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200 Dosoris Ln
Glen Cove, NY 11542
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Glen Cove Mansion
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Paul Gilbert’s Great Guitar Escape: Shrapnel and Beyond is a performance event for players and music lovers of all ages, levels, interests, and tastes! Whether you are a master player, a beginner, or just an enthusiastic fan, our four-day programs offer activities and workshops for you. Our environments are non-competitive and are strictly about immersing oneself in the joys of performing music and our lovely surroundings!
Paul Gilbert’s Great Guitar Escape: Shrapnel and Beyond is a performance event for players and music lovers of all ages, levels, interests, and tastes! Whether you are a master player, a beginner, or just an enthusiastic fan, our four-day programs offer activities and workshops for you. Our environments are non-competitive and are strictly about immersing oneself in the joys of performing music and our lovely surroundings!
Fellow guitar players! I’d like you to join me for PAUL GILBERT’S GREAT GUITAR ESCAPE: SHRAPNEL AND BEYOND, taking place July 5-9, 2021 at the beautiful Glen Cove Mansion in Glen Cove, NY. Performers of all skill levels, ages, and interests are welcome to join me and some of my favorite guitarists and performers of all time for four days of workshops, mentor sessions, all-star jams, and so much more.
The theme for this camp is SHRAPNEL AND BEYOND so we’re going to be focusing on the immense legacy and impact of Shrapnel Records and its founder, Mike Varney. They both played a big part in my personal and professional history and certainly the same can be said about most of the players joining us at Great Guitar Escape.
When Mike started Shrapnel in the early 80s, it really changed the way people viewed the guitar. There had been guitar players over the years that really blew people’s minds with what they could do musically and also athletically – obviously Jimi Hendrix but especially Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen inspired the idea that the classical virtuoso musician could play with the fire and creativity of a rock musician. Mike Varney did an amazing job of looking at the post-Van Halen world and finding all of these inspired young players, people like me that had practiced eight hours a day for their entire high school existence. Mike gave us a platform. He helped us find other musicians to play with, he helped put a musical frame around this new approach. And of course it just blew everybody’s mind!
We’ve put together an amazing group of guitarists for this camp, all of whom have significant history with Shrapnel and the music it inspired. It’s always exciting for me to see how everyone has branched out and grown over the past 30 years. I grew up with 60s and 70s rock, but its “I hope I die before I get old” philosophy cut a lot of careers short! My peers at Shrapnel, who were in it for the music rather than the lifestyle, have had a chance to grow and expand their musical horizons over decades. Everyone’s had a chance to widen his or her musical areas of expertise. It’s rather amazing to witness.
Make no mistake; these will be four busy days. We’ll do clinics and we’ll do concerts, there will be one-on-one lessons, jam sessions, and more. I like to organize jams where every camper can play with me (and have someone nearby who can capture the jam on your phone!) I also really enjoy the concerts at night. I take care in choosing the guests/teachers at my camps, because I’m a fan too! These guys are amazing! We’re all guaranteed to see some incredible shows, with the rare opportunity to see these people from so close up.
Mike Varney ads: “I’m so excited about the Great Guitar Escape. It’s almost like a high school reunion or something for me. Paul Gilbert is one of my all time, highest esteemed artists. We first met when he was 15; he submitted a tape to me with a letter asking if I could get him an audition with Ozzy Osbourne. I listened and thought, let’s find out more about this guy. He sounded really good. I reached out and said, tell me about yourself. He told me he was 15 and I said, Well, that might be a hard pitch at this point but why don’t we keep in touch? Paul kept sending me tapes and about three years later we started making records. Not only do I get to see Paul and a bunch of my favorite guitarists, I’m also curious to meet some of the people who have been inspired by Shrapnel. Being around people that are interested in the same thing that I’ve devoted my life to is something I don’t have a chance to do very often. It’ll be cool to go back and kind of relive certain moments. There will definitely be stories, lots of stories! Paul and I are also going to listen to music by some of the camp attendees, offer our honest evaluations. I’m really looking forward to it and hope you’ll join us.”
The Great Guitar Escape is not like simply going to a gig or even a clinic. This is about community and interaction between musicians, whatever your age or skill level. When I was growing up, starting to play guitar, I’d look at the back covers of my albums and read rock magazines, but it wasn’t really until I became a professional musician myself that I was in a position to meet some of my heroes. I mean, it would have been unthinkable and really kind of scary.
