Alfie Smith at the HGA November 30

“Alfie Smith is one Bad Mother @%*er” Mel Brown. Alfie Smith is a true modern day Blues Man, Blending hard edged Rock and Roll, Gospel, Folk and Jazz with Pure Primal Blues to create his own unique sound. He is adept at many instruments such as 7 string slide guitar, banjo, guitar, 12 sting and lap steel. Alfie’s musicianship has earned him endorsements with Godin Guitar, Composite Acoustics, Eastwood and Stonebridge. First and foremost Alfie is a singer with a deep passionate brooding baritone vocal style in the tradition of the old Blues shouters. Brass & Steel is Alfie’s 5th CD released in October 2007.It has 21 tracks and features Alfie and his band the Hard Cases on six of the songs. The Hard Cases are: Bob Doidge on Trumpet & Bass and James Richards on Drums. He is at ease playing solo or with his band. This is Alfie’s 1st release with Busted Flat Records. Alfie has been a featured performer at Mariposa, Festival of Friends, Home County, Eaglewood, Mill Race, Red Rock, Brampton, Niagara Blues Festival, Harbourfront Blues Festival, Octoberfolk, Orillia Spring Blues, Barriefolk and Orangeville Blues & Jazz festival. Alfie was selected for official showcases at the O.C.F.F. and the 2005 Blues Summit II. He was nominated for Best Blues Album at the 2006 & 2007 Hamilton Music Awards and also nominated for Guitarist of 2007. "Hamilton is blessed with a wealth of great blues guitarists. None is better than Alfie Smith when it comes to the acoustic slide and he's got a voice to match."- Graham Rockingham The Spec "He purrs like a kitten slumbering in a blanket or roars like a lion defending a carcass." - ROBERT REID The Record


Please visit Alfie at: http://www.myspace.com/alfiejohnsmith

D'Arcy Wickham as featured Performer November 15

D'Arcy has had a wealth of excellent performance experience over the past few years.  Feb. 2009 marked D'Arcy's first appearance as a featured performer at Toronto's Winterfolk Blues and Roots Festival. June of 2008 was the occasion of another first appearance, this time at the NXNE Music Festival in Toronto. In April of 2008, D’Arcy was one of three featured performers and workshop leaders at the Waterloo Guitar Summit. In December 2007, D'Arcy showcased for the Hamilton Folk Club. On Nov. 17, 2007, he opened for Jon Brooks, and accompanied Jon on a few tunes, at the Acoustic Harvest Folk Club in Toronto. On Sept. 20, 2007, D'Arcy joined Ian North and Clela Errington to open the first City Roots Presents series at the Cameron House in Toronto. D'Arcy was the featured opening act on March 24, 2007 for Oliver Shroer at the Greenbank Folk Society. D'Arcy performed to a sold-out audience at Hugh's Room in Toronto for the release of his CD, Feather Fingers, and opened for Tommy Emmanuel there in 2005.
D'Arcy's first solo recording, "Dust and Loneliness", which was produced by Ian Thomas and released in 2000, received critical acclaim. Tracks from the CD were featured on two composite CD's: Borealis Records' "6 Strings North of the Border" vol. 2 and "Tears of a Thousand Years".
In 2005, D'Arcy released another critically acclaimed CD, Feather Fingers, which was produced by Jason Fowler. Greg Quill of the Toronto Star was particularly impressed with D'Arcy's facility and virtuosity on the guitar.
In August of 2007 the OCFF contacted D'Arcy to congratulate him on winning the instrumental category in the 2007 Songs from the Heart Contest, for his tune "Feather Fingers". D'Arcy showcased his tune at the "Songs from the Heart" awards ceremony at the OCFF conference on October 13.
In August of 2009, D'Arcy was selected as one of 10 finalists in the Canadian Region for the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, on the strength of his song "Malahat Highway".

As a guitar teacher with some 30 years of instructional experience and as an award winning composer, D'Arcy has a wealth of musical background to drawn on in offering workshops: aspects of guitar technique, song writing, history of folk and blues, and live performance.
Well known in folk music circles, an outstanding guitar teacher, performer and composer, D'Arcy would make a great fit for any folk festival or roots music venue.



http://www.darcywickham.com/

David Gillis Featued Performer November 2

We have the good fortune to have Dave Gillis as our featured performer for the November 2 meeting. Please learn more about David on his web site at: www.davidgillis.com or his Myspace site at: www.myspace.com/davidgillis


