Instructor: Doug Cox
Tuesday, July 30 – Friday, August 2, 2019, 9am – 3:30pm each day
Fee: $476 + GST
Deposit: $119 + GST
Intro to Roots Guitar (Americana, Country, Blues, Bluegrass and Beyond)
Doug will be teaching his 'Intro to Roots Guitar' Class that features loads of fun learning techniques and skills on the acoustic guitar. Topics we will touch on will include;
- 5 things you can do with your right hand (this includes intros to flatpicking, bass thumping, alternate thumb, brush stroke & string grabbing. We will be learning at least one song that features each of these techniques)
- Intro to Open Tunings
- Intro to Slide Guitar
- Ear Training
- Chord Shapes & Theory
- Rhythm Guitar
- Understanding the Guitar Neck
- Intro to Melodic lead playing.
The focus of this class will be to have a good time while learning more about roots music and your musical self. Less talking and more playing! Students should be able to play through their basic chords fast enough to get through a song in order to be comfortable.
Doug Cox Bio
There are world musicians, and there are musicians of the world. In the case of Alberta-born Doug Cox, this extremely talented six-stringer happens to be both. As a young bluesman, this devotee of all-things-with-frets-and-strings had a life-transforming moment over 30 years ago when he first picked up the Dobro. That eerie, slightly plangent music resonated deep in his soul and changed everything.
Always a gifted guitarist, Doug immediately displayed a special affinity for this most expressive of instruments. His talent and passion proved nearly boundless, and before long he was playing and recording with masters such as Ellen McIlwaine and David Essig. Eventually his musical world expanded to include such diverse virtuosos as Indian slide guitarists Vishwa Mohan and Salil Bhatt, Folk Singer/Actor Ronny Cox, dearly departed bluesman Long John Baldry, guitar slinger Amos Garrett, Songwriter Chuck Brodsky and expat Rwandan The Mighty Popo. His own bands and solo recordings display a similarly expansive arc, as the folk-blues of Bone Bottle Brass or Steel eventually led to old-timey supergroup Strung (Band of Gypsies – with Tony McManus and April Verch), New Orleans funk (Make A Better World – featuring John Boutte on Vocals), or countrified Austin Americana in company with BettySoo (Across The Borderline).
Doug has earned innumerable raves, from the BBC’s Bob Harris to magazines such as Guitar Player, he has long been an in-demand player on the Dobro, mandolin, Weissenborn, and the National Steel. His music has been featured on many film and TV soundtracks, including Terry Gilliam's Tideland, A&E's Biography, Coyote Ugly, Steven Seagals: Lawman, Auction Kings, Breaking Amish, Call of the Wildman, Chasing Classic Cars, Anothony Bourdain's No Reservations and TV's Duck Dynasty.
Doug was the first featured Dobro player ever booked by the Montreal Jazz Festival, and the first Canadian invited to play Dobrofest in Trnava in Slovakia, a unique festival set in the birthplace of the Dopyera brothers, the men who invented the Dobro nearly a century ago.
Either as solo performer or as guest artist, or when touring with longtime friends and colleagues, Doug embodies inventiveness and breathtaking musicality. Whether the performance calls for rootsy Americana, New Acoustic, or traditional blues with an African twist, Doug is an intuitive and gracious musical collaborator.
And more than just a performer, Doug is deeply embedded in the entire world of music. Aside from regularly teaching at music camps in Alaska, Texas, and England, he ran his own Malahat Mountain Music label for years and still produces records for the many musical friends he has made along his journey. He is also the producer and artistic director of Vancouver Island MusicFest, which is closing in on its 24th year and has long been one of Canada’s most popular and respected music events.
In 2017, Doug was inducted into the BC Music Hall of Fame as a Pioneer Star for his extensive body of work as a musician and producer. In 2018, he was awarded a place on the Comox Valley Walk of Fame and guested on the Grammy Nominated album by Los Texmaniacs, Cruzando Borders.
Currently, Doug is working with his new trio called Primary Colours (with Kim Richey and Linda McRae) and is planning a new CD with American blues master, Mary Flower.
Doug's worked hard on his art and his craft, and you can hear it when he plays. You can also see it, in the names of the artists he's making music with and the places he's played and when you read between those lines, you know he's earned the respect of his peers and a lot of very happy listeners. He is a catalyst among musicians and artists for many fascinating collaborations.
What a long, strange – and delightful – trip it continues to be!
Special Events included with Tuition:
Monday, July 29, 7pm: Student Welcome Reception, IMA Gallery (2323 Pooley Street) – Meet your instructor and pick up your student information packages.
Tuesday, July 30, 5:30pm: Student BBQ, School, free for students
Wednesday, July 31, 8pm: Instructor Concert – Sunset Theatre, $20, free for students
Friday, August 2, 6pm: ArtsWells Festival Opening
The ArtsWells Festival Of All Things Art runs from Friday, August 2 – Monday, August 5, 2019 and features over 100 musical acts on 10 stages throughout Wells and Barkerville. See www.artswells.com for details. Consider sticking around after your workshop!
IMA students also receive free admission to Barkerville Historic Town and many discounts to local businesses.