Jam Sessions I Dig in my Area

[Sonia H]

I'm going to copy and paste a quote from a blog one of my myspace friends posted a while back about a local jam session he used to go to. Experiences similiar to his is what motivated me to start my own jam sessions:

"Most of the time however it seems as if the people running the jams have no concept of what it takes to keep things fair for everyone concerned. It really is not rocket science to me and you have to wonder why these people cannot get that. Keep the time on stage consistent for everyone. Gauge how much time to allot to each player based on how many musicians happen to be present on a given week--you have a list in front of you--look at it once in a while and see how long it is. Don't make special arrangements for bands or players who come once in a blue moon while in the process screwing the people who SUPPORT your jam every week. The house band...the 'host' of the jam itself--should keep their time on stage short enough to ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to play. On a light night, chances are the house band will get another chance to play anyway to wrap things up. On a busy night, don't get up there and play a dozen tunes while making everyone on the list wait and wonder if they will ever get their chance. Again, these people come in and are willing to wait around for 2-3 hours to be able to play for 20 minutes or so. They do not get paid; they are willing to provide entertainment for nothing and their payback is getting a few minutes in the sun and hanging out with friends they may have met through the jam itself."

I've experienced this and worse treatment from many jams I went to in the past. Experiences like these kept me from going to jam sessions for quite some time and there's some I STILL avoid for various reasons.

Now, I'm going to list a few I REALLY DIG going to starting with the one that introduced me to The Gear Page website. These jams seem to keep it fair for all the players that show up. Where each group of jammers gets at least 3 songs (or 20 mins or more on stage) without having to wait for hours to play:

Sundays 5pm-9pm (Hosted by The Bluez Doggs) Imperial Strip Bar, 14137 Imperial Hwy, La Mirada, CA (562) 944-8000

Sundays 7pm-10pm (Hosted by The Blues Junkies) Desert Room Cocktail Lounge, 1006 West Gardena Blvd, Gardena, CA (310) 329-1911

Wednesdays 7pm-11pm (Hosted by Front St Band) VFW Post 7138, 12186 Front St., Norwalk, CA (562) 864-9246

Wednesdays 9pm-1am (Hosted by David Lamar) The Stone Bar, 5221 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA (323) 466-6061 (I've only been to this one once, but overall I found it to be fair in regards to allowing equal playing time for the people that showed up. I generally avoid the Hollywood area due to traffic and parking issues. But I was really lucky to find a free parking place really close to the bar the time I went. This is a REALLY low volume jam session almost "acoustic" in nature. So if you like to "crank it up", this one might not necessarily be for you.)

Saturdays 8pm-12am (Hosted by the Rebellious Blues Dogs) VFW Post 1944, 16157 Gale Ave., Industry, (626) 968-4782 (This is not every Saturday but usually about 1-2 Saturdays a month you can check out the Rebellious Blues Dogs Myspace at www.myspace.com/rebelliousbluesdogs008 (http://www.myspace.com/rebelliousbluesdogs008) to see what Saturday Nights they're going to be there.)

And last but not least, I always keep the jams I host at the various local American Legions fair where every group of jammers get's their chance to play and sometimes play again if there's not a lot of musicians there that particular night. You can check out my myspace at http://www.myspace.com/soniaandthesituationmusic to see when the jams are coming up. Or check out the thread "January Jammin' @ The American Legion" that I posted a few days ago.

There's probably many I didn't mention here either because I haven't been to them yet, or I DON'T think they run things fairly. If you can think of any I missed, let me know. Or any of you outside of Southern California want to include the jam sessions you dig in your area, please feel free to reply to this thread:dude

[Lil Stevie B]

Great Posting!
Excellent Info!
I've heard there is one on Sundays 5 to 9 in Monrovia.
I wonder if it's one of those that "don't run things fairly".
:dunno
I've looked around and it's difficult to find local jam info except by word of mouth.
:band
Thanks

[BluesForDan]

we need jams in the southern nh area, Nashua, Manchester, Merrimack, Bedford, Hudson. We lost the Stormy Mondays restaurant about 7 or 8 years ago, the Grainery about 2-3 years ago (after they had slowed down to 1 a month). Rooms that used to be live music have gone dj only, or worse, karaoke. :barf

[Sonia H]

Great Posting!
Excellent Info!
I've heard there is one on Sundays 5 to 9 in Monrovia.
I wonder if it's one of those that "don't run things fairly".
:dunno
I've looked around and it's difficult to find local jam info except by word of mouth.
:band
Thanks

