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©2000 by Ely Music/Pub |
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Is Attending An HSGA Convention Worth Your Time And Money?
The following letter from HSGA member Gerald Ross says it all. It came to us by Email, 3 days after the Joliet convention. HSGA Honolulu convention is set for april 30-may 5, 1999. Members: get ready for even more steel guitar music & good times! Dear HSGA, I just returned from the Joliet '98 convention and would like to thank everyone who made me feel welcome, at home and part of the family. I just joined the HSGA last summer and was a bit nervous about attending the convention. I wondered if I would encounter a group of people that were exclusive and not receptive to newcomers. Would my guitar playing go unappreciated? Would my questions about the music and steel guitar go unanswered or thought of as foolish? Would I be alone the entire weekend? None of my fears materialized. I was a stranger for less than a minute. Soon after I walked into the convention, a member struck up a conversation with me. I was soon introduced to more members. I sat down to listen to a few sets and felt very good. At the end of the afternoon I even had a dinner invitation! Later at the jam session I felt very nervous about taking out my guitar and playing. But thanks to encouragement from Doug Smith and Barb Kuhns I played and felt the camaraderie of my fellow musicians. I stayed up until 3 AM for three nights, playing tunes with the fine musicians I met. Meeting and playing with Alan Akaka, Greg Sardinha, Duke Ching and all the others was an experience I will never forget. Their encouraging words, sense of adventure and just having fun with the music was stimulating and exciting. These good feelings allowed everyone playing to achieve their best. Special thanks to Don Weber for allowing me to fill in a slot on the Saturday afternoon show. I enjoyed sharing my solo guitar work with everyone. I'm fired up about steel guitar now. I actually brought my lap steel with me to Joliet, but was too nervous to take it out. I've only been playing a year and only really playing it sporadically. This past weekend helped my playing greatly. Seeing people's hands, getting tips from fellow steelers, and just immersing myself in Hawaiian music for three days was just what I needed. When I got home from Joliet, I stayed up until 2 AM working on "Sand". Thanks again for a wonderful weekend. Gerald Ross, Ann Arbor, Michigan 
HSGA * HAWAIIAN
STEEL GUITAR ASSOCIATION Homepage URL: www.hsga.org (hsga@lava.net) Last updated: 07/23/02 by Gerald Ross (gbross@umich.edu) |
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