Monthly Meeting Recap and News for December 2024

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Greetings guitar fans,

Welcome to this month’s newsletter. Read below for a recap of our last meeting and upcoming guitar-related events, as well as a harrowing tail of deceit and detective work!

The Monthly Meeting

We had a large crowd and a lot of seasonal music in the air on Thursday.

PROGRAM

Arturo Ville – White Christmas, Jingle Bells, Silver Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Feliz Navidad

Arturo’s students from Grants Pass High School – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Silent Night, Deck the Halls

~ Short break ~

Steve & Marge Bismarck – Waltz of the Flowers (Tchaikovsky), I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Silent Night

Preston Allin – Two original compositions

John Swinnerton – Staffordshire (original)

Richard McGrath – Dust in the Wind (Kerry Livgren), Silent Night

Brian Parris – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (The Animals), Silver Lining (David Gray), When I Call Your Name (Vince Gill)

~ Intermission ~

Mary La & Grant Ruiz (LaRui Duo) – Carol of the Bells, Feliz Navidad

Grant Ruiz & Dan Fellman (Canto Sol) – Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, Christmas Time is Here, Let it Snow

Announcements

Grant will play solo guitar at Trium Wines in Talent this Friday, December 20 from 5 to 7pm.

Dan and Grant (Canto Sol) will play at the Medford Armory Christmas Faire (1701 S. Pacific Hwy.) on December 20 from 11am to 1pm, and at Liquid Lounge in Ashland on Friday, January 10 from 7 to 9pm. They’ll have copies of their new, eponymous CD with them for sale.

May you all have a wonderful New Year with lots of great guitar music.

Membership news

We’re close to reaching our fundraising goal. Please keep an eye out for a special message with one more chance to make a tax deductible donation by the end of the year. Or you can donate right here!

During the meeting, paid members voted on changing the Articles of Incorporation per a previous email sent to them by the board of directors. With 27 members present, 26 voted “yay”, 0 voted “nay”, with one abstention. With this vote, the motion to change the articles was passed.

A cautionary tale and PSA

A person who went by the name Tommy Groddard recently emailed Grant, asking Grant to play for his wedding at his house in Ashland. The request included the amount of time to be spent playing but nothing about music selection, which was odd. The client never responded to Grant’s request to talk on the phone for clarification. Grant quickly became suspicious for these reasons, and the fact that he could find no record of a Tommy Groddard in Ashland.

A couple of emails were exchanged confirming the date, location, and fee. The final message from the suspicious person said that a friend of theirs who was traveling had issued Grant a check that accidentally included the wedding photographer’s fee as well. The person asked that Grant pay the photographer after cashing the check without mentioning the photographer’s name or contact information. The English was a little dodgy in this last email as well.

Grant recognized this as a common scam strategy know as “overpayment.” In these cases, victims cash the check, pay the third party the difference, and then the original check bounces, leaving the victim poorer by the difference, and sometimes having to pay a fee for the bounced check as well.

Grant looked up the name Groddard – no such surname exists. (It’s very similar to Goddard, which does exist.) Grant looked up the owner of the gig location – Grant had been there once and met the people who actually live there, whom he notified. Grant examined the email thread more carefully – the emails were being sent from 9 time zones ahead.

Grant blocked the scammer’s email address. The scammer then texted Grant from an Alabama phone number asking if he had received the check (nothing about the wedding itself). Grant blocked the number.

The evening before the supposed wedding date, Grant received an official looking cashier’s check (pictured above) from a mail express delivery business in Santa Barbara, CA. There was no note with the check. Grant called the credit union in Iowa the next day. They confirmed that no such check number had ever been issued. At the credit union’s request, Grant sent them a scan of the check that actually managed to pick up the world “VOID” hidden in the background pattern (pictured below). It turns out that scams involving fraudulent cashier’s checks are quite common.

This scam may have been coordinated from at least two locations (overseas and Santa Barbara). Grant assumes that the scammer(s) found him online, either by his website or Facebook profile. Grant intends to report this incident to several agencies.

