I found a GREAT Jam Session, that happens to be only a few miles from my home every Thursday night!

Some of the best players in the area frequent this place. Michael Burks, Popcorn, and the rest of his band, are there a lot too. So, I didn't get to play the other night, as it was one of the regulars' Birthday. So, he pretty much was so into it, there were no breaks in the action, for people to get on or off the stage.

Anyway, I plan on being there this Thursday!

It's a pretty intimidating group, skill-wise. So, it's perfect for me to get up there, blow out the cobwebs, and get SPANKED in a public forum!

Seriously though, these guys all play together like a band! It's WAAAYYYY better than those "Open Mics" or "Blues Jams" you usually run into. I mean, yeas, it is called a "Blues Jam". But, it goes well beyond that.

Here's a couple of crappy cell phone PIX, from the other night. I'll try to get some better quality shots the next time. (Hopefully, I'll even manage to get into one of the shots!).

Swain, brother, I am sure if you join them you'll kill!

No worries, take your favorite guitar, have a couple of shots of good whisky, get up onstage and let it rip. If thoe guys are as good as you say, they'll only make you play better.

wheres it at Jeff, nice

Stormbringerpurple, thanks for the vote of confidence. I can't wait to get out and play some! And like everything else, I learn by slowly figuring out how to avoid my many failed attempts. Once I crash and burn (a LOT! LOL), I start to figure things out.

Rob, it's in NLR. I'll tell you all about it, soon. Heck, you ought to come with me sometime! I think you'd really like it.

I'd like to start a new band, actually. Something in the vein of Leftover Salmon, Widespread Panic, String Cheese Incident, Los Lobos, Scott Kinsey, Yonder Mountain String Band, etc. A Jam Bnad, basically. It's been hard to find musicians that really want to do this type of stuff.

So, I think I'm going to have to get about 30 songs together, and start my own thing. Maybe if I have everything already laid out, I can be more effective by narrowing my search.

P.S.

I just hope they let me come back a few times, so I can get back into the swing of things!

Swain, have you had a chance to jam with these guys yet? Please, let us know how it went.


I love to hear from jamming musicians, how the session went and how the audience reacted. It keeps my faith in true musicianship strong.

Yeah, I got to play a littlt. Here's my other post.

http://forums.musictoyz.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4066066091/m/7441089074

It was pretty fun! And since I only got to play a little, it's probably better for me to ease back into it. Although, I do hope I get to play a little more, next time!

Hey, it looks like you had a good time. I mean, at least you got a solo spot on "Thrill".

And I had not seen your pedalboard, really cool. Man, these days I am lugging around a pair of guitars, a 14 pedal PB, plus a couple of heads and a 2X12 cabinet. I am using something like 14 cables to connect all the stuff onstange and, although it sounds good, makes me yearn for the days when I carried one guitar, a Tubescreamer and a small combo!

Yeah, and I had more pedals than everyone else combined, I think!

I may add a 4th. pedal. Still debating what to do with all of that "Real Estate"! LOL

Well, I got to set my amp up on the stage, this time! Got to play a little more, too.

Really impressed with the way my little DR clone hung tough. Seemed to really punch through the mix. And the Timmy just made it "more". Had a few guitar players in the crowd, and from the band, asking all about it.

I can't wait to hear how the Cactus Crunch is going to sound with that amp.

Hopefully, I'll have more to report, next week.

Sounds like you had a great time and are earning their respect.

What songs did you play?

HA! I still don't know what all the songs were. Some I played on; Little Red Rooster, My Girl, Various MoTown stuff, and more I can't recall. I played for about 45 minutes, I think.

I'll see if I can get somebody to hit "record" on my little MicroBR, next time! Maybe I can learn all the changes. I did a little of the "Air Strumming" technique. You know, where you turn your guitar down, and strum silently. I figure not causing a Train Wreck is better than trying to get into every single tune. I got a couple of solos, too. One on Rooster, and one on "something in G".

Funny thing was, I didn't even get to set my amp up, really. I turned it on, and everybody was already playing. I just started playing, without touching any knob on my amp or pedals. That's the beauty of great gear. Hard to screw it up! Sounded really good (to me) without any attention.

"Soundchecks? We don't need no stinking soundchecks!"

Alright, well I missed last week's Jam because I was just worn out from the week. But, I did go last night.

I ended up getting to play steadily for about 2 hours (more?), I think. Some different bands showed up, and I just stayed right where I was. So, that strategy worked really well. HA!

Pretty cool night. At one point, there were about 5 guitarists onstage. I kept thinking that we should be playing Molly Hatchet tunes. LOL But, everybody gelled well. No overplaying, or smothering each other. Again, all these guys are pretty good.

I had one of the older guys, who is a really great Drummer, ask me if I wanted to get a band together. So, that was pretty nice. I don't know if I can commit enough time to a real "Band" right now. BUT, it sure is tempting! Especially as it's with this guy. So, more decisions............

Sounds like it has been a lot of fun man.

Perhaps you can try a few separate jams with the drummer and a few choice people and just see what happens.

Some of the best moments in life tend to come from unplanned things so maybe starting an informal band that jams every now and then, without an agenda, can lead to a great musical experience.

Yeah, it feels good!

I like that these guys so cool. And they are all really good players. But, I really think that more of a Jam Band thing would be ideal. These guys do stretch things out quite a bit. But, I don't know if any of my more "Noise/Feedback" type playing would go over with them. I want to be able to do a Bluegrass tune and a Fusion tune back to back, sometimes. You know what I mean?

I guess I'll kepp going to the Jam, and see what I may be able to get away with? Maybe a Blood, Sweat, and Tears tune? Maybe Freeway Jam? Arkansas Traveler? LOL