Kevin ,Mathew and Richy Great jobs! You guys have set a high bar for me!

Harvey.... Fabulous performance! That's what I'm talkin about!  Great harpin!

Hi- I'm a long time student of Duke's. This is my original music band's( The Rex Granite Band featuring Sarah Benck) new song "Move Along".

Thanks!

This concert recording is the culmination of a multi-year project that started because of George's Music's Blues in the Schools project in conjunction with the Springing the Blues Festival in Jacksinville Beach, FL.  Each year the Fletcher Band would request a performance from the selected Blues in the Schools musician.  Unlike many of the other performances that these musicians did during that week, which were usually for elementary schools, this performance was done for a smaller room of musicians who could better understand what the performer was doing.  The guest usually performed for a guitar or jazz band class. Roger "Hurricane" Wilson first appeared at Fletcher High School in 2006 when he was the Blues in the Schools artist. His style of acoustic guitar blues was of great interest to me and my students. We had a great time that day. About five years later Roger was the featured artist again. This time he brought up the idea of us bringing him back for a longer collaborative session.  We did this on a few occasions.  Using the students of the jazz band class and Roger's unique experience and knowledge we were able to delve more deeply into the genre of the blues.

Jonathan Maerkle - Band Director - Fletcher High School - Jacksonville beach, FL

Sweet!  I agree with Vinny --- you did a great job with a tricky tune.  I like that middle section.  I think Ten Years After did an electric tune off the main riff.  Great stuff!

Very, very nice.  Tone, phrasing and timing --- and most importantly --- fun to listen too!  

I saw Albert Collins in the early 90's during a downtown festival --- he totally blew everyone away.  It was like he had lightning in his eyes that went right through his guitar.

What setup did you use?   --- your tone is great.

Thanks for posting.  

Awesome Harvey!  You sound great. 

Well my question is this, can I put my own lesson for a song I pick and our teachers to validate it?

I live in Florida in the winter of will return for the first show in the spring the last Friday in April. 

Bob - I am going to meander from Asheville NC up to Virginia Beach in the Spring. Maybe I can drift through there.  Why don't you keep me updated about the jam and any other blues events in your area.  blues@justvinny.com

Everyone, Happy New Year!  I wanted to let everyone know that I run a Blues show/jam the jlast Friday of each month in Draper Virginia. (close to Roanoke and Blacksburg Virginia) If I know I have a specific musician coming we usually have that person sit in with our band for 3-5 songs (blues only)  If any of you are interested drop me a note! BTW the venue seats about 130 people, we have a sound man and GREAT FUN.

Bob, I am familiar with Music Maker.  I know they have done a lot of recording.  Amazing though John Dee played on the Blue Ridge Parkway so recently.  I'm actually in North Carolina right now.  I will look for his CD though, I really like his playing. 

Tam Great job and have a great trip! I'll have keep our business to yourself ready to post soon.

Great video Vinny, If you like john Dee Holeman go to www.musicmaker.org  This is a releif orgagnization that promotes blues artists and uses the proceeds to help them have better lives/living conditions. I was able to see John Dee on the Blue Ridge parkway in the summer of 2013. He was a great performer even up in his 80"s. There is a great disck for sale at musicmakers with John playin g with Taj Mahal, really worth the purchase and the proceeds help there great piedmont bluesmen and women.

So I am trying to get better and most of my play has been done alone. I am trying to "socialize" my playing but  have had only minimal success. Recently I have had the opportunity to play with someone who is much better than I am. I am someone working on classic Chicago blues primarily in second position. This guy plays many different tunings and styles.

My question is what advice to you have for someone who wants to make this a successful pairing? How can I  play at my level to make the experience beneficial for both of us? I worry my knowledge is limited to the point he might get bored, etc...

Any pointers, suggestions, ideas would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Thanks Vinny!

Bruce - very nice. That is challenging, a lot of quick moving chord shapes, but you kept a very nice flow.  Liked that little shuffle in there too.  And you maintained great rythm and synchopation through all those changes. 

Here's a contribution to the open mic. It's a pretty challenging tune (hence the occasional flub) but a lot of fun to play. It's Mississippi Blues, arranged by Stefan Grossman, though I modified it slightly because I couldn't play it exactly like he did. :-)  I learned it from one of his DVDs. Hope you all enjoy it!

Tam, excellent. All you need now is a twin reverb and turn volume and treble up to ten.  Very impressive, I would not even try to play that myself. 

To get everybody in the open mic mood, I am posting this video documentary I found on YouTube, called Blues Houseparty.  It recreates a traditional Piedmont style houseparty.  Filmed in 1989 at the late John Jackson's home in Fairfax Station, Virginia, Blues Houseparty includes performances by Jackson and his son James, John Cephas and Phil Wiggins, Archie Edwards, Cora Jackson, Flora Molton and Larry Wise, John Dee Holeman, and Quentin "Fris" Holloway. Between songs, performers talk about the history of country breakdowns, demonstrate traditional dances and swap toasts and stories.  This style of music was upbeat and fun and danceable; quite different from Texas or Delta tradition.  This will definitely get you in the mood.

I got lost in the middle of Key to the Highway trying to transcribe tabs for my own reference.  Do you ever publish tabs or have them for this version.  It has not been a problem on anything else, as you explain things very well.  But the lesson goes on an on in the middle and I just seem to get lost.  I know it is a good exercise to try to find all the notes, but after a couple of hours, this is getting to be a bit much.

Introducing the Android App Beta Test

The ability to watch lessons anywhere, anytime, with or without an Internet connection is a request we heard from many of you, and we have been working hard to make this happen.

Today we're pleased to introduce the Beta Test of the Sonic Junction Android App.  Now, any lesson on your practice list can be sync'd and stored automatically to your Android phone and/or tablet so you can enjoy Sonic Junction whenever you'd like.

We're looking for a small group of members to Beta test this new Android App.

The purpose of the Beta Test is to:

 - get feedback on the App's design and functionality 

 - understand how the App works across different Android phones and tablets

 - find and resolve issues

To be part of the Beta, you must:

 - be a member of Sonic Junction

 - have an Android smartphone or tablet running Android 4.4 or higher

 - have time over the next 4 weeks to thoroughly test the App

 - provide weekly email feedback and complete an end-of-Beta questionnaire

If you're interested in being part of the Android Beta Testing, please email me directly at: mike@sonicjunction.com  

Looking forward to your feedback,

Mike

Founder, Sonic Junction