You’ve probably heard of such scams before. Hopefully you’ve never been a victim of one. If you ever suspect you’re being targeted, please stay suspicious and vigilant! The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the AARP Fraud Watch Network, the Better Business Bureau, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), and IdentityTheft.gov all provide information on recognizing common scams and reporting fraudulent activity.

Monthly Meeting Recap and News for November 2024

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Greetings guitar fans,

Welcome to this month’s newsletter. Read below for a recap of our last meeting and upcoming guitar-related events, including Dan Fellman and Grant Ruiz’s CD release party and concert on Friday, November 22.

The Monthly Meeting

There were over 40 people in attendance last Thursday sharing an intimate evening of guitar.

PROGRAM

Don and Pamela DeHart – Fire and Rain (James Taylor), Blackbird (Beatles), Here Comes the Sun (Beatles)

John Swinnerton – Introspection (original), Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring (J.S. Bach, arranged by John)

Francesco Bard – Flow my Tears (John Dowland), Sideways (original)

Brian Parris – The End of the Innocence (Bruce Hornsby), Marie (Randy Neuman), Before the Next Teardrop Falls (Baldemar Juerta)

~ Intermission ~

Mark Turnbull – I Need A Miracle, Now Is The Hour, Stay Close to the River (originals)

Grant Ruiz – Autumn Leaves (Kosma/Mercer, arranged by Grant)

Dan Fellman and Grant Ruiz – The Seeker (Dan), Corcovado (A.C. Jobim)

Outreach Corner

Irish virtuoso guitarist Alan Mearns visited several guitar classes taught by Mark Hampton at South Medford High School, courtesy of the GSSO and Britt Arts and Music Festival. The visits were on Wednesday and Thursday, November 6 and 7. Alan borrowed a vintage Fender Stratocaster from GSSO Board member Peter Jespersen and showed off his flashy rock “chops.” Aside from being a world-class classical guitarist, Alan is also an extraordinary singer/songwriter and rock musician.

Then of course Alan went on to perform a stunning classical guitar concert at the SOU Recital Hall on November 8. If you’d like to hear more music from this multi-talented musician, please check out his YouTube channel: youtube.com/@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven. His music is also available on Spotify and other online music streaming services.

Announcements

Dan Fellman and Grant Ruiz are excited to announce the release of their first album:

Canto Sol (Sun Song) with over a dozen original songs we’ve played for years!

To celebrate, they are having a CD release party and concert on Friday, November 22 at 6pm at Paschal Winery in Talent. Admission, which includes a CD, is $20 per person or $30 per couple. We will meet and socialize with food and drink for the first hour, and then Dan and Grant will perform pieces from the album along with other favorites. As an added bonus, the artwork of Grant’s wife, Mary La, will be on exhibit at Paschal as well. There are only a few seats left, so please email Grant ASAP to reserve your spot. Please remember to say how many people will be in your party.

Membership news

For the first time in a long time, we are embarking on a fundraising campaign to support our expanding mission! Please look out for a special email about this by the end of the week. Since the GSSO is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, all donations are tax deductible.

We will have an upcoming vote to change the guitar society bylaws at the December monthly meeting. All paid members will receive a additional email describing the proposed changes so they can be prepared to vote at the meeting.

We’ll also have elections for the Board of Directors at the December meeting. If you’re interested in serving on the Board to help determine the future of the guitar society, please reply to this message or contact a Board member. FYI, Peter Jespersen is the only incumbent Board member up for re-election. Jennifer Babineaux, Kristi Schoenbachler, and Grant Ruiz are in the middle of their 2-year terms.

Guitars for sale

Former guitar society Board member Bruce Smith is selling his 1963 Manuel Velazquez “El Clasico” guitar. The guitar is 650mm scale with Brazilian rosewood back and sides, a cedar neck, and a spruce soundboard. The sound is deep and rich. The asking price is $2,000. Please contact Bruce Smith at brucedouglasmith@gmail.com or (541) 261-6240‬.

Monthly Meeting Recap and News for October 2024

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Greetings guitar fans,

Welcome to this month’s newsletter. Read below for a recap of our last meeting and upcoming guitar events coming up in the coming months, including the Alan Mearns concert on November 8.
 

