Blues at Centrum

204 Porch Jam 4-5pm

Terry Bean lead a jam on the 204 back porch before dinner. This clip also features Rick Franklin and TJ Moor on Guitar. If you can ID somebody else in this video, please post their name and instrument in comments.

Brad Bechtel's Photos from Dobro Intensive

Brad Bechtel runs one of the finest websites devoted to slide and steel guitars, Brad's Page of Steel.  We were fortunate to have Brad as a participant at our recent Dobro Intensive with Orville Johnson, Mike Witcher, Don Rooke, and Mike Neer. In addition to his skills as a player, Brad is also a fine photographer, and he's shared his photos from the gathering.

View his photos from the weekend at his flickr page.

Podcast: An Interview with Jerron Paxton, Guitar

Click To Play Podcast

Jerron Paxton, a 2008 Centrum's Country Blues Workshop faculty member, will be teaching guitar this week at the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival.

The Los Angeles based, legally blind, teen plays the banjo, guitar, harmonica, pinao and washboard. He is part of a rising crop of young African-American musicians learning country blues in the communities from which it arose. This is the second part of a conversation that was set-up with Jerron 24 hours before his very first flight to the Pacific Northwest. Listen to Part 1.

Jerrod covers Cincinnati Flow Rag / Where'd You Get Your Liquor From

Orville Johnson: Dobro Mojo Conjured!

A note from Orville Johnson...

"The dobro intensive workshop is now history and also had a brush WITH history to cap it off.

The teachers and students were fantastic and the week ended with a concert, open to the public, at the Wheeler Theater. We had a nice house and I, as emcee of the show, started off by telling the audience how fitting it was to have the Slide & Steel Workshop in Port Townsend since Chris Knutsun, the creator of an iconic type of slide guitar commonly known as the Weissenborn guitar, lived in Port Townsend at the time he came up with his invention. Little did I know that more historical connections were to come this evening!

We had a wonderful show, everyone played mightily, and the crowd was well pleased. Afterwards, as we lounged backstage, a fellow came back to compliment us on the evening. He said he was in town on vacation with his wife and had seen a sign that said Dobro Concert Tonight at Fort Worden. He said they had a special interest in dobros and felt they should come and check it out. I asked his name. Emil Dopyera, he replied. WOW!

The Dopyera Brothers invented the freakin' DOBRO! This man was a direct descendant of the inventors! Who happened to be in Port Townsend on vacation the night we had our public concert! And saw the sign and came! Powerful dobro mojo had been conjured and ancestral figures appeared to the acolytes!

I hesitate to consider what might happen at future Slide & Steel events. You'll have to come to find out, I guess. BTW, this is a true story."

Roots of Rock Welcomes Legend Wanda Jackson

Post by guest author Rebecca Agiewich.

Are you ready to rock? The Roots of Rock workshop starts in less than two weeks. The gathering will not only give you the chance to learn from master musicians, but to meet (and play with!) rock legend Wanda Jackson (aka “The First Lady of Rock” and the “Rockabilly Filly.”)

Grammy-nominated Jackson, who has been inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Country Music Hall of Fame (among other honors), will be on hand to share wisdom from her storied 50+ years in the rock business.

Jackson got her start playing guitar and singing country music as teenager in the 50s, and-- after encouragement from her friend Elvis Presley--turned her hand to rock. With hits like “Fujiyama Mama” (which made her a sensation in Japan) and a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Let’s Have a Party, ”which became a top 40 hit in the 60s, Jackson made an indelible mark on the music world at a time when women were supposed to be keeping house and having babies.

But she did a lot more than that, according to Daryl Davis, who is running the Roots of Rock workshop. Jackson had a black piano player in her band—Big Al Downing—at a time when rock music was just starting to break down the racial divide between black and white people, but when bands still weren’t integrated, says Davis.

Because of that, that there were places her band couldn’t play if she brought her piano player. But, says Davis, Jackson refused to play without him. “I really, really admire her for that,” says Davis, a Grammy-winning piano player and an author who has written about race relations in his book Klan-Destine Relationships.

“She was a big contributor to integrating musical groups. She integrated her band; she didn’t care what color they were; she didn’t care about someone’s political leanings – she just put her band together according to what she liked. And this was at a time when women did not have a voice in things. It really took a lot of courage for her to do what she did.” 

As a Roots of Rock participants, you’ll learn about these kinds of social, cultural, issues as they relate to the birth of rock. You will also, of course, learn to play it, with tracks for guitar (taught by Keith Grimes), piano (taught by Davis), and bass (taught by Eduardo "Cha Cha Mundo" Garcia-Maynez).. Stay tuned over the next few days as we post more blog entries about the upcoming workshop and about Daryl, Wanda, and the other teachers! 

Meanwhile, to see Wanda in action, check out this recent video of her singing Fujiyama Mama

or this oldie but goodie of Let’s Have a Party.

One More Guitarist on Staff!

We're jumping with excitement with the news that the gracious Eleanor Ellis has been added to the guitar staff for the Country Blues Workshop. Attendees from last year will remember Eleanor's honest singing, tough Piedmont style picking, and understated presence felt throughout the gathering. The late addition of Eleanor (and Reverend John Wilkins) makes this years' guitar staff perhaps the strongest ever. For more information on this remarkable woman:    http://www.eleanorellis.com/   

Dobro Demons at the Wheeler

Dobro players from all over the country are arriving today for a long weekend of workshops and jamming. To cap off the intensive, we've got a special dobro show happening at 7:30 pm, on July 12 at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater that will include some of the best players on the planet--including Mike Witcher, Mike Neer, and Centrum's Artistic Director for Slide and Steel, Orville Johnson.

General Admission Seats are $16; 18 & under can attend for free with prior reservations. You can follow this link to purchase tickets or, call Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117.

The name “dobro” originated in 1928 when the Dopyera brothers formed the Dobro Manufacturing Company. “Dobro” is both a contraction of “Dopyera brothers” and a word meaning “good” in their native Slovak.

The sounds that the instrument produces is known as the closest sound to being able to approximate the human voice.

The show will feature each musician will playing a set; the show culminates with everyone playing together.

“This will be the first time in Centrum’s history that we have presented an all-dobro concert,” says program manager Peter McCracken. “These are top-drawer, first-tier players who will have been brought to a fever pitch after an intensive weekend-long dobro workshop for avid students. These guys are soaked in the music and the stories of the dobro.” 

Why We Love Crossroads Music

Here at Centrum, we take great pleasure in creating environments that enable transformational experiences for artists. Of course, we can't do it on our own--it really does take a village (so to speak).

One of our favorite partners is Crossroads Music in Port Townsend. This independent music store is run by Dan and Sarai Lopez, and they are an important part of our Blues week (not to mention Centrum's other music gatherings).

If you come to a Centrum workshop, and want to avoid airport security hassles, you can rent instruments from them. When you are at our 2008 Country Blues Festival, Dan and Sarai will be on-site here at Fort Worden to supply you with everything you'll need to keep the music playin.' That includes instruments, books, CD's, DVD's and official Centrum merchandise.

Perhaps the coolest thing they do, however, is support Centrum's core mission. Dan and Sarai are underwriting scholarships that are making it possible for three participants from the North Olympic Peninsula to attend the 2008 Port Townsend Country Blues Festival workshops.

Thank you Dan and Sarai--we truly couldn't do it without you.

Dobro Demons at the Wheeler

Dobro players from all over the country are arriving today for a long weekend of workshops and jamming. To cap off the intensive, we've got a special dobro show happening at 7:30 pm, on July 12 at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater that will include some of the best players on the planet--including Mike Witcher, Mike Neer, and Centrum's Artistic Director for Slide and Steel, Orville Johnson.

General Admission Seats are $16; 18 & under can attend for free with prior reservations. You can follow this link to purchase tickets or, call Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117.

The name “dobro” originated in 1928 when the Dopyera brothers formed the Dobro Manufacturing Company. “Dobro” is both a contraction of “Dopyera brothers” and a word meaning “good” in their native Slovak.

The sounds that the instrument produces are known as the closest sound to being able to approximate the human voice.

The show will feature each musician will playing a set; the show culminates with everyone playing together.

“This will be the first time in Centrum’s history that we have presented an all-dobro concert,” says program manager Peter McCracken. “These are top-drawer, first-tier players who will have been brought to a fever pitch after an intensive weekend-long dobro workshop for avid students. These guys are soaked in the music and the stories of the dobro.” 

Announcing the Contemporary Stringband Workshop

We've just opened registration on an exciting new workshop here at Centrum.

Somewhere beyond or behind all musical borders lies a creative terrain where bluegrass, jazz, classical, pop, and various world musics mingle, played by musicians who care more for inspiration than they do for genre.

Our Contemporary Stringband Workshop is designed to take you there, and there is no better guide than Darol Anger, along with his fellow faculty members Scott Nygaard, Tristan Clarridge, and Matt Flinner.

Visit our CSW page for complete information on this premium experience taking place November 13-16, 2008 here at Fort Worden State Park.