Re: [Harp-L] Why Blues Jams are Important

[Joe Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well. I'm not a religious person (per se), but I DO have my own religion (of sorts). And all I can say is that God reserves a special place in Heaven for Garry (who has done so many wonderful things for people over the years), and Rick Davis (who lightens the lives of so many musicians by giving them an outlet for their heart felt feelings).

When Garry said the words: "musicians out there who * need * to play", it was like someone had cranked over a 200 KVA generator and a bunch of anti aircraft lights went off in my head. 

smokey-joe

On Apr 12, 2011, at 2:46 PM, Garry wrote:

> On 04/11/2011 01:43 PM, Rick Davis wrote:
>> A big shout out to my brothers and sisters who host blues jams. It doesn’t
>> pay much, it is often chaotic, and you have to deal occasionally with drunk
>> and/or egotistical jerks. But it is service to the blues tradition. It is
>> helping to keep the blues alive.
> 
> nicely put, rick.  i applaud you and all the others who take this on.  in my
> experience, the folks who run jams put in a whole lot of effort for little
> material return; they get to hear every complaint but seldom thanks.
> 
> after a rather difficult first year when i started playing at a poorly run jam,
> i lucked into another one run by a guy who saw it as his mission to help the
> new guys come along.  another guy, this young hotshot guitar player, started
> around the same time i did.  johnny had great technique, but was all technique.
> over the next year or so he was turned into a serious blues guitarist.  now,
> 5 years later, he fronts one of the best bands in the area, and i play harp in
> one of the others.
> 
> the other thing that matters, a lot, is that you are providing an outlet for
> all of those musicians out there who *need* to play, but for whatever reason
> aren't in a band.  how great is it that there's someplace they can go and
> find kindred spirits to make music with, even if it's just a couple of songs.
> 
> so again, hats off to you and the rest who take this on.  may there always
> be people like you, and always be jams.
> 
> -- 
> We make a living from what we get,
> but we make a life from what we give.
> - Kathy Moser
> 
>