From our Registration page, each student requests which instructor they wish to take their Master Classes with. This will be your main teacher and mentor throughout the Okanagan Blues Camp.
Classes will be at either the Sandman Hotel, or at the Penticton Community Centre. Check the Schedule for which classroom your class is in.
Each student will have a chance to have a “Class Practice” with their instructor on Tues, Oct 22; in the afternoon from 2:30 – 4:00 PM.
Students will get a chance to perform with other students (1 song only) showing what they have learned right up on the Dream Café stage on Wed afternoon and into the early evening. We have built in additional “Practice Time” in the schedule to allow students to form 3 – 5 person “combos” to perform what they have learned on stage. Practice times are: Mon 4:00 – 5:30 PM; and Tues 4:00 – 5:30 PM. This will give students a chance to work up the tune they want to perform. The Dream Café will stay open on Wed. afternoon and into the early evening to accommodate the student combos to get on stage and have fun performing. Additional food and beverage will be available for purchase from the Dream Café.
For the Master Classes, students are requested to show up on time, but not more that 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. If your class requires instrument set up time (drums, amps, etc.) keep that in mind and get it done in that 15-minute window.
On the Registration page, you’ll find a form to download to select you first choice of Master instructor, and your second choice.
Paul Pigat, (Cousin Harley) may be added to the instructor roster if sufficient students sign up. We’ll know if this is possible by about June 2019.
Roger is a well known and sought after bass man from Vancouver. He tours extensively with Vancouver acts and bands, and recently has been a steady face in the Steve Kozak band touring BC and Alberta. More bio notes coming soon.
· Connecting the Dots: other instruments filling in holes, working around them, and working with other instruments.
· On Tues afternoon students will have a chance to play bass with Roger, and students from Chris Norquist’s drum class. Roger and Chris will be on hand to set up small groups and help work up your song for performance on the Dream Café stage (for those wanting to do this).
· Students will be offered time to stay in their class rooms to practice what you have learned, from 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM, on Monday and on Tues afternoon, prior to the dinner / concerts at the Dream Café starting at 6:00 PM.
The “Tank” can wail the reeds off a blues harp. Sherman is considered one of the best harp guys in Canada – hailing from Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley. He has been a teacher at other blues camps, and knows how to demonstrate techniques and get his students cranked up about wicked harp runs. Tank regular tours western Canada and performs with visiting artists as they do the blues scene in the west.
Please bring at least a five pack of harmonicas in different keys (any brand), one of which should be a 10 hole diatonic harmonica in the key of “C”.
As a self-taught blues harp player, Sherman will give students the basic short cuts to help you get to where you would like to go on harmonica to play and have fun. As that happens, we will take time to recognize the importance of “bending” notes, a technique that allows us to play flattened notes that are characteristic in blues music.
· Tues Oct 22 – 2:30 – 4:00 PM ; this session will have your mentor / instructor helping you work on a tune for performance on the Dream Café stage, should you choose to participate in performing on stage.
Hailing from the ‘Left Coast’ of Canada, Poppa Dawg (Rick Halesheff) is a killer guitar player and vocalist who has toured extensively throughout Western and Northern Canada with international stints in Mexico at The City of Peace Blues Festival and most recently, in has a participant at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. There Poppa Dawg made it to the semi-finals there and along the way forged some very strong friendships with friends around the world. Poppa Dawg is a regular feature on the Kelowna and Okanagan Valley blues scene, playing venues throughout BC and western Canada. Dawg-blues is gritty, skanky, soft and sweet…Rick’s got great tricks up his sleeves. This cat can rock. You’ll catch on quickly.
· We’ll focus on the early electric guitarists and show the influence of T Bone Walker.
This will be done building on a few well know T-Bone riffs and tunes like the famous T-Bone Shuffle, which we will concentrate on to demonstrate a variety of blues guitar techniques.
We will also cover aspects of some of the other most distinctive players such as BB King, Albert King and Albert Collins and others to see what sets them apart from others.
We’ll look at some of the gear they used as well.
Brandon Isaak not only plays his guitar but he plays his audience like a ringmaster in his own circus, always looking for new ways to entertain.” – Teresa Mallam, Prince George Free Press. What separates Brandon from the rest of the pack besides his world-class musicianship and song writing, is his ability to connect and involve his audience in his live shows.
After many nominations by The Maple Blues Awards, (Canada’s national blues awards) this Yukonion now lower mainland guitar slinger finally won his first MBA last year for Acoustic Act of the Year. Brandon Isaak has represented British Columbia in International Blues Challenge which takes place every year on Beale St in Memphis, TN. This is the biggest gathering of blues acts in the world.
