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I was only lucky enough to catch Merle live once, at the Fillmore auditorium here in Denver, a pretty darn small venue. If you can believe it, Merle was the opener not the headliner, that was Bob Dylan.

I will agree with the above posters having taken a class from Dennis several times in the past, nothing beats in person learning, especially for hands on type of work. Dennis has a wealth of knowledge on a multitude of subjects. Not many like him to be found.

I've been a fan of Merle since Mama Tried first came across the radio waves to my old blue Ford Ranger. I was 16, as I recall. I wore out every Merle Haggard song I could find after that, and I finally saw him live at the Ryman Theater in Nashville, sometime around 2007 I believe.

Yes, the masters eventually quit playing... and teaching. I'll have to think seriously about whether I can get away for a course. Hopefully sometime before we're all drinking that free bubble up and eating that rainbow stew.

A hundred percent true, the value of hands on is lost.

I'm not necessarily thinking live, but a decent, better yet well captured recording has the huge advantage of replay. But, that's not a new concept, there are many how videos, some better than others.

Sometimes, just a home camcorder set on a tripod is better than nothing. I've mention on other posts watching a video of fellow, now passed on, explain how he made modern damascus barrels and walked through a Holland and Holland commission that didn't quite work out.

I had the chance to attend a woodworking class by a fellow at the top of a specialty that was privately arranged. The fellow did the classes very infrequently then stopped all together, but years later he put out a dvd that is a nice compliment and refresher to the class.

Only thoughts. Some video are like some writings, not quite there, but the next best thing?

I've always been a Dylan fan but also had the good luck to see him together with Merle Haggard in the early 90's. Dylan could hardly be bothered , bur Merle was wonderful. As an addition, anyone here who likes this music needs to see Ken Burn's recent series on the history of country music.

craigd, it sounds like you're suggesting that seeing Merle live, e.g., is a unique experience, not to be confused with watching old concerts on youtube, much less listening to bootlegged recordings.... but also that there's lots of enjoyment to be had from watching the old shows, or even just listening to the songs.

I'm inclined to agree. And I'm sure glad Merle et al put songs to tape before they hung it all up.

I'm under no delusion that one can become a master by watching videos no matter how good they (videos or student) are. But if someone made a master-class gunsmithing video series, I would watch it over and over. And I would do the best that I could to put the knowledge to good use in my shop.

In fact, I've learned all manner of things from video. I even learn from online videos in my professional area of expertise, which is also a hands-on, 'see one, do one, teach one' kind of field.

Nothing can replace time at the bench or table or workshop or wherever the work gets done, but it definitely can supplement it.


All that said, Steven, what are the dates and other information for the course you are teaching in September? Like I said, one of these days....

I�m going to go a bit off in left field, but I�m more a classic rock fan. Just last night, one of my kids, they�re all adults now, was fiddling with the TV and put YouTube on with some forgettable group and song. I searched up �The Weight� from the last waltz. Hadn�t heard it in a while, but good stuff from some folks that�re long gone. I can remember watching that movie at a small college hall when it first came out.

The Last Waltz is off in left field?

Not in my world, I would hate to think of the number of Thanksgiving days I have spent watching it. I have it on DVD and must have seen it at least a hundred times. A great movie but check out the full recordings of the night which are much longer. Love, Love, Love those guys.

Yup, Butterfield, Morrison, heck even Dylan did some timeless performances, though Clapton could�ve put a bit more of a stamp on it. The fellow that shined to me was Helm.

Keeping with the gun theme, a couple years back I was watching the movie �Shooter� and unexpectedly the star shows up at a backwoods gunsmith�s shop. Well how about that, the old coot talking paper patched bullets was Levon Helm, must have been filmed just months before he passed on.

There are a bunch of Jack Rowe segments done in Trinidad you can find on the Brownell's site. They may be on youtube. There are a bunch that Brownell's haven't put together yet. Maybe if enough of us asked they would get them out there.

The September Stockmaking is full up, if I can get by without cancelling. Fellows coming from WA, OR, GA and PA. the great student from PA is quite experienced, one of my all-time best students returning for his third time for advanced work. Karl from OR for his second time as well.

Metal Finishing & Rust Bluing scheduled for June is in question.
I have a committed student in MT coming back, a maybe from the west coast and a "wants to" returning student from CT. Thinking about postponing it until August, but even that is a maybe????????