Jimmy Whalsteen will be touring in Canada next month, November 2010.  Visit his blog for more details.

Don Ross’s newest album, Breakfast for Dogs, will be released on November 16 on CandyRat Records. I can’t wait and I’m only saddened that I can’t pre-order the album.

In an earlier post (May 5, 2010), I shared my lust for a baritone guitar. Alas, I found that I couldn’t justify a custom-made one (to myself and my wife!). After a little research, I found that Taylor produces a baritone guitar: the GT6. I e-mailed The Twelfth Fret and they had one in stock priced at $2,600 Canadian. Hmmm. Although very tempting, I’ll never buy an instrument that I can’t hear first and Toronto is a little too far for me to travel. On Friday, I was on a business trip in Montreal, Quebec and stopped in at Steve’s Music Store. Would they happen to have a Baritone Taylor GT6 in stock? They did! I tried it out and found it to be a wonderful guitar. The action was low and the sound was excellent. The strings, as you might expect, are larger than a standard guitar and, therefore, take some getting used to. Those guitarists with acrylic nails have nothing to fear! Steve’s price was $2,700. Alas, I didn’t leave the store with this guitar. I will be visiting them again, however, as I try to justify the pricetag. A friend suggested that I just restring a standard guitar with baritone strings. Although this is definitely the cheaper way to go, it would be a lot nicer to have the real thing!

Sheesh! Don Ross is releasing his second DVD in his Song-By-Song Guitar Lessons Series and I’m still working on his last release, “Michael, Michael, Michael”! Seriously, this is a great resource that you won’t want to miss. This time, Don teaches his song “Afraid to Dance”. If you pre-order your copy, you will receive it autographed and will receive free shipping. I ordered mine and am anxiously waiting for it to arrive. Oh! The September 27 deadline on Don’s site has been extended due to a production delay so you still have time. ACT NOW!

What a great experience! After spending four days with Don Ross, Jimmy Wahlsteen and Brooke Miller in Victoria-by-the-Sea, PEI, my head is spinning with all the good stuff that I learned! Don and Jimmy were great teachers.  The superb concert on Monday, August 16 at the Victoria Playhouse showcased all three artists. Jimmy and Brooke played some new material that hasn’t been recorded yet and Don played various songs including those from his recent album Any Colour.

Don’s teachings focused on theory and his song “This Dragon Won’t Sleep.” Jimmy taught a number of open tunings including open D, G minor tuning and A add 9 as well as a number of licks in these tunings. I really like Jimmy’s percussive technique of hitting the back of the guitar neck with his fretting hand thumb using a thumb ring. Cool.

I met some fellow musicians and guitarists, too, who I hope will keep in touch. It’s really motivating to see such devotion and talent. Play on!

At long last, I’ve joined Twitter! Actually, I’m a Twitter-voyeur since I’m “following” many of my favourite artists but I have yet to “tweet” anything! Someday, I hope to have some followers of my own. LOL! My Twitter handle is heavywoodguitar.

Yippee!  I got news today from Don Ross about the details for this summer’s Guitar Workshop scheduled August 15-18 in Victoria-by-the-Sea, PEI.  It looks like we’ll be a small crew with only eight people so the teacher-student ratio will be great. Don will be teaching two of his songs: “This Dragon Won’t Sleep” from both Huron Street (2001) and the self-titled album (1994) and “Rockbarra” from the album Music for Vacuuming (2005). Special guest Jimmy Wahlsteen, from Sweeden, will be teaching “Shifts of Attention” and “Tranquility” from his album 181st Songs (2009). I’ve tackled “This Dragon Won’t Sleep” with reasonable success but now I have to figure out what tuning is Jimmy’s “Shifts of Attention.” If you’re not familiar with these tunes, I suggest you visit Candy Rat Records; you won’t be disappointed.

Editor’s note: “Shifts of Attention” is in open D, capo IV.

This summer, I’ll be attending the Don Ross Guitar Workshop with Don and special guest Jimmy Wahlsteen.  There are two workshops scheduled this summer:

• Campbellford, Ontario (August 4 – 7)
• Victoria-by-the-Sea, Prince Edward Island (August 15-18)

I’ll be attending the later workshop on beautiful PEI, and I couldn’t be happier. The workshop will be a dream-come-true for me as I study with two world-class professional guitarists and musicians. The timing couldn’t be more perfect for me since I work in education and have the summer off to play guitar!

If you’re interested in Heavy Wood Guitar playing, head on over to Don’s website and sign up.  Space is limited to 15 people but there are a few spots left.  I hope to jam with you in PEI this summer!

I’m as guilty as the next guitarist, I suppose, when it comes to GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). However after trying to learn Don Ross’s version of “Tight Trite Night” on a standard-tuned guitar, I felt that I couldn’t do the song justice without a baritone guitar (tuned a 5th below standard tuning).

So yesterday, I e-mailed Marc Beneteau, the luthier that builds Don’s guitars. Mr. Beneteau wrote back today and explained that the waiting list is 20-24 months and his baritones (Indian Rosewood back & sides and an Englemann or Sitka Spruce top) start at $7,000! Yikes.

As you can imagine, these are professional-quality instruments, but my budget (and my marriage) won’t allow me to get one of these fine guitars at this point.

P.S. Andy McKee does an excellent cover of “Tight Trite Night” also.