Vai Academy 2019

HailHalford said:
I’m in the big group picture (where’s Waldo?) but arrived late to the Fractal Family Foto because Steve’s afternoon session ran long. I don’t think we spoke, but if you were the gentleman walking around with Fremen I definitely saw you. It would have been nice to talk. Maybe next year?
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You are the guy Matt took a picture of and said he would Photoshop you in?

And, yes, Fremen and I hung out together a lot.

I'll probably attend the next Vai camp, but maybe not if it's at that facility... I was not a fan of the venue.
 
unix-guy said:
You are the guy Matt took a picture of and said he would Photoshop you in?

And, yes, Fremen and I hung out together a lot.

I'll probably attend the next Vai camp, but maybe not if it's at that facility... I was not a fan of the venue.
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Not a fan of the facility at all.
 
I try to think of it as this: The experience, the people, and the convenience of the mansion offsets (somewhat!) the crappy service and the rundown facilities. Believe it or not, the GCM was a definite step up from the Asilomar center in California where they did Academy 3.0.
 
Bluestreak said:
I try to think of it as this: The experience, the people, and the convenience of the mansion offsets (somewhat!) the crappy service and the rundown facilities. Believe it or not, the GCM was a definite step up from the Asilomar center in California where they did Academy 3.0.
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Yeah, me too.
 
unix-guy said:
You are the guy Matt took a picture of and said he would Photoshop you in?
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Yes, I was in the take two group with Mr. Nordegg.

unix-guy said:
I'll probably attend the next Vai camp, but maybe not if it's at that facility... I was not a fan of the venue.
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A coffee bar would go a long way. It was a test of wills with the dining room manager to get a cup. Still, any rough edges were flyspecks on a rainbow. I selfishly hope they stay in the area because it’s within driving distance. How else could I bring five guitars with me? 🤓
 
videos ! well, just clips for now, parts where I play that I wanted to show to friends. I'm in an hotel in NY with a terrible connection and an asthmatic laptop so I had to make short videos, and in low quality.

The end of my jam with Steve - glorious moment for me, I just wish my guitar tone wasn't bare bone dry as I really needed delay & reverb for the lyrical style I chose to express myself with. I was also very nervous : I was travelling since 15 days without any guitar, so my fingers were in bad shape, and I picked that green guitar from Sam Ash - which had a small store there - a few hours earlier and didn't even plugged it into an amp before hitting the stage with Vai. So I discovered its sound for the first time in front of him, which just added to the scare factor




Andy Timmons is my favorite player so it was an immense joy to play with him - even if he was on the drums, not the guitar !




Jamming with Larry Mitchell and @unix-guy



I will upload the full videos, in high quality and with some editing (cropping etc.), when I'll be back in Mauritius. I will also make a lenghty post about how awesome that experience was for me
 
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fremen said:
videos ! well, just clips for now, parts where I play that I wanted to show to friends. I'm in an hotel in NY with a terrible connection and an asthmatic laptop so I had to make short videos, and in low quality.

The end of my jam with Steve - glorious moment for me, I just wish my guitar tone wasn't bare bone dry as I really needed delay & reverb for the lyrical style I chose to express myself with. I was also very nervous : I was travelling since 15 days without any guitar, so my fingers were in bad shape, and I picked that green guitar from Sam Ash - which had a small store there - a few hours earlier and didn't even plugged it into an amp before hitting the stage with Vai. So I discovered its sound for the first time in front of him, which just added to the scare factor




Andy Timmons is my favorite player so it was an immense joy to play with him - even if he was on the drums, not the guitar !




Jamming with Larry Mitchell and @unix-guy



I will upload the full videos, in high quality and with some editing (cropping etc.), when I'll be back in Mauritius. I will also make a lenghty post about how awesome that experience was for me
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Just in case you didn't know, the bassist and drummer we were playing with used to be in the band Scatterbrain!

Don't Call Me Dude! :)
 
This was my first Vai Academy. It did not disappoint. It was great meeting a bunch of Fractal fans and even better jamming with a couple!

@Admin M@ is really a great ambassador for Fractal and does a remarkable job of presenting things in a down-to-earth manner. The jams that @Larry Mitchell held each night were a blast. I managed to attend a number of his break out sessions as well which were really well done. Andy Timmons was superb - both playing and his break out sessions as well. The master classes and jams with Steve, Joe, Larry, Andy, Plini, and Devin were of course fantastic.

Getting to play I Wish with Steve Vai and his band is hard to describe - such a special personal moment.

I think it's important to note just how awesome playing with Steve was. Philip Bynoe or Dave Weiner greet you and give you a warm welcome to the stage (depending on which side you lined up on). Steve then comes over to introduce himself and talk to you about what to play. Once you work out what you're playing, Steve and the band join in or start (depending on what you do). Steve is seriously focused on what you are doing and finds a way to compliment you no matter what it is. Some folks were great players, some were beginners. It didn't matter. Steve and the band delivered for everybody. Most jams were 3-5 minutes. With a few folks that were struggling, Steve spent even more time to make sure they had the same wonderful experience as anyone else. The patience, grace, enthusiasm, and professionalism demonstrated by Steve and the band was truly remarkable. They played with at least 50 people each night until 1-1:30am (after starting at 8pm).

