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

["Steve Power" <stevepower@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't actually run the jam at Antone's or control what goes on. That's 
handled by one of the guys from the Blues Society.

To answer your question regarding the list getting "full", it's more about 
having to wait before you can get on. The Austin Blues Society jam has 
become quite popular. They stick to the 3 songs and off form and the jam 
ends at 12:00.

What they do is basically put bands together. So they'll call the first 
guitar player on the list, the first bass player, etc. Sometimes you'll have 
bands show up as a group and they get called up as a group but again from 
where they are on the list. If they're isn't a drummer or whatever for a 
particular line up a member of the host band handles it.

The normal form of three songs and off is used though sometimes vocalists 
will stay on with a different line up or get called back because there 
aren't enough singers. Sometimes harp players get called up extra just 
because the guy might be good and the new line up would like it. They never 
have more than two guitar players at any one time and since there is usually 
more guitar players than anything else it has happened that they run out of 
time and somebody doesn't get to play. However, they'll usually warn you of 
that if the list is getting full.

The Cactus Cafe, one of the best acoustic music venues in the world, used to 
have an open mic with a really unusual system. They would open the "pre" 
list at 5:00. Then you had to come back at 7:00 to choose a time slot. The 
choice was given in order from the "pre" list. A lot of people don't like to 
go on first. So if you were first on the "Pre" list but wanted to start say 
in the 3rd slot, that was yours.  They would then go down the list with the 
next person having the choice of whatever was left.