Last Wednesday night

[Slipstream]

I went to a blues jam in Santa Rosa, CA last Wednesday night. I go there about every six months or so. Sometimes things go well, and sometimes they don't. The other sets were unusually good, but when I got up there it was . . . well, not so good.

You get to sign up for a half hour set, I signed up for 8:00. The first set was at 7:00. I was impressed by this young guy playin' guitar. He looked to be about 16. Then I recognized him. I saw him six months ago. He's only 12, but he's gotten taller, grown his hair long, and gotten way better on his chops. The kid is destined to be a force of nature!

There was a guy I know (Rod) playin' in the set before me. We've jammed together before. He was hot this night. He always plays well, but that night he was smokin'. Anyway, when they were done and I got my amp plugged in, and got my volume set, I felt ready to knock 'em dead. I turned to the other guys to see who was going to sing. I reconized the bass player (he's a member of the Sonoma County Blues Society, the 'house' bass player) so I was glad about that. The drummer was a new guy. I hoped he could keep a beat (doesn't always happen :) ). The singer/guitarist and the other guitarist had a few words, and the singer/guitarist left the stage.

We kinda gathered and the other guitar player asked me "can you sing?". I said "no, I play guitar. That's it". He asked me what we should play and I said "how 'bout some 12 bar blues?". He said he could sing 'Pride and Joy', a SRV tune. It's more of a rock tune, but it's 12 bar, so I went along. It went ok, but I could tell I was off balance.

Next we did 'Crossroads'. I thought it would be cool. I jam to Eric Clapton CDs all the time. Two things weren't quite right though. The drummer was lagging and I couldn't hear the other guitar. I did alright on the rhythm, but lost it on the lead.

We played 'Hoochie Coochie Man'. The guy singin' said he can only play it in E. I jam to that song all the time, but never in E. So I was transposin' all the way. Again, I did fine except when my solo came. I hit a bunch of wrong notes. It was embarrassing big time.

On the last tune Chris, the bass player said he could sing a Santana tune. Evil Ways. Same thing as before, my rhythm was good (actually very good, it's an easy song for rhythm), but my lead fell apart.

I was so embarrassed that I left after my set, and ran into the other guitarist and drummer outside. Turns out that the guitarist and the guy who had signed up to sing had played together before and didn't get along. That's why the singer left the stage. I thought that was kinda rude. I've felt like leavin' a stage before, but it's something you should just stick out. Heck, it's only half an hour.

Then the drummer was sayin' that he couldn't hear us. All he had to go by was the bass player. Good thing Chris knows what he's doing (except going too slow on Crossroads).

All in all, I felt bad about my performance, but I'll go back. Like I said, sometimes it all falls together, and sometimes it all falls apart. The times it falls together are what makes it worth it.

[mk-ultra]

ya theres always gona be good times and bad times, but thats still a cool set you did i would not mine hearing that..

[t_shirtsnjeans]

I always say "Ya gotta step in quicksand before you can appreciate solid ground"!

That and "Variety is the Spice of Life!" :toohappy:

[Slipstream]

ha, yeah, I stepped in somethin'. Not sure it was quicksand though. :)

[BASSMAN]

If you get out and stomp around in the cow pasture.
You are gonna step in a pile of **** once and a while.

[t_shirtsnjeans]

Oh, bassman, that reminds me of a time years ago we played the big city of Boise City, OK, and Keys, OK in one weekend and the Keys gig was outside in the middle of freshly plowed farmland and the wind was blowing at least 30mph getting dirt in all of our new equipment! Our drummer was situated and as we started to play for a bunch of true cowboys, then he said "Welcome to Dustbowl Oklahoma" very loud and every cowboy hatted head turned our way with not one smile on their faces! My brother quickly defused the situation and started singing "Amarillo By Morning" (since Amarillo is our hometown). Then later when the wind died down we really settled in and had a blast. At the end of the third set we were invited to partake of the pit bar-b-que and we chowed down on the best meal ever, turned out it was antellope! I was so impressed in the flavor and the overall outcome of the gig that I never went back. But I will!!!

Ahhh, memories, just gotta make new ones huh :D

[BASSMAN]

I like to take a road trip once in a while. I would definately come hear your band sometime. Let me know when you have a gig and I just might make it. If you play Oklahoma, defintaley let me know.