But the highlight of the show for me was something that I think exemplifies the spirit of the whole event. There was a woman there that had not been playing guitar very long. Her husband was a big fan but had passed away about a year ago. So she was there honoring her husband's passion. During one of Andy's sessions, he performed a brilliant piece and dedicated it to the memory of her husband. Later I saw her perform at Larry's jam. He made sure she got to shine as much as anyone else there - he had her grooving and her face lit up with pure joy that is hard to describe. I did not see her performance with Steve but based on how he treated everyone else, I can only imagine that he made her feel like a rock star.
 
hippietim said:
This was my first Vai Academy. It did not disappoint. It was great meeting a bunch of Fractal fans and even better jamming with a couple!

@Admin M@ is really a great ambassador for Fractal and does a remarkable job of presenting things in a down-to-earth manner. The jams that @Larry Mitchell held each night were a blast. I managed to attend a number of his break out sessions as well which were really well done. Andy Timmons was superb - both playing and his break out sessions as well. The master classes and jams with Steve, Joe, Larry, Andy, Plini, and Devin were of course fantastic.

Getting to play I Wish with Steve Vai and his band is hard to describe - such a special personal moment.

I think it's important to note just how awesome playing with Steve was. Philip Bynoe or Dave Weiner greet you and give you a warm welcome to the stage (depending on which side you lined up on). Steve then comes over to introduce himself and talk to you about what to play. Once you work out what you're playing, Steve and the band join in or start (depending on what you do). Steve is seriously focused on what you are doing and finds a way to compliment you no matter what it is. Some folks were great players, some were beginners. It didn't matter. Steve and the band delivered for everybody. Most jams were 3-5 minutes. With a few folks that were struggling, Steve spent even more time to make sure they had the same wonderful experience as anyone else. The patience, grace, enthusiasm, and professionalism demonstrated by Steve and the band was truly remarkable. They played with at least 50 people each night until 1-1:30am (after starting at 8pm).

But the highlight of the show for me was something that I think exemplifies the spirit of the whole event. There was a woman there that had not been playing guitar very long. Her husband was a big fan but had passed away about a year ago. So she was there honoring her husband's passion. During one of Andy's sessions, he performed a brilliant piece and dedicated it to the memory of her husband. Later I saw her perform at Larry's jam. He made sure she got to shine as much as anyone else there - he had her grooving and her face lit up with pure joy that is hard to describe. I did not see her performance with Steve but based on how he treated everyone else, I can only imagine that he made her feel like a rock star.
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That's a great Story, sounds like a good experience for all.
 
hippietim said:
But the highlight of the show for me was something that I think exemplifies the spirit of the whole event. There was a woman there that had not been playing guitar very long. Her husband was a big fan but had passed away about a year ago. So she was there honoring her husband's passion. During one of Andy's sessions, he performed a brilliant piece and dedicated it to the memory of her husband. Later I saw her perform at Larry's jam. He made sure she got to shine as much as anyone else there - he had her grooving and her face lit up with pure joy that is hard to describe. I did not see her performance with Steve but based on how he treated everyone else, I can only imagine that he made her feel like a rock star.
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I was not crying! :sob:

I totally agree with you. That was a special moment for sure and I'm glad I was able to be there to be part of it.

The lady in question is named Mary... I was already a bit familiar with her from a post she had made on the Vai Academy Facebook group. She is a sweet and friendly person and was part of a small gathering of attendees (that started with myself, @fremen, @Dale LeClaire and @shawnb) there while waiting for event registration to begin.

The song Andy played was On Your Way Sweet Soul.
 
hippietim said:
This was my first Vai Academy. It did not disappoint. It was great meeting a bunch of Fractal fans and even better jamming with a couple!

@Admin M@ is really a great ambassador for Fractal and does a remarkable job of presenting things in a down-to-earth manner. The jams that @Larry Mitchell held each night were a blast. I managed to attend a number of his break out sessions as well which were really well done. Andy Timmons was superb - both playing and his break out sessions as well. The master classes and jams with Steve, Joe, Larry, Andy, Plini, and Devin were of course fantastic.

Getting to play I Wish with Steve Vai and his band is hard to describe - such a special personal moment.

I think it's important to note just how awesome playing with Steve was. Philip Bynoe or Dave Weiner greet you and give you a warm welcome to the stage (depending on which side you lined up on). Steve then comes over to introduce himself and talk to you about what to play. Once you work out what you're playing, Steve and the band join in or start (depending on what you do). Steve is seriously focused on what you are doing and finds a way to compliment you no matter what it is. Some folks were great players, some were beginners. It didn't matter. Steve and the band delivered for everybody. Most jams were 3-5 minutes. With a few folks that were struggling, Steve spent even more time to make sure they had the same wonderful experience as anyone else. The patience, grace, enthusiasm, and professionalism demonstrated by Steve and the band was truly remarkable. They played with at least 50 people each night until 1-1:30am (after starting at 8pm).

But the highlight of the show for me was something that I think exemplifies the spirit of the whole event. There was a woman there that had not been playing guitar very long. Her husband was a big fan but had passed away about a year ago. So she was there honoring her husband's passion. During one of Andy's sessions, he performed a brilliant piece and dedicated it to the memory of her husband. Later I saw her perform at Larry's jam. He made sure she got to shine as much as anyone else there - he had her grooving and her face lit up with pure joy that is hard to describe. I did not see her performance with Steve but based on how he treated everyone else, I can only imagine that he made her feel like a rock star.
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This is a wonderful report on your experience there. And along with the other posts shared by those who attended, the rest of us are getting a nice sense of what it must have been like. Thanks to all for sharing.
 
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