April 2010

It was love at first sight for Jorma. Love for the land that cradles the Fur Peace Ranch. It called out to him long before it was the Ranch as we know it to be today. The phone rang in our upstate New York home one winter morning in 1990. A voice from Jorma’s past on the other end. I heard the voice bellow through the receiver, “Jorma”, he said. “ This is John Clarke. I‘ve got this land for sale in Ohio and I want you to see it”. I’m standing in the kitchen next to him motioning to hang up the phone. They finished their conversation and before I could express my opinion, he was practically out the door on his way to look at “this land”. Truly, I thought he’d lost his mind. Land in Ohio, I thought! He’s gone mad! I heard nothing from Jorma for days. He’d gone to Ohio, bought the land and five days later, showed up with the deed .

Fast forward to the spring of 1998. We opened our doors to the Fur Peace Ranch and our lives were changed forever. The last 13 years have been nothing short of amazing for us. Some of the best guitarists have taught here over the years and continue to offer up their expertise, their stories and their talent to our students. And the students…..well….I have over 3,000 new friends as a result of  them coming and sharing their talent. I hate to think what our lives would have been like had we stayed in New York. Thank God I had the sense to know that Jorma was being guided. The Ranch truly was the universe doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

April is such a beautiful time here. Everything is budding and blooming. And the scenery is stunning. The wildlife is abundant and the mix of small lakes and ponds, farmland and woodland gives each valley a visual and distinctiveness of its own.

We hope to see you all this year in one of our workshops or at one of our shows. Jorma and his friends will be here…waiting with a cup of coffee to greet you.

Can’t wait to see you.......

Pick and Putt was conceived 9 years ago by Ben Hochberg, one of our consummate repeat offenders. Ben is a motorcycle rider, and an instructor of motorcycle, trike, and sidecar safety courses, as well as the Director of ABATE of Colorado’s Rider Education Division. On his first trip to the Fur Peace Ranch in 1999, he found out that Jorma, too, was a life long motorcycle rider.

On a camp weekend in 2001, Jorma said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could have motorcycle riding here, as well as guitar playing?” Ben thought the answer to that one was a no-brainer, so it was decided that, since he was in the motorcycle business, he would see what it would take to make that happen.

He contacted the American Motorcyclist Association (A.M.A.) and submitted a Charter application to create the Fur Peace Motor Cycle Club which was approved and accepted. Ben then applied for a Sanctioned Event and bought insurance for the event. He would serve as our Insurance Communications Officer with the A.M.A. At that milestone The Fur Peace Motor Cycle Club became legit!

Ben and Jorma decided to name the event Pick ‘n‘ Putt. It was held September 27 – 29, 2002, and was a great success! We have had a Pick ‘n’ Putt Weekend every year since then, with the 9th annual to be held this year, 2010.

Pick’n’Putt has many of the same repeat offenders year after year after year that revel in the camaraderie that is the FPR experience of guitar lessons, performance peppered with the additional camaraderie generated through their enjoyment of motorcycles. While the workshop schedule largely remains unchanged, workshop breaks are just opportunities for motorcycle rides throughout the scenic southeastern Ohio country side.

Ben reports that Pick’n’Putt usually fields a group of about 25 riders. The Big Ride of the weekend approaches 200 miles of riding on great southeastern Ohio roads, with an occasional foray into neighboring West Virginia. The rides are meticulously organized by Jorma and by Jerry Bayha, who research and ride the routes, and then make up maps for the participants prior to the start of the events.

Come ride with Jorma and the rest of the "gang". Be a member of Fur Peace M/C - no cost, no dues, no obligations; just FUN. All you have to do is join the A.M.A. and send me your membership information (benhighmountain@aol.com), and you will be made a member of F.P. M/C!

Wonderful camaraderie, music, food, and… bikes! “It just doesn’t get any better!”

This year’s Pick’n’Putt event will be held September 24-27, 2010 with Jorma Kaukonen, Spencer Bohren, Bill Kirchen and a rare workshop from Allman Brothers' bass master Oteil Burbridge. Saturday night’s performance features Jorma Kaukonen followed by Spencer Bohren and Bill Kirchen’s Honky Tonk Heaven which is sure to bring the station down!

FIONA BOYES . . .

