Next weekend will be a big one for Tom Gray. Not only will the original Seldom Scene bass player be teaching at his first all-day workshop on March 27, he has a CD release concert with his new band that evening.
Tom is one of three instructors at the DC Bass Strummit, along with Jason Moore and Mike Conner, which is being held in conjunction with the first-ever DC Bluegrass Festival in McLean, VA from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Then, he’ll hop over to Lucketts where he’ll perform with Darren Beachley & Legends of the Potomac as they celebrate the release of Takeoff, the band’s debut album on the Patuxent Music label.
When we spoke with Tom yesterday, he expressed some mild regret that both events were being held on the same day.
“I hate that our concert is competing with the festival. I really wish I could have been part of the festival, but that will have to wait for another year.
I’ve done a lot of bass workshops over the years, but never an all day event like this. If we get a bunch of people signed up, it could be really interesting.
I’m always a little apprehensive when I teach – I don’t think of myself as much of a teacher, but it has always worked out. We’ll talk about musical theory… runs between chords… timing… what you have to keep in mind in a band…
Plus I’ll write out some tablature for handouts.”
You can find all the details about the DC Bass Strummit online.
Tom and The Legends will be on the radio Tuesday morning (3/23) with Katy Daley on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country. Katy will play through all the tracks on Takeoff and chat with the guys about the songs. Catch it Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. at www.bluegrasscountry.org.