· All Around the Blues – We’ll look at a few different styles of blues and how to make them work solo or with a band. We’ll check out some Chicago Blues, Delta, and Country blues. All levels are welcome. We’ll also look at a couple different but easy guitar tunings and how to chord with them and fret behind the nut and use different thumb patterns.
· As time allows we’ll also examine The Art of The Guitar Solo. We’ll be playing lead guitar and soloing over different blues changes. We’ll look at T-Bone Walker, Magic Sam and even some Ronnie Earl type guitar soloing.
Vancouver born Steve Kozak has been a mainstay on the western Canadian Blues scene since the mid-eighties. Backed by his some of Vancouver’s top musicians Kozak has built a reputation as one of Canada’s premier Blues acts and is known as the go to guy in Vancouver for the west coast Blues sound. An accomplished and tasty guitar player with a relaxed vocal style Kozak has been winning over fans performing his up-tempo brand of jump, swing and working man’s blues to enthusiastic audiences throughout the Pacific Northwest and western Canada. Gaining national recognition Steve has won a Maple Blues Award for New Artist or Group of the Year. Nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award for Blues Artist of the Year in 2017 and 2018. He has taught at blues camps in the past and loves doing it.
All electric blues guitarists should have at least a few good instrumentals in their repertoire and should play at least a couple of the hit instrumentals by the great Freddie King. Freddie King was an all-around Bluesman, his style a mixture of the Texas and Chicago sounds. We will learn and work on a couple of my favorites.
Students will look at a few examples of some of Steve’s favorite 12 bar and 8 bar Chicago and Texas Blues tunes. We’ll examine the form and learn some different styles of rhythm playing, turnarounds, and riffs. We will check out of some of my influences and favorites.
Chris Nordquist is one of Canada’s most sought after drummers. Chris is a mainstay feature in the Vancouver music scene. He regularly plays as a session musician on various artists recordings. Chris has been an instructor at the Hornby Blues Workshop several times over the past few years. His classes offer drum enthusiasts of all levels tips and technique, fitting in a session, using percussion as the basis of fine rhythm.
When you think about blues keyboard styles in Canada, Kenny Wayne’s name is sure to come up. Hailed as “an artist bringing the piano back to the front ranks of contemporary blues”, multiple award-winning blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne is called “Blues Boss” for a reason. His musical career began as a child prodigy in the late 1950’s and has continued to flourish for over 60 years with Wayne at the forefront of modern day blues piano practitioners. Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne is an artist who’s got it all: Talent, charisma and showmanship. Oozing with class and sophistication, Wayne is a throwback to the golden age of classic rhythm and blues while offering a fresh approach to the genre. He can charm the shine of a keyboard. He’s been a mentor at many workshops and can’t wait to provide those pearls of wisdom to Okanagan Blues Camp players. Kenny’s got the chops and the swag to pull it off. This super nice dude will charm the heck out of his students.
(Otis Spann, Fats Domino, Pete Johnson, Jaye McShann/Leroy Carr). You will learn where the various styles of piano blues originated in the US and hear how uniquely they sound to the blues patterns. You will hear the Chicago, St. Louis, West Coast, New Orleans & Boogie-Woogie styles and how they were played in Juke Joints & Barrelhouses during the 1930’s & 40’s. Question: Why has the piano been excluded from the origins of the blues? Kenny will answer that question.
Kenny will be showing how to write new songs or re-create old songs utilizing the various piano blues styles. Class will conclude with Ray Charles and how Gospel music influenced Blues, RnB and Rock n Roll.
Creating some ideas on playing various piano styles and having some deep-rooted discussion on marketing and where the blues is heading in the future and how the piano is playing a vital part.
Kenny will critique the students’ performance(s) and fine tune their individual styles. This is the way that I got started professionally 50 years ago.
Yanti is a Penticton-based vocal and musical coach. Yanti is a vocalist, choir leader and ukulele enthusiast. Her love of jazz may have lead Yanti to sing in professional groups around the South Okanagan, but blues is where her heart is. Growing up in Texas and frequenting New Orleans, Yanti was exposed to many blues classics on the streets and in clubs. Yanti’s recent training as a choir leader has helped her gain the skills to hone her craft of teaching larger groups with song. For those of us perform on the front porch or on-stage—more vocal knowledge is a worthwhile endeavour.
· Earworms for increasing your comfort zone.