Jam nights
Aparently in this bigO city I can't find any other middle aged beginers to get together with.
So I admit that I am somewhat of a fraidy cat :oops: , to walk into a bar sponsored jam night.
Has anyone here walked into a jam night where they didn't know anybody, when they were a beginer and never played live with anyone before?
I know alot of it will depend on the host and their friends. But generally speaking would they be helpful and understanding or should one expect cat calls and ridicule?
Is there some criteiria I should have down, before doing something like this, to help make it go smoother. Or should I eat my own words, and take a deep breath and Damn The Torpedos! :shock:
I am thinking about seeing if I can keep a beat. Does anyone know of any good self instruction books or programs for learning drums?
Bet I could find some folks to jam with if I was a beginer at drums! :P
So I admit that I am somewhat of a fraidy cat :oops: , to walk into a bar sponsored jam night.
Has anyone here walked into a jam night where they didn't know anybody, when they were a beginer and never played live with anyone before?
I know alot of it will depend on the host and their friends. But generally speaking would they be helpful and understanding or should one expect cat calls and ridicule?Is there some criteiria I should have down, before doing something like this, to help make it go smoother. Or should I eat my own words, and take a deep breath and Damn The Torpedos! :shock:
I am thinking about seeing if I can keep a beat. Does anyone know of any good self instruction books or programs for learning drums?
Bet I could find some folks to jam with if I was a beginer at drums! :P
Comments
If you think it's difficult where you live (where is that?), try coming out to my little burg. It's located about 25 miles east of South Bumblef**k. :?
The gist of it here: most people who play are young metalhead punks whose parents got them git'rs for Xmas so they wouldn't do meth. Then there's the massive bluegrass/country/cowboy contingency. And there's some pros around here too.
But...like you, there's not much of a niche for a not-so-young, not-quite-pro rock/pop/etc player. So I play with myself. :shock: In my studio, I mean. That is...oh, forget it.
Anyway...on the subject of Open Mike/Jam nites...they have them here too. (amazing, considering you can't even get your TV fixed here :? ). The place I like to go has it every Sunday nite, all are welcome.
Now, I've gone many times - sometimes, with git'r or bass in hand - hoping to do a few songs or jump in with someone. Here's what usually happens...either:
There's people playing stuff I've never heard of, or originals that I'm simply not talented enough to play without ever having heard it before.
Or there's \"cliques\" of people who play together, or play these places often, that make newcomers feel sort of excluded.
Or there's scads of players signed up that're SO good, you can't believe you were going to go up there and hack out the few songs you had planned. :oops: (guilty...)
That said...the guy/s who run these things are usually very welcoming and encouraging. And the patrons typically are either not listening and applauding politely when a song ends, or are pleasantly non-judgemental as to the highly variable levels of ability presented.
Case in point: I was there one Sunday when this young, scruffy, raggedly dressed social-outcast type walks in with a crappy $119 strat copy in his hand, no bag, no nothing, except a crappy distortion pedal he pulled out of his coat pocket.
When his turn came, he went up and grated out three songs worth of unintelligable...well, something; complete with untuned strings, a screechy and massively too loud distortion pedal, and vocals that make me sound like Jon Anderson. It was, even being generous, absolutely appalling.
BUT...despite the fact that it was an utterly ghastly ten minutes of \"music\" the patrons politely applauded his efforts. I'm sure there were plenty of rolling eyes and aghast faces amongst the regulars or even the other musicians (who were like that once themselves!), but he was still given his chance and not ridiculed.
So, it gives me hope that I could go and bleat out a few songs and at least be able to sit and have a drink after, rather than slink out in shame. I just haven't worked up the courage yet... :oops:
And - by the way - as far as keeping time and/or playing to drums or a beat - DUDE! You have a GNX!!! It has a metronome, will play a variety of easy, steady beats, and is a great training tool. Go with it. And, of course, you can always buy a metronome or drum machine quite inexpensively. I have a ZOOM drum machine that sounds pretty dang good, and I got it for well under a C-note.
So along comes saturday and im nervous as hell cause i've never played live or even jammed with other musicians at that point in time.
So I turn up and there is about 200+ people there and I felt like bailing
So half way through the set they call me up and I play some improv blues rock style on some tunes and had a ball, and loved every minute and the punters seemed to enjoy, the girls were screaming and I got some nice compliments after.
