New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

Fur Peace Ranch: It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This


By Gary Wien

originally published: 01/18/2015


Tucked away in the hills of southeast Ohio is a place called Fur Peace Ranch. Founded by Jorma Kaukonen, guitarist for Hot Tuna, it's a place where musicians share their wisdom and perform concerts in front of fans and fellow musicians from across the country. A new documentary by Andie Walla called Fur Peace Ranch: It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This provides a glimpse into the world Kaukonen conceived in 1989 to be "a ranch that grows guitar players." It's a place where budding and seasoned musicians immerse themselves for several days and leave inspired and better musicians.

Walla works at Fur Peace Ranch, helping them do a multi-camera studio production for their YouTube channel. They film one song from every concert they hold at the Ranch and their videos have been seen roughly two million times. This documentary film was intended to showcase more of the overall Ranch experience.

"I had been doing all these live music videos and during the time I had personally spent at the Ranch there was just this sense of camaraderie and spirit," explained Walla. "I kept seeing this happen year after year with people coming back every year. I wanted to capture that spirit and share it with the world."

The documentary was shot entirely during one Pick N Putt Weekend. This is a special session that runs Friday through Monday as usual, but also includes a motorcycle ride led by Jorma that encompasses about 200 miles of road. The ride is held on Saturday or Sunday and the musical workshops are scheduled around rides, so nobody has to miss anything.

"I decided to capture the Pick N Putt weekend because I love motorcycles and it's one of Jorma's favorite weekends," said Walla. "He's a big motorcycle guy and there's a special vibe that happens that weekend that's a little more over the top than other weekends. I was lucky enough to sit in on a couple of classes by Jorma and some by Steve Kimoch and you get to see inside the classrooms. The films let you hear from people that are first timers and hear what their first impressions are, as well as from people who have been there dozens of times."

Some of the musicians who have served as instructors at Fur Peace Ranch include names like Dave Alvin, G.E. Smith, Bill Kirchen, Dar Williams, Chris Smither, Larry Campbell, Jill Sobule, David Lindley, and Chris Hillman. While guitar workshops are always in session, the Ranch also includes workshops on instruments from bass guitar to lap steel guitar, mandolin and percussion, and even vocals and songwriting. Space is limited and several sessions are already sold out through 2015.

Part of the lure is the way the Ranch removes the boundaries between musicians and fans. Attendees have an entire weekend to sit and talk to people about music with everybody being on the same page. The instructors don't carry a rock star attitude. They're easily accessible and they love passing on what they know.




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky



"Let's say you always admired G.E. Smith as a band leader and guitar player and you wanted to take a class with him," continued Walla. "You'll study with him on a Friday or Saturday during the day, then get to see your teacher perform as part of the Saturday night concert series, and then you get to have class with him the next day. And everybody leaves on Monday. So if you were a fan of a particular style you could just pick the weekend you wanted to come and there's a concert thrown in too!"

Walla, who teaches video production at Ohio University in Athens, is excited to have the film screened at the New Jersey Film Festival with its connection to Rutgers University. She's a big believer in the support of the arts in higher education. Higher education actually played a major role in her first documentary. The subject was Nancy Cartwright, an actress who is best known as the voice of Bart Simpson. Cartwright returned to Ohio University (where she once was a student) as the commencement speaker in 2012. Walla, a huge Simpsons fan, used this opportunity to build a documentary on Cartwright.

"That was my first taste of doing a documentary," she said. "This is now the third or fourth one I've done, but I couldn't have done it without Bart Simpson!"

Working at the Ranch is a dream come true for Walla who admits to being a fan of Jorma's music. She had just finished her undergraduate work when the Ranch began looking for someone to help out with videos. Several million views of the YouTube channel later she's hoping to continue spreading the word about the Ranch with the documentary.

"Jorma's just turned 74 years old and he has more energy than I could ever hope to have," she added. "He's on the road constantly touring as a solo act and with Hot Tuna. He's still very active but a lot of his old buddies aren't around anymore. I think it's cool that he gets to be around the Ranch and share his stories and interact and help people learn from the best of the best. And there are so many Jorma fans out there that don't even know this is going on. I just thought it would be great if more people knew about it."




Saturday-January 31 at 7pm
Voorhees Hall
New Jersey Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ



Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at gary@newjerseystage.com.




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Despicable Me 4

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 7:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Despicable Me 4

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 10:30am
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

How

How to Train Your Dragon in Concert

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
100 South Street, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: film


 

How

How to Train Your Dragon in Concert

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 2:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Moana 2

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 @ 7:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

The

The Levoy Theatre hosts the CUT International Short Film Festival

(MILLVILLE, NJ) -- The Levoy Theatre hosts the CUT International Short Film Festival September 19-20, 2025. The festival's motto is 'Short Films for Quick Minds'. Its aim is to become the premier festival in New Jersey for short form films.



Count

Count Basie Center for the Arts presents An Evening With Francis Ford Coppola and screening of "Megalopolis"

(RED BANK, NJ) -- Legendary director, Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders) is bringing his monumental 2024 film, Megalopolis, to select cities across the country. The tour kicks off at the Count Basie Center for the Arts on Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 7:00pm.



The

The Williams Center to Screen "Wayward Kin" by David Joseph Volino

(RUTHERFORD, NJ) -- After a four-year-long production process, filmmaker and New Jersey native, David Joseph Volino, is sharing the full-length feature, Wayward Kin, with local audiences. See the film for one night only at The Williams Center in Rutherford on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. The screening begins at 7:00pm with the cast and crew in attendance.



The

The ShowRoom presents ENCORE: Rock Cinema Returns! A Summer Series of Legendary Sound and Vision

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The ShowRoom Cinema is turning up the volume this summer with ENCORE: Rock Cinema Returns!, a series of must-see music films that combine incredible sound with captivating visuals. Screenings include The Who's Tommy; Pink Floyd: The Wall; Ladies & Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains; and Streets of Fire.



Winners

Winners of the 2025 New Jersey International Film Festival Announced!

The Competition component of the 2025 New Jersey International Film Festival has just concluded! Overall, we had a very good festival this year and I want to thank the hundreds of people who viewed the terrific films we screened in-person and online. I also want to thank all of the filmmakers, cast and crew who came to the in-person screenings to talk about their films with our audiences.