The Monthly Meeting

There were around 50 people in attendance Thursday sharing a beautiful evening of guitar and authentic tango music.

PROGRAM

John Swinnerton – Nostalgia (original)

Rick McGrath (pictured) – Big Country (Bella Fleck), A Watermelon (Leo Kotke)

Mark Turnbull – I Remember John Lennon, Suddenly (originals)

Brian Parris – Travelers (Tim O’Brian and Alessandro Massa), Angel (Jimmy Hendrix)

Francesco Bard (pictured) – Can She Excuse My Wrongs (John Dowland), Wilt Thou Unkind Thus Reave (John Dowland), Inwards & Sideways Overture (original)

Randall Walker – Empty Chairs (Don McClean)

Grant Ruiz – Soleares modernos (Flamenco), Luna de Plata (El Parrita)

~ Intermission ~

Lautaro Tissera Favaloro, – Our featured artist, Argentine guitarist Lautaro Tissera Favaloro, played a set of traditional and contemporary tango music, including Primavera Porteño by Astor Piazzolla, Volver by Carlos Gardel, his own compositions, and a duo version of Milongueo del Ayer by Abel Fleury with Grant.
 

Outreach Corner

Lautaro Tissera made several visits to our community on behalf of the guitar society. The first was the morning of Wednesday, October 9 at Grants Pass High School for Arturo Ville’s guitar class, while a Spanish language class also sat in. That afternoon he played at the Ashland Senior Center (pictured).

The next day, before playing for the guitar society meeting, he played for the OLLI course “Guitar Styles Throughout the World” organized by Grant. Dan Fellman and Dayton Mason gave a presentation on September 26 about Gypsy jazz, and Grant presented Flamenco on October 3. Matt Dorris presented Classical guitar at the last OLLI class of the course on October 17.

Guitarist Alan Mearns will play a concert for GSSO on Friday, November 8 (see details below). During the days before, he will also be playing at outreach events that are co-sponsored by the guitar society and Britt Education.

Announcements

The guitar society will present the extraordinary classical guitarist Alan Mearns at the SOU Recital Hall in Ashland on Friday, November 8 at 7pm. René Izquierdo, who played for us last November, says of Alan’s playing, “If you think you have heard Bach on the guitar, think again!” Some of you may be familiar with Rick Beato, who has a very popular YouTube music channel. He hailed Alan as a musical genius. For more information, tickets, and a special greeting from Alan, go to our Home Page, guitarsocietyso.org. When you click on the link to get tickets, it will take you to Evenbrite, where you’ll see more videos of Alan’s guitar skills. Please tell your friends. Alan’s playing is jaw dropping!

Grant Ruiz and Dan Fellman will play on First Friday, November 1 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM at Shepherd’s Dream in downtown Ashland. They have completed a new CD entitled “Canto Sol” which should be available by then. Come on down and get your copy!

The guitar society has a new Resource page on the website! There you will find information on guitar performers, teachers, and luthiers/repair technicians. If you or someone you know would like to be listed on it, please visit the Resource page and hit the “Request to be listed” button. You’ll be prompted to become a GSSO member in case you already aren’t.
 

Membership news

As a heads-up, we will have an upcoming vote on the guitar society bylaws at the December monthly meeting. Please be on the lookout for a special e-mail arriving in November describing the proposed changes so you can be prepared to vote. All attending, paid members will be eligible to participate in the vote.

We’ll also have elections for the Board of Directors at the December meeting. If you’re interested in serving on the Board to help determine the future of the guitar society, please reply to this message. FYI, guitar society members are always welcome to attend our monthly Board meetings to get an idea of what we’re working on and planning

Guitars for sale

Former guitar society Board member Bruce Smith is selling his 1963 Manuel Velazquez “El Clasico” guitar. The guitar is 650mm scale with Brazilian rosewood back and sides, a cedar neck, and a spruce soundboard. The sound is deep and rich. The asking price is $2,000. Please contact Bruce Smith at brucedouglasmith@gmail.com or (541) 261-6240‬.