126 Reply by Zurf

  • Zurf
  • Zurf
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

bensonp wrote:

Finally got the sound bits to work.  Way to go guys.  Almost like I was there. Almost

You just need a shameless raccoon to sit beside you and sip on your margarita while you both laugh at a disoriented and possibly intoxicated 'possom.  Then your experience will be complete. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

127 Reply by bensonp (edited by bensonp 2011-07-21 22:00:26)

  • From: Tooele Ut
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 4,049

Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

Never seen a drunk possum.  It's conjuring up a great visual.  Sounds like good song material also.  Maybe Ray Stevens style.

You can see all my video covers on [url]http://www.youtube.com/bensonp1000[/url]
I have finally found happiness in my life.  Guitars, singing, beer and camping.  And they all intertwine wonderfully.

128 Reply by Zurf

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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

bensonp wrote:

Never seen a drunk possum.  It's conjuring up a great visual.  Sounds like good song material also.  Maybe Ray Stevens style.

I kid you not.  A 'possum staggered right past Normtheguitar and I Thursday night.  Right past the campfire, right past us playing guitars and singing, right on by down to the river.  Staggering like he was on a three day drunk.  George the raccoon tried his best to disassociate himself from poor Jack the drunken 'possum and took a more civil and courteous approach.  He just casually walked around the picker's circle Friday night on his way to my cooler.  Must have been a dozen of us watching and he walked on by casually, like he figured we wouldn't notice he was a raccoon or something.  Later he came out and really did sip on one of the guy's margaritas and hung out beside him by the fire for a time.  I've never seen the like.

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

129 Reply by Zurf

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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

Come to think of it, Roger might be a bit weird too for sharing his margarita with a raccoon.  But Roger's open-minded and no specie-ist.

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

130 Reply by Zurf

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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

By God Pete you are right.  There has GOT to be a song in that.

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude
  • From: Alabama Gulf Coast
  • Registered: 2008-06-24
  • Posts: 1,819

Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

Jimmy Buffet wrote a song called "God's Own Drunk".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDIrJkNE4Jk

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

tubatooter1940's Website

  • From: NY
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

psst... check out the songwriting section.  Jets did a little Ode to the River Jam and included our friends, although I think an entire song about drinking coons and possums picking guitars is still in order!

Art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder.
What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.

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  • From: East sussex, UK
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

I really wish I'd brought my 'coon skin hat with me! Anyhoo, just to stick to the topic, the "July Jam" was an absolute blast, as described so well by the other participants. I would not have been able to make it without the kindness and hard work of The Great Zurf (and family), but I am so glad that I came, met such a great bunch of people and experienced the beautiful Shenandoah. Being a Brit, I have to mention that the weather was very kind to us too!
The campfire jam was a new experience for me (one that I hope to replicate over here, I hope), and a great pleasure. DE is indeed a legend, his all round skills only matched by his modesty. Amy has a great voice, and I was also impressed by her timing for one so new to the guitar. Jim did a good job too and was an enthusiastic listener. Zurf's picking was rock steady, and choice of song very impressive too! Jeff has his own very personal style and I was glad not to be following his heartfelt songs, as I don't sing well with a lump in my throat! The other campfire friends who just listened so politely, and applauded, played their part, too. We played for a good few hours over the 3 nights, and it seemed to go by in a flash - I wish there had been another day just for music!
The whole vibe of the campsite was so great - it was such a pleasure to meet all those kind, polite and generous people (thanks for the loan of the boat, DE, hope I didnt scratch it up too badly!). Thanks to Amy for the dead cow, and Roger for the dead tuna. And indeed, Kent for the deadpan.
I must admit that when people started to leave, on the Sunday, I was somewhat emotional, and had to disappear into the trailer tent a few times to recover. Just thinking of that brings tears to my eyes right now, old (but rocking!) fool that I am. So, apologies to those people that I couldn't say a proper goodbye to! Just trying to preserve the stiff upper-lip! I sincerely hope to meet up again with some of you in the future - please let me know if anyone is in my locality, so that I can return the hospitality.
Anyway, time for a cuppa tea, I think!! Chordians Rule (and Rock)!!!
Cheers, Paul.

" Old Guy is Rocking"
Simon & Patrick Pro Flamed Maple (mmm, nice...)
Norman ST68 acoustic
  • From: Chillicothe, Ohio
  • Registered: 2010-08-16
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

jets60 wrote:
Dirty Ed wrote:
mekidsmom wrote:

I'm glad everyone is enjoying the pics and videos (except Dino!  AHHH!  I'll send you an email with links, perhaps that will help make it easier).  I have been the one jealous for not getting to join in on past Chordie Jams and know how much I loved seeing the pictures/videos/sound bytes etc.  I'm glad to be able to share this with everyone as well as have it all on my computer for remembering the great time had by all.

Zguitar, funny thing is upon meeting Dirty Ed and knowing he was a fisherman friend of Zurf's I couldn't remember for the life of me if I'd ever heard any of his playing before or not.  So there we were, Dirty Ed, myself, and my husband sitting around shooting the breeze.  My husband asked Dirty Ed if he played or not and he said something to the tune of "yeah but not very well".  Sure as shoot did we get a SHOCK when we found the man could pick one guitar and sound like three, writes his own captivating songs, AND has a voice.  I think I had to pick my husband's jaw up off the ground a couple times.  I was quite nervous to play the first night (and as luck would have it, I was following him around the fire circle)!  As for my playing, I've decided that the fact that I can sing a little helps to fool people into thinking I can play.  My voice drowns out the poor playing skills!  LOL!  I'm going to keep my beginner status until I I can play a song and put my capo on and be able to tell people what key I'm actually playing in (or just change the key without a capo)!  Ha ha!

