This Monday was no different than any other except I got a Flip Ultra Video Camera!
Sandy
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Renofest 2009
Renofest, is always the 4th weekend in March and one of my most anticipated events of the year for me. This was my 5th year attending and my 4th time competing in the Guitar Contest. True to form... this year was no different from the past, getting all nervous, fumbling my notes, and failing to make the final cut (Top 5). I played Maydelle's Reel.
Although I did not take home the coveted Wayne Henderson Guitar or come close to the prize, I would not change a thing or quit trying. For the past 5 years I have aspired to be a "contest Picker" and I have grown by leaps and bounds since my first attempt in 2005. Although the nerves are still the same as the first time I took the stage, I seriously doubt they will ever go away in the contest setting.
The rules for Renofest are simple:
1. Contestants will be judged on 50 possible points.
2. Competition will begin PROMPTLY at 10:00 AM. Any contestant who is not present to compete when his/her number is called will be disqualified.
3. Judges will not see the contestants. Contestants will be referred to only by their numbers. This blind judging makes the competition as fair as possible.
4. Contestants will be judged on arrangement, execution & tuning, and overall performance.
5. Flatpicking or fingerpicking allowed.
6. Contestants are allowed one instrument back-up (accompanist) of their choice.
7. Contestants are not allowed to sing or speak into the mike.
8. In the preliminaries contestants will play one tune with a time limit of three (3) minutes with 10 points being deducted for exceeding time limit.
9. In cases of broken strings/picks, etc., contestants will be allowed to repeat the same tune without penalty.
10. No electrical instruments allowed for contestants or accompanists.
11. The top 5 contestants will be announced from the stage at approximately 12:30 pm. Contestants will assemble promptly at 12:35 PM behind the stage area to draw numbers for their playing order. ANY CONTESTANT WHO DOES NOT APPEAR FOR THE DRAWING PROMPTLY AT 12:35 PM WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFIED.
12. Finals will begin PROMPTLY AT 1:20 PM. Any contestant who is not present to compete when his or her number is called will be disqualified.
13. Finalists will perform 2 tunes with a time limit of three (3) minutes per tune. They will be judged and scored only on this performance. Previous scores will not be considered. 10 points will be deducted for exceeding time limit.
14. Winners will be announced at approximately 4:05 PM.
This year winners were:
1. Eric Hardin, Warrensville NC
2. Bryan McDowell, Canton NC
3. Matt Lindsey, Dunbar WVA
4. Josh Pickett, Cana VA
5. Zeb Snyder, Lexington NC
It's a rare day if a South Carolinian can crack the Top 5!
Eric ripped it up playing Whiskey Before Breakfast in the first round, and Lonesome Fiddle Blues and Blackberry Blossom in the second round. Any of these guys can win on any given day and I had a great time rubbing elbows and competing along side them.
Until next year! (Just like you would hear a USC fan say)
Sandy
Although I did not take home the coveted Wayne Henderson Guitar or come close to the prize, I would not change a thing or quit trying. For the past 5 years I have aspired to be a "contest Picker" and I have grown by leaps and bounds since my first attempt in 2005. Although the nerves are still the same as the first time I took the stage, I seriously doubt they will ever go away in the contest setting.
The rules for Renofest are simple:
1. Contestants will be judged on 50 possible points.
2. Competition will begin PROMPTLY at 10:00 AM. Any contestant who is not present to compete when his/her number is called will be disqualified.
3. Judges will not see the contestants. Contestants will be referred to only by their numbers. This blind judging makes the competition as fair as possible.
4. Contestants will be judged on arrangement, execution & tuning, and overall performance.
5. Flatpicking or fingerpicking allowed.
6. Contestants are allowed one instrument back-up (accompanist) of their choice.
7. Contestants are not allowed to sing or speak into the mike.
8. In the preliminaries contestants will play one tune with a time limit of three (3) minutes with 10 points being deducted for exceeding time limit.
9. In cases of broken strings/picks, etc., contestants will be allowed to repeat the same tune without penalty.
10. No electrical instruments allowed for contestants or accompanists.
11. The top 5 contestants will be announced from the stage at approximately 12:30 pm. Contestants will assemble promptly at 12:35 PM behind the stage area to draw numbers for their playing order. ANY CONTESTANT WHO DOES NOT APPEAR FOR THE DRAWING PROMPTLY AT 12:35 PM WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFIED.
12. Finals will begin PROMPTLY AT 1:20 PM. Any contestant who is not present to compete when his or her number is called will be disqualified.
13. Finalists will perform 2 tunes with a time limit of three (3) minutes per tune. They will be judged and scored only on this performance. Previous scores will not be considered. 10 points will be deducted for exceeding time limit.
14. Winners will be announced at approximately 4:05 PM.
This year winners were:
1. Eric Hardin, Warrensville NC
2. Bryan McDowell, Canton NC
3. Matt Lindsey, Dunbar WVA
4. Josh Pickett, Cana VA
5. Zeb Snyder, Lexington NC
It's a rare day if a South Carolinian can crack the Top 5!
Eric ripped it up playing Whiskey Before Breakfast in the first round, and Lonesome Fiddle Blues and Blackberry Blossom in the second round. Any of these guys can win on any given day and I had a great time rubbing elbows and competing along side them.
