November 2010

Right from the mouth of Jorma…”The more you learn the easier it is to learn more.” Jorma said this to one of our students last week, as we were all saying our goodbyes. It was so perfect that I wrote it down and passed it along. It really says so much about what we do here. For four days you immerse yourself in your chosen instrument with little intrusion, other than some fantastic dining, a campfire jam and yes, the chance to participate in our concert series. When you come to the Ranch it is all about music. The setting we provide, cancels out all the noise of the lives you left behind to come here and you are changed when you leave. It’s weird every time I say that…because I am not the student but this is what the students tell me. The amazing thing is how we are changed because of this learning and the environment we created. We couldn’t have known 14 years ago about the magic of Fur Peace. It grew to this because of the music and the students and the instructors and the land and the concerts and love of it all. I personally don’t know of too many places out there that offer what we offer. With the economy changing like the wind and service industry in desperate need of a moral boost…The Fur Peace Ranch stands alone.

“The more you learn, the easier it is to learn more.” This is so true for us as business owners. Fourteen years ago, I was advised against it. I was told by some folks that I counseled with that it was a great idea, “but who would come?” The only model I had for a camp was Wavy Gravy’s Camp Winnarainbow. Wavy’s camp was great actually. Jorma and I got to experience a camp that had been in operation for 20 years (at that time) that was run by an activist clown! What we walked away with from that experience was how a group of strangers could come together for the love of performance and how it would make a difference in the lives of the participants so much, that it would sustain them until they came back a year later. What I knew about Wavy's place was not enough to satisfy my banker. Still, I stood on the hill of the Fur Peace Ranch property and I sold him on the idea as I pointed to all of the places where buildings would be built and convinced him to take a chance.

Here we are at the end of our 14th season having just hosted Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen and an amazing group of students and still…The more I learn about this, the easier it is to learn more about how to make it better for the group.

My Cup Is Full.......

Two nights of Electric Hot Tuna with many surprise special guests!

The Beacon Theatre Update……..

Both shows are SOLD OUT!

The weekend will feature special guests appearances by Bob Steeler, Chris Smither, John Hammond, Pete Sears, Bill Kirchen, Byron House, Happy Traum, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, Bruce Hornsby and a few more surprise guests!.

Women Rock the FPR!

This will be a first in the history of classes at The Fur Peace Ranch….a weekend with only female instructors. What an honor it will be to host all three of these dynamic musicians. First up is Fiona Boyes…..

Find the place where country blues meets the raw electric sounds of early Chicago Blues with Fiona Boyes. Fiona was the 2003 solo acoustic winner of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. She’s also a two-time Blues Music Awards nominee for her electric guitar performance.

Fiona is teaching a Level 2/3 class titled from Mississippi to Maxwell Street. In this workshop, Fiona will explore her approach to playing finger-style blues, using both original songs and those of classic Blues players from Tommy Johnson to Howlin’ Wolf. Tunes are broken into sections, allowing students to see how the resulting phrases and shapes can be applied to their existing repertoires as well as encouraging new discoveries. Accessible and empowering for the less experienced, as well as seasoned players, the workshop aims to help guitarists of all levels find a stimulating, fresh understanding of blues music. As eclectic as the style itself, you’ll look at licks and runs in different keys, moveable chords, tonal approaches, attack and feel; all mediated by the needs and interests of the group. Sign up now!

Next up in her first visit to Fur Peace is Dar Williams. Dar Williams' growth as a person over her 15-year career has gone hand-in-hand with her evolution as an artist. Raised in Chappaqua, NY, and educated at Wesleyan University, Dar spent 10 years living in the thriving artistic community of Northampton, MA, where she began to make the rounds on the coffeehouse circuit. An early fan of her music was Joan Baez, who took Williams out on the road and recorded several of her songs. Williams self-released her debut album, The Honesty Room in 1993, then signed with Razor & Tie Entertainment in 1995, which has been her label home ever since.

