This workshop will explore techniques, grooves and runs in different keys using archetypal songs and how they’re applied throughout the Blues canon. The focus will be on the keys of G, C, D, E, & A with songs from Julius Daniels, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Blind Blake and more. Notepad and recorder recommended.
Instructor Bio
Frank Fotusky plays acoustic blues in the style reminiscent of the great East Coast “Piedmont” players such as Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Boy Fuller, John Jackson, and Blind Willie McTell, to name a few. A majority of his material is culled from the 1920’s, ’30’s and ’40’s and acoustic blues and guitar rags are the foundation of his music. Along with this repertoire, his original compositions are rooted in this era and still carry a contemporary feel. East Coast or “Piedmont Blues,” consists of sophisticated syncopation with fingerpicked guitar. The result is a sound that resembles that of the ragtime piano. Frank has performed with Virginia Bluesman John Jackson, Paul Geremia, Roy Book Binder, Hubert Sumlin, Buddy Guy, and has been festival headliner in his own right.
Frank) offers a sparkling guitar sound on fine Piedmont-style blues and rags….Fotusky’s clean fingering draws you in and projects the music, which would be somber in other hands, out.” –Blues Access
“Frank understands and plays the music authentically” – Tom Olson, Blues Connection
“This is a player that would be welcomed on any porch, front or back!” – Big City Blues
“The release of Frank Fotusky’s second CD, ‘Meet Me In the Bottom,’ only confirms what many of us have known for years: that Frank is one of the premier acoustic blues stylists in the nation. Frank has studied the masters—from Rev. Gary Davis and Blind Willie McTell to Robert Johnson and Bo Carter—but he’s no mere imitator. His inventive arrangements, splendid picking and soulful singing make for the complete blues package.” – Ian Zack, author of “Say No To The Devil: The Life and Musical Genius of Rev. Gary Davis