Skipping Jams

[Oldscruggsfan]

Per the great (IMHO) line in Little River Band’s Cool Change, one thing in my life that’s missing is the time that I spend alone.

I happen to greatly enjoy my own company, particularly when there is a good book, a repairable small engine, a challenging crossword puzzle or stringed instrument nearby. Until I got married at age 28, I didn’t own a TV and would happily dispense with it again if the rest of the family could (they would not).

Also from the same tune’s lyrics which obviously resonate with me, I’ve always preferred to avoid the lots of friendly people telling me the way to go, but I never want to lose their inspiration.

I’ll close with my own request for clarification: Am I alone in not viewing “jam” and “group strum” as synonymous? “Massed musicians” is precisely what I dislike about bluegrass festivals, and is not my idea of “jamming”. My preference is a group of 3-5 with no more than 2 (preferably only 1) of any one kind of instrument. Having 2 banjo pickers in the same group can become particularly obnoxious, especially when none of the instruments is a bass or at least a washboard.

 

[Bhengstebeck]

You are definitely not alone. I do the same thing. If it's raining, I won't go. Even just sprinkling.
If I think I'll be a minute late, I stay home. I tell myself it would be rude and disruptive to walk in late. Or I won't find a decent parking spot.
There is one jam that I absolutely love and I rarely miss it, but the other three I've been going to for many years, meh.

 

[merlin666]

I don't get out much so if there is a jam in town I go. Open mics I am not as enthusiastic about as it means practicing for which I have no motivation. I organize and lead the local uke jam so can't really skip that one, though for the next one it is one hour after our scheduled return from Hawaii so likely won't be able to make it.

 

[ampeep]

Have three local groups that I could jam with every week if I wanted to. They vary in ability, size, type of music & composition which makes things interesting. Also get to zoom with a couple of groups online from the PAC NW.

Depending on my mood, sometimes attend all, sometimes none. Tore my meniscus on Jan 3, had arthroscopic surgery on Feb 8 so haven't been able to play with any of them for a while. (Kinda miss that.)

 

[acmespaceship]

Did I miss the memo about jams being mandatory? Oh man, I might be in trouble.

I still contend that a random sample of ukulele players yields a more interesting group of people than a random sample of the population at large. Hence I avoid bars, sporting events and mass-market "fun" events -- but I am generally happy attending uke jams. The worst that can happen is I spend an hour with mostly nice people strumming Elvis songs at half speed while laboriously counting 1-2-3-4 under their breaths. Could be worse, the exit door is usually left unlocked, and I can always invent a new excuse for leaving early.

 

[Bill Sheehan]

Have three local groups that I could jam with every week if I wanted to. They vary in ability, size, type of music & composition which makes things interesting. Also get to zoom with a couple of groups online from the PAC NW.

Depending on my mood, sometimes attend all, sometimes none. Tore my meniscus on Jan 3, had arthroscopic surgery on Feb 8 so haven't been able to play with any of them for a while. (Kinda miss that.)

We all wish you a speedy recovery, Ampeep!

 

[ampeep]

Bill, Patty, Kenn2018, appreciate your thoughts!

 

[Kenn2018]

I agree 100%. The last thing I want to do at a jam is debate the arrangement. Let the one who leads the song do it their way and just go with it. If you feel that strongly about it, you can lead the next one.

Every song we do has more than one performer/group/arrangement that recorded it. In fact, often the original singer/songwriter has different recordings studio, live and broadcast. Plus, if you haven't heard a song for a while, your memory can be a bit off. So people can be familiar with slightly different versions.

I put a link to the recording I base the song on when I send out the music to everyone. So we're all starting from the same place.

 

[bbkobabe]

Skipping out since 2021... sorry @spongeuke ... we'll meet again someday!

<Still lurk their club feed though...>

 

[Jerryc41]

Ours is outside, so threat of rain is always convenient.

Funny!