Fiona Boyes, Australian blues guitarist and singer, returns to the Fur Peace to conduct a Blues Guitar workshop on the June 4th weekend.  Boyes first arrived in America in 2003 to claim the International Blues Challenge award as a solo acoustic performer. She was the first woman and first Australian to earn this award.  Her blues playing covers all types of blues styles...Mississippi hill country, blues shuffles, Chicago and Texas Blues. She is at home in an acoustic or electric setting and she has recorded two acoustic solo CDs as well as five electric albums with her band. The Blues Legend, Pinetop Perkins, says this of Fiona...."I ain't never heard a woman finger pick a guitar like that since Memphis Minnie." Howlin' Wolf guitarist, the great Hubert Sumlin adds, "She's got it. I've played with them all, and she's got it."  Sign up for Fiona's class and see what these Blues Masters are talking about. 

Fiona will also perform at the Fur Peace Station Saturday June 5, 2010 along with fellow Australian and FPR regular Geoff Achison for FPR’s OZ fest! Tickets still Available

RORY BLOCK . . .

Rory Block, "widely regarded as the top female interpreter and authority on traditional country blues worldwide" according to the Blues Foundation, returns to the Fur Peace on May 14th for an intimate workshop session.  Rory is a 5 time winner of the prestigious WC Handy Blues Music Awards!  Her blues style reflects her encounters and influences from the early Delta blues masters she met at an early age.  Rory took her first lessons in the blues from the Rev. Gary Davis.  She also got to learn first-hand from Mississippi John Hurt and Son House, among others. Indeed her most recent CD, Blues Walkin' Like A Man, is a tribute to Son House.  Her CD release from 2007, The Lady and Mr. Johnson, won the Blues Music Award for Acoustic Album of the Year.   With nearly 30 CDs to her credit, Rory has been a main force in preserving the Delta Blues Tradition.

A traditionalist and innovator at the same time, Rory's classes at the Ranch have always been an intensive learning experience and just as she studied with the masters.....a student in her class will have the same experience.  "Rory Block is the blues....one of the music's few living legends", says the All Music Guide and the Blues Revue notes: "Rory Block is one of the greatest living acoustic blues guitarists."  Don't miss this opportunity!!!! Tickets Still Available

RAVE REVIEWS

• "... Rory Block is currently stretching the limits...hugely talented... She is one of our national treasures."The New York Blues & Jazz Society
• "...one of the world's most important preservers of the roots of American music...a national treasure in the form of an uncompromising mature blues artist." Guitar Extra
• "If you like music steeped in tradition and genuine feeling, this is your woman." - People Magazine
• "Some of the most singular and affecting Country Blues anyone, man or woman, black or white, old or young, has cut in recent years." Rolling Stone

Rory will also perform at the Fur Peace Station Concert Hall on Saturday May 15, 2010 along with fellow instructors Woody Mann and Happy Traum. Tickets Available

Well . . . March surely came in like a lion with our first two workshops kicking off the 2010 season in grand style!

Our first session of the season was a special weekend with Jorma Kaukonen and his teaching assistant Marjorie Thompson for a level 2 Key to the Highway workshop. What a special weekend it was! We hosted a wonderful group of students from across the nation and south of the border. We also had two special living room performances from Jorma and Marjorie in the Library workshop area, both totally unplugged and acoustic! Did I mention the 2 hour student performance round-robin style! See Hurl’s “Back In The Groove Again” blog entry for a full recap of the weekend’s activities!

March continued to roar like a lion two weeks later with our first full session of the season with Jorma Kaukonen, jazz guitar living legend Larry Coryell, and fingerstyle master Stefan Grossman. While the weather may not have been optimal, as they say: “Rain or Shine it’s always a great time at the Fur Peace Ranch!” The Sunday night campfire may have been rained out, but the Captain saw it as an opportunity to warm up for his upcoming shows with an impromptu private solo performance at the FPR Station! Visit Jorma’s blog entry for March 28, 2010 for the vital details.

This weekend also featured our first Fur Peace Station Concert Hall performance of the year. Stefan Grossman and Larry Coryell performed to a sold out room. Highlights included Larry's solo guitar version of Bolero, which according to one of our Fur Peace Station regulars “was worth the price of admission,” audience participation galore with Stefan and an encore from Larry & Stefan! What a gem and a treat!

See Hurl’s “Jazzed Up At The FPR” for all the details, and learn Larry Coryell’s top 3 jazz album picks.

Also visit Vanessa’s blog entry from Friday March 26, 2010 for her reflections on the 13th anniversary of FPR’s inception.

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If you haven't already seen the FPR Youtube Channel, be sure to stop by and rate our videos, or become a subscriber.

Several new videos have been added this past week, including Fiona Boyes and Chris Smither. We also just added some of Larry Coryell and Stefan Grossman from the March 27, 2010 show

We are building an audience for all the video material we are filming. We would appreciate your support and opinion. Look for new videos in the future!

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