A Three-hour Workshop with Master Bluesman ROY BOOK BINDER

Thursday , October 13, 2005
05:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Elderly Instruments
workshop ($100.00)

It's been over two years since Roy Book Binder has offered one
of his popular Blues-and-Ragtime workshops at Elderly, and we're
glad to have him back to impart more of the musical wisdom he's
gained from the old masters during the last forty-plus years.

Roy began learning his craft in the early 1960s from legendary
blind street singer The Reverend Gary Davis, who was himself
thrust into the national spotlight when his song "If I Had My
Way" was recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary. After traveling the
folk-blues circuit with his mentor for several years, Roy struck
out on his own and soon befriended Pink Anderson, an old
Carolina medicine performer (and the "Pink" half of "Pink
Floyd"), who shared his tricks and talent with Roy.

A teacher as well as a storyteller and performing and recording
artist, Roy has developed and refined his instructional
materials and presentations over the years, always ready,
willing, and able to share what he has learned straight from the
'60s bluesmen and also from the fine old '30s blues masters.

Roy's 3-hour hands-on workshop is intended for
intermediate-level players who have some fingerpicking skill.
Students will learn the licks and tricks of the bluesmasters
from the 1930s on. The "secrets" Roy shares will allow students
and players to spiff up tunes they know and will also be useful
in helping them to play in the traditions of the early bluesmen.
The class will also cover Ragtime Blues, mainly in the keys of C
and G, as well as blues in A. Each student attending the
workshop will be given a free CD by Roy.

Regarding this intermediate-level workshop, Roy is careful to
explain that some of what will be covered during the three-hour
class is available on his Homespun DVDs, which Elderly carries
(in addition to Roy's CDs and Book's Blues Book.) If the
students already know how to play what is on Roy's Homespun
DVDs, "we will move forward from there," he assures us, adding
"Anything 'The Book' knows he will be willing to show you.
Students' wishes come first!"

Roy has been interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air, featured on
the Emmy award-winning segment of the PBS TV series EGG Art in
America, and has appeared over 30 times on Ralph Emory's
highly-regarded TV series Nashville Now. He is included
in The Big Book of Blues and Blues Who's Who. He
has toured with Bonnie Raitt, Hot Tuna, and J. J. Cale, and has
played many festivals, including the National Storytelling
Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the
Chicago Blues Festival, and Merlefest, where he has hosted the
acoustic blues stage for over ten years.

Roy is playing a concert at the Ten Pound Fiddle, Friday,
October 14, at 8 pm, at the U. U. C. on the corner of Grove and
Library in East Lansing.

"His eclectic repertoire includes blues, country tunes,
bluegrass, folk, and popular songs that originated on Tin Pan
Alley....a reflection of his long musical journey through the
rich American cultural landscape of the last half of the 20th
century." - Rich Schneider, Blues Beat Magazine

"It was something to see, all that finger-picking and
burr-throated singing. It makes you believe that this most
ancient of American blues styles was not just being recreated by
Book Binder--no indeed, this man lived those cotton patch, dusty
road, way down home blues." - Bob Claypool, Houston Post

"Book Binder's picking is solid and funky, and his voice has
never sounded better." - E. W., Sing Out!

"Book him. The old Bookeroo sings the blues, and sings 'em real
well." - E. S., Dirty Linen

Check out recordings we carry featuring Roy Book Binder