JF2001-Attendance-Report

[rickyggarcia]

Hey!!

I´m actually just coming in from the aiport and I´m still in a sort of trauma from this weekend...so only some short words for now:

JF2001 was for me one of the greatest musical experiences I ever had. If everything what has to do with guitar is something in your life without you could not exist than you missed probably one of the greatest events ever.

The level of talent which came together these last days was far out of any ranges I could imagine. This kind of family atmosphere which was created there is probably something only musicians can do. From berklee I´m normaly used to the hardest competition ever but In Florida everybody was so open for everything and just wanted to enjoy the beauty of playing guitar. I learned so much to just listen to all these great players there and it was so impresive how proffesional everybody was...

Well I could go on and on but I gonna fly down to europe in 2 hours so I should better hurry up man... I lost probably 5 years of liftime because of nearly 3 days without any sleep!! My biggest thanks to Kevan, Bill and Gabe for giving me the honor to be a part of this amazing event.


And you know what??? HE DID IT!!!! The one and only OAKMAN played JIBBOB!!!!!

ricky

[J Todd Beachler]

Quote: from rickyggarcia on 2:19 pm on May 13, 2001
And you know what??? HE DID IT!!!! The one and only OAKMAN played JIBBOB!!!!!

ricky

I wish I could have seen and heard that! *

[David Ho]

Finally made it home.

It was great seeing all the old friends again.

Even better I made some new friends.

Meeting Bobby O, Rich, RickyGarcia, Shane... (the list goes on) in person was excellent. *These guys not only know guitars, they are some of the nicest and coolest people I've ever met.

For all the fellow Jemfesters - have a good rest (you all deserve it) and hope to see you all next year.

Now I'm gonna get some sleep too :yawn:

[Gabe Nickelson]

Thanks for bringing in the RG-Gold. *I think most people drooled over that thing! *It was good to see you again David and we'll get those pics of you up on the site!

Gabe

[bob oakman]

It was a total delight to put faces with all the names here on the forum, an enriching experience to be surrounded by so many incredible players and a hands-on exorcize in sleep deprivation. :yawn:

I enjoyed hanging with people who I never met before, but seemed like life long friends. I was astounded and inspired by the dedication and talent of many of the players. I was extremely impressed by the almost total lack of ego and competitiveness displayed by all the performers. The guitars… well, there were so many. They were so beautiful. Kevan, Rich, Ryan and Jay hauled down what looked like the stock of a major guitar store chain. Add to that the many other guitars brought by the flyers and bands and there was plenty of drooling going on.

Over all, everyone was awesome. I only wish that I would have had more time to spend with some of the people that I only talked to briefly. It all ended too quickly.

I liked the Hotel room jams best. People were coming and going in and out of Kevan/Gabe/Bill/Shane’s room constantly. I know they did not sleep the entire time.

I now have a desk full of emergencies at work. It seems that nobody picked up the ball in my absence. When I get out of the woods with all this crap I would like to post some more about the great weekend in Orlando.

Thank you all for being so kind to me and showing me a really good time.

bob

[balducci]

I can't believe I forgot to thank Jay.......

Jay thanks so much for bringing that killer rig.
The sound on that egnator is amazing,,, I would not have been able to play so comfortably without your rig... thank you for letting me use it.

and Ryan and BIG BOB who helped with the sound ... you both are great people.... It was great to finally meet all of *you.......

[bob oakman]

Jemfest 2001 Memories… In order as they impressed me…

1)Shane, Bill H. and Bill Peck ripping out the entire Vai song library in the room on Wednesday night.
2)10-plus guitar cases on the floor in Kevan’s room.
3)The batteries (Radio Shack) in Gabe’s Pignose lasting through a third Jemfest and still going.
4)The view of the pool from room 640.
5)Meeting Rob Balducci at the front desk.
6)The arrival of Rich. The beard stubble, road worn eyes and leather jacket with no shirt are forever burned in my memory.
7)The guitars. Never seen anything like it in one place at one time.
The fire at the restaurant and the photos with the fire truck.
9)The antics of the guys from Frankenshred in the “room jams’.
10)The terrible odor in Kevan’s new Durango during road trips.
11)Rich’s JS collection.
12)Jeremy’s new songs.
13)The vast talent-vs-age factor of Matt and band.
14)The metal thunder of Arc Of Decent. Didn’t know guitars could sound that heavy.
15)All the drummers… WOW, what talent!
16)Stephanie’s Religion and Frankenshred… Why aren’t they with major labels?
17)Finally! Ricky, live… a very emotional experience for me.
1Finally! Rob, live… a big event for me.
19)Eric Sands… WOW! I was floored.
20)J-3… Eric, Rob and Ricky harmonizing like they had rehearsed for a week.
21)That bottle of Jack Brian brought on Thursday night. It saw the lips of at least15 people and still lasted until Saturday morning.
22)My first public performance in over 8 years… with Eric’s band nonetheless! I was so nervous that I blew almost every lick, but they held it together.
23)Being able to sneak out Sunday morning without having to say goodbye to anyone. I didn’t want to weep in front of my piers.
24)The intense emotion of UPS’s loss of my MC. I want to seriously hurt someone.

Am sure there are many more memories I could mention, but I’ll leave a few for the others.

[Carlo]

It seems that Jemfest gets better and better very year. *

Wish i was there to see all those talented players.

[darren wilson]

Bob... UPS LOST YOUR MC?!@#

[Matthew King]

Ricky, I had an excellent time hanging out with you, dave, and Jose (pepe)! *It was really great to finally get to meet *you! *We had many fun times, I will never forget them! *Hope to hear from *you soon! *We can plan some shows in L.A. with Dave *Later...

[Gabe Nickelson]

It'll be my PRIORITY to get a Jibbob clip up tonight. *Bob just kicked major azz on it. *He didn't even warm up, sound check, or use backing tracks. *He jammed with a band he just met hours earlier. *Not even on his own guitar.

That's something I couldn't ever pull off. *Bob's purely amazing.

Gabe

[Matthew King]

Man, Jibbob...that was amazing! *I hope you got a video of that one *

[bob oakman]

Not so from my perspective. My hands turned into cement when I stood and looked out at you all. If it wasn’t for hammering and the fact that it is in the key of e and easy to improvise, I would never have made it through. I forgot everything I was supposed to play on it. :loco:

Oh well, we’re all friends and you all know my shortcomings. With any luck I will assemble a band by next year and be past the stage fright. If the guys will have me, I’ll gladly take the opening spot.

[rickyggarcia]

Hey Bob!!!

Everybody here is right Jibbob was one of my highlights too!!! If you need any rhythem guitar players for your üerformance next year let me know... I´m your man!!!

[rickboot]

I want to join in on the group hug.

This Jemfest was a lot of fun. As last year, the best part was seeing all the Jemsite friends in person.

I can't wait to see you all again next year... at Jemfest San Francisco! :biggrin:

Rick