A typical clinic might be two hours, but the Great Guitar Escape takes place over four days. This takes some allows everyone to get comfortable and enjoy hanging out. With the standard VIP experience, you might have 15 minutes to spend with somebody that you really want to meet. But with Great Guitar Escape, we have a chance to go much deeper together. We’re able to relate in a very normal way, where it’s not just I’m on stage and you’re the audience. It’s much more like, “Hey this is good bacon! What kind of amp did you use on the first Racer X album? Can you pass the orange juice?”
At Great Guitar Escape, you’re not just close to one player but a whole group of players. And not just any players but some of the best guitarists who have ever picked up the instrument! That proximity is what makes this camp such a unique experience.
It’s funny – as a professional musician, when you go home and you’re with your family, there can be a pressure to put the guitar down and just be a husband or wife, a mom or a dad. But at the camp, everyone is free to rekindle your original passion for music and the guitar. For me, The Great Guitar Escape rekindles the spirit and love of music. When you go home after, you’ll definitely be full of inspiration and fire. In fact, we’ll all leave Great Guitar Escape with a renewed sense of musical mission, some useful musical philosophies, and some amazing licks to work on!
See you in 2021!
Paul Gilbert
Paul Gilbert’s Great Guitar Escape will begin at 3 PM on July 5th and end at 12 PM on July 9th. A complete detailed and final schedule will be released this spring 2021, so stay tuned!
3:00 PM
Registration opens
5:00 PM
Welcoming session with Paul and other instructors
7:00 PM
Dinner
8:00 PM
Paul Gilbert and friends concert
10:00 PM
Camper jamming plus Doppler late nights
7:00 AM
Breakfast
10:00 AM
Paul Gilbert master class
12:00 PM
Bumblefoot, Tony McAlpine, George Lynch, and Greg Howe breakouts
1:00 PM
Lunch
3:00 PM
Jam with Paul
5:00 PM
Bumblefoot, Tony McAlpine, George Lynch, Greg Howe, and Doug Doppler breakouts
6:00 PM
Greg Howe talks about producing the greats!
7:00 PM
Dinner
8:00 PM
Evening concert featuring our illustrious guests
10:00 PM
Camper jamming plus Doppler late nights
8:00 AM
Breakfast
10:00 AM
Paul Gilbert master class
12:00 PM
Bumblefoot, Tony McAlpine, George Lynch, Greg Howe, Eric Gales breakouts
1:00 PM
Lunch
2:00 PM
Signing and photo session with everyone
5:00 PM
Myke Varney critiques your music! Plus, Eric Gales breakout
7:00 PM
Dinner
8:00 PM
Evening concert featuring our illustrious guests
10:00 PM
Camper jamming plus Doppler late nights
8:00 AM
Breakfast
10:00 AM
Paul Gilbert master class
12:00 PM
Bumblefoot, Tony McAlpine, George Lynch, Greg Howe, Eric Gales breakouts
1:00 PM
Lunch
3:00 PM
Jam with Paul
5:00 PM
Bumblefoot, Tony McAlpine, George Lynch, Greg Howe breakouts
7:00 PM
Dinner
8:00
Finale evening concert featuring our illustrious guests
10:00
Camper jamming plus Doppler late nights
11:00
Check-out
Commuter Package gets you into all workshops, concerts, and activities. This package does not include lodging, and cannot be downgraded from a room – for new registrations only. Pricing is per person.
Standard Room with two beds and a roommate. You may either name your own roommate or one will be assigned by Dreamcatcher Events. Roommate matches are based on age and gender. If signing up with a roommate in mind, please enter their name in the “Roommate” field as you continue registration.
*Please note, pricing is per person and all registrants must stay at the Glen Cove Mansion and all payments and deposits are non-refundable.
Standard room with one king bed for one participant.
*Please note, pricing is per person and all registrants must stay at the Glen Cove Mansion and all payments and deposits are non-refundable.
If you have any questions, please call our customer service number (+1) 800-852-9277, or send us an email at info@dreamcatcher-events.com
For complete details please see our Registration and Payment Policy
Paul Gilbert’s Great Guitar Escape will be following all protocols and safety measures set by the CDC, the state of New York, and additional regulations set at local and business levels. This will include regular use of hand sanitizer and handwashing, as well as social distancing in all group settings. Wherever possible, meetings and gatherings will take place outdoors, and all safety protocols will be strictly enforced. Furthermore, Dreamcatcher and Paul Gilbert will be constantly and regularly updating our protocols to keep everyone safe on every level.
Special thanks to Shrapnel Records
Dreamcatcher Events would like to thank