find some people to jam with

We’re getting together to play some more tomorrow. George and William are enthused, and I think they are just about my speed. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow, but I am pretty sure that they will be my more-permanent jamming buddies from now on.

..because it’s only been one session so far. But I did have a great time yesterday!

It never fails – when I do these jam sessions w/ older folks, they are always amazed at the fact that I know so many of the songs they do. I try to explain by telling them that I was born in the wrong decade (har har). But the truth is, I’m just drawn to older songs. They mean more, and the melodies (the melodies, the melodies!) are so much better most of the time. Not that there aren’t some great songwriters around nowadays, but the tunes just don’t stick in my head the way something like say, “Darcy Farrow” does.

Today’s the day – I’m going to drive up to Oswego to play some music with a couple of guys (mando and g-tar). I don’t know why I’m nervous – from the ad and following emails, it seems like kind of a laid-back deal. They are not rabid bluegrass traditionalists (which would be really intimidating – I grew up listening to Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs, but that doesn’t mean I can play all their tunes). According to the ad, their influences are more folk-rock and newgrass-y – Grateful Dead, Dylan, Old and In the Way, etc. – which I feel more confident playing (less “note-y”, more room for blues and craziness). Also according to the ad, they are interested in jamming first and “occasional performance” – again, this is more my speed than the other folks I’m communicating with (who are putting together a proper band).

I hope it works – hope we can get along and enjoy playing together, because now that there is a possibility, I’m realizing just HOW MUCH I miss playing music with other people.

Got an email back from one of the more serious-sounding ads – looks like we will be getting together on Sunday to pick some! Yay. EEK. This means I need to pull out the fiddle and actually get some fiddling done between now and then – I’m pretty rusty. And kind of nervous. I hope these folks are not too TOO serious. I can catch up fast, but…we’ll see what comes of it.

Two of which, eh, we’ll see…they are more goal-oriented, and sort of old, so they may or may not have found someone already. The third I can almost guarentee will get me playing again – it’s a casual jamming group of gals. Which is GREAT, that would be FINE, and perhaps all I can handle at the moment. Though I have to admit it would be nice to be playing for other people again, too.

Keep your fingers crossed for me…

No word from the woman whose ad I answered – I emailed to check, so either I’m getting the brush off or she’s changed her mind/gotten busy with something else.

I guess the next step will be to check out some bluegrass jams around the area. Before I do that, I need to get some more bluegrass songs under my fingers. That would be an even better place to start.

Another female fiddle player looking for folks to play, write, and possibly perform music with. Her list of influences was so great – so similar to my own (well, maybe not exactly the same, but I know and enjoy every artist on her list of influences). I emailed her, she emailed me – perhaps we’ll meet next week and play a bit!

While I was sort of getting tired of the whole shebang (gigging and whatnot), I do miss playing with people that are competant improvisors. Or even semi-competant. Right now, there is a gaggle of music comp. students messing about in my living room (I didn’t invite them). I don’t mind that they are here, but I don’t really feel like sitting in with them. No offense to them, I’m glad they are playing and having fun. But I’m longing for something more than noodling around and fun noise-making. When I play, it’s to play SONGS, or to make up songs, or to at least develop PATTERNS, for god’s sake. I have a low tolerance for aimless noodling, I guess – maybe it’s a personal failing. What they are doing sounds entertaining, but I need a teeny bit more structure to my jam in order to have satisfaction. Honestly, I think playing with this group would be like herding cats, to use a tired simile.

So yes – what I’d like is to find some people who know how to play with other people, and then play with them. I know that there are some regular bluegrass jams that happen around the area – that would be fine. I also need to work out some things that my roommate and I can play together. She’s quite good at a number of instruments, so there are lots of possibilities – I just can’t do the total ad hoc thing with more than one or two people at a time. My problem is, what kind of music do I want to play? All kinds. I might have to develop separate jam partners for each different style.