharp Workshop with
Henry Simpatico
The Autoharp is a pleasant sounding musical instrument
and relatively easy to play. Depending on the type
of strum used, the Autoharp player can perform as
an accompanist or as a lead player. After a brief
discussion about the Autoharp, the workshop will cover
basic rhythm strums, melody playing, bass runs and
finger picking techniques. A few songs will be presented
for group playing.
Workshop Outline:
- 1. History of the Autoharp
- The joy of tuning
- What keys can I play in? The I-IV-V & VIm
music pattern
- Strings played when a Key Bar is pressed
- Bass, midrange and treble string
- Full strums in 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8
- Bass note playing, alternating basses and bass
runs
- Playing the melody, or most of it, and finding
the note
- Finger picking
Possible songs:
- “Michael Row the Boat ashore”
- “Old Joe Clark”
- “Freight Train”
- “When you and I were young, Maggie”
- “Arkansas Traveler”
This is flexible and depends on the number of participants
as well as their skill levels. Maybe we’ll get
enough to have an “Autoharp” Ensemble,
or not.
Dobro Workshop with
Stacy Phillips
Stacy Phillips is an internationally acclaimed resonator
guitarist and violin player. He has performed with
the top acoustic musicians over the world. Stacy has
three solo albums and is featured artist on the Grammy
award-winning album The Great Dobro Sessions.
Stacy is the author of over 25 books on various aspects
of his chosen instruments, including "The Complete
Dobro Player," "Dobro Techniquesand Repertoire"
DVD series, and "Bluegrass Fiddle Boot Camp."
Stacy currently performs with: The AfroSemitic Experience,
a six piece group performing jazz approaches to the
sacred music of the African and Jewish diasporas Stacy
Phillips and Paul Howard Duet , an acoustic duet playing
Americana and original music Three Finger Poi, an
acoustic Hawaiian music band with hula dancers Heroes
of Tradition, Stacy with Phil Zimmerman, playing old
time country music.
He will talk about some dobro techniques, take questions
from the audience and do some playing at his workshop.
Visit his website at www.stacyphillips.com.
Band Workshops - New this
year!
We will be hosting some outstanding workshops about
managing your band on Saturday. These workshops will
be held a 1/2 mile from the festival at the East Hartford
Cultural Center 50 Chapman Place, East Hartford, CT
06108, where we will have classes in our air-conditioned
building.
The workshops are free of charge for those entered
in the competition. If you are not entered into the
competition but would like to attend these sessions
there will be a $15.00 fee to attend.
These classes will include:
| 10-11:15 AM |
Working with an Agent - by Jim Roe, Roe Entertainment |
| 11:30-12:30 PM |
Record Companies - Ken Irwin and Producing Your
Albums - by Carl Jackson |
| 12:30 - 1:30 PM |
Lunch on own |
| 1:30 - 2:30 PM |
Booking At Venues - Arnie Fleischer, Promoter
Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck, NY |
| 2:45 - 3:45 PM |
Managing The Band with Vicki Simmons and Pete
Wernick "Dr. Banjo" |
| 4:00 - 5:00 PM |
Songwriting - by Larry Cordle and Jerry Salley |
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Release provided by Podunk to your local paper,
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