Winter Escape Location Question ,,, Warm/Learn/relax ...

[jasperguitar]

I got thinking last evening . The last few years, I've escaped the winter cold of NH. I spent parts of two winters near Brooksville, FL. Last winter, I waited until April before escaping.

I'm not a big fan of Florida . I like the weather, not much else.

Since I'm free to roam, and travel, I started thinking : where would be a good place to run off to:

The necessities ?

Find a jam, and hopefully a good local teacher to keep me moving forward .
Warm, but does not need to be tropical .

Any suggestions ?

Is there a town in Florida that is a hotbed for acoustic guitar teachers and jams ? Maybe the town has a great music store, which is the center for learning and jamming ?

Send info

Thanks

[Long Jon]

So, you're "Runnin' from the cold, up in New England" eh ?

Perhaps you were "born to be the fiddler in an old-time string band" ?

Anyhoo, you should make it down the coast in 17 hours, (don't forget to pick yerself a bouquet o' them dogwood flowers).

[caissiel]

I have been spending winter months around Crystal River area. Not far from Brooksville. The music is country bluegrass with the odd folk sound. I participate in different jams but the hot spot seam to be further south away from the golf. Zeferhills area. I love the small community feeling. We play at the Homossasa Mall every saturday morning at 9 am.

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[jasperguitar]

Thanks for the head's up ... Zephyrhills ? Do you mean Zephyrhills, in Pasco County?? I will take a look. I've been up and through Homosassa FL. And also Crystal River ... I will check out the info about the mall jam ... sounds great ... thanks

ps ... I attended Merlefest in Wilkesboro NC, this past late April, first couple of days of May ... Old Crow was fabulous .. what a show ...

"Wagon Wheel"


Headed down south to the land of the pines
I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline
Starin' up the road
And pray to God I see headlights
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I'm a hopin' for Raleigh
I can see my baby tonight

[Chorus:]
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me

[RP]

If you're going to wait until April to escape, you might as well escape to Charlottesville, VA. While we don't have a central music store that predominates, The Front Porch-A Roots Music School http://frontporchcville.org is quickly becoming that sort of players' hub. We also have a lot of venues that provide a nice continuum from open mics to big name entertainment at the John Paul Jones Arena or Downtown Sprint Pavillion. Thomas Jefferson's UVa also adds to the mix. Go to the downtown mall, break open your case, and play a few songs; and you're sure to meet kindred spirits. Fridays After Five also brings out a lot of folks. Among the players I've seen perform in C'ville are Hot Tuna; David Crosby; C, S & N; Jeff Daniels, Bruce Springsteen; Foreigner; Jackson Browne; Jefferson Starship; and numerous nameless, faceless performers whose talent was amazing. Where else can you run into Jack Casady at the ice cream store and then see him perform an hour later with Jorma Kaukonen? For that matter, where else could you go to a Barnes & Noble for a cup of coffee and run into Sissy Spacek/Jack Fisk, John Grisham, and/or Dave Matthews???? The Central Virginia Blues Society http://www.centralvablues.org is a very active group with some great open mics, jam sessions, and concerts..

[SalFromChatham]

Nashville?

[jasperguitar]

Charlottesville, VA ?? wow .. I never knew .. is there a particular reason all these great players, some famous, hang in Charlottesville ?

I will do the google map thing ... I just never knew at all .. thanks for the info ..

...

You know, Nashville . It sort of scares me off as I'm just a leaner / fun player ... but thinking on it, there must be some fabulous jams and guitar teachers in that area .. I will check it out .. see what I see ..

Thanks for giving me the nudge

[erhino41]

Originally Posted by jasperguitar

Thanks for the head's up ... Zephyrhills ? Do you mean Zephyrhills, in Pasco County?? I will take a look. I've been up and through Homosassa FL. And also Crystal River ... I will check out the info about the mall jam ... sounds great ... thanks

ps ... I attended Merlefest in Wilkesboro NC, this past late April, first couple of days of May ... Old Crow was fabulous .. what a show ...

"Wagon Wheel"


Headed down south to the land of the pines
I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline
Starin' up the road
And pray to God I see headlights
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I'm a hopin' for Raleigh
I can see my baby tonight

[Chorus:]
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me

I thought that was s hootie and the blowfish song?!

