Barn Music
Last night I had the pleasure of barmping my horn at the barn with a whole bunch of great musicians. It seems like half the audience was carrying an instrument of some sort.
The barn is an adult version of the tree-fort. It's situated on the outskirts of town with not a lot of neighbours. It's a nondescript looking place with not a lot of lights or fanfare to announce it. Once inside however, the barn shows it's true form. Our genial host has a small stage and a PA system set up in the corner for regular jam sessions. On the opposite side there is a well stocked bar that sees it's fair share of customers, escpecially last night. Signs and posters deck every available wall and ceiling surface. If you every wonder why the road signage budget is so high, you'll find your answers here.
The real attraction is the stage. I arrived to find a trio of musicians on guitar, keyboard and drums. Being the shameless opportunist, I quickly unpacked my horn and joined them for a few numbers. We played everything from a few Santana tunes to a nameless jam on a simple set of chord changes. It fell together wonderfully, and sounded great. The best thing was, all the musicians could play a few tunes, and then get off the stage to make room for another bunch of players to take over. There were 7 or 8 really good guitarists to choose from, and there was a pleasant variety of styles and tunes to listen to. If only we could convince them not to play "Mustang Sally" and "Turn the Page" one more time. My pal Darren calls me a "Jam Whore", and he's probably right. Being the only sax player, I got up three or four times to play, and still had lots of opportunity to sit back and enjoy the rest.
If you're a musician, a jam session is a way to test yourself by sitting in with players you've never met to make something happen. You either get up and play, or get out of the way and let someone else do their thing. There's no room for fakers and wannabes. Even the strange man with a djembe offstage in the corner got up and played the kit drum for a bit when called upon. The only drawback during the whole situation is the multitude of cigarette smokers fouling the air while I was trying to play my wind instrument. Some people just don't get it. If you need breath to make a sound, it's pretty hard with a cigarette smouldering away beside you. I finally gave up, and cleared the stage for another musician to do his thing. It was about time because his loving girlfriend wanted to hear him play, and it took a while for him to get up and find a place on the stage.
As John Lennon sang, "A splendid time is guaranteed for all."
The barn is an adult version of the tree-fort. It's situated on the outskirts of town with not a lot of neighbours. It's a nondescript looking place with not a lot of lights or fanfare to announce it. Once inside however, the barn shows it's true form. Our genial host has a small stage and a PA system set up in the corner for regular jam sessions. On the opposite side there is a well stocked bar that sees it's fair share of customers, escpecially last night. Signs and posters deck every available wall and ceiling surface. If you every wonder why the road signage budget is so high, you'll find your answers here.
The real attraction is the stage. I arrived to find a trio of musicians on guitar, keyboard and drums. Being the shameless opportunist, I quickly unpacked my horn and joined them for a few numbers. We played everything from a few Santana tunes to a nameless jam on a simple set of chord changes. It fell together wonderfully, and sounded great. The best thing was, all the musicians could play a few tunes, and then get off the stage to make room for another bunch of players to take over. There were 7 or 8 really good guitarists to choose from, and there was a pleasant variety of styles and tunes to listen to. If only we could convince them not to play "Mustang Sally" and "Turn the Page" one more time. My pal Darren calls me a "Jam Whore", and he's probably right. Being the only sax player, I got up three or four times to play, and still had lots of opportunity to sit back and enjoy the rest.
If you're a musician, a jam session is a way to test yourself by sitting in with players you've never met to make something happen. You either get up and play, or get out of the way and let someone else do their thing. There's no room for fakers and wannabes. Even the strange man with a djembe offstage in the corner got up and played the kit drum for a bit when called upon. The only drawback during the whole situation is the multitude of cigarette smokers fouling the air while I was trying to play my wind instrument. Some people just don't get it. If you need breath to make a sound, it's pretty hard with a cigarette smouldering away beside you. I finally gave up, and cleared the stage for another musician to do his thing. It was about time because his loving girlfriend wanted to hear him play, and it took a while for him to get up and find a place on the stage.
As John Lennon sang, "A splendid time is guaranteed for all."
posted by othercat @ 11:26 a.m.
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