Overall Comments

Wow! It was a wonderful experience! It exceeded my expectations, and they were pretty high to begin with. Here are a few random comments:

1) Location: Olivet College is a beautiful little college. Huge old oak trees provide shade and a feeling of going back in time. There are very few giant old oaks left in Michigan; most were cut down for lumber a hundred years ago or more. Olivet was founded in the 1840's, and I'm sure many of the oaks on campus are as old or older than the college. The surroundings are green and peaceful, and a perfect setting for the camp.

2) Accommodations: Dorm rooms - what can I say? My room was clean; there was a semi-private bath, and the dorm I was in had air conditioning. Towels and bed linens were provided. The mattresses seemed designed to withstand a nuclear holocaust, which affected comfort somewhat. . . but I slept OK. The decor was early concrete block in a lovely shade of oatmeal. And nothing looks emptier than an empty dorm room. But I only went there to sleep and shower anyway.

3) Food: This ain't your Daddy's mess hall. The food was very good; there were a variety of choices at each meal, and everything was fresh and nicely-prepared. I'm sure I gained a pound or two, as I am not accustomed to three full meals a day! Banjo playing is hungry work!

Now, on to the important stuff: banjos!
4) Classes: The schedule was intensive. There wasn't much down time, and I felt totally immersed in the world o' banjo music. The instructors were top-notch; many of the best-known names in OT and bluegrass were there. I attended the old-time sessions and was privileged to take classes with Ken Perlman, Mac Benford, Bob Carlin, Adam Hurt, and Cathy Fink. Wow! They are not only great musicians and talented teachers, they are very nice, good-humored people, always ready with help and advice. The classes were categorized by level of playing experience. I stuck mostly with the lower intermediate classes, but I did attend an upper level course on Kyle Creed's Round Peak style, taught by Adam Hurt. I had some trouble keeping up with most of the others, but I actually got more out of the class than I expected to, and I think I can learn the tunes with a little practice at home. I brought a valuable lesson home with me from every class. I simply cannot express enough thanks for how much I learned.

5) Concerts: The faculty concerts were held Friday and Saturday night. There was a mix of Old Time and Bluegrass performers each night. The concerts alone were worth the price of the camp. Every performer was superb, but the most memorable moment for me was when Cathy Fink, Marcy Maxter, and Adam Hurt played banjo wearing finger puppets. You had to be there...

6) Jam sessions: the camp had more jams than Smucker's and Welch's combined. There were scheduled jams, open jams, little jams, big jams, lobby jams, park jams, doorway jams. Everything but dorm room jams - thanks to all for honoring the quiet rules!

7) Elderly Instruments on-site store: Stan Werbin and his able crew brought a variety of fine wares, including a mouth-watering array of about 50 banjos, all just sitting on their stands, waiting to be played. I loved trying out all the banjos, but the best part was realizing that I like my own banjo best of all! I did buy a banjo strap, clip-on tuner, a couple of bridges, two sets of strings, and one of Ken Perlman's books. And a T-shirt.

****NOTE TO CAMP PLANNERS: the 2009 camp T-shirt has a cartoon of a tornado and says "Pickin' up a storm!" This is biased toward bluegrass players!! Plus the color was odd. I would not be caught dead in it, frankly.

Overall, it was a challenging, exciting, intense, fun, rewarding time. I hope to attend next year. Well, I have to, or else I won't get to hear Cathy Fink's story about the kangaroo.

Overall Rating

10