PicknBow Folk Music Weekend Camp is coming up: July 26-28, 2013

This will be the third year of the Pick'N'Bow Folk Music retreat at the Murphey School in Durham NC. Danny Gotham thought this up and it's lots of fun for instructors and campers alike.

This year I want to do some "Introduction to Klezmer Music and Cabaret Orchestra" sessions, hope I get enough people interested in it... you can be a player of any instrument but bagpipe and banjo. Not necessary to read music. We can do it by ear - but I'll also make sheet music and mp3 files available ahead of time.

As before, I'll be teaching singing and fiddle; Bob Vasile will be teaching open-tuning on the guitar and bouzouki/cittern/mandolin lessons. Danny will be teaching guitar, ukelele, and more... Julie Elkins will be doing bluegrass banjo. And this year for the first time Joe Newberry is joining us! He is one of my favorite singers of all time and is a wonderful guitarist, clawhammer and frailing (I think) banjo player, and songwriter. And he's funny, too.

See the details here: PicknBow folksong and folkmusic summer workshops.

To register, call Danny at (919)967.4934 or e-mail him at steelstringer@gmail.com.

There will be classes and jams and meals together and informal singing circles and performances starting Friday evening and ending late afternoon on Sunday.



There'll be classes for beginners and master classes for expert players, coaching for performers and would-be performers, and lots of chances for people to get together, rehearse songs and tunes with each other, and play them at the concert.

The Murphey School on Murphy School Road in Durham NC is lovely and air-conditioned.

We'll have meals together. There will be lots of jamming. Come on, you know you want to! If you want to be part of a klezmer and cabaret experience but you're from out of town, let me know in the comments; I can probably put you up.

How to build a standing desk for an elliptical trainer

I already posted elsewhere my design for the make-your-own computer stand I mounted on our treadmill. That design would not fit on our elliptical trainer so here's my DIY solution.

Measure the bars the Y-shaped arms will have to fit over and draw the radius (plus a little extra room) on plywood; figure out the correct angle for the arms and cut them; use a jigsaw to cut out the arms; mount them on a flat piece of plywood that the computer will stand on; add a horizontal bar in the back so the construction won't slip.

How to remodel a pickup truck into a stock carrier or large-loader

I saw and admired this truck at the Dixie Draft Horse and Carriage Auction! Using lumber and rebar this owner kludged quite a roomy addition to a pickup truck.