Re: [Harp-L] A Grand Idea? (long reply, but very harp-related)

[Moandabluz@xxxxxxx]

    My first foray into harp 'camps' was a trip in 1998 to David Barrett's 
Masterclass in San Jose. I forget just how much I paid for the class, but I also 
had to pay airfare from Minnesota, 3 expensive nights in a hotel, plus food, 
etc.    I'm sure I spent more than a grand.   But.. I had a nice little 
vacation, I made some new friends, I learned stuff.. but mostly I got to listen to 
Rick Estrin, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Ford, Mark Hummell, and other superb 
players in concert and in up-close and personal gatherings. I got a neat T-shirt 
that I still wear, I won a Green Bullet mic (which I later sold, but thats 
another story) and I had a ball. 
   Did I get my money's worth? Probably not, but I don't care. I met Winslow 
for the first time, I made friends with an undercover cop from Saskatoon who 
was there to learn as well and we roomed together. I met several others who are 
on this list and it got me even more hooked on harp.
   Since then I have been to the Buckeye Harmonica Festival in Ohio for seven 
straight   years, I have been to SPAH three times and I have spent way too 
much money on harps and harp-related stuff. Again, I don't care.
   I don't golf anymore. I don't fish anymore. Music is basically my main 
hobby. I spend what I can afford (or maybe a little more) and I enjoy the 
friendships I have acquired.
So.. after this long digression, the answer to your question lies with you. 
All I know is, I may not have learned a lot, but I don't regret any of it. 
    As always, this is my subjective opinion. And Chris does get Butterfield, 
he just doesn't want to admit it.

Still a fool for the Harp
Steve 'Moandabluz' Webb

In a message dated 12/10/05 3:08:24 PM, rufus.zee@xxxxxxxxx writes:
> As a breif introduction I've been toying with harp for a little over a year
> or so. I can do a fair bit of bending, blocking, octaves and the like, but I
> haven't managed to put it all together to make music. TIme to change that.
> 
> Anyway, I see this Jon Gindick camp which seems pretty nice. Problem is, add
> up the tuition, air fare, and room and all it and it is a tidy sum just over
> a grand.
> 
> So for a roughly a grand I can:
> 
> 1) Spend 3 days at Jam Camp
> 2) Buy a 12 key set of SP20s, a bullet mic, and a Bassman reissue.
> 3) Buy a 12 key set of custom harps
> 4) Put a serious down-payment on a Sonny Jr.
> 5) A better car (not really...)
> 
> Obvioiusly it is the practice I need, not the gear. BUT... that is a heck of
> alot of change. Curious what the rest of you folks might think about the
> value of a "Jam Camp" and what more affordable alternatives might exist.
> 
>