Join Dar in a traditional song circle with discussion. You’ll trade ideas on everything from new moody chords to sources of information. This class is for the novice to the professional. There are no pre- qualifications to play or to attend her session at The Fur Peace Ranch. Everyone is encouraged to come as they are. As a student, you will have the opportunity to share your unique words and music and find their place in the mix. Sign up Now!

And finally …..Veteren to the Ranch, Marjorie Thompson. Marjorie is a guitarist, songwriter and performer whose originals evoke the time-honored genres of the country blues, rags and roots music characterized by Rev Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Dave Van Ronk and many other pioneers of this field. Her four recordings since 2003 are reflective of this style but are drenched with contemporary and personal, often humorous twists. Originally from New York City, she took up the guitar in the mid sixties and thus began a lifelong passion for fingerstyle guitar. She has also served as dean of undergraduate biology at Brown University for 25 years.

Her relationship with Fur Peace Ranch stems back to 1999, and at present she serves as a workshop instructor, as Jorma's assistant in his Level 2 Workshops, and as the Camp Educational Consultant. She tours actively, and specializes in workshop/house concerts throughout a broad range of venues in the US and Europe.

Marjorie will be teaching Songcrafting and the Fingerstyle Guitar Toolkit. This is a Level 1/2 class that will include a variety of hands-on exercises aimed at building songs and arrangements with fingerstyle guitar embellishments. You will develop a set of musical tools based on the CAGED system including chord inversions, passing chords, and licks typical for a given chord position that may then be employed in giving color and individual personality to cover favorites (possibly drawn from Hot Tuna, John Hurt, Gary Davis, and some familiar standard folk tunes) as well as for building original songs. Specific songs will be taught that demonstrate these principles and can then be used as laboratories for variations and accompaniments. We will also address the development of a song from a poem or original lyric set, considering how lyrics "speak " in various keys, along with creating groove and feeling with refrains, wordplay and defining riffs. Sign up now!

October 08, 2010 – Chris Smither

It certainly was wonderful to have Chris Smither back for his annual trip to the Ranch. While it may have been a small camp with Chris being the only instructor here, it presented opportunities to create some great camaraderie with things like the small family-style meals, and I'm sure those camp fire nights were great too!

The show Saturday evening was fantastic. We were excited to have Billy Dean come to the Ranch to perform his singer/songwriter show for us. He may have been running a little behind schedule (he had not realized we were in the eastern time zone and therefore didn't schedule the time change into his travel plans). But once here, everything ran like clockwork. From all accounts Billy sure seemed to enjoy his time at the Ranch; from having a nice dinner with Vanessa, delivering a great performance, and sharing a tasty breakfast with all of the students the following morning. Billy sure writes some great lyrics and songs, to top it off he has a very pleasant signing voice too. Chris' opening set was great as well, maybe a little bit too short . . . I'm sure we could all listen to Chris play for hours on end.

Kudos to all of the students for the Student Performance Sunday afternoon. We haven't had a round-robin student performance for a while now, and they always seem to work out well; this was no exception. All of you contributed some great songs to the mix whether it was a cover or an original. Karl Dentino put in some wonderful harmonica accompaniments to several songs; Chef Chris ventured out of the kitchen to join John on Dylan's She Belongs To Me; Smither did a wonderful performance of Dylan's Visions of Johanna with a Smither twist; Hurl flew dangerously close to the Kumbaya line-in-the-sand with the group sing-a-long This Land is Your Land; we also heard some humorous songs that made us all laugh; and an original "protest" song. Kudos, again, to all of the students. Keep up the great work!

October 22-25, 2010 - 8th Annual Rev. Gary Davis with Roy Book Binder, Rev. Gary Davis, Jorma Kaukonen

It was wonderful to have Roy Book Binder, Rev. Robert Jones, The Captain, Marjorie Thompson and all of you here with us this weekend as we paid tribute the late Reverend Gary Davis.

The Reverend Robert Jones gained some converts from Roy's class early Friday morning even before his arrival, his spirit is just that strong! The Reverend's class was held in the front of the Fur Peace Station. Roy held court with his class in the Library. During non-workshop time, Roy could often be spotted holding court on the side deck of the workshop (where the smoking area is) surrounded by students telling stories and playing some too. Jorma, with his trusty assistant Marjorie Thompson, held class in the workshop building.