I'm not sure if they run the Sunday jam fairly or not. I never made it out there to check it out. I was burned back in November by Gem City Grill (where that jam is held). So I don't care to go there again to support the club in any way. :nono

I have some jam nights coming up at the end of this month. You can check out my Open Jams @ The American Legion thread to find out when and where:)

Sonia H.
www.soniaandthesituation.com (http://www.soniaandthesituation.com)

[Lil Stevie B]

Looks like a new local jam is starting.
Thee Rhythm Kings NOT to be confused with my brother's band, The L.A. Rhythm Kings http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=265183849

THURSDAY NIGHT BLUES JAM 7:30 PM - 11:30 PM
STEVE'S BBQ
7007 GREENLEAF AVE
WHITTIER CA.

[Sonia H]

Looks like a new local jam is starting.
Thee Rhythm Kings NOT to be confused with my brother's band, The L.A. Rhythm Kings http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=265183849

THURSDAY NIGHT BLUES JAM 7:30 PM - 11:30 PM
STEVE'S BBQ
7007 GREENLEAF AVE
WHITTIER CA.

Thanks for adding that one. Steve's BBQ is gettin' the Thursday nights goin' again!!! A littler earlier this time 7:30p-11:30p. I went last Thursday, sat down, had one drink, then my son called me to pick him up from a basketball game. They were just about to have me come up and play too. Oh well. I'll probably go back again next week or in the near future. Was cool to see a few people there I hadn't seen in a while and I'm looking forward to going back soon.

[henry_the_horse]

If the venue allows non-musicians to watch the jam, changes are the venue owner will like good sounding music on-stage all the time. This is a problem, as it suggest the idea of letting bands get onstage. I have had many a bad nights when bands are allowed on-stage. This is a captive musician audience. One is looking for great interaction between non-acquaintances musicians, not to listen to some pre-organized and rehearsed band material.

I was once in two very good jam sessions where if the organizer discovered a band going on-stage he would pull the plug and get them down. Same thing with free-jazz. That made the spectrum flow between good performances of musicians that had never played together, improvising over well known easy standards, and never recurring to the "let's jam over an never-ending vamp with no solo order".

Regards

[Sonia H]

If the venue allows non-musicians to watch the jam, changes are the venue owner will like good sounding music on-stage all the time. This is a problem, as it suggest the idea of letting bands get onstage. I have had many a bad nights when bands are allowed on-stage. This is a captive musician audience. One is looking for great interaction between non-acquaintances musicians, not to listen to some pre-organized and rehearsed band material.

I was once in two very good jam sessions where if the organizer discovered a band going on-stage he would pull the plug and get them down. Same thing with free-jazz. That made the spectrum flow between good performances of musicians that had never played together, improvising over well known easy standards, and never recurring to the "let's jam over an never-ending vamp with no solo order".

Regards

I'm not sure I quite understand all of what you're saying about "non-musicians allowed to watch the jam". In most of these venues there's a mix of musicians and non-musicians. Which is necessary because unfortunately most musicians aren't the best "consumers" as far as making money for the bar and/or restaurant. So I feel it's necessary to have both musicians and non-musicians at the jam to keep everything afloat.

As far as "pulling the plug" on any "bands" that show up that want to play....I don't really think that's fair. If they all arrive at the same time, know each other well, play comfortably and fairly well together, I feel it's best for everyone involved to let them play together. There's nothing worse then getting on stage with someone you don't "click" with.

Most of the jams I do are a combination of jammers coming up in jam groups. Every once in a while a full band will want to come up and do a set of their songs (originals or covers) that they've rehearsed together. Which is fine with me as long as they all arrive close to the same time. In other words, I don't feel it's fair for one or two band members to arrive hours later then the rest of the band and expect to get up on stage at the same time.

So in summation, I feel it's only fair to let the jam groups and rehearsed bands all get their chance to come up and play since that's what they came to the jam for in the first place. From what I've experienced in the past, the rehearsed bands aren't always "better" than the jam groups. Most of us So. Cal. jammers have known each other for years and even though some of us don't rehearse together, we know which songs the other does and can play together just as well or even better (at times) than a rehearsed band.

[henry_the_horse]

The idea of a (jazz) jam session is to get in contact with new musicians and find new gigs. A&R and producers attend jam sessions looking for talent.

