Starting a jam/session

[John Flynn]

I just moved to a new area. All the jams and sessions here are on week nights and they are not nearby, two factors that combine to make them not work for me, unfortunately. I am thinking of starting my own jam/session. Here are my thoughts:

> Perhaps two events a month to start, alternating between old time and Irish (one a month each)

> Saturday or Sunday afternoons

> Invitation-only

> Medium-tempo format, not a "slow jam" but not break-neck speed like some

> I would eventually publish schedules set lists and TEF files on a Yahoo group site for all the invitees

Obvious issues are:

> Recruiting members in a new town. I am especially hoping to recruit at least a few that are better players. I'd like to be kind of in the middle. I can lead some, but I don't like leading all the time.

> Finding a venue

Anybody have any experience doing this?

[John Flynn]

I just thought I'd bump this once. There has to be some experience with this here!

[mandroid]

out here, a local tavern hosted a open jam around a big table , and folks swapped what they knew.. pints for the players ..

It spawned another where the electric stuff got to be played .. they were not invitation only..

how would you meet new players if you already had to know them to extend the invitation .. ?

would they have to submit a recording to be juried for admission?

Public places after a while have sandbagged it so session faded out, , as the receipts in the time period were deemed inadequate ..

another thursday night jam , small tavern , leader , a piano player moved the thing along nicely , people came in on what was an otherwise slow night..

Currently have a Saturday afternoon Jam at the local Moose lodge , mostly accompanying singers, friends, which does give a good melody line to use for winging it on the instrumental breaks.
but It is going to fortnightly, as its lawn-mowing season.. and the 'Honey-do' lists compete on Saturdays now..

but this is a is a small town , not a major city like PGH.

[John Flynn]

"how would you meet new players if you already had to know them to extend the invitation .. ?"

Well, you raise a good point there. That should have been obvious to me. I guess I will have to make it an open jam and perhaps to move toward an invitational jam later.

Glad I asked, though. Any other good ideas, obvious or otherwise, out there?

[Jean Fugal]

>I just moved to a new area. All the jams and sessions here are on week nights and they are not nearby, two factors that combine >to make them not work for me, unfortunately. I am thinking of starting my own jam/session. Here are my thoughts:

Just Do it ..........

> Perhaps two events a month to start, alternating between old time and Irish (one a month each)

Good plan, I have been in areas where they alternate. often some of the same show up for both.
You do need to keep either one somewhat "pure" though. IMO

> Saturday or Sunday afternoons

Sundays or maybe Friday evening.

> Invitation-only

Invitation by you, or others in the group who invite folks who "will fit" and understand "jam" as opposed to open mike.

> Medium-tempo format, not a "slow jam" but not break-neck speed like some

Some slow to dedicated beginners, mostly moderate tempos, perhaps a few Quick. The hotshot players can use it as an excersize in working on their triplets and other fine points.

> I would eventually publish schedules set lists and TEF files on a Yahoo group site for all the invitees

Good

Obvious issues are:

> Recruiting members in a new town. I am especially hoping to recruit at least a few that are better players. I'd like to be kind of in the middle. I can lead some, but I don't like leading all the time.

find one or two, let them find one or two ... you will be bigger than you want in no time. LOL
> Finding a venue

find a pizza joint or tavern that is slow on Sunday , or even a non-denominational church and take up a collection for the church fund. We do that for our oldtime jam sunday afternoons.

[pigpen]

Maybe try going to some of the more distant jams and seeing if there are other simpatico players who live closer to you who are looking for the same thing. That's how the very loose jam that a few folks and I started got going. But, we meet at our homes, not any public places. I just looked for folks I got along w/ and went from there. We all happened to be around the intermediate level, which is nice, since the jams are quite advanced. It's good to be able to play some stuff at a normal pace, get comfortable with it before jumping in the fast lane if I go to the public jams (which are great too).

[EdHanrahan]

I've been attending a monthly weekend jam for about a year and a half now that actually does have limitations and/or stipulations similar to the OP's intent.

The FolkJam.org website makes it easy to find nearby musicians and/or groups (if they exist and have registered). If it's a "closed" group, as per the OP's intent, it's then easy to request membership and then be advised of exact location, time, etc.

The group I joined has been going for, well, 54 months now. There are about 30 total members, although most sessions range between seven and ten out of a core of fifteen or so. (Others, I suspect, have dropped out or moved on but just not bothered to say so).

Just as a f'rinstance, here's the boilerplate wording that the organizer, a Cafe member, includes in each monthly posting (names have been changed to protect the guilty):
_______
"Xxxxxx Jam 54! SUNDAY, May 16th, 2010, at my house in central NJ.
10am - lunchtime (typically 3 or 4 hours) with our now legendary pizza finale'.

It's NOT a formal open event in a public venue, it's just me inviting some folks to my home, as a way of making new musical friends. We have a small group of regulars and new folks stopping by from time to time. Most of us play guitar, though other acoustic instruments are welcome. We're usually willing to try all styles of popular music, and while we always want the jam to be beginner friendly, we're happy to have more experienced players sit in and inspire us.

