Full disclosure: I am a huge fan of Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, both as an artist and as a person. My very first concer  was Hot Tuna (which Jorma formed with his Airplane bandmate, Jack Casady) at The Suffolk Forum on Long Island in 1977. I remember standing in front of the stage, being smashed into the barrier, barely able to breathe. It was awesome.

I drove to Jorma’s Fur Peace Ranch in Pomeroy, OH, with another born-and-bred New Yorker. As we passed sprawling hills and rustic buildings, I had visions of myself as Bill  Crystal in City Slickers. Jorma and his wife, Vanessa, opened the ranch, located on 120acres of beautiful farmland, in 1997. I never asked Jorma what “Fur Peace” actually stands for as, being bald, it wasn’t a line of conversation I was anxious to pursue.

The ranch consists of a cluster of wooden cabin  which include a performance hall, library, store and instruction rooms. Weather permitting, it’s a great place to walk the woods, relax and jam around the campfire at night. The 17 sleeping cabins are small but comfortable (think “Ted Kyzynski” style) and there are two people to each one, so if you cherish privacy, a nearby hotel might be a better option. The store is stocked with hard-to-find instruction books, old blues DVDs and CDs as well as all the Hot Tuna merchandise you desire. I haven’t taken off m  yellow Quah T-shirt since I got home.

Ranch rules: No alcohol, guns or drugs. It’s about the music. This seemed reasonable. (especially the gun part) but some other students and I did make a break for it one evening for a few beers offsite.

If You Don’t Know Jorma... 

I’ve played guitar for the last few years and have always been a fan of finger-picking style, so I hoped spending a few days learning the technique might make my hands feel less like two blocks of wood. I signed up for the intermediate class which Jorma teaches because, hey, it’s Jorma, but I was more an introductory-level student.

To start the class, Jorma went around the room askingeach of the 17 students to play something, just to get a sense of everyone’s ability.

“Okay Steve, let’s see what you’ve got,” Jorma demanded with a wry smile on his face. Truth was, I didn’t have much. I tried Ben Harper’s “Another Lonely Day,” which I can hack through pretty well with a pick but my plucking fingers were not cooperating at all. I was only thankful Ben Harper wasn’t in the room.

“We’re going to get your thumb working with a nice rhythm before you leave here,” Jorma commented after I finished, and wen  on to the next student. “Works for me,” I said, relieved and not even sure if my fingers had stopped moving yet.

My classmates were mostly 30- to 40-year-olds who love playing guitar. One brought his dad along and another, from Hawaii, was accompanied by his daughter who we quickly realized, at 16 years old, wa  already a lot better than most of us (damn kids!). Another NewYorker brought along five rare, collectible guitars that are each worth more than my car. Jorma had a good time trying them all out; the same could not have been said for test-driving my automobile.

...You Don’t Know Jack

Jack Casady was on hand teaching bass. Jack and Jorma have been playing together 49 years (first as part of Jefferson Airplane, later with Hot Tuna) and they are still close friends. Not many other bands—or even marriages—can claim that. Over the course of the weekend, folk/blues guitarist Happy Traum taught an introductory level finger-picking class and singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier taught songwriting technique. Other instructors at the camp over the years have included notables such as Tony Trischka, Arlo Guthrie, David Lindley and Peter Rowan.

Marjorie Thompson, Jorma’s teaching assistant and an associatedean of biology at Brown University, started as a camper herself. Like Rudy, the walk-on Notre Dame football player, she attendedthe camp 25 times before Jorma tapped her to teach about three years ago. Thompson rocked us one evening with a performance of her own music. She is a great musician and has tiny, delicate fingers, so anyone who uses handsize as an excuse for not playing the guitar would be barking up the wrong tree. We worked on a few songs over the three days including Blind Boy Fuller’s “Keepon Truckin’,” Jesse Fuller’s “San Francisco Bay Blues”and Merle Haggard’s “More Than My Old Guitar.”

Jorma is quick to praise other artists. “Everyone has a different style,” he says. “There is no right or wrong way, just different.” This gave me solace. I hoped my ineptitude might be one day be mistaken for style.

I practiced hard and truly felt myself making progress, although my fingers were hurting like a push-button employee in a Jetsons episode. Still, I forged on. Sunday we had a student performance. Our class playe  “Keep on Truckin’” with Jorma standing in front, leading us on. Students went up individually or in small groups to perform anything they wished. I chose to sit back, nurse my fingers and enjoy the show. After the weekend I did have an improved thumb technique and definitely walked away a better player than when I arrived. My thumb is still better used for hitchhiking than finger picking but I have the basics down and now it’s all about practice, practice, practice.

Pack Your Bags... 

Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp

www.furpeaceranch.com , 740-992-6228

The place: Pomeroy, OH

The schedule: Frequent workshops, March through November

The people: For Jorma, it’s about the music. He enjoys teaching and crafting better guitar players. Ranch manager John Hurlbut (with a name like that you know h  has to be a great guy!) and the other staff couldn’t be nicer. Visiting instructors in ’07 include Jack Casady, Mary Gauthier, Michael Falzarano, Larry Coryell, Fareed Haque, Rory Block, Oteil Burbridge, Pete Sears and many more.

The $: Weekend workshops (Fri-Mon), $995; couplesweekend (Fri-Mon), $1,500 per couple

Extras: The food is fantastic. On Saturday evenings, Jorma opens the camp for a public concert; we sat front row to acoustic Hot Tuna opening for Mary Gauthier. Jorma’s classes fill up quickly so sign-up early.

Other Programs
Music camps and programs of all different stripes abound. There’s likely one out there that’s just rightfor you (or someone you’d like to have out of the house for a while).

Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls

www.girlsrockcamp.org , 503-445-4991

A nonprofit located in Portland, OR, Rock Camp for Girls encourages, the musical talents of females 8-18. Programs offered throughout the year include the Girls Rock Institute, Summer Camp and Ladies Rock Camp. Each program uses music and related topics to teachboth technical music skills as well as life skills.

Camp Winnarainbow

www.campwinnarainbow.org , 510-525-4304, 707-984-6507

A circus and performing arts summer camp for kidsand adults, run by the Clown Prince himself  Wavy Gravy, on his ranch near Laytonville, CA. Classes offered include theater improv, drumming, buton dance, tap dancing, multi disciplinary performance, music, stilt-walking, juggling and more.

Paul Green Schoolof Rock Music

www.schoolofrock.com , 215-988-9505

What began as one school in Philadelphia (memorialized forever by Jack Black in School of Rock), is now a nationwide series of schools with the shared philosophy of helping students “realize their amazing potential as artists and then to put them onstage infront of as many people as possible.” 

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