I dont think I picked the guitar up for a week after, cause I will still on a high from playing those two songs.
From my point of view though it took alot of guts to get up there and play, cause im a very quiet fella and to get up onstage and play is something people wouldn't expect.
That said, I am a firm believer that karaoke should have an option to play along on guitar. Call it guitaraoke 8)
For better or worse, playing git'r is one of those things where the better you are at it, the more fun it is and the more people want to do it with you. Sort of like tennis. :roll:
I highly recommend jamming to a metronome, or better yet, an actual drumbeat, no matter how monotonous. Just thrash away at 12-bar blues or some other easy chord progression, all the while keeping rhythm with the beat you've set.
You'll find that it not only improves your playing and your ear, but it also teaches you to listen to the beat and sort of absorb it and integrate it into your playing. I found this particularly important when playing my bass, since it's essentially part of the rhythm section anyway. Unless you're Geddy Lee. :shock:
I use the beats in my GNX4 quite a bit. And my little ZOOM toybox is actually quite programmable and has many awesome beats, patterns, drumkits, etc. And it cost less than a bill. Very worth it, considering I'm too stupid to build a MIDI drum line. :oops:
That said, GO FOR IT! You'll probably surprise yourself
every friday night i get together with folks at my house to jam or shoot sh!t.....whichever happens
i say we just throw caution in the wind and start a Rush cover band and meet somewhere in Missouri :P
Uh...are there women in Missouri???
I dunno........there are puh-LENTY in Nashville though
But do you really think a RUSH cover band would go over in Nashville? Wouldn't that be sort of \"counter-culture\"? I guess I thought that if you couldn't play banjo or steel guitar in Nashville, you're considered a maniac. :shock:
So...what is this about free instruments?!?
Slashnburn I bet them shots didn't take away the edge! Still had to be scary starring down the topedos!
So how do these jam nights operate? Do you just walk in and anounce 'Here I am ' or do you grab a ticket and wait for your number to be called? Just get up there and join in while everyone plays an Allman Bro. tune or Black magic woman for 3 hours?
I was thinking I would get 3 or 4 tunes down pat. Then go some place and tellem here's what I would like to do and hopefully they could do them and then keep an eye out for topedos!
For the most part, most musicians are really cool about playing with others. So, make the leap. You'll enjoy it.
Another move that I have used on ski trips, etc., is to walk up by the stage and watch the guitar player. He'll notice you watching his hands. Pick a song that they play and you haven't figured out completely. During a break, talk with the guitar player, and ask him if he would show you a certain part of that song. If you grasp it quickly, he will realize that you know how to play and you'll find that guitarist bond. If he's cool, he'll ask you to join in on a couple of songs.
One of my fondest memories of work ski trips was when I was asked to join in, and my co-workers thought I was being a drunk idiot, and begged me to get off the stage. The look in their eyes when they realized that I could actually play was priceless. It also made me very popular with my female co-workers.
There's a lot of variety. Its usually a good idea to go check the jam out before you decide to go there and play. Find the person who is running the thing, and ask them how it works. I do a couple different ones here in San Antonio. One is an open mic, where someone plays what they want, and a couple other guys sometimes join in on drums or lead or bass. Then there is the Blues Society Jam, where you sign up upon arrival stating your instrument, and the host rotates folks onto the stage to do vocals, lead etc. Since its blues, there a lot of 1, 4, 5 stuff, so its not very hard to pick up. The other one is a Pro Blues Jam, where you let the host know you're there to play, and he fits you in when he can. At the Blues jams, especially, you do get a lot of 7, 8 ten minute jams. It just depends on the number of folks that want to take a lead. One night we had 5 horn players up on stage, and they each wanted their turn, so songs were quite long.
Oh yeah, we're talking about open mic's... :oops:
Where I live, the way it works is you go in, see the guy/s running it, and \"sign up\"...this gives you a slot where, when it's your turn, you (and whoever you're with) gets to go up and play 3 or 4 songs. These people all seem to know each other (it's a reallllly small town :oops: ) so there's been times when people will ask other players that're there to join in. It's pretty free-form, except for the sign-up list, which is just to give everyone a turn.
It is a good idea to go watch a couple, see how it works, introduce yourself to whoever's running it. Then you know what to expect.
