[Harp-L] Jon Gindick Harmonica Jam Camp Report

[Elizabeth Hess <TrackHarpL@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

With thirty campers and seven coaches, no two people could possibly  
have the same Jam Camp experience. This was my sixth camp, and for me  
it was the best ever.

The flavor of the group can make a huge difference in the overall tone  
of a camp. This group seemed especially cohesive and inclusive. One  
might think that this is a luck-of-the-draw kind of thing, but this  
time Jon circulated a list of students’ names and email addresses  
before the camp, and encouraged campers to coordinate rides, etc. Some  
of the campers met in Memphis before camp began, and there was a  
drop-in party/jam/sing-along in one of the shacks the night before camp  
officially started that really broke the ice. There were many return  
campers – and joyous reunions. People do tend to form natural clumps,  
but there seemed to be an overall effort to include beginners and  
newcomers and not be clique-y. I’ve written to Jon to encourage him to  
do this again, next time.

TJ Klay, of Nashville, and Harp-L’s own Hash Brown joined the coaching  
staff last September, and returned this time, so the staff roster was  
exactly the same this time as last. The coaches all seem to work well  
together, compliment one another's strengths, and enjoy one another’s  
company. In addition to Hash and TJ were Cheryl Arena, Brian Purdy, RJ  
Harman, Adam Gussow, and, of course, Jon Gindick.  Each has something  
different to offer; all are supportive and encouraging.

There were whole-group jam sessions (with house band Guitar Mikey and  
the Real Thing), small group lessons, and many opportunities for  
one-on-one instruction. People could also get guitar lessons. I asked  
for got an introduction to the electric bass. (“Elizabeth this is the  
bass guitar; Bass Guitar, this is Elizabeth.”) I have no intention of  
actually learning to  *play*  bass guitar, but I thoroughly enjoyed  
having a chance to satisfy my curiosity about it.

The overall philosophy of Jam Camp, according to an interview with Jon  
in the Clarksdale Press Register, is “to short-circuit the intellect so  
that people can draw upon a lifetime of listening and loving music.”  I  
might be one of the least intuitive people on the planet (go ahead,  
call me a theory-head), and some of the classes were a great struggle  
for me in that regard. It often is, but it’s a worthy struggle, I go in  
with my eyes open, and I always come away from Jam Camp glad to have  
gone. This one was no exception.

---
The full newspaper article can be found at:

http://www.pressregister.com/articles/2010/03/31/news/ 
doc4bb1fbfcd1b6d042870332.txt