Hey y'all!
Please excuse the participants at Gretsch Camp for not keeping you up to date.
We were literally out of range of the damned internet, and our cell phones only worked to one bar in a few isolated locations which kept moving. (Probably according to Phila's plan.) We are only now arriving back in our respective corners of civili-socalled-zation.
And there was too much going on to do it justice; there were so many "reporters" on hand that I will not try to render the whole thing myself.
In general shape, there were 18-20 registered GDPers, several kids of members (who contributed musically and one of whom had a life-changing experience), and several significant others. Angel Baxter (that would be Tim's wife) and Mrs. P constituted a kind of Ladies' Auxiliary who kept us in cold drinks and Listerine. All in all, we were near 30 at dinner Saturday night.
Without giving too much away, nearly everybody had the chance to jam with nearly everybody else, there were performances by tp's fine Exotic Ones and part of my Small Blue World (one member couldn't make it through yesterday's flood in central Indiana). The bulk of the music happened from the floor of the ex-tobacco barn (which is literally what it was, and wait till you see the pictures!).
Hay bales were literally used to hold up gear. There was no a/c in the barn, and we were all sweat pies all day every day, and it JUST DIDN'T MATTER.
In the generosity department...think a pair of pro-line amps, three 5222s, three pro-line guitars, a leather belt buckle, and literature and posters galore.
Cool gear? Josh Bradshaw's honest-to-God prettiest-59-I've-ever-seen, along with his blond Bassman and Space Echo. Setzer's triple-Dyna Anni. A single-Hilo Rally art guitar which will have to be seen to be appreciated. Curt's vintage Club. Many many cool amps. My long-gestating Ultimate Strat project and the Triple Tenny. Pedals pedals pedals...and not to mention some cool new Gretsch-related component options.
This-event-only memorabilia and a Saturday night bonfire ritual which could only EVER happen at a Gretsch event.
Despite some amazing music, putting faces and people with names was the richest part of the proceedings – and as far as I know there wasn't the slightest friction between anyone at any time.
As it was, I was too busy to take pictures or record – but many did, and I can't wait to see the media come pouring in. There's just no way to adequately describe the gold-and-green dappling of sunshine through trees, or the sparkle of the creek which flowed by the barn, or the grass expanse of the bonfire meadow, the feel of the occasional breeze, or the movie-set ambience of the log cabin Vineyard Inn and Spring Creek Inn.
Our hostess Phila Hach is 82 going on 28 and was ordering us around like boyscouts before we even got there. (She informed Curt on his way from the airport, before they'd met, that whatever he'd had at the airport was NOT breakfast, and his sausage, eggs, bacon, and grits would be waiting on the table when he arrived.
At every meal, we were fascinated and charmed by her wit, wisdom, charm, and deep experience, and we could not possibly have wanted for a better den mother.
It's probably too late to say "in short" – and I'll have more to say anon, I'm sure – but to call this weekend at Gretsch Camp "memorable" sells it awfully short. Millions of moments, and we're all saving them up to relay them to you.
My favorite quote of the weekend? Angel to Bax at supper Saturday, as she looked at him with big amazed eyes as though she'd never quite seen him before: "Wow, Tim, you're cooler than I thought!"
My thanks to Doug, Steve, Fred, and Joe, all of whom went above and beyond any reasonable call of duty in ways that can only be explained by reference to things like commitment, passion, and sheer enthusiasm.
Finally (for now), we were all saddened to learn of Zuma's passing, a profound shadow in the sunlight of the weekend.
brent