I'm still trying to come up with 3 songs hokey enough for the local drunks to enjoy, then I'm going to go give it a try. 8)
if Goatwhore,Exodus,and 1349 can play this town....I'm sure a \"Rush\" coverband can play somewhere 8) theres al kinds of stuff to see here.The farther you get from mainstream music.....the less you get paid but you at least get to play 8)
free to play
TONS!!!! :shock: like i said,i can't go anywhere without getting drug up to play :roll:
ya mean Dolly Parton??? :P :twisted:
Black Metal Band from Louisianna.they are MCS endorsees so I go to support.We've had GWAR,Buckethead and Yngwie show up in the same month :shock:
YEP!!......by the power of the BEST plastic surgeons on the planet :shock: guaranteed to take an eye out a 15 paces :P :twisted: we tennesseans call them the REAL smokey mountains
Them dang surgens. Reminds of this one time, I spotted this sweet looking bod. Totally filling out these blue jeans very nicely. Work my way over , turned to say something and I was looking into the face of granny Clampit! :shock: :shock: :twisted: I was cursing plastic surgens for 3 days after that!
I just want to thank everyone for their input and suggestions! 8)
Reckon I knew it always comes down to s*!t or get off the pot! Just wanted a little intel before going into unkown territory.
I still have some work to do before I know the songs I want to do inside and out. So don't expect a report for a few. But when I do I'll let you all know if I went down empty or with a full tank!
So if anyone comes along with a good tip or story lets hear it !
If you are anxious about hitting the open jam, go to a night without your guitar and sit in and listen to what is going on. Most hosts will do anything they can to bring in other musicians, even if they don't have any talent. They want to fill the seats. Then you could talk to the host about any questions you might have and show up the next week with your guitar. I am not so talented, so when I was learning a new song I would just turn down my instrument and fumble along. That's the great thing about jamming with others. If you don't want a solo (I'm not a lead guitarist), just tell them. No big deal and it won't put you on the spot. If you don't know the chords of the song, ask them and they should be able to show you the structure of the song before you start so you can follow along.
If you have a song(s) that you would like to perform with the others jamming with you, I would recommend bringing in copies of the tab or cheat sheet for the others. That way they can actually help you on your song. It has been my experience that most open mike nights/jams attract people who are still learning themselves. If you are lucky, the host will know his stuff, but in general, most musicians are there because they don't have the skill or desire to be out making money with their music. Of course, that's a broad stroke and there are many exceptions. But around here, amateur musicians get together at open jams, meet other people with similiar musical tastes, form groups, and move on. Hope it works out for you. Take care.
make younger players as comfortable as I could and give em a fair shot as I was once one of them. I've been to many where it was real friendly and to others that was all the local hotshots who would never belittle themselves by playing with a less skilled player so they could hog the stage and shoot their wad. That said, you might just go down the first time and observe what the situation is and see how it's run and introduce yourself to the host and see what songs they know. If they don't do anything you know, Get a couple of songs from them and go home and woodshed on them and go back the next week and give it a go. Being a
little prepared can go along way and will help you be more comfortable.
But if they're doing a bunch of stuff you know and you feel resonably confident then I would jump right in. But then I was always one to jump right in anyway sink or swim. It just depends. Being an open mic or Jam night host is a skill in and of itself.
That said, I still plan to try it sometime, just 'cuz it's free, it's \"stage experience\", and who knows if some drunk hottie on her 21st birthday binge might think I'm cute.... :twisted:
I've never heard of them!
That said, if they were on, I'd gladly go in and have a wee shred 8) 8)
I've seen awesome players get up and without much effort, play just like the original artist's recordings...impressive? not to me.
The guy/girl, that blows me away is the one who gets up there and gives it everything...and I mean EVERYTHING they have....just layed out on the table for all to see. I no longer care about how accurate he/she is, or how technical they play. It's all about *heart* when playing live.
So...how do you pick up hott chix???
Anyways all thru the movie they kept complaining about how all the bars aren't having live music anymore, and are going to slot machines ( pokies or what ever they were calling them!) So when you mentioned that you never heard of jam nights I thought of that movie , and was wondering if that was true? And if it is, clubs with a live band must be a rarity. So no wonder no one holds a jam night, when they can have a premium band.
I know it was only a movie. But still, I have no clue as to the going ons down there!