When I play it I preface it by saying "this is NOT a hootie and the blowfish song.".

[RP]

Charlottesville/Albemarle County is a really interesting mix of really wealthy estates, grow'd-up hippies, and everything in between. I saw the Commonwealth Attorney speak and he referred to it as The Peoples Republic of Charlottesville because the town has a decidedly liberal leaning. The Downtown Mall is a focal point of restaurants, music venues, shops, and a handful of buskers. Believe it or not a local ACLU lawyer fought for and won a case giving permission for people to beg on the Downtown Mall. Movie Director Tom Shadyak is a UVa grad (as is Tina Fey) and funded a center for homeless people (The Haven) in an old church adjacent to the Downtown Mall. The ark that was built for Evan Almighty was located a couple of miles as the crow flies from my home in Western Albemarle County. A number of years ago I worked at the Barnes & Noble and interacted with Tim Reid, John Grisham, Sissy Spacek, and Dave Matthews among others. Although I'm not a drinker, I remain amazed at the number of vineyards (including the Trump Vineyard) and micro-breweries in and around Charlottesville. Anheiser Busch recently bought one of them called Devil's Backbone but they are omnipresent. The Lockn' Festival http://www.locknfestival.com in nearby Nelson County has gone from 0-60 in just a few years and the Festy Experience http://www.thefesty.com/tickets?gcli...FUk2gQodQa4NcA is close behind...

[rdeane]

Originally Posted by erhino41

I thought that was s hootie and the blowfish song?!

When I play it I preface it by saying "this is NOT a hootie and the blowfish song.".

I thought it was originally a Bob Dylan song (that at least he wrote it).

[Scotso]

Austin TX......

[jasperguitar]

"Wagon Wheel" is composed of two different parts. The chorus and melody for the song comes from a demo recorded by Bob Dylan during the Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid sessions. Although never officially released, the Dylan song was released on a bootleg and is usually named after the chorus and its refrain, "Rock Me Mama". Although Dylan left the song an unfinished sketch, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show wrote verses for the song around Dylan's original chorus. Secor's additional lyrics transformed "Rock Me, Mama" into "Wagon Wheel".

[Kerbie]

How 'bout the Asheville/Swannanoa/Black Mountain area of western NC? The music scene there has just exploded in the last decade or so. A gorgeous area with winter weather, but not as bad as NH. Good music stores, musical venues, restaurants, Blue Ridge Parkway, a state university, Swannanoa Gathering in the summer, not far from MerleFest in the spring, affordable real estate...

[devellis]

Charlottesville is a beautiful place by virtue of its mountainous terrain. But that doesn't make for the the balmiest winters.

Chapel Hill, N.C., on the other hand is farther south and at lower altitude, making for gentler winters. And it's about 3 or 4 hours to either the mountains or the coast when you're so inclined. Local talent over the years has included James Taylor, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Blind Boy Fuller, Rev. Gary Davis, Avett Brothers, Zan MacLeod, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and others. The bluegrass festival in Raleigh is just finishing up for this year. The Carrboro music Festival was this past weekend. The Shakorie Hills Festival (less than 20 miles from Chapel Hill) happens twice yearly. Fridays on the Lawn feature live music for free at the Carolina Inn. The campuses (UNC, Duke, NC State, and some smaller schools) and nearby performance venues attract major names in pretty much all genres of music. If you go to the Raleigh guitar meetup page, you'll find a whole bunch of weekly open mics and learn-and-share get-togethers listed. Plenty of small bars and other venues with live music throughout the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle.

We do get snow, but as a former Boston boy, I can testify that it's a lot less frequent, less abundant, and stays around for a much shorter time than it does in New England. Figure on maybe 2" or 3" of snow maybe two or three times in a winter. We've had winters with no snow at all. And we often have some 70 degree days every month of the winter, so even when it gets cold, it usually mitigates in a few days.

[Nyghthawk]

Austin, Texas? Warm (relatively speaking) winters. Good music of any variety you like 7 days a week. And if you can't find a guitar teacher there, I would be highly surprised. I worked in print shops most of the 16 years I lived there and several of my co-workers were in bands that played local bars.