[supercobra]

Don't take it hard, 'Stream. If you compare an open jam with a pay gig, an open jam presents some specific challenges:

1) You may not know the players
2) You may not be comfortable with the stage/PA
3) If the other players don't know the songs you know, you might not get a chance to show your best stuff.
4) You often have to accomodate someone else's request, which you may not be familiar with.

If you're something of a perfectionist, open jams can really be frustrating. I guess you have to accept the downsides, and embrace the looseness of it. But you shouldn't feel bad because you didn't show what you can really do.

Next time, try bringing some lyrics w/ chords in large print for the songs you want to do. Good luck!

[Slipstream]

Don't take it hard, 'Stream. If you compare an open jam with a pay gig, an open jam presents some specific challenges:

1) You may not know the players
2) You may not be comfortable with the stage/PA
3) If the other players don't know the songs you know, you might not get a chance to show your best stuff.
4) You often have to accomodate someone else's request, which you may not be familiar with.

If you're something of a perfectionist, open jams can really be frustrating. I guess you have to accept the downsides, and embrace the looseness of it. But you shouldn't feel bad because you didn't show what you can really do.

Next time, try bringing some lyrics w/ chords in large print for the songs you want to do. Good luck!Thanks man. Yeah it's hard when ya jam with people you've never met before. Ya don't get a set list to practice, and often times guys will learn a song differently than you. Like Stormy Monday, House of the Rising Sun, or whatever. Different people play 'em different ways. Sometimes it's a tune ya never heard of. I had one singer tell the bass player and the drummer how a song goes (musta been five minutes worth of explainin') then he turns toward me and the other guitarist and says, "it's in A". Ok, cool. I'll play an A and try to fake it. Good thing I can change chords real quick. :)

I like the idea of song sheets. Think I'll do that from now on. I'll pick some favorites and make a few copies of each.

I have yet to hear a singer say, "slow quick IV shuffle in G, come in on the five". I would know just what to do though.

[gtrhrcane]

Yeah, if you can use the sheet lyrics or what not, might be handy to have with you. Get one of those 3 ring binders and start printing off stuff... I try and keep it on one page, 2 max...

At least you're getting out there to play... it is frustrating though when you don't know what's going on. The worst thing about where we've been going is that you can't hear yourself playing over the rest of the band( i.e. the drums). It's hard cause you'd like to be able to hear it... that's half the fun... :D

If you know what key it's in, just make the song yours and give it the ol' Slipstream Twist. :)

[Slipstream]

Yeah, if you can use the sheet lyrics or what not, might be handy to have with you. Get one of those 3 ring binders and start printing off stuff... I try and keep it on one page, 2 max...

At least you're getting out there to play... it is frustrating though when you don't know what's going on. The worst thing about where we've been going is that you can't hear yourself playing over the rest of the band( i.e. the drums). It's hard cause you'd like to be able to hear it... that's half the fun... :D

If you know what key it's in, just make the song yours and give it the ol' Slipstream Twist. :)What kind of amp do you use. If you can't be heard over the drums ya might need somthin' bigger, or at least get the amp up on a stand.

The ol' Slipstream Twist huh? That'll work. :D

[gtrhrcane]

What kind of amp do you use. If you can't be heard over the drums ya might need somthin' bigger, or at least get the amp up on a stand.

The ol' Slipstream Twist huh? That'll work. :D

Well, we get plugged right in to the house system, so we don't even use our amps. The stage, after the drums are set yup, is about 1'x4'.... :eek:

Yup, the Ol' Slipstream Twist.... Hey, you could write a song about it too... :D:D:D

[Slipstream]

I got an idea, when nobody's lookin', turn the PA speakers around. :)


If ya get busted, tell 'em ya need monitors.

[anthony2]

Why don't you take it as an opportunity to expand your musical playing. You said you never "Hoochie Koochie Man" in E. Why not try it. Why not try it in multiple keys with different chord fingerings.

In fact why not try and put it in a key that will force you to create a new way of playing the chords. Example of what I mean. Take a D major chord xx0232. Its fine transposing it up to E major xx2454. But try moving the chord shape D major -xx0323 down to a C#. Impossible in standard tuning because the C# is on the fifth string. The C# chord is x4666x You will have to create a new chord in order to transpose it. Don't just move the same chords up and down the fretboard, but create new chords.