I still stand by the comment that I don't play well. Just as MKM thinks her voice covers for her picking inadequacies, I think my songs hide my guitar playing shortcomings. Bass Viking will attest that among the guitar players at our smallmouth fishing "rodeos" I wouldn't rate very high. However, I thank everyone for their kind words.

As Zurf said, it seems everyone had their "moment" and the person playing next in the circle had a tough act to follow.  Several times Jets60 played one of his original tunes and I found my self scrambling to find a song that wouldn't be too far below the bar he set.  Of all of us Jets had the worst position in the circle - following Norm the Guitar.

DE

Yeah, I was kind of stuck. Both you and Paul play extremely well, and while I do have my own original songs, I am far from either or your leagues' when it comes to playing or your songwriting, DE. Your original songs got the most requests if I remember correctly. Zurf was picking pretty good too. I must say that since I last got together at Derek house a few years ago with Detman, Derek's playing has improved quite a bit. Amy has a voice like an angel and I think we all could have listened to her singing all night. I'm sure I messed up playing my songs more than anyone else did, but the crowd was very forgiving for which I'm thankful. The whole weekend was a lot of fun. It was great meeting everyone and getting to hear folks live.

Hey Jeff, was the Mrs able to listen to the CD I gave her.?  I've been wondering if it even worked as I pulled it out of the door pocket of my Subaru where it had been laying for months.

DE

I want to read my own water, choose my own path, write my own songs
  • From: NY
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

Ok.... so for anyone that couldn't download sound clips... here's a sample for you:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD8Oe-BBMOQ

Art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder.
What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.

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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

Hey Jeff, was the Mrs able to listen to the CD I gave her.?  I've been wondering if it even worked as I pulled it out of the door pocket of my Subaru where it had been laying for months.

DE

Hey DE,

I have to confess that I stole it from her first to listen to myself, but eventually gave it back. From me, that was a very good set of music and I was very impressed by the recording quality. Well done! Here is from her:

Yeah!  it worked fine. Please let him know that I loved his songs and storytelling …they are great!!
He should be making CDs and selling them.
He has a great voice and guitar skills.


Thanks,

Michiyo

J  E  T  S
...and yet a Washington Commanders fan (unless they change their name again) ...long story...HTT...C

jets60's Website

  • From: Gainesville, Virginia USA
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

mekidsmom wrote:

Ok.... so for anyone that couldn't download sound clips... here's a sample for you:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD8Oe-BBMOQ

Wonderful clip of pictures and music Amy! Shared it with my family.

J  E  T  S
...and yet a Washington Commanders fan (unless they change their name again) ...long story...HTT...C

jets60's Website

  • From: East sussex, UK
  • Registered: 2008-01-29
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

Seconded!
Also, sorry, forgot to mention Chris (Guitarpix) and Billie above. From reading previous posts I know how much Pix was looking forward to the Jam - I hope they still enjoyed the trip in spite of things not going quite to plan...

" Old Guy is Rocking"
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Norman ST68 acoustic
  • From: Madeira Beach, Florida
  • Registered: 2007-12-05
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

Thanks for the new link Amy - I was hoping there was some audio of you singing. I bet there is more - don't hold back now..

Rule No. 1 - If it sounds good - it is good!
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

Thanks again amy,I really enjoyed your e-mail and looked at some of the other tunes you did. I really think you could do well on american Idol with your voice!

my papy said son your going too drive me too drinking if you dont stop driving that   Hot  Rod  Lincoln!! Cmdr cody and his lost planet airman
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Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

Thanks for the compliments guys!  Glad you enjoyed, and thrilled for Dino to be able to finally get to listen a bit.  Topdown, were you able to download the other clips from skydrive (links posted previously in this thread)?  There's a couple more of me singing, although I have to admit, I was more interested in recording others so there's not much of myself.  smile

Art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder.
What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.

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  • From: Chillicothe, Ohio
  • Registered: 2010-08-16
  • Posts: 1,013

Re: JULY JAM ON THE SHENANDOAH

jets60 wrote:

Hey Jeff, was the Mrs able to listen to the CD I gave her.?  I've been wondering if it even worked as I pulled it out of the door pocket of my Subaru where it had been laying for months.

DE

Hey DE,

I have to confess that I stole it from her first to listen to myself, but eventually gave it back. From me, that was a very good set of music and I was very impressed by the recording quality. Well done! Here is from her:

Yeah!  it worked fine. Please let him know that I loved his songs and storytelling …they are great!!
He should be making CDs and selling them.
He has a great voice and guitar skills.


Thanks,

Michiyo

Thanks Jeff.  And be sure to tell Michiyo that I appreciate her kind words.  The CD was my first attempt recording somewhere other than my spare bedroom while under the influence of adult beverages. (Sort of a "campfire" sound I was looking for.)  I've made three other CDs of songs I've written but this last one was the first time to add bass, mando, lead guitar and harmonica. (Plus I harmonized with myself on a few songs). It was recorded at my buddy Jeff Hartley's home studio (actually a converted potting shed in his back yard). Jeff Hartley is a prolific songwriter himself, having recorded over 200 songs he's written.  I'll tell him you said he did a good job engineering the CD, I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

DE

I want to read my own water, choose my own path, write my own songs