From the 4th to the 7th I was in Canada visiting my online (and now real-life) friend Mike Anderson, as well as participating in the Don Ross Cannington Guitar Weekend Fiesta Extraordinaire (TM). It was fantastic, to say the least.

I drove up with my dad on Thursday in this absolutely ridiculous-looking candy apple red car. I swear I must have made fun of the thing for half the ride up. This promptly stopped when we arrived in Canada, having traveled over 400 miles…with a quarter tank of gas to spare. Never again will I say a bad word about that car. Ever. It was also good for splattering bugs, as we had to pull over multiple times to clear the windshield.

Mike and I jammed for the better part of Thursday night. We traded songs and I messed around on his old Gibson archtop, as well as playing a little cello. Surprisingly it didn’t sound like a dying cat being dragged across a chalkboard, much as my viola and violin attempts have. We worked out a little bit of one of Mike’s tunes as a duet, but unfortunately never had the chance to finish and record it. It was really inspiring being able to play with another guitarist that can do the same tricks as you but takes it in a different direction…

…so you can imagine what it’s like to be in a room with 14 people that can do it. Some were slappity-tappity guitarists, some were singers. We had people that could play everything from bluegrass to shred to folk on acoustic guitars. It was especially interesting not just to watch people play music, but to watch other people watch people play music. I think you get just as much of a glimpse of a musician’s soul when you watch them listen just as much as when you watch them play or perform. I certainly did.

We had two masterclasses with Don and two with his guest instructor, Thomas Leeb. I’ve known about Thomas for probably a few years now, maybe less, and have always wanted to see him perform, so this was a perfect opportunity. Both Don and Thomas were fabulous teachers as well as great people – I felt very at home talking to and learning from them. Don taught us Thin Air and Elevation Music; Thomas went over a few etudes he wrote as well as his transcription of Eric Roche’s arrangement of Jump (Van Halen). Incidentally, that transcription of Jump appeared in one of the only acoustic guitar magazines I own. I already had most of it under my fingers when I went there, but hearing Thomas play it cleared up a few funky notes I wasn’t sure of.

Saturday night was a show featuring our lovely instructors. They traded off songs for a good couple hours, with Don doing quite a few vocal tunes from his new record. Watching Thomas’ guitar (with built-in scratch pad) work was mesmerizing – he’s one of the few guitarists that completely goes over my head at times with some of his rhythms. The greatest thing about the show was that it was all in good taste; no showing off technique for its own sake. That, in my mind, is what makes these two such great musicians (not just guitarists).

Afterward a handful of us stayed up til late a.m. jamming and chatting. I recorded a handful of videos which will hopefully be on youtube once I get a hold of them, including one of When the Lights Go Out on Don’s massive fanned fret baritone guitar. I’m really curious to see how that turned out. The real gem of the night, though, was this:

That would be Lukas Grant singing and playing, with Anique Granger singing harmony (I sang as well, but as I was behind the H4, I’m basically inaudible. Some would argue it’s better that way), and plenty of others adding in extra instrumental parts. The recording is completely unedited, straight from my Zoom H4 – I’m always impressed with its recording quality.

Sunday we had the final two masterclasses, as well as one last Q&A. Everyone said their goodbyes and began departing around 4:30 or 5. I ended up getting home around midnight after a nice 7 hour drive. It was really a great time, and I’ve made some lovely friends (not guitar heroes, not fellow musicians – all of them are friends now) thanks to this great adventure. I really have to send out a huge thanks to Don and Brooke for making this all happen and letting us live with them for a few days; to Thomas for coming all the way from California to teach us; and to all my fellow weekenders who were so inspirational. I hope to see you all again soon!

My photo album is here, and Dave’s pictures can be found here.

About half of us just before departure.