Most people don’t even know about the four-string cousin of the six-string guitars that seem to dominate the world of music, but Mark Josephs intends to change all that. He’s the president of the Tenor Guitar Foundation, and he wants to invite you to a party. The Tenor Guitar Gathering he started in Astoria, Oregon, in 2009 is now five years old and better than ever.
The 5th Annual Tenor Guitar Gathering (TGG5 for short) takes place June 5-8, 2014 in that same scenic northwest corner of the state.
The event includes four evenings of concerts by over a dozen tenor guitar virtuosos from all over the country and two days of workshops. Build your own cigar box guitar. Enjoy a fiddle jam finale on Sunday night. Learn Nick Reynolds tuning (taught by son, Josh Reynolds). You can play music on The Trolley and radio station KMUN, and more. You don’t even have to know how to play tenor guitar; all instruments are welcome.
Collage of all of the performers (from left to right); CARL ALLEN, THE LION SONS, STEPHEN SCHAUER, EZ MARC POSCHMAN, JEAN MANN, TOM MOLYNEAUX, MARK JOSEPHS, PAT MAC SWYNEY, TIM MAY, PROF DOUGLAS FARSER, JOHN LAWLOR, ERICH SYLVESTER
So just what IS the big deal anyway? Josephs, a fine musician himself, answers that question. “The big deal is the big full sound and the beautiful orchestral voicings,” he says. “What started out with me as a mild curiosity about the instrument has blossomed into a much greater appreciation. The more I learn about the instrument and get to know some of the people who play them, the more enthusiastic I get.” He says the same thing happens to people who attend his event. Once they discover it, they return year after year. Most tenor players live in a vacuum. It’s exciting to get together with others who love this often overlooked instrument, perfect for those who don’t like to just follow along with the crowd. “That's part of the charm of being a tenor guitar player,” Josephs stresses. “Not everyone plays one ... yet! It's still a novelty, a rarity. Tenor guitar players want to meet others who share their passion for the instrument, and the general public has a growing curiosity about these little guitars.”
Tenor Guitar Gatherers from last year's Gathering at the end of "Playing on The Trolley" which has become a yearly tradition.
He thinks it’s only a matter of time before Astoria becomes the undisputed, official, tenor guitar capital of the world. He compared it to the beach town in Southern California that was legally granted the title of “Surf City.” Time will tell, but Joseph doesn't consider that notion any more outlandish that his original idea of a Tenor Guitar Gathering. Now it’s five years old and better than ever. This year it features over a dozen world class players. “They’re making the long trek to the holy city of Astoria, to witness the four day tenor guitar extravaganza, the only one of it's kind anywhere,” Josephs says, “and that is pretty much the draw.” Feeling drawn? For details go to the Tenor Guitar Foundation's website. Or, check the event's Facebook page. And while you're at it, please visit the Facebook page for Good Life Northwest. I hope you will "like" them both. Thanks!
All photos provided by Mark Josephs and used with permission.
Six-string guitars dominate music these days, so four-string tenor guitars and the musicians who play them don't get the attention they deserve. Mark Josephs, an accomplished musician himself, on both guitar and harmonica, wanted to change that. His love of the instrument and his awareness of some outstanding players inspired him to launch an annual four-day weekend event called the Tenor Guitar Gathering. It will take place in Astoria, Oregon, May 30 – June 2, 2013, for the fourth time, using the acronym TGG4.
Mark Josephs, founder of the Tenor Guitar Gathering
“What we try to do is have a really fun event that is extremely inexpensive,” Josephs said, “and this year we have so many tenor guitar players that we couldn’t put them all in one night.”
If you’ve never heard of a tenor guitar you’re about to
meet a special member of the stringed instrument family, a member with a small
but fiercely loyal fan base. Tenors are nothing new; they’ve been around for
about a century. Like tenor banjos—widely used in traditional 1920s and ‘30s
jazz—tenor guitars have only four strings, instead of the usual six. They are
tuned in fifths, using the notes
C-G-D-A. But if you think that means they’re two strings short of being a real guitar, or only two-thirds as
musical, think again. Listen to John Lawlor as he shows how great a tenor guitar can sound.
In 2010, Josephs and his wife, Karen, bought a home in this
historic town, located in Oregon’s extreme northwest corner, where natural
forces of the mighty Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean meet. It seemed the perfect
setting for the birthplace of his idea.
“Walking around the quaint town of Astoria, pop 10,000, I
thought it would be a great place to have the world's first tenor guitar
gathering,” Josephs told me. “No one else seemed to be able to get one off the
ground, so I decided to throw a party and see who would attend.”
