Re: [Harp-L] spah.org Content

[Bill Hines <billhines4@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Elizabeth,

When I went a few years ago I was in the same boat pretty much. I 
happened to be in town for business at one of the recent SPAHs so I got 
to check it out for a day and a half but that's all. I found it very 
easy to keep a low profile and just hit up the seminars and things I 
wanted to without getting sucked into "that stuff."  Yes, for sure there 
is some chest-puffing-out and that BS that comes from just a few folks 
who for once in their lives are good at something and walk around 
working very hard to make sure people know it, waiting to be recognized, 
taking pot shots at peers or those "less fortunates" in this one small 
niche of life. And the hangers-on, the "entourage" types that revel in 
all the drama of big gatherings of "important people" like this. But 
most of the really good people were very humble, folks like Charlie 
Musselwhite are a stellar example. They go, have fun, are accepting of 
all, and never say a bad word about anyone despite their stature. You 
will encounter a lot of folks who are teaching, some of whom might come 
off as crass but that's not to be taken personally in most cases, the 
road and life of a musician isn't easy and some have just endured a lot 
and it's just their way. Have a little thick skin and tune that out, 
listen to what they are saying, and you can learn a lot. Or, just move 
on to someone who has a style more suitable to your own personality and 
learning style. But for the most part they are very supportive and friendly.

People are people and in any large gathering like this list or a 
conferences you will find some who aren't your favorites. That's just 
society. From my observations this was limited and it was easy for 
innocent bystanders to stay out of that. From a sociology point of view, 
I thought it was hilarious to watch when I encountered it (mostly by 
hanging out in the public areas and eavesdropping a little). So that was 
just entertainment value for me! harp-l or any computer list aren't 
representative anyway since most folks are a lot bolder when they are a 
thousand miles way, anonymous behind their computer screens. And don't 
forget, sometimes since we can't read faces and expressions on the 
computer, sometimes stuff typed in this list intended as humorous or 
whatever gets misinterpreted. At SPAH the kind of stuff you see 
sometimes hinted at here wasn't as evident, folks were pretty friendly 
or stuck to their own cliques, wherein gossip and trashing if any 
probably occurred privately.

It's a very very small thing, some of the personalities you can pick up 
on here, just people being people. It is in no way representative of the 
conference as a whole - I found it to be overwhelmingly informative, 
friendly and fun. I met cool interesting people like Smokey Joe Leone 
and too many to mention and learned a lot, got to check out cool gear 
and other styles outside of my blues/rock hole. I didn't participate in 
the jams because I wasn't confident enough at the time and didn't like 
the "big circle" format (not criticizing it, it's hard to find a format 
where 100 people of any instrument can participate!) but it was fun to 
listen to for a while. Particularly at Jason Ricci's annual harp 
blowout, I witnessed some incredible playing from a lot of people!

It's definitely worthwhile, you'll make good friends and learn a lot, 
there are lots of people of each gender, every age group, personality, 
and playing level.

Bill Hines

Elizabeth Hess wrote:
> Bob,
> I am not a complete beginner, but I've only been playing for about 18 
> months.  Clearly, if I go to SPAH, I will expect to listen way more 
> than play.  But a squib about why a non-expert player would still 
> enjoy the SPAH convention -- and what he or she ought to expect from 
> the experience -- would be a welcome addition.
>
> Elizabeth