Slide & Steel Guitars at Centrum

While we're on the subject...

This isn't entirely slide-related, but I hope you'll pardon the indulgence!

As Orville mentioned recently, there's been a bit of "conjurin'" happening around here. In that spirit, I want you all to know that the great Wanda Jackson will be here in a few days for a Rock-n-Roll intensive called "The Roots of Rock."

Wanda is a legendary figure in the history of rock and rockabilly, and we feel as if some lucky conjurin' brought her to us. Workshop participants will get to be her backing band for a rockabilly dance taking place on Tuesday, August 5. Either as a player or a dancer/listener...it's an event not to be missed.

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.

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."

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.”