SF Bay Area players gathering December 8!

[Daniel Hersh]

The next San Francisco Bay Area concertina players gathering (our first in over a year) will be on Sunday December 8 from 2 to 5 pm at the home of a local player who lives in Albany, fairly close to the North Berkeley BART station. 

 

Players at all levels of all types of concertina are welcome.   We typically start with a round robin where everyone who's interested can play a tune/song each for the rest to hear, or show off a new instrument, or whatever. The rest will be informal and unplanned, with several rooms in the house available for small sessions or discussions.  We can have a "for sale" table if anyone brings concertinas or related items they're trying to sell.  Those who attend can to bring snacks to share.

 

New this time: I will bring a Jedcertina (which I recently purchased from Peter Smith, who is on c.net) in case anyone wants to try one out.

 

For more info, PM me or email me at hrshsand "at" earthlink.net.

Edited September 19, 2019 by Daniel Hersh

[Aldon Sanders]

Cool! I'll block the date on my calendar. 

[Daniel Hersh]

On 9/19/2019 at 11:30 AM, Daniel Hersh said:

The next San Francisco Bay Area concertina players gathering (our first in over a year) will be on Sunday December 8 from 2 to 5 pm at the home of a local player who lives in Albany, fairly close to the North Berkeley BART station. 

 

Players at all levels of all types of concertina are welcome.   We typically start with a round robin where everyone who's interested can play a tune/song each for the rest to hear, or show off a new instrument, or whatever. The rest will be informal and unplanned, with several rooms in the house available for small sessions or discussions.  We can have a "for sale" table if anyone brings concertinas or related items they're trying to sell.  Those who attend can to bring snacks to share.

 

New this time: I will bring a Jedcertina (which I recently purchased from Peter Smith, who is on c.net) in case anyone wants to try one out.

 

For more info, PM me or email me at hrshsand "at" earthlink.net.

 

An update:  Gary Coover (author of numerous instructional books for the Anglo - see below) is planning to visit to SF at the time of our December 8 gathering. He expects to be at the gathering.

Is anyone interested in having a workshop or private lessons with Gary at another time during the weekend?  Since our gathering is Sunday afternoon, we could do something Sunday morning at the same location (a player's home) but we're welcome to other ideas. One of Gary's suggestions was doing something at Smythe's Accordion shop in Oakland, since they carry his books, or private lessons if there are folks interested.

 

If you think you might be interested in a lesson or a workshop with Gary, please reply to this thread, email me at hrshsand "at" earthlink.net, or send a c.net message to Gary or to me.

Gary developed his own concertina tab system that has gotten favorable reviews, and he posts very clear videos for each tune at https://www.youtube.com/user/angloconc.  Gary has published a number of concertina instruction books, all of which include video demonstrations on his Youtube channel. He is also a frequent contributor (and topic of discussion) here on concertina.net.

His first book was Anglo Concertina in the Harmonic Style: "This tutor will teach you how to play the 30-button Anglo concertina with chords and full harmonies in a wide variety of musical styles. In addition to tunes and exercises for beginning players, this tutor also presents more difficult tunes that have been carefully transcribed from recordings of the top Anglo concertina players of the last several decades. Assumes a 30-button C/G instrument with a Wheatstone fingering layout."

 

His other books:
Civil War Concertina (includes arrangements for 20 button Anglo)
Christmas Concertina
75 Irish Session Tunes for Anglo Concertina
Easy Anglo 1-2-3: A Beginner's Guide to the Anglo Concertina
Pirate Songs for Concertina
Sailor Songs for Concertina
The Pocket Shantyman

[Daniel Hersh]

Less than a week away!  Gary Coover will be there with his Jeffries Duet as well as his Anglo, and I will have my Jedcertina and an additional concertina-related show and tell item.

[gcoover]

... and I'll bring a genuine 2-color Wheatstone brochure from their last pre-Dickinson location at Sonorous Works, Deansbrook Road, Edgware, Middlesex that includes photos of the manufacturing process plus photos and descriptions of English, Anglo and Miniature English concertinas - as a giveaway! (Contest details to be worked out later)

Gary

 

[Aldon Sanders]

I was so looking forward to being there today, but my ankle had different plans (swollen & sore) so I won't be able to make it.

 

Hope you all have a great gathering!

 

Please share pix & videos!

 

Aldon

[Daniel Hersh]

A very successful event!  We had about 16 players (including several c.net members) plus a couple of guests.  I don't have photos or videos handy but perhaps someone else will post some.

[gcoover]

And what a lovely time was had by all - thanks so much to Daniel and Dave for organizing and hosting the gathering!

 

Well worth the trip from Honolulu to see and hear so much great playing in so many different styles - ragtime, Caribbean, Spanish, classical, Irish, you-name-it. An amazingly high level of musicianship, and a treat to meet so many excellent players, including Alan Lochhead (author of the Mel Bay "All-America Concertina Album"), Peter Persoff, Janet Dows, Riggy Rackin, Luke Hillman, and the hosts (of course). Famed cartoonist Carol Lay was there too - I had met her previously at the Old Palestine Concertina Weekend in East Texas several years ago where she surprised everyone with an amazing new logo just for the event (yep, went to Zazzle.com and still have the t-shirt and the coffee cup).

 

There were a couple of 40-button Wheatstone Anglos, some Jeffries Anglos, two Wolverton Anglos, Anglos by Wally Carroll and Wm Wakker, a Jedcertina, Crane Duet, Jeffries Duet, custom Dipper English, and an amazing 22-button mini-Anglo only 3.75" across. Oh, almost forgot Daniel's concertina-shaped biscuit tin with real reeds!

 

And what a great weekend to be in the SF Bay Area - the day before was the monthly Shanty Sing onboard ship led by Peter Kasin at the San Francisco Maritime Museum. I also went to Smythe's Accordion Center in Oakland to check out their stock of Stagi and Concertina Connection instruments plus several Lachenal and George Case EC's he recently acquired.

 

Monday night was one of the best house concerts ever - John Doyle (guitar) and Mick McAuley (button accordion and low whistle). Fantastic musicians and performers with great energy and humor, playing to about 75 people in a lovely old house up in the hills above Berkeley. 

 

And then I rounded the trip off with a visit to Berkeley Morris who are doing some really innovative new dances - the one I saw with twelve dancers and cross heys was a sight to behold. Good to see the tradition thriving!

 

Whew, after all that, I need a vacation from my vacation...

 

Gary