Well after several weeks of creative chaos, we have started another band workshop, this time with 2 bands meeting in the East Bay with the inimitable Dave Zimmerman and one in the south bay with Lisa Burns.
Folks are surprised when they hear that it takes 6-8 weeks to pull together the bands and organize the workshop…here’s why:
I spend a few weeks just getting the word out through Craigslist, the good ole CBA Message Board, NCBS, the TTS network and my own mailing list. As applications start to trickle in, inevitably we have lots of guitars and so then starts the work of looking for banjo, fiddle, mandolin. The bass seems to always be the last spot to fill and this time, as every time, I was begging guitar players to play bass, recruiting TTS alumni to play bass, standing on the street corner with a sandwich board “Looking for Bass Player.” I spend as much time as I can talking with interested folks on the phone and through email – is this the right program for them, can they work the schedule, what are the expectations and time commitment, etc. Lots of folks are not quite ready to take the leap – but we’ll keep talking and hopefully they’ll join in in the future.
Somehow it all comes together and we get a critical mass. Thanks to TTS alum Virgil Stanford, we cooked up the idea (sitting together at the Bluegrass on Broadway festival) of starting a south bay band that could rehearse there with a coach who lives there. Lisa Burns and I connected at Grass Valley and we are so lucky she is on board, bringing her enthusiasm as well as her considerable bluegrass knowledge and coaching talents. Virgil and his buddy Jeff rounded up some friends and contacts…we now have a south bay band.
So we round up a bunch of interested people and get applications with deposits and schedules and interests and playing levels…then comes the Welcome Jam. Or in this workshop’s case, Welcome Jams – we had two, run by Dave and Lisa and me – at the new Freight. Once we hear folks play and express their goals and we talk a little about what the workshop is (and isn’t), we begin to match-make. Which players could best come together to learn and have fun?
The truth is that the success of the matches are almost entirely reliant on the attitude of the players – with a small pool of participants, it is just impossible to get perfect matches AND balance instruments and schedules. At the Welcome Jams, I am honest with folks that the workshops are really fun and also really frustrating and you have to really want to do it.
Dave and Lisa really helped make people feel comfortable at the Jams. Many of the participants were like me just three years ago – they have been playing in their homes, in private and are just venturing out to sing and play with others. So it was scary to sing and lead a song – they did great and I so appreciate the courage that takes.
Dave and I talked about best matches and best composition for bands, still looking for bass players, and I went on a major recruiting spree when three people had out drop out at the last minute. All of a sudden I was actually short on guitar players. Argh.
THEN we begin making the schedule for the band rehearsals, trying to provide enough advance notice for participants to plan ahead. In addition to the 7 rehearsals with the instructors, there is a sound class taught by a Freight & Salvage sound engineer and guest stars to be scheduled. Our guest stars are the likes of Laurie Lewis, Jim Nunally and Kathy Kallick, and this time Jack Tuttle, who will be working with us for the first time. The guest stars meet with the bands after they have had a chance to choose their songs and develop rough arrangements. They act as consultants, really – identifying what they hear are strengths and where there could be some improvement in the band’s rhythms, harmonies, arrangements and solos.
Seem like all that might take 6-8 weeks? At least! Oops, then there’s all the money part – paying and collecting. Many many thanks to TTS alum Jon Steel who has automated a lot of our processes and made my life so much easier!
So now we’ve got our instructors, bands put together, the schedules set, the Freight show set and the sound class scheduled…off we go! The bands have all met once and they will be working hard to prepare an awesome show for December 6th at the Freight. Dave and Lisa are the best – the instructors work hard and really invest in the bands. I am so grateful to them.
Now there are the weekly news and updates to participants with resources and guidance; and promoting the show so we have a great crowd. Seems like there is always something more to do. It’s a labor of love and I am proud to be doing it. These three bands are going to be awesome!
Tune in here for first-hand accounts of the Fall workshop (I learn a lot from these!). Geoff Sargent was our blogger last spring and he was terrific and now of course writes a CBA Welcome column. I hope to find a blogger this week...
Hilary Perkins
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Take the Stage is proud to be in partnership with the California Bluegrass Association, which provides free tickets to Grass Valley for our Most Inspirational Player. For more information, visit nellrobinsonmusic.com/tts.
