1. hobbies and interests
2. guitar

The 11th Annual Gathering of Resonateurs
It’s time once again for the annual
Gathering of Resonateurs 'ResoGat 2015'. You
are invited to join the folks at the 11th annual
event at the Holiday Inn Express in Wilkesboro
NC to be held July 8th through the 11th, 2015
(checking out and heading for home on Sunday
the 13th). Get your reservations in by June 24th at
the Holiday Inn Express 336.838.1800 to get the
block room rate of $87 per night. Be sure to
reference the Dobro Festival event.
So who are the Resonateurs and what
exactly is the Gathering of Resonateurs, or
ResoGat for short? Well, the quick answer is,
we're a loosely knit group of individuals who are
drawn together out a love or fascination for the
dobro, or resonator guitar.
Invented and
developed in the late 1920's and early 30's, the
five Dopyera brothers presented America and the
world with a totally unique instrument centered
around a mechanical resonating sound or
amplification system.
The brothers tossed
around the question of what to call this new class
of stringed instruments and finally coined the
term 'Dobro' which was a combination of the
words DOpyera and BROthers.
Following
WWII, electrified instruments appeared and
interest in the Dobro subsided somewhat until
bluegrass music appeared. Josh (Buck) Graves
converted the Earl Scruggs style of banjo picking
to the dobro and the rest is history as notable
players (Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas, Rob
Ickes, Randy Kohrs...) made the instrument ...a
bunch of 'cone heads ''main stream' . Knowing
the contribution his father had made to the world
of music, John Dopyera Jr. and his wife
Margaret threw out an open invitation for
anyone with a strong interest in the dobro /
resonator guitar...luthier, collector, musician,
connoisseur, or ?...to join them at their home in
Pennsylvania for a week long 'Gathering in the
Woods' during the Fourth of July week in 2000.
From this beginning it has grown every year up
to, and including, the current Annual Gathering
of Resonateurs held at Wilkesboro, NC.
Following the 2004 Gathering, John and
Margaret made the hard decision to sell their
Pennsylvania wooded retreat and a committee
was formed to see if the Gathering could
successfully transfer and find a new 'home.' The
communities of Wilkesboro/N. Wilkesboro rolled
out a 'red carpet' invitation to our group which
still
left
us
with
the
unanswered
question..."would people be willing to relocate to
a new location some 600 miles from John and
Margaret's home?" The pleasant answer was a
resounding 'yes'...with over 100 attendees from
15 states and Canada that year. In 2014, we had
138 folks from 20 states of which 80 were Dobro
players!
So we are proceeding with plans for the
2015 Annual Gathering. It's important to note
that we've intentionally maintained an informal
unstructured style to the event...with the only
rule being that there are no rules. All levels of
players are encouraged to attend, whether an
early-on beginner or a full up professional. The
main 'requirement' to attend is a desire to
become involved with other devotees of the
resonator guitar. Most of the Gathering time is
spent in totally unstructured "fun", jamming,
looking at the exhibiters’ wares, sharing ideas.
Here is a description of the activities that occur at
the Gathering for the pickers and non pickers
alike. Among these are : Jams, Exhibiter Room,
Informal Workshops, Community Concert with a
special guest to be honored, door prizes, raffles,
group pictures, and Dinner & Awards,!!
The activities schedule will be posted on
the big board in the main lobby of the hotel. Look
for the 2015 schedule on the website. The 2014
schedule from last year was:
 Arrive on Wednesday, help setup, and jam all
afternoon and evening with friends
 Thursday morning & afternoon: Beginner
Dobro workshops and Intermediate /
advanced Dobro workshops with Lou Wamp
and Troy Brenningmeyer, jamming,
 Friday morning, CD Release Party for Corey
Lee McQuade, jamming
 Friday afternoon: group photo, jamming
 Friday evening, concert for the community
and to recognize our honoree, Dick
Blattenberger
 Saturday evening, a group dinner in the
evening with door prizes and special awards
ResoGat 2015
Page 2
In addition to the planned activities the local area
has many interesting attractions, historic sites,
shopping and dining opportunities. Those attending
for the first time will find the people of this area to be
very friendly and hospitable. For those of us
returning, this is like a homecoming to visit old
friends. The atmosphere of the Gathering has always
been very relaxed and informal. The only rule being there are no rules. Feel free to join in the jam sessions
or just sit and listen if you prefer. Enjoy other
activities as you wish.
We want to say a special thank you to this
year’s sponsors. The majority of them have never
attended the gathering but didn't hesitate to help us
out when asked. Please show your gratitude to them
and let them know how much you appreciate their
contribution. They will be listed on the website’s 2015
Sponsors page.
If you are in the market for a custom made
resonator guitar, you will find an excellent selection
from some of the finest luthiers in the world. In 2015,
we have Jim Adams, Peter Mosco (Macon String
Instrument Co), and Steve Smith (Redline
Resophonics). We also have Charlie McClary (capos)
and Ken Harper (Chief’s Leatherworks). In 2014 the
exhibiters pictured were:
Jim Adams
Peter Mosco Howard Parker
In 2014, the following gave workshops on Beginning
and Intermediate/Advanced Dobro:
Troy Brenningmeyer & Lou Wamp
Hopefully you can plan on joining us at this
2015 Annual Gathering of Resonateurs. If so, please
contact Pammy so name tags can be make for you and
your party. Please include your address and phone
numbers. Don’t forget the June 24 deadline for
reserving a room.
If you would like to pre-order a Tee-Shirt in
your size, contact Pammy with the quantity and sizes
desired by Monday, June 22 for the pre-order. You do
not have to purchase the Tee-Shirt if you do not like it
but if you do, you will be assured of getting your size.
Now hurry up and prepare yourself for a
great time with good friends old and new! There is
nothing else like the Gathering so enjoy every minute
of it and plan to come back next year.
2015 Gathering of Resonators Committee
Pammy Davis, Chair ([email protected] or
336.202.1536)
Frank Bounds (Webmaster), Tom Costner, Billy
Davies, Dave Fox, Tammy James, Larry Maltz, Jim
Nagle, Will Springer, Olivia Wittmann
Website: www.resogat.org
2014 Group Picture
Steve Smith
Tut Taylor
Another benefit that was offered for the last two
years was the option for a professional Dobro instructor to
offer personalized private lessons for a fee. These were
arranged between the instructor and the student and not the
Gathering of Resonateurs. If you are interested in providing
private individualized lessons in 2015, please contact Pammy
for more details.
"Funded in part by the Wilkesboro Tourism
Development Authority"
www.wilkescountytourism.com
Other area hotels
Addison Inn (Wilkesboro): 336.838.1000
Hampton Inn (Wilkesboro): 336.838.5000
Red Carpet Inn (Wilkesboro): 336.667.2176
All three hotels are within a 5 minute drive of the
Holiday Inn Express.