Say, a new-in-town musician gets to NYC and wants to get in contact with local musicians and producers. He/She finds out where and when the jam sessions are. Then attends a jam session, get onstage to play and show his/her talent. Probably he/she doesn't "click" with the musicians of the ensamble when it was his/her turn, but it is also possible to be approached by musicians off-stage that digged his/her licks.

Rehearsed bands and ensambles steal the show because the sound and exchange is not spontaneous.

It happened here in Buenos Aires at many jams session venues, where, besides the house band's turn, bands were allowed on-stage. The lonely musicians looking to introduce themselves and get potential gigs, start leaving the session or not coming back again. Ultimately, the "big shots" who enjoyed jamming with new talents start missing that session too or fleeing to other sessions. With them, their friends and producers leave too.

That's why many jam sessions are run by big shots or jazz teachers who don't allow bands on-stage.

This is of course in the jazz genre, where there is a canon of song standards. For the blues and rock genre there isn't, so much spontaneous jamming between musicians who are playing together for the first time are endless rock/funk vamps or 12 bar blues. Eventualy this becomes chaotic, as there is no soloing order or defined ending. Then audience doesn't pay attention to the stage or leave the bar.

Rehearsed rock bands can get a song grooving and moving with ease. There are constensual starts, stops, solos and endings.

This is my experience with jazz and rock jam sessions in my area.

Regards

[Stu Blue]

Anyone looking for a really well run jam in the blues rock vein in London (UK) should get themselves to The Cardinal Wolsey Pub in Hampton Court on Mondays. Mostly very high standard and even the lesser mortals manage to entertain the packed audience. Very welcoming and helpful to newcomers too. Plus a really nice atmosphere. Been running for years but unfortunately under threat from new owners... The guys who run it also has started a couple of others in decent places. Look up Jam-Pact.com here http://www.jam-pact.com/index.php Frequently much the same crowd/players at the Grey Horse Kingston on Wednesdays. There's also an increasingly inaccurate list of all the London jams at Blues in London.com here http://www.bluesinlondon.com/jams.html

Oh, don't knock 12 bars, it's possible to make them all sound very different and interesting...

[otaypanky]

Playing out at jams for a good number of years, I've found 2 schools of thought on jams ~
One is the first come first play jam, the next is the best in the house jam. Each can work well depending on venue ~
Most of us probably attend the more democratic type of jams. You sign up and play in that order. And people often get upset if that is not strictly adhered to. I guess that's a good way to do it at smaller jams or jams at little local places where the people in attendance are mostly musicians waiting to play.
The other type of jam may ruffle the feathers of a lot of players, but I think it's actually a good way of doing things, from an audience perspective. For years I was a regular at a busy N.Y.C. jam. It was packed every Sunday night and hosted by a really good, but hard nosed, player accompanied by great people. You had to earn your spot there. My first night there, I arrived almost an hour ahead of showtime and was the first person signed up. I never got to play all night. But---, the jam was really good, there were some great players, the place was packed, and the bar made a lot of money. I went back again the next week, signed up early, and didn't get to play until the very last song of the night at 1:45a.m. Doesn't seem fair right? Maybe not to the guy waiting it doesn't. But think of it from the perspective of the audience or bar owner or employees. This hard nosed jam host always picked the absolute best talent in the house. That way, the music was as good as it could be for as long as it could be. The audience got the best, that kept the place filled. That kept the bar busy, which attracted even more people because everyone knew it was packed and that the music was great. I witnessed more than once where the jam host would get up on stage and stop a group cold 2 measures in when he could see it was going to be a train wreck. He'd throw whoever was the problem, or all of them if needed, right off the stage. Cruel? Maybe. But a busy bar full of people didn't have to endure listening to the endless wankings of someone who really couldn't play nearly well enough to be in front of an audience. A newcomer like myself had to wait to be 'discovered'. Once I finally got a chance to play, the host realized I knew a bit and was ok to rely on. As the weeks went by I got plenty of play time. But I had to earn it.

The jam I get to each week now is not in a big busy bar in a major city. But it's probably the best jam and fun time I have been to. It's hosted by our local Blues Society chapter and held in a funky little private veteran's club building on 22 acres in Pennsylvania. Each week there are probably 150 people or more in attendance. All I know is it's hard to move sometimes. Not only players, but a listening audience that hangs around drinking and dancing all night. It's a very well run and organized jam. Each week a volunteer host runs it. There is a clipboard for sign-up. The host then will post the names on to a large dry-erase board organized into sets so you can see from across the room who's up and when. Each set is 4 songs or 20 minutes, whichever comes first. As is typical at many jams, the first people signed up always seem to be the ones that need the most practice, so things don't always start off great. But it's a big weekly gathering of friends, the lager is $1.75 a bottle, the place is packed anyway, and nobody cares.