Until next year! (Just like you would hear a USC fan say)
Sandy
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Food and Wine Festival in Retrospect
After the dust settled from a busy week in March, I am finally getting around to posting about The Bluestone Ramblers' BB&T Food and Wine Festival experience.As you can see from the photo above we played bluegrass for 1,000's of people through out the day of March 7th, 2009. I started the day of fueled by Kudu Coffee and started playing at 10am. Pick'n at 10am on a Saturday in the middle of Marion Square is the best way to kick off a my Saturday!
The morning started off like the photo to the right, quite, desolate, almost an eerie calm before the storm. The temperature was 70 degrees at 10am. It was a picture perfect day for sampling the best Food and Wine Charleston has to offer.We started promptly at 10am and were well into our first set when a line started to form for Bobby Flay's Burger demonstration. Yes, it was hard to pick smelling that wonderful smell, BURGERS!
As they started letting people in to the event we were rocking some great tunes, then out of now where a man dressed in the black PDA garb came hustling our way, "We have some complaints from the Bobby Flay cooking
Demo, "I can't hear Bobby over that Banjo."" Ahh, the mournful cry of some fare soul having there life altered by the banjo! Captured is a rare picture of such an scary monster, known as "Banjozilla." Yes he appears to be bigger than the tallest of Hotels in Charleston.Well after our extended set break, so that the banjo would not interfere with the day's biggest event, we promptly kicked back into bluegrass high gear. We had Will Dantzler on Fiddle, wowing the young ladies with his 17 year old charm and mad skills on the fiddle. We also had a brief time where we
had double mandolins, Phillip Barker and Keith McCullough playing there respectable mandolins, The "Kimble" and The "Wood." I mean I am surprised I can still hear after having mando's in both ears on top of "Banjozilla". As you can see in this picture I am searching for more volume in my guitar. Volume where can you be?We wrapped up the Festival around 5pm, packed up, and headed on to the Kismet Spring Party on Wadmalaw Island and played from 7pm till 10pm. Exhausted we were and we would do it all over again in a heart beat!
Sandy
Friday, March 6, 2009
Crazy Thursday Night
Well my work day ended around 5:30 and I headed straight home to do some pick'n with Jason. We played Maydelle's Reel, and Jason gave me some pointers on singing (God knows I need all the help I can get). All and all it was a great time and I got lots of homework to do!
Around 8pm I made my way over to the Pour House to see Town Mountain from Asheville, NC. I meet up of with my good friend Phillip Barker at El Bohio and we stepped out to the Pour House Deck to check out Steven Sandifer and friends. His weekly Bluegrass happening with various local pickers. This week he had Southern Flavor Bluegrass Band members the Col. George DelPorto and FB DelPorto. I was able to catch the last few songs before they ended at 9pm. Good Stuff!!!
Meanwhile inside the Bridge 105.5 had a great artist Sharon Little playing an early show. She was an awesome singer and very good looking. It was just her and her guitar player Scot Sax. They had so much stage presence and a captive audience.
I listened a little bit and headed straight back to the "green room" and proceeded to do some pick'n with the Town Mountain boys. We ripped through Brown County Breakdown, Stoney Creek, Stoney Point, and Dusty Miller. Man is great to pick with them!
Town Mountain took the stage around 10:30 and kicked it off with a great version of The Moonshiner. They played a bunch of great Bluegrass tunes they wrote as well as a Springstien Cove, I'm on Fire. The instrumental I heard in the 1st set that stood out was Daley's Reel. I love that tune!
Well around Midnight I had to make it back home to crash so I would be well rested for a busy weekend for The Bluestone Ramblers that includes a rehearsal dinner on Kiawah tonight, The BB&T Food & Wine Festival all day Saturday, and The Kismet Farm Spring Party Saturday Night.
What a "Little Friday"
Sandy
Around 8pm I made my way over to the Pour House to see Town Mountain from Asheville, NC. I meet up of with my good friend Phillip Barker at El Bohio and we stepped out to the Pour House Deck to check out Steven Sandifer and friends. His weekly Bluegrass happening with various local pickers. This week he had Southern Flavor Bluegrass Band members the Col. George DelPorto and FB DelPorto. I was able to catch the last few songs before they ended at 9pm. Good Stuff!!!
Meanwhile inside the Bridge 105.5 had a great artist Sharon Little playing an early show. She was an awesome singer and very good looking. It was just her and her guitar player Scot Sax. They had so much stage presence and a captive audience.
I listened a little bit and headed straight back to the "green room" and proceeded to do some pick'n with the Town Mountain boys. We ripped through Brown County Breakdown, Stoney Creek, Stoney Point, and Dusty Miller. Man is great to pick with them!
Town Mountain took the stage around 10:30 and kicked it off with a great version of The Moonshiner. They played a bunch of great Bluegrass tunes they wrote as well as a Springstien Cove, I'm on Fire. The instrumental I heard in the 1st set that stood out was Daley's Reel. I love that tune!
Well around Midnight I had to make it back home to crash so I would be well rested for a busy weekend for The Bluestone Ramblers that includes a rehearsal dinner on Kiawah tonight, The BB&T Food & Wine Festival all day Saturday, and The Kismet Farm Spring Party Saturday Night.
What a "Little Friday"
Sandy
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