Greetings guitar fans, Welcome to the New Year and this month’s newsletter. Read below for a recap of our last meeting and upcoming guitar-related events. The Monthly Meeting We […]
https://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.png00Steve Bismarckhttps://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.pngSteve Bismarck2025-02-06 16:57:082025-02-06 17:08:48Monthly Meeting Recap and News for January 2025
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 […]
https://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.png00Steve Bismarckhttps://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.pngSteve Bismarck2024-12-17 10:17:442024-12-17 17:22:40Monthly Meeting Recap and News for December 2024
Greetings guitar fans, Welcome to the New Year and this month’s newsletter. Read below for a recap of our last meeting and upcoming guitar-related events. The Monthly Meeting We […]
https://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.png00Steve Bismarckhttps://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.pngSteve Bismarck2025-02-06 16:57:082025-02-06 17:08:48Monthly Meeting Recap and News for January 2025
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 […]
https://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.png00Steve Bismarckhttps://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.pngSteve Bismarck2024-12-17 10:17:442024-12-17 17:22:40Monthly Meeting Recap and News for December 2024
Welcome to the New Year and this month’s newsletter. Read below for a recap of our last meeting and upcoming guitar-related events.
The Monthly Meeting
We had a very full evening of music and camaraderie with about 40 folks in attendance.
PROGRAM
John Swinnerton – Phoenix Rising (original)
DJ the Troubadour – Crazy (Willie Nelson)
Francesco Bard – C’est La Vie, The Sage (Greg Lake)
Randall Walker – Dangling Conversation, April (Paul Simon)
Brian Parris – The Heart That You Own (Dwight Yoakum), Tenderly Calling (John Denver), Into The Mystic (Van Morrison)
Mark Turnbull – The Good Sport, Ask (originals)
Matt Dorris – Elegy (J.K. Mertz)
~ Intermission ~
Aaron Haas(pictured above), our featured performer from Seattle, played a set of beautiful music:
Improvisation
Passacaille by Alexandre Tansman
Suite of Aaron’s arrangements of Yumi Kimura’s music from movies by Hayao Miyazaki: • One Summer’s Day from Spirited Away • The Legend of Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke • Princess Mononoke’s Theme from Princess Mononoke • Merry-Go-Round of Life from Howl’s Moving Castle
Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro by J.S. Bach, BWV 998
Announcements
Gypsy jazz guitarist Jimmy Grant and violin virtuoso Tim Kliphuis will play a small, intimate concert sponsored by the guitar society at Paschal Winery on Friday, February 28 at 7 P.M. Tickets and information will be available soon, with guitar society members (see below under “Membership News”) getting first access to tickets. They last time they played a house concert in Ashland to 60 people, the concert sold out in about 10 days!
Grant Ruiz and Dan Fellman (Canto Sol) play Sunday, January 19 from 3:30-5:30 P.M. at Paschal Winery, and on Sunday, January 26 from 5-7 P.M. at Belle Fiore Winery in Ashland. They will also play on Friday, February 14 (Valentines Day) from 7-9 P.M. at Liquid Lounge in Ashland.
Membership News
Thanks to a number of very generous donors, we raised $1,365 during our first fundraising drive, as well as $1,000 matched by the board! This will go a long way in helping the guitar society continue its mission
Since we are in a new year, it’s time to renew your membership or become a new member. Dues are the same as last year ($25 for a single membership, $40 for a family), but we’ve added some benefits. Click the button below to sign up and read more:
We are now looking for new board members to help guide the guitar society through another exciting year of performances and community outreach activities.
Please respond to this message if you’re interested.
Last month Grant described a potential scam that he experienced. It turns out that Matt Dorris, Jimmy Grant, and Bob Bath were also targeted by the scammer in the same way. Fortunately, everybody at some point became wary and backed away. Grant also learned that the scammer managed to procure legitimate paper stock used to print cashiers checks, which show the word void when scanned (above).
https://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.png00Steve Bismarckhttps://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.pngSteve Bismarck2025-02-06 16:57:082025-02-06 17:08:48Monthly Meeting Recap and News for January 2025
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.
https://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.png00Steve Bismarckhttps://guitarsocietyso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Guitar-Society_Final-Logo_-Color-1-1030x452.pngSteve Bismarck2024-12-17 10:17:442024-12-17 17:22:40Monthly Meeting Recap and News for December 2024