"David Gillis sings with an original voice, grounded in the best North American songwriting traditions. He's also a killer guitar player (I mean that in a good way, of course!). His CD is a treat to listen to, well recorded and featuring some great playing. Real, heartfelt music."
Don Ross – CandyRat Records, Recording Artist

“Absolutely masterful examples of playing and arranging for solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar.”
David Barrett – Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar Association

“He demonstrates many facets of his extraordinary talent as a guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and producer. This is especially evident in his wonderfully bittersweet melodies woven with poignant lyrical observations and inspirations...”
Diane Wells – Washington Blues Society

"Breezy virtuosity as a solo guitarist”.... The material is so catchy ... and Gillis's presentation is so amiable.
Robert Doerschuk – Winner of two ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards for excellence in music journalism

October 24 Guitar Workshop with Tony Cox and Ryan Leblanc

We had a great guitar workshop last Saturday (Oct. 24) with Tony Cox and Ryan Leblanc.

To eager participants, Ryan demonstrated his unusual and unique approach to both his percussive guitar and claw-hammer banjo styles.

Tony wowed the group with his amazing fingerstyle techniques infused with African rhythms. He later got everyone playing and jamming out on some South African grooves.

Later that evening we were treated to a great concert where we could listen and watch them do their thing. Thanks again to everyone who participated in the workshop and attending the concert. You make these type of events possible, and thanks to Tony and Ryan for stopping by Hamilton and visiting with us! If you would like to see some photos of the workshop please go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/guitarassociation/GuitarWorkshop#

October 19 meeting with Tony Cox & Ryan Leblanc

Hey Guitar players, hope you have all recovered from a great Thanksgiving weekend! The next meeting of the Hamilton Guitar Association is Monday, October 19 at 7:30. This week is a bit different as we  have 2 featured performers; Tony Cox and Ryan Leblanc.

Tony and Ryan are touring in the area and will also be back in Hamilton on Saturday the 24th for a concert and Guitar workshop along with myself and D Jay Moons on Saturday Oct 24.

Here's the details:
South  African guitarist Tony Cox has honed and  developed a personal compositional and instrumental style that is not bound by any classification. Uniquely beautiful, his music is a mosaic that incorporates   evocative and infectious rhythms, delicate patterns and varying styles of his homeland.  He demonstrates a complete mastery of the  'finger-style' of playing.  www.myspace.com/tonycoxmusic 

New Brunswick Solo Instrumentalist Ryan Leblanc combines organic melody lines with spellbinding rhythms to produce a completely unique musical experience with a World Beat Flavour. He plays Guitar, Harmonica and Percussion all at the same time. www.sonicbids.com/ryanleblanc

Guitar Workshop:
You may in interested in attending a workshop with both Tony and Ryan. It will be held in the after noon before the concert. Please register  for the workshop in advance, as space is limited. The contact info and costs are listed below.

The Erskine Concert Series and the Hamilton Guitar Association Presents:
Together Live!
Tony Cox, Ryan Leblanc and Shawn Trotter with D Jay Moons.
Saturday, October 24 @ 7:00PM
Erskine Presbyterian Church
19 Pearl Street North,  Hamilton

Tickets are available at the door or by calling 905-979-0155. 

All workshop participants must register in advance before Friday October 23 at 9:00PM.

$10-Concert Only
$20-Concert and Workshop
$15-Workshop Only

This is going to be a fantastic evening of amazing music at a deal of a price!  This is one you really don't want to miss out on.

See you Monday!

Shawn

www.hamiltonguitar.com

Win Tickets to see Shawn Brush

Shawn Brush (a.k.a the Krooked Cowboy) has generously donated 2 tickets for his October 9 show at Hamilton Place to the HGA. In order to win these tickets you must participate in the open stage portion of the October 5 meeting between 7:30-9:30. All you need to do is play the most Krooked Cowboy song you’ve got. This can be an old Cowboy song, Country tune, even some Cowboy Poetry, or best of all, a Shawn Brush tune. Please visit Shawn at: www.shawnbrush.com

So get those Cowboy Songs and Stories together, tune up those guitars and we’ll see you Monday night!

Ewan Dobson Featured Performer October 5

Ewan Dobson will be our featured performer on October 5. Ewan is this years winner  of the 2009 Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Competition at the Canadian Guitar Festival and placed 3rd at the prestigious Walnut Valley Festival. 