Fortunately for him, he’d landed in a town that embraced his quirky idea and radiated plenty of positive energy that kept him going. One individual, in particular, proved to be a great supporter. Gordon ‘Gordo’Styler owned a local business called the Astoria Guitar Company. When approached with the idea of hosting the gathering there, Styler enthusiastically agreed. “He was also a beloved volunteer programmer on local radio station KMUN,” Josephs said. Without his help, the first three gatherings (TGG1, TGG2, and TGG3) never would have happened. Sadly, shortly after TGG3, Styler died. This year’s event is dedicated to him.
Josephs said, "Gordo's brother, Bill Styler, a
guitar builder, has caught the bug and has built some of the most unique tenor
guitars in the world, due to hearing about TGG1 and attending TGG2. Bill will
be at TGG4 and is a very strong supporter of the annual event." Here's video of Josephs playing Bill Styler's unique double-neck electric tenor guitar, the first in the world.
Gordo Styler would have loved TGG4, because each
gathering ends up bigger and better than the one before. Attendees enjoy
features like no-cover lunch concerts at Clemente’s Restaurant and TheBridgewater Bistro, jam sessions (one of which is on a trolley), workshops
taught by some of the world’s best tenor players, an all-day tenor guitar
luthier exhibit in the banquet room of the Rogue Ales Public House, two outstanding
evening concerts, and much more. And anyone who attends will see more tenor
guitars than they’ve ever seen in their life.
EZ Marc Poschman with his National
The Astor Street Opry Company, a non-profit community
performing arts organization, offers their theater for AN EVENING OF TENOR GUITARS,
which turned into two evenings this year. Different artists will perform on
each night, from 7 p.m. until around 10 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Tickets
are only $15 for one night or $25 for both. That’s truly a bargain price for a
total of 13 acts. Part of the proceeds will go to local radio station KMUN and
the Astor Street Opry Company.
“I’m excited to have John Lawlor flying out from the
East Coast,” he said. “I haven’t seen him in about 30 years, and I consider him
to be one of the greatest jazz tenor guitar players.” Josephs grew up in
Atlantic City, New Jersey and met Lawlor there. He shared his memories with me:
“Around
1970 or so I met up with John Lawlor, from Philly, who came to the shore to
play with his brother Jim, a drummer. They called themselves The Lawlor
Brothers, and John played a four string tenor guitar tuned CGDA. I was maybe 23
and John was maybe 20. I had never seen a tenor guitar, or heard of one. John
was my first introduction to the instrument, and I was curious (still am) about
all musical instruments. What impressed me about John's playing was that he
could play anything—old time, swing, Cream, Hendrix. And I heard the voicing, so
different from my six string guitar.”
Lowell
“Banana” Levenger of the band The Youngbloods is another amazing musician who
plays tenor guitar. (Read an interview here.)Josephs called him “an incredible musician’s
musician.” Levenger plays piano, six string guitar, and an Italian-made five-string
tenor guitar with an extra string tuned a fifth below. “In fact,” Josephs said,
“on their big hit song Get Together he actually played guitar, not Jesse
Cullum Young.
In
addition to Lawlor and Levenger, the lineup includes Josh Reynolds (son of NickReynolds of the Kingston Trio) with a band called The Lion Sons, plus The
Renegade Stringband, Myshkin, Jean Mann, The Quiet American, Professor Douglas
Fraser, EZ Marc Poschman, Jack Ponting
(friend of Nick Reynolds), Tom Molyneaux, Carl Allen, Mark Josephs, and others.
The Lion Sons - Mike Marvin, Josh Reynolds, Tim Gorelangton - keeping the spirit of Nick Reynolds, The Kingston Trio and the tenor guitar alive and well!
The Tenor Guitar Gathering isn’t even five years old yet, but it has quickly grown from the low-key event Josephs first created to the point of needing more structure. In 2012, he formed the Tenor Guitar Foundation, a non-profit organization with a six member board of directors and the slogan “Fostering Musicianship Four Strings at a Time.” Josephs is president. They also started a Tenor Guitar Hall of Fame.
My
advice? Order your tickets for TGG4 now. I have a feeling they will go quickly,
and by next year the word will have spread so far you might be lucky to get tickets
at all. Don’t miss the chance to experience part of guitar history and meet
some of the people who helped write it. Someday, when this event is famous, you
can say, “I was there back in the years when it all began.”
Now, for your enjoyment, I've included more videos demonstrating why tenor guitars deserve a special gathering to honor them.
And here are interesting posts about tenor guitar from Michael Steinman's "Jazz Lives" blog, loaded with videos.