No pressure, and ABSOLUTELY NO "I'm not good enough" excuses. You just need an instrument and a song in your heart. And a music stand is helpful.

If you're interested, join the 'Xxxxxx Jam' group here on folkjam.org and let me know! Regulars, please post your RSVPs and song suggestions on our forum!"
_________

While stated as "beginner friendly", there are some very decent players, and room for all to do their thing. We DO move to a nearby public park in summer. And the last session actually had, at one point, 5 mandos vs. 2 guitars!

At the very minimum, FolkJam has a "musician map" feature that allows you to both post yourself and find other musicians in your area, thus, easing the organizing of your own jam.

And no, I'm not really fomenting competition against the Cafe, as the two "Scott" owners are friends. Hope this helps!

[JeffD]

The main issue about the survival of a jam is that it happens consistently, as advertised. My showing up because of an advert or posting, and no one is there, is lethal to a jam.

You will need to be at every one for a long enough time till the thing takes on its own momentum, and you reach the point that you can count on attendees, even if everyone does not attend every one.

[MojoMando]

I started a bluegrass jam my area in March of 2009. I first met with the manager of the local Irish Pub that was already holding a twice-a-month Irish jam and pitched my idea of bringing in bluegrass once a month. They were thrilled! I then created a comprehensive jam website and left a pile of flyers on the table at the local Bluegrass Festival. A few days before the jam I sent out a mass email to the Boston Bluegrass Union's email list. About 30 pickers and over 50 spectators came to the first jam. At times there were 60+ pickers showing up using 3 different rooms. Attendance drops way off during the summer months due to the festivals, so summertime might not be the ideal time to start a jam. Good luck and check out my jam's website at:
www.grassjam.com

[Mattg]

Lot's of good advice for sure. I go to several different jams. This is what I look for and what keeps me comming back.

Folks want to make good sounding music. The environment makes a big difference in supporting or defeating that idea. Make sure the acoustics are good. At least good enough for folks to hear each other. A loud noisy bar or coffee shop makes it hard to hear and hard to play together.

If it's a bluegrass jam, find a bass player. It's more important than most people think.

The facilities should have enough room to where everyone is comfortable. Including the audience and other patrons.

Enforce good rules that allow everyone to participate as much as they wish and that help avoid having a few folks dominate and control the jam. Pete Wernick has a good set of rules. Google em. Make sure everyone feels welcome. Your jam will get a good reputation.

Invitation only is a bad idea IMHO. It's sometimes hard enough to get a core group together, why limit the field? Besides, it's always great when a new person drops in. It freshens things up a bit.

Accomodate all levels. Allow beginners to lurk and strum, gently encourage them to try new things and be positive when they mess up. Toss in some hot songs to keep more advanced players interested.

Email, facebook, web groups are all good ways to keep in touch with folks and cultivate a following. It also helps if something comes up and a jam needs to be cancelled for the week. Folks like knowing what's going on. It's nice to hear that, even if a jam was cancelled, it's going to be on the next week. Predictability and consistancy are key to building a core group.

If you are jamming in a business, encourage everyone to spend a buck or two. Help set up the area, clean up the area and leave when the owners want to close. I've been in more than a few jams that have been cancelled by the proprieters for one reason or another. I also participate in several jams that actually help bring in business (or at least we don't chase customers away). Win win!

[Chunky But Funky]

Hey John,
You can probably find all the musicians you want in one of several places.

1. Talk to Steve @ Acoustic Music Works for suggestions
2. Stop by a rehearsal of the Pittsburgh Mandolin Orchestra
3. Stop by a rehearsal of the Pittsburgh Banjo Club
4. Visit the ITM session @ North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock
5. Visit the Bluegrass jam @ the Starlite in Blawnox.
6. Make some friends at the Pittsburgh Irish Festival
7. Send me a PM :-D

Doug

[Ed Goist]

Hey John,
You can probably find all the musicians you want in one of several places.
...snip...
4. Visit the ITM session @ North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock
...snip
Doug

Hi Doug:

How often does NCB have an ITM session? What is the format like? Is it novice friendly? Is there a contact person for this? I'm about 1 hour away...Would you say it's worth the trip?

If some of this info is on their site, I'll apologize in advance...The site does not seems to be functioning this morning.

Thanks much;
-Ed

[journeybear]

The toughest part is the interplay between inclusion and exclusion, and keep in mind it may be easier to go from point A to point B than to just jump right in at point B. You might want to consider leaving it open - both for musicians and frequency - the first couple of times, leaving a pad by the door for contact info, and then contact players you want to continue with from that list for regularly occurring sessions. This way you can start by leaving flyers at music stores, concerts, acoustic-oriented bars, the Salvation Army, soup kitchens - you know, wherever musicians congregate - and whittle it down to a core group of like-minded pickers who play well together. What I meant about frequency is it might be best not to let it be known to everybody who comes the first time or two that the jams will be every two weeks or whenever, if you are concerned about people showing up uninvited. Though in all fairness, sometimes these people can be the life of the event, either by being a breath of fresh air, or creating some silliness that the rest of you can have a good laugh about for a good long while after.

[Denny Gies]

Does anyone know of a beginners jam session in Gainesville, Florida? thanks.