What is "WoodSpock" and how did it evolve?  Well, it's a bit of a story, so sit back and relax and let me try to explain it to you.  It all starts with a progressive rock band called Spock's Beard.   If you like good music, check them out - you'll be glad you did.

Spock's Beard has an active online community of fans that regularly participate in their forum (also known as "message board").  Over the last 5 years a very tight friendship has developed among the regular members of the Spock's Beard message board.  We are people from all over the world and from all walks of life.  We come from different backgrounds, different cultures, and different places, but one thing remains constant across our entire group: We are friends.  Good friends.  And we LOVE music!

It should not come as a surprise that many of us also happen to be musicians.  There are even several musicians of professional or near professional caliber.  The styles of music represented by our tastes run the gamut from Classical, to Death Metal, to Blues, Jazz, Rock, Glam, Punk, Noise, and everything else you could possibly think of.  Suffice it to say that when it comes to music, if you want information on bands, styles, theory....really anything pertaining to music, the Spock's Beard message board is a fantastic place to get the information you seek.

For several years, we had talked about getting together for an "East Coast" jam session, but the idea never really took off.   People were either busy or already had plans or couldn't afford to take any time off from work.  But this year, things were different.  As soon as the idea was mentioned, a bunch of people said "Yes!" and before we knew what was happening, FlamJam (Rich) and Garysauer (Gary), two message board members who live very close to each other in Pennsylvania, offered to host the two-day bash, one day at each house.

The plan was to have the outdoors portion of the party on Saturday at Rich's house, then we'd have an indoor jam session on Sunday at Gary's house.  Mother Nature had a different plan.  Hurricane Ernesto necessitated the change of plans to Saturday being at Gary's place and Sunday being at Rich's.  In the end, it all worked out PERFECTLY!

The party and jam session at Gary's house on Saturday was terrific.  It was my first time meeting some of the best friends I have ever made.  It is somehow strange to think that I consider these people my good friends, despite the fact that most of us have only met a single time in person.  But it is true that they are my friends.  Good friends.  Great friends!  And both parties only served to verify the fact that the people with whom I converse on the Spock's Beard message board on a daily basis are the best friends I've ever had in my life.  I could not possibly put a value on these friendships.  They are a priceless thing of beauty.

Gary and his wife Linda are two of the nicest people I have ever encountered anywhere.   I was, in fact, amazed at their kindness, generosity and hospitality.  It is not a small thing to open your home to a dozen or more people you don't know and have never met.  So I am particularly amazed and humbled by the kindness and trust that Linda and Teresa (Rich's wife) displayed this Labor Day weekend.   Gary and Rich are lucky guys.

The food, the company, the music, the camaraderie....everything at Gary's house on Saturday night was just as good as it gets.  To see Gary (who has kindly played drums on some of my recordings) playing drums was amazing.  I have never seen anyone play the drums as skillfully as Gary does, while making it look as easy as signing your name on something.  Gary is a tremendously talented drummer and he's pretty damned good with a gas grill too!

Sunday at Rich's house was everything I had hoped for and more!

When Hurricane Ernesto washed out Saturday, I was concerned that the party on Sunday would be washed out as well, but luckily, the storm clouds cleared and we had a very nice day for the party!

So, the bash at Rich's house on Sunday was a smashing success!  It started out with Rich and his friends doing some Classic Rock covers.  See the Audio/Video link above for more details.