David Hartley's Festival of Steel guitar

[Jason Lynch]

Can I be the first to say what a great time I had yesterday, even with a terrible head cold and chesty cough...!
David and Mark gave great tuition and the evening set was fantastic. Sorry I had to leave early but man-flu got the better of me. Great time had by all, I think.

[Shaun]

I second Jason's Comments, what a Great Day. (I didn't have a cold by the way but all the rest applies
Many Thanks David, Mark and all concerned for your efforts -
(Including the Team of Girls who kept the food and drinks going all day and evening).

[Will C]

Dave, an excellent day, many thanks for laying it on and I do hope it will not be the last! The instruction was excellent, a really good feature. There was the usual difficulty getting the amp settings to come across clearly enough to be heard, with volume levels creeping up through the day, but I guess that goes with the territory.

Great admin support from the ladies, very much appreciated. And what a surprise in the afternoon, with BJ & Patrick turning up - icing on the cake. Might I suggest a bigger screen next time? My eyes aren't what they were!

So sorry I couldn't stay for the evening part. I hope that went well for you all. The goodies bag is a treat awaiting my return from work today, a real bonus. Thanks a million.

Will C

[Tony Smart]

Well done and well organised Dave. You played some great stuff in your set with Fran and she sang well.
Nice to know you were sponsored by Justice Guitars and Greene King.......

Seriously, you deserve a well earned pat on the back as it must have taken a lot to time and effort to organise .
Something for everyone, - players, beginners and nostalgia with the reforming of your old band, Silver Ace.
I hope they have all reformed by now and are all going straight ? ? ? ?

Thanks and congratulations to everyone involved.
Tony

[rhaskell]

I agree and more so with what he said..
Well done Dave..

[Mark]

It was a pretty full-on day! I was shattered by the time I got home... As Tony said, David deserves a big pat on the back, it was a big event to organize and mostly things went according to plan. Not forgetting Fran and girls in the kitchen and Keith and his lady wife on the door - many thanks. Apologies for the PDF's not being available in the pack; we were intending to print them out on the day... best made plans! If anyone who attended the tuition wants the PDF's contact me [email protected] or David and we'll forward them. As Will said, it was great to see Patrick and BJ there; both really great players. This being David's first event, we thought the tuition should have a going back to basics theme; next time we'll build on this.

Cheers
Mark

[slidin' jim]

Big thanks and well done to Dave , Mark and everyone else involved for making it a great day ! Really enjoyed it and looking forward to the next one!

and thanks for lending me your amp jon davis - it was a vast improvement!

cheers jim

[SteelieAJK]

Thanks to Dave and the team, including those keeping the teapot filled.
A great initial meeting, and enjoyable day for me, although I don't think I want to hear 'Crazy Arms' again this year

[David Hartley]

Hi all.

Guys, many thanks for your comments here.

It's all of you who made this a successful meeting and I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for attending.

There are so many thank you's to say, and I will be contacting you all soon.

I have some great pictures to show you, and my fretboard labelling is almost complete, which I really wanted to show you on the day, but it will be posted here soon. This will really help you.

I am pretty shattered tonight so will get back soon.

One thing I would like to say, there was 2 players who didn't make the meeting and I am so sorry. Benno from Germany had his flights booked, accommodation booked and transfers from Stanstead to Thetford then Barnham sorted but then he got very I'll with a virus on Friday. I feel so sorry for him, he is gutted he couldn't make it. Then there was John Westwood, who went to the wrong Barnham Viilage Hall. Here is his email to me today...


Hello David

Hope your meeting went OK today, I was a little disappointed not to see you but these things happen.  Actually, there was no postcode on the flyer you sent me but I could have contacted you to find out exactly which Barnham Village Hall you were at!  When I went onto Google, the one I thought most likely was West Sussex but I did think it was a long way from your home but it was comparatively nearer to me.  Never mind, I'm sure - at least I hope - there will be another occasion I can meet you to thank you for the help you've given to all the aspiring steel players there are in the world.  It has certainly helped me to get back to playing again and I can honestly say that seeing and hearing you has helped me more than anything or anybody else has and for that I am truly grateful.

I hope you continue to give us such pleasure and inspiration for many years to come.

Kind regards

John Westwood


There will be another one of these festivals a few months down the line so I really hope these 2 guys can come next time.



Ths was the email from Lloyd Green. I asked his permission to show the video which I played in the lunch break and it explains how much he enjoyed this....

Hi again David,
Thanks... 'bout the recovery.
Oh.....the DVD you are referring to was not in Paris, but in the French
Burgundy region, at St. Hilaire, the mountaintop home of my late friend
Alain Valadon who is kissing my cheek in the photo on front. He was such a
wonderful (and wealthy) man. He decorated an apartment on the estate just
for Dot and me.
He had an LDG and used to fly in his private plane with a pilot to anywhere
I was playing in Europe. I have never been treated so royally. Sadly, he
died of cancer a couple of years after we were there. I was gonna go back
and play a show for him.
Dot and I would run 3 miles every morning on the mountain estate before
breakfast and then it was off to the music room where we would play for
hours. Then he would treat us to visits to some of the most beautiful
Chateaus, dating to the 11th-16th centuries.
At 5 pm every day all activities stopped and we began drinking; wine,
champagne, Jack Daniels for 2 hours until the royal dinners were served.
David, it was a magical time, one Dot and I will carry in our memories until
we are gone. I've had some incredible experiences in my life, too many to
fully think about, but nothing more wonderful than that week at St.
Hillaire, a 200 acre estate overlooking vineyards of grapes in every
direction. I don't believe in an afterlife but if there was a heaven I hope
it would be just like St. Hilaire.
The video was shot by my friend Jean-Yves Lozac'h, an outstanding French
steel player, guitar player and god knows what else. He also spent the week
with us there and many people were coming and going.
As you said, it was all just spontaneous music and I had much fun.
Spontaneity was why Charlie McCoy and I were successful studio players,
among other things, so it was very natural for us to do this.
I hope this is the sort of background data you are looking for.
By the way, best of luck with your first steel guitar meeting. Wish I was
there.

Regards,
Lloyd


Many, Many thanks to you all.

I have my seminar in the Netherlands ths coming weekend, so preparing for this now.

David Hartley

[David Hartley]

Will C....

Yes, the screen was a bit small, there will be a 2 meter wide pop up one next time.

I almost had this organised until I got outbid on ebay in the last few seconds a couple of weeks ago...



And, yes, I can make it brighter too... I forgot about brightness control on the iPad which I could have adjusted...