Lessons Learned From Local Jam Nights

If you’ve played music in some sort of garage band or as a solo act, then you’ve probably experienced the weekly jam nights at one of your local musician watering holes.  Those times when you didn’t have to pitch your music to the establishment owner for him/her to allow you to play.  Of course, you weren’t getting paid either.

I’m sure there are many-a-jam nights still taking place across the country on a weekly basis in places that still crave new music, and just live music – period.  I’m kind of talking about jam nights in the past tense simply because I do not necessarily take part in them on a regular basis anymore.  But back in 1990-91, I was at Spartanburg, SC’s Dawgones (now called The Tavern) every Wednesday night, religiously.  Well, a lot of Wednesdays anyway.  It’s a new, different establishment now.  No more Jam Nights as far as I know, but great food and service from what I can recall of the few times I’ve visited in the past.

Get Out There and Be Heard

If nothing else, getting on stage with “your mates” at a local jam night provides, at a minimum, a means for you to get out and get heard by other people who’ve never seen / heard you perform.  Your closest friends will (usually) tell you that “Y’all sound great!”  But once you’re out in front of strangers, that’s when you get better, and possibly more accurate, “feedback” on your sound and overall performance.

“Calling all Hecklers!”  Depending upon the crowd and the amount of alcohol in their systems, you’re liable to get some “interesting” comments tossed in your direction.  I never really experienced anything that was borderline “fighting words,” or anything like that.  Overall, I enjoyed every time we played at Dawgones.  The mix of music and musical abilities was always rather interesting, to say the least.

The Local “Pro” Artists

There were always the small handful of local “guitar heroes” who made an every-other-Wednesday appearance.  We had some fantastic blues players, cool alternative rock groups, and even some great punk and folk acts.

When it comes to those impressive guitar guys, one could be tempted to think that their egos might get in the way of a great evening, but I don’t remember it that way at all.  I DO remember being a bit nervous every time we played, especially when we played after a really great-sounding group of folks.  But the environment as a whole was rather encouraging.

Of course, there’s probably always someone sitting in the crowd saying, “I can play that soooo much better than this guy.  He should just stop right now…” in his head, but again, I never really had any truly negative experiences.

In fact, I can remember one on the opposite side of the spectrum where, after I broke a guitar string in a song, this one guy (much better guitar player than me) quickly offered up one of his to help me (us) out.  That was probably the fastest string change I had ever made.  He asked me which string?  I said 4th, or 5th, I think, and changed it out, then on to the next song…

The Thirst for New Music

Spartanburg, like many small towns, probably has an unquenchable thirst for new music, just as it does for everyday blues and rock ‘ n ‘ roll.  This attitude is kind of what helped give one of the bands I played in, “Somebody’s Cousin,” a bit of encouragement to continue playing.

Despite our choice in music (I’ll explain here in a moment), we were normally well received by the regular attendees, other musicians, and folks who wanted to hear live music alike.  I say, “despite our choice in music,” because Somebody’s Cousin (great name in my opinion – offered by a friend of the band) chose to play early Beatles’ and Stones’ covers.  Stuff that really didn’t require much musicianship.  Singing, yes… but not crazy guitar solos and / or progressive rock chord progressions, etc.

We were actually playing live in the early 90’s, during the Nirvana and Pearl Jam time periods.  No one else was playing this kind of stuff, so maybe it was a breath of fresh air for some folks, or they just needed a good laugh, or just to feel better about their own material.  Actually, we did get some pretty genuine, “Y’all are pretty Awesome!” remarks from a few folks.

Our talent levels were pretty spread out.  We were not known for our incredible musical abilities, but rather for our unique approach to what we play.  And, wherever one was lacking skill in a particular area, he usually made up for it somewhere else.  For example… I could play fairly decent guitar and usually provide adequate backing vocals, but I was a terrible entertainer.  I mean, I didn’t just stand there with my back to the audience, but looking back… sometimes it seemed that way.

Our lead singer could play some basic chords on the guitar (at the time), but had an enormous vocal range and was normally pitch-perfect.  Not to mention that he went on to write some amazing songs of his own, played with famous folks, appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman with one group, and eventually wound up writing for The Tennessean and The Country Music Hall of Fame.

The same goes for our main drummer… He took up the guitar, wrote some very cool songs (kind of rockabilly and / or country in nature), was published in the New York Times for his lyrics, etc.  I said, “our main drummer,” because my brother played drums with us on occasion.

The guy in the group with whom I had the most in common and who I befriended first, our bass player (who also played a little guitar), was the most adept at recording.  He was also the band’s “vision holder.”  He had the ideas and the plans for our future (had we stuck to them), and he was also the one who got us our few gigs.  And it was he and the lead singer who carried the band in terms of personality.  Those two were pretty fearless, but also very genuine, on stage.  So, everyone played a role (or two, or three).

Playing on Stage With Other Musicians’ Equipment

If I had to point out some of the frustrating aspects of playing at local jam nights, I guess the first would be having to play through other people’s equipment/gear sometimes.  Whether it be using another guy’s guitar amplifier or just having to deal with the mix not sounding like you’d prefer it, sometimes you just have to kind of “roll with it,” I guess.

And the reason this might happen is that it’s just more convenient, takes less time for the next band to get ready to perform, and gives everyone else who has plans to play that evening more time.  Most of the time, at Dawgones, there were a couple of go-to amps, mics, cables, etc. available for quick setups if necessary.

Now, there were quite a few occasions when I was able to play through an amp (for example) whose capabilities and overall sound far exceeded the amp I had on standby.  I managed to play through a couple of Marshall stacks and Mesa Boogies (don’t remember the actual models) that had “a bit more to offer” than my Music Man HD-150 Reverb.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved (and still LOVE) my Music Man.  It could hang with the best of amps in most situations and has a great tube sound; however, the later generation Marshalls and Mesa Boogies just had… “more.”…

Whatever the case may be, when you’re using someone else’s gear, there’s always that thought that, “I hope I don’t mess this thing up in some way…”  So, a little pressure was sometimes added behind the playing…

I think I Miss the Local Jam Nights More Than Anything

I must say that I still kind of miss the local jam night routine we had in a few bands back in the day… Just less pressure and more fun… And, you could experiment if you so desired (or dared…)…. The rules are much more limited than those for an establishment that pays you for your services.  Services, like what you will actually be playing for them, were decided in advance in most cases.

In Conclusion

If an up-and-coming musician plans to start playing out regularly, I would suggest finding local jam nights to build that experience.  It definitely gives you a whole perspective on your sound and helps you figure out how you want to cater future performances to your liking.

Until Next Time,