[Harp-L] Jam session etiquette question

["sam Blancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Patience is the word when you start attending jams.
 
The politeness and fairness of any given jam depends entirely on the people
attending that jam and the people hosting it.  
 
I've attended many jams that were not very well organized beyond a sign-up
sheet, which was not always followed at all.  I've also attended jams that
were done really well.  It all depends on the people.  
 
Many blues jams are a drag because the people in attendance are often, well,
slobs.  Many people who play blues are, unfortunately, not really the best
musicians; playing along to songs that all have I-IV-V changes is easier and
'safer' for a lot of amateurs so that's what you'll find at many a blues
jam.  It's just the nature of the beast.  
 
Added to this you will often encounter various kinds of clique elements that
make things worse though this may make things work out better, depending on
where you fit into that clique and who happens to be there.  Years ago I
went to a jam pretty regularly where I would often wait most of the evening
for my 'turn' only to have my slot usurped by some local
big-fish-in-the-little-pond showing up and being given the stage
immediately.  It sucked but I soon found out that complaining about it was
futile.  I might add here that even the physical act of making a complaint
can be tuff because jams are often about TEN TIMES AS LOUD AS ANY LIVE MUSIC
IN A SMALL VENUE SHOULD BE!
 
A good jam host should give everybody a chance to play a couple of songs,
and make an effort to group the players so that they can play as a band (no
four guitars and a sax and a vocalist).  The host should also make an effort
to keep perhaps one or two guys that are with the host band up there as an
anchor, like the bass, player and drummer.  If there are a lot of bass
players and drummers at the jam then they should be grouped so that the guys
who know each other and have played are paired.  
 
If there are any players who, from past experience, are known to be REALLY
BAD, then the host should pay attention to get them off after one song
instead of hanging with his buddies while everybody suffers through 3 or 4
train wrecks.  
 
So it's complicated and the rules have to be bent little here and there to
make things go smoothly. 
 
I think if you are attending a jam and things don't go your way you have to
ask yourself if it's worth it to make protestations and/or critiques of the
status quo.  If it looks like the thing is peopled by a bunch of rude
stoners, they aren't going to care or consider making any changes that put
them out at all.  And how ever justified you think your case may be it's
going to fall on deaf ears (both literally and figuratively!).  You'll be
spinning your wheels and getting mad over something you can't really change.
Also, if you say things that are rude or seem even slightly in the
prerogative you will probably regret it.  Though almost all jams involve
'grown men and women', people can be very petty in an environment where egos
are so involved and the players are unsure of their abilities. 
 
What do you do if the scene where you live doesn't have a well organized jam
going and you end up with a bunch of schmucks?  Find some other way to get
out in play with others.  Maybe this sucks- but that's life in the big city.
And sometimes necessity can be the proverbial mother of invention; you may
turn onto a path that works out much better in the long run. 
 
Patience is the word - patience.
 
Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh