Slide & Steel Guitars at Centrum

To B(ottlen)e(ck) or Not to B(ottlen)e(ck)

To bottleneck or not to bottleneck, that is the question;
whether it’s nobler in the mind to suffer
the slings and arrows of playing slide guitar alone,
or to join arms with like-minded guitarists
and by playing all night, improve. To play, to sleep;
no more; and by playing we live beyond
the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
that flesh is heir to — ‘tis a community
devoutly to be wish’d. To play, to celebrate;
to celebrate, perchance to live. Ay, there’s the rub,
for in that celebration of life what gigs may come,
when we have shuffled away from this historic Fort,
will give us delight. There’s the pursuit
that makes the bottleneck style of guitar
for whom would risk moving beyond
th’ finger-on-fret style--so wrong, so limited,
the pangs of no slide. 

Daily Schedule for Jan. 31-Feb. 3 Bottleneck Intensive

(Register here, or by calling Centrum at 360.385.3102, x114)

Thursday, January 31

3:30 to 5:30 pm: Check-in

6 pm: Dinner, followed by orientation and introductions

Friday, February 1

8:30 to 9:30 am: Breakfast

10 am to 12 noon: Morning class. The morning classes will follow a theme based on the most common turnings for bottleneck slide and will run concurrently. Mike Dowling will be in D tuning, Steve James in G tuning, and Orville Johnson in standard tuning. Students will stay with the same morning teachers each day, as these classes will be incremental, designed to build on the previous day's work.

12:30 to 1:15 pm: Lunch

Afternoon Periods:

Orville Johnson Launches New Website

Centrum's Artistic Director for Slide and Steel, Orville Johnson, has launched a new website. Keep up-to-date with Johnson's traveling and gigs at www.orvillejohnson.com, part of which we'll reprint here!

From Orville's Blog:

"It's been awhile since we talked! I did some fun things this summer so let me fill you in. We can call it 'What I did on my my summer (not) vacation.' Mostly the same kind of stuff I'm always doing, playing music and thinking about music. Occasionally my thoughts drift toward dessert but always circle back to music.

Did some solo gigs, a couple of things with my good pal Mark Graham, participated in an extremely rare reunion of the Dynamic Logs, a band I was one of the founding members of way back in 1978, late 20th century! We gathered for a benefit for one of our singers Valerie Rosa, who had some medical expense troubles (national health care anyone?). It was a smashing success, we packed the Triple Door and had a fun time in the process. We raised a bunch of dough, helped a friend, and made a deposit in the good karma account. It was pretty amazing how songs you haven't played in 20 years come back to you. I read a cool book about how your brain processes music entitled This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel Levitan. Lots of interesting studies on how you remember musical stuff. Now what was I talking about again?..."

Read more at www.orvillejohnson.com. Orville Johnson leads a special weekend workshop in bottleneck guitar at Centrum January 31–February 3, 2008. $550 includes all meals and lodging, and he's joined by Mike Dowling and Steve James in a weekend gathering celebrating what is considered by many to be the most expressive and tuneful sound ever conceived. The weekend will include workshop sessions, faculty demonstrations, tutorials, and open jams.

Participants must have a basic technical command of their instrument(s) and basic knowledge of music theory. As part of the workshop, participants will receive free admission to the February 2 public evening performance in the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater. For Workshop Registration use our secure link or call 360.385.3102, x114. Faculty bios are beneath the jump.

Mike Dowling to Teach Centrum Bottleneck Workshop

When the late, great Vassar Clements heard Mike Dowling play guitar back in 1975 he did the sensible thing.  He hired him, calling Dowling "one of the finest guitarists there is, anywhere."

Dowling digs deep into the musical bag of American roots guitar, favoring the melodic Piedmont style of blues masters like Mississippi John Hurt and slide great Tampa Red.

But Dowling can't be pigeonholed as a blues player, or even as a fingerstylist. He's far too versatile for that. From bottleneck blues to vintage jazz and much more in between, Mike's musicality, depth, and mastery of the instrument translates fluently to flattop, archtop, and resonator guitars alike.

One of those rare artists who teaches as well as he plays, Dowling will be in residence at Centrum from January 31 to February 3 at the Bottleneck workshop. For workshop registration follow this link or call us at 360.385.3102, x114.

Birth of Bodie: An Email from Mary Lucey

hey y'all!!!!!!!!

woweeee, a lil angel touched down on tuesday sept 25th at 7:05pm! a full moon rising over the mountains outside our hospital window. everything went smoothly and relatively quickly, so they say ;-)  a very beautiful and powerful experience. we are sooo happy to be home. and are so grateful for this healthy nugget of love. billy has been master chef cardine, so we are all gaining our strength back. adrenaline is an amazing thing and has been keeping me chugging through days and nights that total sleep in the minutes.   

imagine the jam sessions that could be going on with this unstoppable energy! or is it obsessive compulsive hawk-like awareness and sensitivity to this new lil bugger? his name is william bodie cardine, and we are calling him bodie. we want to thank you all so very much for all of the love and support. we know how blessed we are for friends like y'all!  ok, so here are some photos...i had to restrain myself a bit ;-)

much love, mary and billy and bodie boy

Mary Lucey and Billy Cardine taught and performed at Centrum in 2007. Together, they play in the fiery mountain music band the Biscuit Burners.

Leo Kottke Performance October 5

[Leo Kottke playing "I Yell At Traffic" and "Don't Call Me Ray"]

American guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke will perform on Friday, October 5, at 7:30 pm at Fort Worden's McCurdy Pavilion. Tickets are available on our secure online site as well as by calling Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117