Warwick Bass Camp & Open Day 2014 Review

(PRESS RELEASE) On September 6^th a week charged with music came to an end. It was a week which all participants surely will remember fondly; a truly unique event, but one that is to be continued in 2015. We have already received 59 enrollments for the 2015 Bass Camp! It’s amazing how quickly the enthusiastic comments of this years attendants have been making the rounds.

Warwick Bass Camp 2014, presented by Gitarre& Bass, took place from 1st to 5th of September in Markneukirchen and had been fully booked since last November 2013. 81 participants from 17 nations attended and were divided into five workshop groups led by 18 world-class professors.

Professors held 20 workshops per day. Additionally on two afternoons Master Classes were offered with a maximum of six participants per lecturer. Warwick provided five fully audio and video outfitted training rooms; three of them on the "Warwick Campus"and two more in the new Music Hall close by.

Interested people had the possibility to visit the Framus Museum, to take part in a tour of themanufacturing plant (with production manager Marcus Spangler) or to have their own bass guitar checked and set up anew. Daily collective lunch and dinner were held on the Music Hall premises and in the evenings students and lecturers got together on the Music Hall stage for no holds barred jam sessions.

The official inauguration of the Music Hallon Friday evening turned out to be a real highlight when some of the stars who had arrived for the Open Day took the stage (Metallica’s Robert Trujillo among others) and rocked the house to it's foundations.

Also during the Bass Camp week Warwick, as the first company from Saxony, was admitted to the circle of the German environment protecting companies, which is an initiative in excellence headed by German economic organizations.

Framus & Warwick Open Day 2014

On perfectly sunny Saturday over 4000 visitors flockedto the premises of the Markneukirchen instrument manufacturer Framus & Warwick to experience Open Day as the culmination of the Bass Camp week. The spectacle commenced at 10.00 a.m. All day long, visitors eagerly availed themselves of the opportunity to partake in production tours to have insights in the manufacturing process of first class guitars and basses.

More than 100 Framus and Warwick artists form all over the world were present and"beleaguered" by fans during Meets and Greets. Naturally also the 81 Bass Camp students attended and talked about their experiences. BBQs, beverage stands and a Jägermeister truck took care of the visitor’s bodily welfare. Local press put in an appearance, the newspaper "FreiePresse – SachsensgrößteZeitung" for example headlined their article with: "Nobody musicians meet their idols - Warwick company grounds on Saturday resembled a beehive".

However, the biggest excitement of the Open Day were of course the international Superstars performing on the Open Air stage. Beginning at 11.45h, the following artists mesmerized the visitors:

Andy Irvine Group
Andy Irvine, Warwick-Artist and -Clinician, together with fabulous guitar slinger Johnny O. and drummer MaciejKudla, brought bass grooves and lively Blues to the stage.

Siyou’n’Hell

Legendary bass player HellmutHattler (Kraan, Tab Two, Hattler), who is known for his distinctive, powerful play, banded together with singer Siyou(Siyou Gospel Projekt)in a duo with almost telepathic intimacy.

The Wootens: Victor, Regi& Adam

Icon bass player Victor Wooten in a family affair with his brother, the Framus artist Regi Wooten and Victors son Adam on drums - a real treat!

Dave Roe

Warwick-Artist Dave Roe (Johnny Cash, Jerry Reed, Faith Hill), the renowned Nashville Session bassplayer mixed and served a "steaming" pot of Rock, Country, Soul und Prog-Surf!

Neil Taylor
Guitarist Neil Taylor (Tears For Fears, Robbie Williams, Rod Stewart) celebrated a musical feast on stage, which reminded everybody of his glorious pastas a guitarist for the multiple superstars. On bass: Warwick-Artist Gwenael Damman (Christina Stürmer).

Mass Mental

A "Once in a lifetime" concert, brought to you by Warwick! The fusion of Superstars to form the band Mass Mental!(Rob Trujillo-bass (Metallica), BenjiWebbe - vocals (Skindred), Armand Sabal-Lecco - bass (Paul Simon), Ken Schalk – drums (Candiria) and Special Guest: Whit Crane - vocals (Ugly Kid Joe).

Nik West Band

Bass player, singer and composer Nik West (Dave Stewart, Prince, John Mayer) regaled everybody with funky grooves on the Open Day stage. With this concert the event came to an end for our visitors.

The party went on with our VIP guests though. After the thunderstorm of so much rare guitar and bass playing, lightning of a different nature illuminated the sky to conclude the Framus & Warwick Open Day 2014, namely the grand fireworks at midnight!

Many thanks to all present and a heartfelt "See You and Hear You in 2015"!

A detailed account, with more pictures of the Warwick Bass Camp and Framus & Warwick Open Day 2014, titled "Latest News", is to be found in the NEWS section on our website: www.warwick.de

Warwick Bass Camp 2015

Bass Camp 2015 will take place from 31st of August until 5th of September 2015, attendance fee for early bookers (until 31.12.2014) is 899 EUR including 7 overnight stays (www.ifa-ferienpark.de) and shared dinners. Arrival: 30st of August 2015; Departure: 6^th of September 2015.

All information concerning the Bass Camp 2015 can be found here: http://basscamp.gitarrebass.de

Booking at: http://basscamp.gitarrebass.de/anmelden.html

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Here you can find find videos of the Warwick Bass Camp 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufsz1A1yZUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDxA3vpWQl0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U3xo561EYk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26EQH6kWjTw

A selection of videos of the Framus & Warwick Open Day 2014:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pnYc4TDDL4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx52yfp2iyc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITEZjeg4TKo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjBRa6eu7oM

Here is the full length concert coverage of the Andy Irvine Group in the Framus & Warwick Music Hall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3b-woAY1G4

LecturersWarwick Bass Camp 2014:

- John B. Williams (performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Manhattan Transfer, Natalie Cole etc.)
- Alphonso Johnson (Santana, Weather Report, George Duke, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin etc.)
- Wolfgang Schmid (Passport etc.)
- Bobby Vega (Bo Diddley, Santana, Sly and the Family Stone, Joan Baez etc.)
- HellmutHattler (Kraan, Tab Two etc.)
- Stuart Hamm (Joe Satriani, Steve Vai etc.)
- Adam Nitti (Susan Tedeschi, Mike Stern, Al Green etc.)
- Gary Willis (Wayne Shorter, Robben Ford etc.)
- Armand Sabal-Lecco (Paul Simon, Sting, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock etc.)
- Kevin Brandino (Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Beach Boys, James Brown, Snoop Doggy Dog, Justin Timberlake etc.)