Ewan Dobson has established himself as one of Canada’s most brilliant and exhilarating young guitarists, having won first prize in nearly every single competition across the country. His impressive list of credentials include winning the Grand Prizes from both the Burlington Rotary Fall Music Festival and the Pickering Rotary Music Festival where he emerged victorious, after having competed against the top prize winners of all of the other disciplines. His other accolades include receiving the highly coveted D’Addario Foundation Prize awarded to the top guitarist of the Peel Music Festival and the Kiwanis Music Festival Guitar Scholarship having been distinguished as the top guitarist of the entire competition. In addition to dominating the provincial competition circuit, Dobson has made his mark nationally having represented Ontario twice at the National Finals of the prestigious Canadian Music Competitions (CMC) and having been awarded the top prize in guitar. Dobson’s honours have also included introducing the guitar for the very first time in the long history of the Ontario Music Festivals Association’s (OMFA) Provincial and National Finals, which incidentally, he also managed to win the first prize.
 

 Ewan Dobson has been under the tutelage of the world-renowned guitarist Dr. Alvin Tung whom he has worked with for over six years. This has been very a fruitful relationship having resulted in being garnered with many distinctions and honours across Canada. “Ewan Dobson is a young musician who demonstrates a level of virtuosity and refinement that is both rare and far beyond his years. His intense artistry will no doubt leave audiences spell-bound everywhere he performs” – Dr. Alvin Tung

In addition to his hectic competition history, Dobson has performed at many prestigious venues across Ontario including Hammerson Hall in Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre, the George Weston Recital Hall in the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts and his recital debut in the Royal Bank Theatre of the Living Arts Centre under the auspices of the Chamber Music Society of Mississauga to name but a few. A versatile artist, he has been featured on the television program Rogers Daytime performing live for the viewing audience and also having graced the stages of the Toronto & the York Region Finger-style Guitar Associations performing his original contemporary acoustic music. Recent corporate functions that he has performed at include Ice Conference 2008 at the Carlu and a Magnotta Winery fundraiser in support of Lymes Disease. Upcoming engagements include another appearance at the Magnotta Winery and the highly anticipated release of his debut album consisting of all his own original contemporary finger-style compositions.

The development of Ewan Dobson into the artist that he is today has been an eclectic journey to say the least. After humble beginnings with his first electric guitar playing heavy metal and hard rock music to the structured discipline of his classical training, Dobson has expanded his repertoire to include bluegrass, Canadian folk and contemporary finger-style music. The culmination of all of these diverse influences has fuelled his creativity to compose his own unique brand of music and resulted in creating the captivating artist that he is today. Ewan Dobson is a young artist of exceptional technical virtuosity and refined artistry that will enthral audiences wherever he performs.

http://www.myspace.com/ewanguitar

http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/Ewan-Dobson

http://www.youtube.com/user/ewandobson

Harold Dickert part of the Milton Gallery Tour.

Our good friend Harold Dickert is not only a great guitarist but also an amazing luthier. Harold and his workshop are going to be open to the public as part of the Fine Arts Society of Milton Gallery Tour. Harold's shop is on display along with 40 other artists in the Milton area. The dates for the tours are Saturday October 3 & Sunday October 4 between the hours of 10:00 - 5:00 each day.


Please click here to go to his web site for more information.

David Barrett at the HGA September 21

The wonderful guitarist/Multi instrumentalist David Barrett will be our featured Performer at the September 21 meeting.

Please learn more about David by visiting him on his web site.

Contest Winners!

We had a contest at our Wrap-up for the season party back in June. The contest had 3 Categorizes 1.) Ugliest Guitar 2.) Cheapest Guitar and 3.) Best Guitar Story. Many, many thanks to all who participated. It was very difficult to pick just one winner for each category but in the end the winners were: Ugliest Guitar: Carl Small, for his custom made "Les Small" guitar. Best Guitar Story: Russ Burns, for the guitar that he practically sold his soul for and then realized he hated it. Cheapest Guitar: Alfie Smith, for his beutiful Lap Steel that he got totally for free. So there you have it, the winners of the summer of 2009 HGA guitar awards!

L-R: Russ Burns, Alfie Smith & Carl Small.

HGA at St. Peters

On December 15 2008, five members of the HGA (pictured on the left) performed at St. Peter’s palliative care. We performed to a room full of appreciative patients. Our goal was to spread some holiday cheer to those unable to venture out to take in some live music.

This was the brain-child of Mark Vanderheyden. Many thanks to him and the incredible staff at St. Peter’s for making this possible. Hopefully we can make this an annual event!

L-R: Mark Vanderheyden, Russ Burns, Alfie Smith,
Liam Trotter and Shawn Trotter