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Hi Gang,

We were sitting around TG Central with a few folks waiting for flights and some of the extended family trading stories about the last few days, and we started talking about something I hope all who attended will weigh in on.

What were you expecting from IGC 2015, and how did your experience compare to your expectations?

Neil

I'll try to keep this short. I expected to learn more music, better technique, and how to perform with others. I have always wanted to perform. IGC 2015 help me get there. I got on the stage for five songs. Vanessa accompanied me on "Wish You Were Here" and I sang the lyrics. This was a milestone for me. I had never sung in front of people.

The instructors are great. Neil, Vanessa, Dave, and Doug. A shout out to Mr. Bruno for the vocal lessons on the first day.

All the other instructors were great too. I'm talking about all the attendees that shared their talents and knowledge of guitars, and how a bit more out of it every time. The skill level was varied....but everyone fit in and was made to feel welcome which makes for a great learning environment.

All the help from Neil's wonderful family. They did so much work. Your daughters performances were great. Your son as well. All the great food that Nani brought to evening sessions. ( I still have a cookie in my travel bag).

Those late night jams were an unexpected pleasure. Every night magic happened.

I have been fortunate to have some memorable experiences in my life. IGC2015 will be on the high lighted page.

Blue Skies,

Ted Watson

Hi everyone

I've been to 3 IGC's now. Each year the whole experience exceeds my expectations. I love Neil, Nani and their family. They are open arm's and welcoming to all of us, and I feel like we are all part of their extended family.

All of our instructor's, including Jim, Doug, Dave N., Neil, and Vanessa are stellar musicians, singers, and song writers who have all excelled in their field on a professional level. It's amazing that they are willing to come spend four days with all of us to share their knowledge and love of music.

Jim was our newest addition to IGC and taught us how to improve our singing. We all loved him instantly. He is clearly an expert in his field. Once I was able to get past the tongue scraping and mucous thing, I instantly wanted to join Totally Vocal's so that I could learn more about how to improve my voice. Since we all need a goal, mine is to someday sing as well as Corina. (LOL). Well it's always good to have lofty ideals right?

Doug plays guitar beautifully with such precision, and ease, and awesome tone, and makes it all look so easy. He is an expert at alternate tuning, pushing us out of our comfort zone, and chronic standard tuning mode into a whole new dimension.

Dave is guitar, and song writing royalty. He performs all over the world, by himself, as well as with other famous musicians, and writes his own music, with awesome lyrics and melodies. Yet he can also get down in the trenches with us newbies and share all that he knows about music and play along side us as if we were Al Stewart or something. He also happens to be the sweetest guy on earth.

Vanessa is an excellent musician, with the ability to play and teach many different instruments. She is clearly an awesome guitarist, singer, teacher, and performer.

And of course, in my mind Neil is the best of the best. He has not only totally mastered the fine art of guitar playing, but also knows every minute detail of music theory. you can't get away with anything when you're taking lessons from him. :S . He is also a fabulous song writer. And now he has created
the perfect venue for teaching us all that he knows about music thru his TG website.

IGC was excellent again this year, and will hopefully continue for many more years to come.

Last thing is that without all of us students, with a love of music and a passion for learning to play the guitar, the circle would be broken. We don't have to be great, we just need to be present, and willing. We are all an important part of the fabric.we call music.

Sandy

Damn Sandy! Bloody hell mate! where do I sign for the next one. you sure do make it sound like a must do experience.

...one day ...

Thanks for the run down of the things you loved.

M

Dear All: This was my first camp. I did not know what to expect. I enjoyed the experience tremendously. I have always been very nervous about playing in public, but I think that will be less frequent. Everyone was so accepting and kind. I think we all know how it feels to have that Judge that tells you that you are not good enough. One thing that struck me is how great and polished everyone sounded on Saturday night. I made what I hope are long time friends, and I can't say enough good things about the camp. Ditto all the comments regarding Dave, Neil, Vannesa, Doug, and everyone associated with TGC. I hope I can go next year. It was a real privilege to get to know all of you.

John L. from Reno

Hi Michele

I met your collaboration partner in crime, David, at IGC. I loved him. He has that funny British humor, and he made me laugh so much that my face muscles started hurting. He was great fun. I told him that I learned the term bloody hell mate, my favorite Aussie term, from you, and that he needed to talk with you about that. He loved it, Maybe you guys can fit that in somewhere in one of your upcoming songs. It doesn't really have to be about pirates or anything.

Sandy

sandysue wrote:

Hi Michele

I met your collaboration partner in crime, David, at IGC. I loved him. He has that funny British humor, and he made me laugh so much that my face muscles started hurting. He was great fun. I told him that I learned the term bloody hell mate, my favorite Aussie term, from you, and that he needed to talk with you about that. He loved it, Maybe you guys can fit that in somewhere in one of your upcoming songs. It doesn't really have to be about pirates or anything.

Sandy

So David's a hilarious sweetie. Who'd of thunk!

Well you know we love a challenge. I wouldn't be surprised if David comes back from holidays with a new set of lyrics all ready to go.

I don't think he knows about the pirate song. That was a fun time on the forum. I have fond memories of you offering up your skills to provide pirate conversions.

Well you're all definitely making me wish I'd been there with you, which I already did of course.

I'm definitely looking forward to to seeing any videos that find their way onto the forum. I hear you all sang along to the first live performance of Northern Town. Sounds like a hoot!

Thirsty for more stories.

Shel

Hey you lot, cut it out.. I read this stuff too you know... :woohoo:

I had a wonderful time at my first camp, and i love you too SandySue

/ david

Neil wrote:

What were you expecting from IGC 2015, and how did your experience compare to your expectations?

I try not to have specific expectations, other than expecting to enjoy camp. I did.

The workshop format was similar to previous years and worked well. Jim Bruno's vocal sessions were a wonderful surprise - he is an excellent teacher and had us all doing vocal exercises and even believing that we can improve our voices. I expect there will be many new members on Totally Vocals!

Once again, I was amazed at how busy I was during camp, even though each year Neil builds in a little more "free" time for practicing and collaborating, and I did use the extra time that way, but by the end of camp I was worn out - which says to me that I probably got everything out of the experience that I could have.

I was pleasantly surprised at the new accommodations - cottages with living rooms made for even more opportunities to play music together.

The casual breakout sessions at the picnic tables with Dave, Doug, and Neil were a fun addition. (at least I don't recall doing that before).

The mealtime performances were a nice addition. Excellent new opportunity to perform with less pressure.

OK, I guess that was more of a review than an assessment of my expectations.

Lynn

I mainly had rather broad expectations for camp (considering I'm a 1st time IGC-er), and they were to:

1) learn new things (check)
2) gain more experience in playing in front of audiences (check)
3) meet new fellow guitar geeks (check)
4) have fun doing all of it (check)

The only specific unfulfilled expectation that I had was that I thought there was going to be a session with Max Rich, the Totally Electric Guitar guy. Maybe that can be worked out for next year, coupled with a session on lead playing and soloing. This omission however did NOT diminish the awesome experience that I had at camp. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and feel a newly invigorated connection with this community. (Allow me to add "community bonding" to my list [a big check]).

I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank Neil, Vanessa, Dave, Doug and Jim for their instruction, Nani, Lynn, the rest of the Hogan family, and others who contributed in providing a comfortable and hospitable environment for learning, and having fun. All of it made for an awesome experience. (Somehow, "awesome" just doesn't seem to be a big enough word to describe the experience that I had)

I'm already looking forward to next year.

-Victor