Re: [Harp-L] The Pain Killers - Antone's

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have to admit it: my music world is completely different from yours.
 To me, when you first start talking about jams, there is no stage and
no sound equipment unless you bring it -- just a circle of musicians
passing the tune around.  What you are describing sounds to me more
like what we might call an open mic or open mic jam.  In any case, I
have seen a lot of different ways to run them and they usually always
have some sort of issue, usually with someone who doesn't get to play
as much as they wanted to.

One of the ways to run one that can be the most irritating is where
the guy running the sign-in sheet culls the people who will get to
play in order to fit in others he knows are really good.  You were
early, and they signed up after you, but they are hand-picked to play
ahead of you because he knows they are good and he wants to hear the
good people all play together.  It means that he may never learn who
else on the list is good, but it happens none-the-less.

We have had an open mic jam here for decades that operates very
straightforward.  You put your name on a list and the guy running the
list goes right down the list one name at a time until he hits the
end, then he goes back up to the top again and starts over.  When your
name is called, you pick up the musicians you want to play with you
and you get to play three songs.  If you came with a certain group,
like your band, you make sure that your names are all on the list
together and each of you get three songs.  This allows the show to
move faster because there is less set up time between the three song
sets.  All names are added to the end of the list and people who are
no longer there are taken off the list and the list continues to run
its circles.  This doesn't prevent occasional hard feelings, of
course, but it could not be more simple or honest.

cara


On 4/1/12, Garry <harp@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On 04/01/2012 08:08 PM, Elizabeth Hess wrote:
>> I'm curious about "the list getting full."
>>
>> I was recently (playing harp) at an open jam where there were many more
>> jammers than expected, and they handled it by putting larger and larger
>> groups of people on stage per set as the hour got late.
>>
>> Do you limit the number of people who may sign up and then close the list?
>>  Not that I'm in danger of running a jam anytime soon, but I'm always
>> interested in how other people do it.
>
> i've seen it done different ways.  one local jam has a signup sheet
> with specific time slots.  you sign up for the time slot you want,
> either as a band, or an individual.  in the latter case, they mix in
> other players as needed.  the advantage of this method, at least
> in the band case, is that you can tell when you arrive whether
> you've got a slot, and can bail or let the other band members
> know before they haul their stuff there.
>
> another just has you sign up as you arrive, and he tries to fit
> everyone in.  usually this works, but as you described, as the
> night goes on, he often crams way too many people on stage.
> the problem is made worse in that he lets his house band play
> too much; they are almost always on stage.  i've  played late
> sets there that had drums, bass, keys, 3 guitars, harp and sax.
> which just gets ridiculous.
>
>
> --
> We make a living from what we get,
> but we make a life from what we give.
> - Kathy Moser
>
>
>