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| Author | Topic: MUSICFEST |
 imnidiot
Registered User
From:
Ashley PA
Registered:
3/28/2005 | posted: 8/9/2005 at 11:45:02 AM ET
Greetings from "Musicfest in Bethlehem Pa. I had mentioned earlier in the year that the family would be going on our annual trek to one of the largest festivals in the U S. We arrived on Monday afternoon and hit the downtown for dinner and music. We missed one of the groups on our to see list due to a hospital apt. my wife had on Monday morning, negating our plans to go on Sunday. The band we wanted to see is from Australia called "Fruit". My sister in law said they were very good. Oh well, maybe next year or at some future site. I would like to get to nearby Nazereth, to visit the Martin guitar factory, which is about ten miles north of here. When we return home, I'll post some of the highlites of the trip.
I am a fragment of my imagination
| imnidiot
Registered User
From:
Ashley PA
Registered:
3/28/2005 | posted: 8/9/2005 at 10:55:19 PM ET
We did get to the Martin guitar factory thi afternoon. A very high tech facility. Everything that has to do with producing a guitar is done on site, fro the rough-cut woods to the final polishing and inspection. They even manufacture any machinery in their own cnc shop. They are in the process of constructing an on site museum which will be complete sometime in November. It was a great experience to see all the steps involved in the making of a guitar. I still don't really care for the feel of the necks, but the guide,(who also works in the factory), said they can make a neck to my specifications. I told him about my nephew who was in Afganistan shortly after 9/11, who lived in the Bethlehem area, and how Martin heard about his tour and sent him a letter thanking him for his service, with pictures of his daughter, 100 dollars, and his choice of any guitar the company made. My nephew sent a letter back saying he was greatful for the recognition, and declined the offer of the guitar. I'll talk about musicfest on another day, as I'm kinda beat right now.
I am a fragment of my imagination
| suzyq
Registered User
Registered:
11/18/2004 | posted: 8/9/2005 at 11:32:29 PM ET
Hi iman,
I have a feeling that Toonz would love to go on this tour. Hope she reads your post, I found it fascinating.
|  Pete
Registered User
From:
North Coast NSW, Australia
Registered:
3/20/2005 | posted: 8/10/2005 at 6:24:21 AM ET
Fruit, as I think I said when you told us abut this trip a few months back, is not known at all down here, and it's an Adventist High School I teach in, with Christian music high on the agenda, but the whole thing sounds great, and a visit to the Martin factory is the stuff of dreams.
What was it about the necks you didn't like?
Hi, suzyq. Guess what my year 7 kids said they wanted to learn, today? ""Under The Boardwalk"" Every thing old is new again, indeed..
Baruch 3:14
| suzyq
Registered User
Registered:
11/18/2004 | posted: 8/10/2005 at 10:08:14 AM ET
Hi Pete,
Rock'n'Roll beats any of the noise they play today - but I guess they said the same thing about "Under the Boardwalk." My brother has a Beatle's record collection.
The Mamas and the Papas, Peter,Mary and I forget the other member, Jefferson Airplane, Beatles and others - were all and in some cases still good performers. Still prefer some Musical Comedies, Barbara Cook, Betty Buckley - I've seen both of these artists (artists in the true sense of the word) sing in concerts. I did not see Cats except on TV and I didn't like the show or the music, but than I'm not a big fan of Lloyd Weber.
Your kids have good taste.
| imnidiot
Registered User
From:
Ashley PA
Registered:
3/28/2005 | posted: 8/10/2005 at 1:38:02 PM ET
Pete, the neck is too wide for me, and too thick. I remember the first time I played one, it was in the summer of 76, and I didn't care for them then. They also sound a little bassy. I played one at the factory, and still felt the same. Maybe it's because of the carpal tunnel damage in my left wrist, which limits my flexability. I am quite happy with my Ibanez which like an Ovatoin has a thinner neck. I also remember from an earlier post that you had said the the highs in an Ovation are biased, but you never explained what you meant. Now for a little about musicfest. Our stay was cut short due to medical problems my wife is having, so we didn't see all the performers on our list. On Monday, we saw a Peruvian group called Runa Paca from the Andes Mountains. They are perennial favorites, but this year they did mostly cover tunes instead of their native music. We saw a young guitarist named Dominic Gaudious, (I think he is of Greek heritage), and he also plays the Dijeredoo as he plays guitar. He played a solo on Dijeredoo which lasted for several minutes without stopping for a breath. As I learned from the instructions that came with one I bought at a previous Musicfest, this is accomplished by circular breathing, inhaling through the nose while blowing into the instrument. Quite an amazing performance. On Monday night, we saw a group called Bigshot from Brooklyn New York. They do Billy Joel music. They were very good, and if I heard right, the drummer is the younger brother of Billy's drummer. Tuesday was the Martin tour, then we saw a Dixieland Jazz and Zydaco group. they had a great horn section, but the vocals weren't that good. We didn't have time to see another yearly favorite, Cast in Bronze. This This is a guy my son calls the bell dude. He play an instrument called a Carillon. It is a 15th century instrument consisting of 35 bells played similar to a piano or organ, except the fists are used to hit the keys instead of the fingers, which activate the bells. I beleive the whole instrument and trailer it's mounted on weighs about 4 tons. As far as I know, it's the only one in the US. Musicfest runs through Sunday, so anyone within traveling distance might want to check it out. Most of the venues are free, but the food is expensive. there are als big name groups performing nightly throughout the duration.
I am a fragment of my imagination
| imnidiot
Registered User
From:
Ashley PA
Registered:
3/28/2005 | posted: 8/10/2005 at 5:31:34 PM ET
suzyq, It's Peter Paul and Mary, and they're still going strong. On PBS, you can see many of the performers from the 50's 6o's and early 70's. They still have a strong following, and most still sound great. As Pete mentoined, "everything old is new again", my 18 yr. old just picked up a Miles Davis CD. Of course, He had a positive music influence from the music my wife and I listen to. He als has a sizeable collection of classical music. This kind of paralells prof. Sy Brandons thread about the future of music. There are still young people who appreciate art music.
I am a fragment of my imagination
| Pete
Registered User
From:
North Coast NSW, Australia
Registered:
3/20/2005 | posted: 8/11/2005 at 5:33:26 AM ET
suzyq, Under The Boardwalk was the Stones, with a magic 12 string bridge, but we're still friends, right?
""I also remember from an earlier post that you had said the the highs in an Ovation are biased, but you never explained what you meant. "" Don, it's the use of fibreglass, I find it lacks body tones, and always sounds to me like a non-solid top accoustic ie: cheap, thin and limited in harmonic overtones.
I have never owned a Martin, (I have a Gibson, and Fender, Burns and Guild electrics, but my 19 year old Suzuki Professional accoustic beats everything else I have played or heard, inc the Aussie Maton, hands down) but I have had a lot of students with them over the years. I find if the string size is dropped back to an .011 1st, they are faster and lower, but a lot of flatpickers buy them just because of that squared-off neck.
Dijeredoo is played by the kids I teach, and when that ancient sound, unchanged for at least 10,000 years, is produced by a classroom of Aboriginal kids who's forebares were living in the stone age only 200 years ago (and who are very bright, and very musically talanted)the effect is hair-raising.
The kids, we teachers say, ""zone out"", when the Digeredoo is played in the classroom, and even us white folk feel ourselves drifting off.
And, for those who are reading this who, unlike Don and myself, have not heard one played, these things are LOUD...
Baruch 3:14
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