As far as bands going up, I don't see whay that should be an objection at a jam. The interaction of the musicians is still just as valid to me whether they've played together before or not.

[Jam-Pact Mark]

Hi Stu Blue, thanks for mentioning our jam in Hampton Court - and for bringing your amp down for the use of all. Just a note to say that this jam is moving to The Elm Tree pub in Victoria Road, Surbiton - just around the corner from Surbiton station - starting from Feb 23rd, every Monday. This first night will feature very special guest Mick Rogers of Manfred Mann fronting the house band.

On the subject of jam methodology, we don't do either "first come first served" or "pecking order", but somewhere between the two. We look at the players present and try to put the best combinations together to get both the best music, and balance giving the least experienced players the best opportunity whilst not overly limiting the scope of the most experienced players. As we have a good and appreciative audience, we try to get the best playing experience for the musicians and the best listening experience for the audience that we can. Not an easy task and with 30+ players - sometimes over 40, some of which do turn up later but are singer-players of some note that might get a set quite promptly as it makes a new line-up possible, it becomes quite a juggling act to fit it all together. We do make a point of making sure everyone does get to play, although sometimes a player that arrived early but hasn't played by say 11-ish will leave thinking that they have been overlooked, only to miss out on a set ear-marked for later. Unfortunately, you can't keep all of the people happy all of the time, but we do try very hard to make it a good experience for everyone there.

It may be of interest to mention that we also run a Wednesday jam at The Royal Oak in Guildford and a Sunday jam at Proud Camden - in the Stables Market, this one we alternate with Roadhouse, Robin Bibi and Jimmy Dublin. Our next date at Proud is Feb 8th featuring Rich Newman - Rory Gallagher's drummer, and Guitarist Murray Gould - Elton John, Eric Clapton, Shirley Bassey, Trevor Horn etc.

Anyway, thanks again Stu Blue.

Happy Jamming, all the best - Mark.

[otaypanky]

It sounds like you a great job Mark. I wish I could drop in to one of your jams. I really think that's the best way to try and organize things, a bit of a non-stop juggling act for you, but with the best rewards for all. For those that get a bit miffed and leave, well, what can you do, that always seems to happen. They are usually the same players that when they do get a chance to play, leave immediately after. As opposed to hanging and just enjoying the scene and hearing the others play. Who knows, maybe even learning something?
As you say, Happy Jamming

[Lil Stevie B]

I went to check out a jam I heard of in Cerritos last night. At a Philipino restaurant(?). It was supposed to be from 6 to 10. I got there around 8:20. They had a stage with drum kit and a guitar rig with a strat leaning on it. No one playing! I asked if there was a jam on Mondays. She said yes, but last week no one showed up till 9. My opinion was "deadsville" - if no one is motivated enough to be there at 8:20 - it must be a suckish jam. It might have been interesting to see some Philipino blues though.

[Sonia H]

I was thinking about going out there last night to pass out flyers for my jam this Friday. I called that restaurant first and asked if it was a jam with a full band or solo artists and he couldn't really answer my question. What I gathered from what he was telling me, it sounded to me like it might be one of those "coffee shop" kind of open mics with acoustic singer/songwriter and/or poetry/spoken word types. Pretty much the type of situation wouldn't really gel with the type(s) of jams I go to or host. I'm glad I didn't drive all the way out there, to find out it wasn't happening. I'm sure with better promotion, though, it would go better. I don't think they're really doing too much to make things happen out there.

[Lil Stevie B]

It appeared to be a family restaurant where the kids of the family have friends that jam together. No house band per se. That's what it seemed like - but I have no idea really. There were no players or people there to listen to music. When I asked about jamming - the hostess lady (owner?) said "they might be here later - you wanna come back". Overall, I don't think you missed any players for your jams in that place. There was only one table occupied with people eating (about 6 people). The room seemed very live (but large) because it was empty. I don't think I'll ever check it out again - unless I want to have some Philipino food (or is it spelled Filipino?).

[Sonia H]

I ended up going to "Karaoke with the Band" at the Anarchy Library instead that night:beer