For the Tribute to the Reverend Gary Davis show Saturday night we took a risk and a departure from our normal format.

"A Tribute to Reverend Gary Davis in Words and Music" was the title of our show Saturday night. As the weekend neared we transformed the Fur Peace Station Stage into a faux Late Night Show set with the addition of a couch and a small interviewer's desk (stage right). When the big moment finally came, Vanessa walked on stage by herself and announced "HHHHere's Johnny!" introducing Johnny Hurlbut, our host for the evening's events; the front rows of the audience stood up and went to the front of the stage as Johnny came out and greeted the audience with hand shakes and high fives in classic Late Night fashion.

One by one Johnny interviewed each guest about their association with the Reverend to help our audience gain a greater insight and appreciation of the Reverend's life and music that lives on through so many to this day!

Johnny's guests - Jorma, Rev. Robert Jones, and Roy Book Binder - one by one took their place on the couch and had a chat with Johnny about their connection to the Rev. Gary Davis, like where/when they first heard the Reverend's music, where they first saw him perform and what he was like as a person. When Johnny finished up each interview the guest was given an opportunity to take center stage and play several songs by the Reverend and songs of their own which were inspired by the Reverend and his music.

Sunday's student performance was quite a number too. We got a little bit of everything in that show including a guitar trick song, some originals songs, Dead covers, a Wilco cover with altered lyrics, instrumentals, blues, and even a song by the Reverend. Strong performances all around, in fact one of our strongest student performances this season. Thank you to all the students for sharing your music with us!

On Sunday evening Marjorie played a wonderful set of music for all of the students. Then the camp fire jams roared to life like the flames of the fire and could be heard throughout much of the camp.

October 29 – 01 November, 2010 Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, Jorma Kaukonen

We sure had a wonderful time hosting Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen. We were also glad to host Dick Boak and Craig Thatcher of Martin Guitars. While here, Dick was more than happy to change strings on the student's guitars and impart his vast knowledge of guitars, while Craig sat in on Jorma's workshop.

Chris had a full class of mandolin players in the workshop. Herb Pedersen took his pickers over to the library, while Jorma and his class set up shop in the front of the Fur Peace Station.

Saturday night's show was fantastic. Chris and Herb came out swinging with Desert Rose followed by Turn, Turn Turn, and many other classics. While the first set was a strong performance, the second set let it all hang out ending the night with such numbers as You Ain't Going Nowhere and Wait A Minute. Those two sure have penned some musical treasures during their careers. Here's to many more!

Sunday's student performance was quite stunning as well, a bit more organized than usual, and quite action packed. Herb started the show off by bringing members of his class to the stage to perform, some solo, some accompanied by other members of the class. Chris' class followed suit. After Chris' class things flowed in more of the open stage manner of things. We heard some great original tunes, a great blues number, a few instrumentals and a surprise outing of White Rabbit that ended with the audience singing the final verse. Sweet! Vanessa also join Jack Brandt on vocal harmony for his song You Might Just Trip On Texas. Kudos to all of your for sharing your talents with us.

Sunday evening was quite a treat as we hosted a "secret" performance with the Captain of the Camp himself, and Craig Thatcher. Jorma kicked off the night with a great Come Back Baby followed by That'll Never Happen No More, Things That Might've Been, I Know You Rider, Death Don't Have No Mercy, ending with River Of Time. Jorma then invited Craig to the stage. Craig played One Kind Favor, Tell Everyone I Know(?), Wind Cries Mary, followed by and instrumental. Then things really took off as Craig invited Jorma back to the stage for a few more songs. They cut it loose with Trouble In Mind, Good Shepherd, Outside Women Blues and ended the performance with San Francisco Bay Blues. What a treat that was!

back to top ^

Read more about what’s happening at FPR and On-The-Road

• Jorma – Cracks In The Finish
• Vanessa - The Labryinth
• Hurl – Checkin’ The Levels

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

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!

back to top ^