Well, it's time for my friends annual camping/party up in Bedfford, PA.  We'll be jamming off and on throughout the day and night (which is good since I have not had much of a chance to play recently).

If pics are taken, I'll post them when I get them.

This friday, the daughter and I will be heading to Ward Mountain, about 15 miles east of Ely, NV for a High Country Pickout. Jamming all friday night, then the next day-listening to some local bands, playing in the band scramble and enjoying a giant potluck at the end of the day. Then back to jamming all night and going fishing the next day. Can't get much better than this!!!

Had a great time last year and hope to repeat the same this year. It will be nice to get out of this hot, dusty desert and breathe in some of that cool mountain air.  

--Last edited by gnelson651 on 2007-07-22 11:23:46 --

Yea Ha!!! Heading out this morning to the mountains for some pickin', and grinn', and fishin'.  

(You can tell I don't get out much   )  

--Last edited by gnelson651 on 2007-07-27 09:19:07 --

The daughter and I got back in safe and sound yesterday afternoon. Great day of fisihing, we caught our limit of 10 trout in about 3.5 hours. I caught the big one (Rainbow trout- 14.5")  So we're having a fish fry tonight.

The pickout was a little disappointing. Last year they had some local bands play on stage and then a band scramble. This year it was an open mike only. It seems not too many bluegrassers showed up this year, mostly country-western stuff. I can take and play cowboy music for only so long, but after 10 slow songs in a row, I'm ready for a nap. Friday night's jam was about the best part of the music side this weekend. The potluck with rotisierre turkey was a good as ever.  

--Last edited by gnelson651 on 2007-08-01 09:56:29 --

Must be nice to live somewhere where's there is good fishing.  

I did the big monthly eastern MA BG jam Saturday and had a real fun time.  Played from 7:00 to almost midnight.  Then said I better to the hour drive home so I could get up the next morning and take my kid to the beach (on about six hours sleep).

Spent a couple hours in the beginners' room but that actually was fun this time.  There were up to 15-20 pickers but enough intermediates to keep things moving.  I think a lot of the beginners come to scene from singing, maybe gospel/church whatever, then picked up an instrument.  So they hang around the edges and play just a little and then come in singing on the chorus.  I'm not much of a singer but I do think being in the middle of a dozen people singing harmony is way cool.  It's like this total human vibe penetrating the whole room.  I'd rather be in ten minutes of that than in hour with an iPod.

When beginner jam broke up, I spend a hour or two in a pretty dern hot circle.  I thought I kept up pretty good.  One of the guys calling tunes and singing said "nice break" to me after one song which made me feel good.  There were a couple really hot old-time fiddlers in the circle calling tunes and playing in unison and that was just way cool.  Just playing around those guys and trying to keep up was fun.  

One thing I decided is that for fiddle tunes, it's more fun to play old-time style where everyone that wants to play lead plays simultaneously rather than rotate the breaks like bluegrass.  That way, if don't know the whole tune yet and are trying to pick it by ear you can play the parts you know and go back to rhythm on the parts you haven't figured out yet.  Oh yeah, and twin fiddles with a mando picking on the side just makes yer ears too freakin' happy.

The only problem is that the great fishing is a 3-4 hours drive away, in the northen part of the state. Here in southern Nevada, Lake Mead is a puddle and the fisihing stinks.