Musicians

Please,don't be sorry.I started this thread to talk about music in general,guitar in particular.Not really having anyone,in actual real life,with which to talk,I actually wish this thread,or others like it were much more active... There is always something to be learned or better understood!

I'm really interested in the festivals in Colorado. I would expect the crowd to be vastly different from what I see locally.

I'm afraid I can't help much with that.Most BG festivals that I was aware of,open to the public at large anyway,were over in the Vail-Eagle area or Denver,and I never made it to any of those.I was way over in the western part of the state,Montrose area.Some 30 miles from the Utah line,as the crow flies,90 miles by road...
The 2 years I did go were semi private affairs,not widely publicized.The general publics attendance was neither actively sought after,nor discouraged.
What it boiled down to was:A friends father in law,something of a 60s artist/sculptor "hippie" holdover and something of a celebrity,in those circles,having sold pieces valued in the 10s of 1000s of $s nationwide,lives on a small 20 acre "ranch",outside of Hotchkiss,Co.The surrounding area,Cedaredge,Paonia,Somerset,Delta and even Montrose is loosely populated by like minded folks,though not all artists.There are 3,who together run a custom/high performance motorcycle shop,specializing exclusively in American bikes.There are several,mostly in higher elevations,that grow hops,which are marketed to micro breweries,along with some especially and amazingly high powered "herbs" Handymen,Custom Van builders and plain ole regular people like myself,who by some measure of luck have got to meet and befriend some of those folks.I never met him but Joe Cocker has a "ranch" up there,with an actual commune nearby,complete with the VW vans and all the tie dyed wear one might imagine.Some of the people,having come from other parts of the country,have musician friends,or at least know a guy who knows a guy well enough to put together something of a "mini Woodstock",very mini,only with Bluegrass as the focus.

Both years we went,were at the same "ranch" outside of Paonia,known world wide I am told,for its particularly powerful "herbs",chiefly Paonia Paralyzer,which I can swear is just that! There is no paid admission,though everyone is strongly encourages to bring something along the lines of food or beverage.There are kegs of beer,boxes and case of wines,waters,sodas.There was a roasted hog each time.Every kind of salad,dessert or munchie you might wish for.Tents and campers are set up,being it's a 3 day weekend affair,attended by all the friends living in the area and the friends they have invited.Locals who have got wind of it through word of mouth show up.All in all,I'd estimate the crowd size,both summers,as something around 250-300,with 50-75 camping.Others,like us,just went home each night.

Having gone mainly for the partying and not being really immersed into the BG scene,I couldn't name any of the performers we saw,though they were all good.Allison Krause is said to have attended and performed,though not either of the 2 years I was there.

It's all about the scales and the theory, and oh how I hate playing scales. Oh, and learning to read standard notation.

I'm at a point,in my learning,where I'm getting something of a grasp of basic practical music theory.I'm finding that as I can do more things,more theory makes sense and visa versa.It's a process.
I haven't done scales enough yet,I guess,to hate them.I think I learned the minor pentatonic,in A,6-7 months ago and quickly went to the Blues scale and the major scale.all of which I used primarily as a means of developing finger strength/dexterity/independence.While I'm still doing that,I've lately taken to trying to play solos over backing tracks,using notes from within those scales,with bends,curls and vibratos.I've also started playing the Blues scale with,what I'm calling a triplet pattern,to further develope my finger independence. A 1-2-3-2-3-1-3-1-2 pattern,up and down.Another process.I haven't started in on standard notation yet,but am becoming more comfortable with tabulature.

I suppose I've rambled enough,now and I do have other things I need to do today,with and without a guitar...

Nice hearing from ya/talkin' to ya/talkin' atcha!