McJam 2014

[Neil K Walk]

(continued from previous)

Open Mic highlights (and I apologize if anyone felt omitted: )

- DonH singing "I'm Happy To Be Here" and then laughing when somebody pointed out that it's become a tradition at each McJam. Even funnier was when he admitted that each time he played it differently because he ad libs the lyrics!

- TinMan singing the song that goes "there's a cat in the kitchen of the Peking Moon." Afterward I asked him if he truly hated cats and he admitted to being a dog person with several Great Danes but with a special touch with cats. Not many people can nonchalantly say they gave their wife's cat a bath without getting scratched but HE can. I didn't want to offend him with an offhand comment but if I were to be a follower of Hinduism I would suspect that he might have been a cat in a former life and the cats themselves (mysterious creatures that they are) are able to pick up on this. I suspect he might have been a happy tabby! The glint he gets in his eye when he tells a joke hints at a Cheshire quality!

- as I said previously, Rodger's fingerstyle originals are AMAZING and took to me another time and place. No, I was not inebriated in any way. There's just something about songs in altered tunings that puts me in Zen mode.

- Eire sharing his tunes that are not only musical and articulate but with wonderful lyrics that paint vivid scenes in one's mind's eye. In true testament to his humility and the relaxed atmosphere of the McJam we all shared a laugh when he forgot the lyrics to his own song!

- not to be a Narcist (you're not the only one Eire ) but I tried my best to approach my turn at the open mic as "just being part of the crowd" but feel like nerves got the best of me anyway. It was poetic when this HUGE moth crashed the stage and lit on the monitor. If Kitchen Guitars were there he'd have snapped a picture.

...speaking of which, when do we get to see pictures?

[Doubleneck]

My first McJam, and I live just a little more than an hour away. Just did Saturday so it was all new to me, very nice people and many have a history together over the years. I spent way too much time in the house playing some wonderful instruments. Tim just doesn't make a bad guitar and it was great playing some tops I had little experience with, Adirondack in preticular. Wow. The best guitars I have ever played. So interesting to see him using carbon fiber rods to stiffen the neck joint. Doubt these will ever need resets. Extremely light and responsive works of art. I will be retired next year, maybe I can do two days and jam a bit. Being back in the office sure sucks!

[Eire]

What a tremendous McJam! So good to be back after having missed last year -- and my thanks to everyone for making Julie (who would not have been there this year had I not been absent last year, when we met at a mutual friend's wedding) feel so much a part of the family. She's already talking about next year's McJam.

But aren't we all?!?

It was so wonderful to renew friendships with Bruce & Nancy, Neil (so impressed with your guitar!), Dave and Mark (thanks for the disc golf lessons on Saturday morning -- I will be better next year!), and Steve. As for the open mic moments, it's always a treat to hear Ross's songs and Rodger's instrumentals (congrats on snagging the McNaught!), and just a note to Bruce: Julie's asking for an encore of "Black Water." My thanks to Steve for allowing me to thump out a makeshift bass line to his "Going to the McJam" song with the Strung-Out String Band.

Missed you, Todd; perhaps a round of golf with Tim can be made to happen again this fall.

Kory, Doubleneck and other first-time attendees: You will always be made to feel welcome by the McKnights and McKnightees. I wish so many others on this forum could have the chance to meet and spend time with Tim, Mary and their family. Such genuine warmth and hospitality is difficult to find in this fast-paced, frenetic world.

And so my greatest thanks of all: To the master builder Tim, to the master McJam planner and design maven Mary, to the apprentice-soon-to-be-master builder Adrianne (your guitar was amazing!!!), to the pregnant-and-still-petite and soon-to-be-mother Lydia, and to the absent-but-there-in-spirit Scott -- aka, the McKnight Clan -- my gratitude and appreciation for all you do annually with this event. You will never understand just how deeply I appreciate being made to feel a part of your family; you have changed my life forever -- and not just because of your guitars, but because of the humble, loving Christian folk you are.