Anthony

[gtrhrcane]

I got an idea, when nobody's lookin', turn the PA speakers around. :)


If ya get busted, tell 'em ya need monitors.

Haha.... you're prob right. There are monitors.... if you want to get technical.... tho I don't think you could monitor a flea farting with these, that or he really needs to crank them up. I'm sort of hard of hearing too though.... too many years of riding around with 12" subs and 6oo watts in the trunk. :o

[Slipstream]

Why don't you take it as an opportunity to expand your musical playing. You said you never "Hoochie Koochie Man" in E. Why not try it. Why not try it in multiple keys with different chord fingerings.

In fact why not try and put it in a key that will force you to create a new way of playing the chords. Example of what I mean. Take a D major chord xx0232. Its fine transposing it up to E major xx2454. But try moving the chord shape D major -xx0323 down to a C#. Impossible in standard tuning because the C# is on the fifth string. The C# chord is x4666x You will have to create a new chord in order to transpose it. Don't just move the same chords up and down the fretboard, but create new chords.

AnthonyI did that. I have no trouble transposing rhythm 'on the fly'. When I do a solo though, I have certain licks that work well in some keys and not others.

I've always played it either Eric Clapton's way or Allman Bros. way (they both do it in A), but it's a Muddy Waters tune, and I just happened to have a Martin Scorsezi Blues CD. I sorted my WMP tunes by title, and came up with two versions of the song as performed by Muddy himself. One is in A and the other is in, you guessed it, E.

The feel is different, so it takes different licks, but I'm comfortable doing it in either key now. Too late to do me any good for last Wednesday, but if it ever happens again I'll be ready. Actually I'm hoping it happens again. I might suggest it at a jam sometime. I doubt I'll ever run into the same guy though. He wasn't one of the regulars there. Just passin' through. Same with the drummer (he was from Washington, headed for Los Angeles).

Like I said, "wingin' it" on rhythm is easy (for me anyway). I need to learn more lead licks though. I've been workin' on it almost everyday for almost a year now. This summer I plan to hit blues jams in as many places as I can. I'll keep gettin' better. Maybe someday I'll be able to get paid for my work. It would be a lot easier if I were in a band though (one that likes to practice).

So I'm considering your advice to try it in "multiple keys". The thing about playin' open jams is that there's no tellin' what songs are going to come up. That makes it more prudent to learn as many tunes as possible in the key(s) they were recorded in. Of course there needs to be flexiblity. Red House by Hendrix is a good example. It was recorded in A#, but people often play it in A or B. I can play the rhythm to it in any key, but my lead on it is somewhat sad. I got parts of it down (but man, it's tough) and the parts I got down I can do in most keys (E and F are hard 'cause it's either way up here or way down there).

Stormy Monday is a humdinger. My fav is Allman Bros. but it's been recorded by so many people in so many keys that there's no way to know how it's goin' to go when somebody calls it. I had a lady singer one time, who didn't play an instrument, who wanted to sing it. I asked her which version she knew. She had no idea, just knew the words. We played the Allman Bros. version and she kept getting the changes wrong.

[Slipstream]

Haha.... you're prob right. There are monitors.... if you want to get technical.... tho I don't think you could monitor a flea farting with these, that or he really needs to crank them up. I'm sort of hard of hearing too though.... too many years of riding around with 12" subs and 6oo watts in the trunk. :oYou remind me of a '69 Camaro I had once. My amp was only 300 watts, but the speakers were two Sansui home stereo speakers on the back seat. I bought them overseas. They had 17 3/8" woofers, 6" mids, and six 2" tweeters in each one. The car had a 327 with headers and Cherry Bomb glass-packs, but when the stereo was cranked you couldn't hear nuthin' else. :D

[gtrhrcane]

You remind me of a '69 Camaro I had once. My amp was only 300 watts, but the speakers were two Sansui home stereo speakers on the back seat. I bought them overseas. They had 17 3/8" woofers, 6" mids, and six 2" tweeters in each one. The car had a 327 with headers and Cherry Bomb glass-packs, but when the stereo was cranked you couldn't hear nuthin' else. :D


nice. :D sort of an odd size for a woofer... 17 and 3/8".... :confuse:

That'd be a bad a$$ ride too...

[bag'o'chips]

ups and down bud, ups and downs =)