Off Topic Open jam night?

[paranoid70]

I participated in an open jam night at a local club last night. It was fun, but kind of weird. It was kind of like getting together to rehearse with some guys with a dozen people watching.

The 'house band' was actually 3 guys who never played together. I also didn't know how to play nearly all of the songs we did. Luckily, they were pretty easy, so I kind of picked them up on the fly. Mostly classic rock and blues songs, plus two Dead songs that I picked up really well. The Johnny Cash song was what really stumped me... I just turned down, I don't know jack about playing country.

There was a female singer in the audience that came up and did a few songs (that I didn't know how to play), but those went over great. We did a Tracy Chapman song that sounded killer. Her friends really dug it, and I really enjoyed it. I never played with a female singer before. Plus, having a lead singer really takes a lot of pressure off the players.

In my opinion, it was borderline decent on the verge of trainwreck at times. But, hey it's open jam night, so I guess expectations weren't too high. Certainly not from me.... bottom line was I had a lot of fun and met some cool people.

Oh yeah, I brought my Albert Lee. I got the guitar in January and have never taken it out of the house. Since I knew we would be playing some blues I figured the AL would be a nice choice. Man I love that guitar.

So anyone else ever do one of these 'open jams'?

 

[Purple ASS]

Great stuff....nothing comes close to getting out there and playing with other folk. I could never be a bedroom player personally, It's all about playing live for me.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Oh yeah, I brought my Albert Lee. I got the guitar in January and have never taken it out of the house. Since I knew we would be playing some blues I figured the AL would be a nice choice. Man I love that guitar.

So anyone else ever do one of these 'open jams'?

Oh yeah I love going to some local jam nights - we use them to rehearse new numbers we have just learnt.

I quite often take the AL and last Thursday someone said "Hey that's a pretty guitar!!". I used it with my Marshall (using the wacky settings I recently posted a thread about) - kicked in my overdrive pedal and use the wammy - Hendrix style - sounded awesome. The Al (especially with the piezo) can cover just about anything - it's definately no one trick pony.
I've also stepped in and played bass and drums and also just sang on some numbers. - love it.

 

[SharonG]

They can be alot of fun. Kind of like Forrest Gump's Box of chocolates - "You never know what you're gonna get" ..............

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

I have been running a jam session for over 10 years, and also have attended them as a punter ever since I have been playing. Quite simply, they are great fun! You get to play with lots of different people, play lots of unfamiliar songs and meet lots of local musicians.

One skill that you learn, is to get a usable sound out of more or less any amp! Often you only get a few minutes to plug your guitar and pedal in and off you go!

I would say that playing at jam sessions has been vital to develop my skills as a guitarist. You can sit at home playing your sweep picking licks until you are blue in the face, but playing with real people and being put on the spot is what its all about!