NEWS + UPDATES
Blues on the Loose Mini-Fest Workshops
May 16, 2024
Music Yukon and Jazz Yukon proudly present Blues on the Loose Mini-Fest Workshops!
Taking place on Monday, June 10th and Tuesday, June 11th at The Guild Hall and hosted by Carlos Del Junco and Brandon Isaak. You won’t want to miss out! Read all about them below!
The recommended fee is $40 per workshop, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds – a lower amount is welcome with no questions asked. Offers over $40 will help offset the costs for other participants or go toward future workshops opportunities in our community.
Catch Brandon and Carlos perform live at Blues on the Loose Mini-Fest on June 6 & 7 at the Old Fire hall. Click here for tickets!
WORKSHOPS:
Songwriting with Brandon Isaak
Monday, June 10th, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
The Theatre at The Guild Hall
We’ll look at writing blues lyrics, how to approach them, how to add music to your composition and the process of creating a great blues song. Keeping it simple and the process of writing better and stronger lyrics. This writing can be applied to any style of music, not just the blues. All music styles welcome from beginner to advanced.
Maximum of 8 participants. Secure your seat on Eventbrite now!
Advanced Beginner/Intermediate Harmonica with Carlos del Junco
Monday, June 10th, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
The Other Room at The Guild Hall
For Advanced Beginner/Intermediate players. (Based on Adam Gussow’s website and description of levels of playing ability. See link).
You’ll need at least a C harmonica. You have some fundamental mastery with getting clean single notes with air leaking into other holes.
We’ll review fundamentals of proper technique with an ear to understanding what good tone is and why it is key before diving further into advancing your playing. This could be either with a tongue block style or a pucker style. Both techniques totally valid and both are worth knowing. We’ll work on the minutia of what good bending technique is about and understanding the nuances of your embouchure to shape different notes. How to tune your ear to the note you want to play by humming a note or playing it on a keyboard (or virtual keyboard on your phone or laptop). We’ll learn some basic licks in second position and if time allows look at the breakdown of a 12-bar blues in second position. I encourage you to record the lesson with your phone.
Maximum of 8 participants. Secure your seat on Eventbrite now.
There will also be some limited opportunities for private lessons with Carlos while he is in town ($80/hr).
For questions about the Harmonica workshops or for info on private lessons, you may contact jean@jeanlanglois.ca.
Shades of the Blues Guitar with Brandon Isaak
Tuesday, June 11th, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
The Theatre at The Guild Hall
This class will look at different styles of the blues and how to play them. From Chicago to Texas to Mississippi to swing and country blues. This workshop will be for beginner to advanced and a great primer course for all kinds of blues.
Maximum of 8 participants. Secure your seat on Eventbrite now.
Intermediate/Advanced Harmonica with Carlos del Junco
Monday, June 10th, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
The Other Room at The Guild Hall
For Intermediate/Advanced Intermediate players. (Based on Adam Gussow’s website and description of levels of playing ability. See link).
You’ll need at least a C harmonica, and hopefully an A and a G harp as well. If you are this advanced, my hunch is you already own more than one harmonica!
Furthering on the fundamentals of the Monday workshop, we’ll start to apply those ideas to understanding very basic music theory and why it’s so valuable to helping your journey in playing better over a 12-bar blues. We’ll stick mainly to playing in 2nd position, and briefly look at 3rd position too. Learning the basic scales used in these blues progressions and the chord tones as well and how to play them. Also, if time allows, I’ll be giving a brief introduction into the amazing software program “Transcribe!” I use all the time to help me learn different solos by ear.
Maximum of 8 participants. Secure your seat on Eventbrite now.
MORE:
About Brandon Isaak:
“Brandon Isaak’s original blues songs ring with authenticity and wit and his singing, guitar and harmonica playing are the living spirit of the best of the blues today! I consider Brandon to be a national treasure!”
– Jack Lavin – “Powder Blues”
4 x 2024 Maple Blues Award nominee for Songwriter of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Acoustic Act of the Year and Recording/Producer of the Year and 2 x Juno Award nominee including for the 2024 Blues Album of the Year.
A dash of Taj Mahal, a sprinkle of B.B. King and a few drops of Lighting Hopkins: stir it up, simmer on low and you have a recipe that sounds like Brandon Isaak.
This Yukon-born songster performs a mixture of thoughtful, humorous, spiritual and catchy memorable songs; always delivered with world-class guitar, harmonica and vocals. Lyrics are paramount and it’s obvious when you see his accolades and hear his music. After 35 years in the business, this international touring artist is always approachable and a total pro off and on the stage. Brandon has played with some of his favourite musicians and main influences such as Guy Davis, Taj Mahal, Colin Linden, Serena Ryder, The Sojourners and Jim Byrnes as well as electric greats like Jeff Healy, Joe Louse Walker, Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne and Chicago Blues Diva Zora Young.
Long-time clinician for the annual Hornby Island Blues Workshop. Brandon’s courses this April/May sold out in an hour!
https://brandonisaak1.bandcamp.com
About Carlos del Junco:
To say he plays the harmonica is like saying “Jimi Hendrix plays guitar”. He blows the blues harp through a prism — suddenly it seems he’s holding every color in the musical rainbow right there in his hands.
Playing a ten-hole diatonic harmonica, Carlos has developed the unique ability to play chromatically by using a recently developed “overblow” technique taught to him by jazz virtuoso Howard Levy. Carlos is one of the few pioneers of this overblow method, bringing musical credibility to what has still been considered by many in the music industry – a fringe folk instrument. His playing blurs the boundaries between blues and jazz (hence the name for his band “The Blues Mongrels”). While his emphasis is on blues, but Carlos is not afraid to traipse off in other directions delivering a seamless fusion of New Orleans second-line grooves, swing, Latin, hip-hop or ska melodies, to swampy roots rock.
https://www.carlosdeljunco.com
https://carlosdeljunco.bandcamp.com/album/blues-etc
ABOUT BLUES ON THE LOOSE:
This is your chance to up your songwriting, blues guitar and harmonica game with true masters. Visit jazzyukon.ca for more information.
The one and only Yukon favourite son Brandon Isaak, a celebrated songwriter, multi-instrumental and international touring and multi-award winning artist, with an affinity for sharing and a love for teaching the blues.
Carlos del Junco is not only a multi-award-winning performer, he is also a dedicated teacher with over 30 years of experience teaching harmonica. There are two workshops, described below. To figure out which level is right for you refer to modernbluesharmonica.com. Unfortunately, there is no workshop for early beginners.
