Gearing Up for DjangoFest 2012
Last September, I attended my first DjangoFest. I took a couple workshops with Michael Horowitz (owner of DjangoBooks.com, and one of my wedding musicians) and Stochelo Rosenberg (wow). I've since dabbled here and there in the concepts I picked up, but I've been more focused over the past year on my teaching and other styles. Gypsy jazz has a specific technique, sound, and repertoire that all take time and commitment to master.
So I checked out this year's lineup to see if I'll want to attend again. Joscho Stephan will be there. This video of Joscho blew my mind five years ago, and is the reason I'm aware of and excited about modern gypsy jazz. (That, and I was taking lessons with Steve Nichols in San Diego a few years ago when he was shedding Django tunes for his new band, The Gypsy Swing Cats.)
I grabbed the phone to sign up for this year's DjangoFest (Sep 20-23) and to make sure I'll be in Joshco's workshop. And since I've been thinking about it for a while, what better time to buy my own gypsy jazz guitar? I did my research, tried out several options, and settled on the Atamira M10D, all a very quick process with DjangoBooks.com headquarters located a few miles from my doorstep. Here's a little video:
More to come as I keep learning!
Vladimir (13 Sep 2012 at 4:38pm)
Hello Joe,
Congratulations - she looks and sounds beautiful!
Did you do any extra setup for this guitar? Are you planning to add a pickup and amplify it?
Regards,
Vladimir
Joe (13 Sep 2012 at 8:32pm)
Haven't done any setup yet. The frets definitely need work. I'll probably get a few other things changed, new bridge, pickup. I just wanted to play it for a while so I'd appreciate the upgrades more.
Vladimir (20 Sep 2012 at 10:18pm)
Josh from Djangobooks did setup, fret leveling and polishing and bridge replacement for my Saga Gitane D500 5 years ago, and the results were excellent. Three years later I PLEKed that guitar and was impressed by the results event more. Good luck with your new instrument and happy playing!
Joe (20 Sep 2012 at 10:21pm)
I'm planning to have Josh do some work soon. Heading up to DjangoFest tomorrow morning!