[Rodger]

...speaking of which, when do we get to see pictures?

Ask and ye shall receive, Neil !!!

If you were holding a McKnight, you could be in a marketing campaign.



The debut of the Strung Out String Band, playing "Going to the McJam!"



Ladies and gentlemen!! Lead singer of The Strung Out String Band and rock star in waiting, Steve Walmsley...



Ross with the Tinman guitar (I think that's the name of it - correct me if I'm wrong, Ross).



Kurt and Julie !!!





Tim and Neil applying French Polish during one of the many workshops.



Don always sings with passion... something I look forward to each year!

[Rodger]

Oh... and a giant moth that attacked us Friday night.

[Neil K Walk]

GAH!!! *shudders*

Where's Godzilla when you need him?

EDIT: is that the Joe Namath juice? It must cause gigantism!

[Mary]

In between the Memphis Guitar festival of 2015 e-mails and vacation Bible School tonight I am working on pictures that Ashley, Adrianne and I took.

I will get them out to you soon.

You did good Kathy and Rodger.

This just was the regular strawberry kiwi juice. You can compare the size of the moth with my hand!

[Kitchen Guitars]

Originally Posted by Rodger

Oh... and a giant moth that attacked us Friday night.

Glad it was a good time.
That would be an Imperial Moth. Maybe its time for Tim to make a Jumbo called the Imperial.

[Mary]

Originally Posted by Kitchen Guitars

Glad it was a good time.
That would be an Imperial Moth. Maybe its time for Tim to make a Jumbo called the Imperial.

Hi John!

It was a huge baby for sure! This moth wafted off such a hefty breeze as it passed me and prepared to land on David Weyer's camo hat, but chose to land on the speaker. Maybe it felt like it belonged hiding there. Neil respectively sang his entire song and didn't miss a note on the guitar. He glanced, but the speakers were in front of him. He had no idea what took our attention away but he did an awesome job.

I am going through the pictures that Adrianne, Ashley and I took. That silly moth became a regular McJammer by the end of the night. Hang on and I can share pictures by the end of today.

[Mary]

If this doesn't work let me know. It seems to work fine on this end. I have shared e-mails so you can see the pictures.

I will gladly send this in an e-mail again if necessary.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sred...qQE&feat=email

[Rodger]

Hi Mary ... link worked fine! Great pictures by you, Ashley and Adrianne!!!

Your captions always crack me up! Nice job!

Did you notice this was your 8,000 th post? Cool milestone.

[Mary]

WOW. No, Rodger I did not notice this! It must mean I play in the AGF ABC threads far to much.

What a great milestone for sure. Thanks for sharing that with me.

I tried to delete all that were duplicates or blurry. Chances are that some are duplicated or pretty close since Adrianne and Ash were together often.

[Mary]

I was tired and I noticed so many misspellings under the captions. I did that after going through over 1,700 pictures. My typing errors are not Ashley and Adrianne's fault. They just took many great pictures.

Eh, such is life. Not a biggie. You got the drift of things. I was up until early this morning trying to get pictures ready for the general public.

All in all, you can see this was a great weekend.

Mark Sandstrom - you were missed. I heard, "Where is the guy with the smile and the pony tail?" I see you made a few comments on the pictures. My favorite is of you telling Lydia to stand up straight. Baby McJammer is due July 9. They have not told the family if it is boy or girl. I am guessin' it's a boy.

[Jschlueter]

It sounds like a GREAT time! I hope to attend for the first time next year!

[Mary]

Originally Posted by Jschlueter

It sounds like a GREAT time! I hope to attend for the first time next year!

(Tapping toes and squinted eyes) You should have come for the first time THIS year!

You are a charter member? Goodness ... send me your e-mail address and I would definitely like to add it to the McJam mail list. It is usually in June. I will avoid Father's Day and our son's birthday. Those are for family.

I like to keep the list at no more than 50. Due to weather and squirrely last minute things our attendance was very low this year. It was a great time though.