I find it difficult to believe that I am the only mandolin player in this area of the state! Please, come forward and let's talk! If I am still all alone a couple of weeks from now I will delete the group and call it a day. Come on, I know you're out there!
Hello, Multidon! I started playing mandolin this past February. . . I'm making a little progress and having a lot of fun. I visited your group's web site and was impressed! I hope to make my way north to see your group perform sometime (I live in Southern Butler County). - John
Welcome John! I glad you joined. Southern Butler is a bit out of the area but my wife thinks I should change this group from "Northwestern PA" to just "Western PA". That makes more sense, maybe. She thinks I would get better response that way. I am only 2 hours from Pittsburgh. Well, tell us more about yourself, your mandolin(s), and what kinds of music you play! Do you know any other mandolin players? Could you tell them about the Cafe' and this new social group?
John, my apologies. I see Southern Butler is NOT out of them area outlined on the icon map! Of course, I didn't have any particular clear idea of exactly what "NW PA" entails. That map is just something random I found on the internet. I always kind of thought of Butler as suburban Pittsburgh. BTW, I am originally from North Huntingdon township in Westmoreland county, but now live in Conneaut Lake. My group plays old time, Celtic, old popular songs, Civil War era songs, just about whatever catches our fancy. Right now we are working on Christmas gigs of course. I play mandolin but also fiddle, harp, hammered dulcimer, tenor guitar, and mandola. I have a Breedlove FF, a Mid-Missouri, and a kit-built "pancake" but in my group I usually play a Floodtone, made by Thomas Flood in Las Vegas. I have only been playing mandolin for a couple of years but I am a retired orchestra director and really enjoy playing multiple instruments.
Don't worry. . . I've always thought of Butler County being part of NW PA! We live south of Butler and about 40 minutes north of Pittsburgh. I am in the middle of my 21st year teaching, which is a long time, but it's a longer time until retirement! Your area isn't too far away, and I'm pretty familiar with it. I'm from Titusville originally and went to Allegheny College for my undergraduate degree. One of my Allegheny roommates was from North Huntingdon. I played a variety of wind instruments in high school and college, but that was decades ago. This is my first foray into a string instrument (other than a year of piano lessons a long time ago). I'm not sure exactly what started me on a mandolin obsession over the last year. It had bounced around my brain for awhile, and then last year my middle child started violin lessons. I guess that gave me the push forward I needed. I bought a Kentucky 160 last February and have been teaching and entertaining myself (and possibly driving the family crazy) with Celtic and old-time pieces. I hope to upgrade the instrument some day, but for now it suits my needs. Perhaps I can seek your advice someday when I am looking for something new! I don't personally know any other mandolin players in the area, but I know there must be! If/when I encounter others, I'll be sure to spread the word! Have a good day! - John
Hey John- if you're from Titusville, are you familiar with HOTAfest? They moved it to Titusville MS for the first time last year and I attended for the first time last year. It's a great time- jams going on all the time, workshops on many different instruments including mandolin. Just a great time. Check out hotafest.org. 2012 will be July 13, 14, 15.
I was not aware of HOTAfest, Don. It's now on our calendar! Thank you so much for that information! - John
Like Leverman I'm a Buckeye. I live in Youngstown, OH. (If you're unfamiliar with Y'Town it's right across the state line from New Castle. I'm about a 70 minute drive from the Pittsburgh Airport). I'm mostly a Blues and Rock guy. Love playing both acoustic & electric mandolin. I am hoping this Social Group will become active. The 'community of interest' for the Ohio group seems to be much more Cincinnati/southwest Ohio oriented. -Ed
Yes Ed, I'm hoping this group takes off as well. It's been slow so far. I feel a bit discouraged. Only 5 members so far. But never having started a group I don't know how long it should take for one to catch on. I've taken over as administrator of the Floodtone group as well. Previous admin sold their Floodtone. It would have been shut down if I hadn't stepped forward. Nobody else volunteered to keep it going. Only 5 members there as well. I am not really interested in a "do nothing" group, so I hope we get some stuff going here or I might need to consider pulling the plug. I have already mentioned HOTAfest. This is for all our group members, and anyone else in our geographical region who is "lurking": 1). Please join! 2). Please tell us about yourselves, your instruments, and your music. 3). and MOST importantly, if you know of any events, jams, etc. in our area where we could get together, please give us the details! On line is fine, but nothing beats meeting live and in person!
I live in Strongsville Ohio south of Cleveland but My family is from Warren Pa and I visit there often
Welcome Teletodd! Thank you for joining our group! I hope to have a face to face opportunity to meet the group- maybe some kind of jam- when the weather gets nicer. Stay tuned, and keep checking in!
Hi everyone. I;m 54 and live in Youngsville, Pa with my wife, which is about 60 miles ESE of Erie, Pa. I play guitar, mandolin, fiddle, bass, banjo and harmonica, though I'm not an expert at any. I am focusing my spare time to mandolin at the moment and am picking it up well. I want to learn more of the songs of our passion....the Civil War. I also enjoy the hornpipes and reels. B readin' ya'll.
puterif- Welcome to our group! Nice to meet another multi-instrumentalist and someone who is interested in Civil War era music! My group is taking a little break from it but we will get back to it I'm sure. Last summer the PA Civil War Road Show stopped here in Meadville and my group played 4 separate concerts during the event- popular, religious, Stephen Foster, and patriotic (both sides). You would have enjoyed it! Please note the post above about HOTAfest this summer. You sound like the kind of person who would enjoy that also. It's in Titusville. I was thinking that might be a good opportunity for a NW PA MC get together.
Hey yinz guys. I am from Armstrong County and up to the 1800s, Clarion CO. was part of Armstrong Co. Found that out researching my husband's father's side of the family. I live about 40 miles NE of Pittsburgh. I am relearning the correct techniques for bowing on my violin. So, in this case i am fairly new, although I had been trying since Nov 2010 to learn, but was so flustered that i more or less gave up until I went to banjo hang out chat. They got me going again, and found a jam group 1/8 mile down my road...I had attended a bluegrass campground there, at the same place. Who knew. Anyway, i had taken a beginners fiddle class, and a beginner mando class. And I fell in love with the mandolin. Especially when I learn a song on one instrument i can transfer it to the other. So I hope this msg finds yinz all with happy fingers!
Joann-Welcome to the group and to the Cafe'! Hopefully you read the information I posted about HOTAfest in Titusville this weekend. It's a great opportunity to catch some beginner level classes. They have mandolin, banjo, and fiddle classes. I hope you can take advantage of that. If not, maybe next year? In any case, welcome!
Thanx multidon! Can't make it this year, but will try and get there next year! i sure would love to take more classes.
