Everyone thinks that bluegrass jams are all touchy-feely and lovey-dovey and that everyone is just there to have a good time and help their neighbor if she or he gets lost or stuck. Few people recognize or admit to the subtle undercurrent of competition running beneath this “aw shucks” facade! The Tip Jar Jam is no exception!
First, the back story, Part 1: I have told the jammers that if they are the lead singer of the song or they have suggested the tune and have kicked it off, then, if they want, they can take an extra last break when the tune circles back to them. I almost always take that extra break myself (!). Following my example and with my encouragement, Scott also can be counted on to take the extra break as can Bob A. Interestingly, Bob Van will often pass up an extra break, or will even pass up a first break if, for some reason, he deems it better for the song or for the group.
Back story Part 2: At the TJJ we long ago developed an arrangement of Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms that had Scott and Bob Van swapping verses. (I think it was because neither of them knew all the verses.) During one recent performance at the jam, Bob ended up singing the last verse and didn’t throw Scott that extra break, although I could see that Scott was ready, in case he got the nod. Naturally, after the song ended, Scott was kidding Bob about “cheating him out of a break.” Totally and completely in jest. Much laughter by all. (We do laugh a lot in the Tip Jar Jam!)
So, last night we did Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms again and Kathy kicked it off. Scott sang the first verse and took his break. Bob Van sang the second verse and then Kasey and Ben took consecutive breaks. Then, to my surprise, Scott took another break before singing the third verse. After he sang, Bob A took a break and then Bob Van took his break before singing the last verse and chorus and ending the song.
When we were done, I looked at Scott and said, “You know that taking an extra break in the middle of the song is definitely non-standard. I’m just telling you this so you won’t get your ass kicked in a real jam.” Scott says, sorta sheepishly, “I know, but I felt I had to redeem myself.” (He thought he hadn’t played his break well.)
Then Bob Van speaks up and says, “Yeah, that’s why I ended the song so quickly. I didn’t want you taking another break!” And I said, “Whoa! This jam is getting cut-throat!” And we all had a good laugh about that. And I wrote it down for the blog.
But there is a grain of truth and a lesson to be learned in what happened. You think people at the jam are not really noticing what you are doing. And, in truth, they really don’t care much about how you play, unless you fall out of time or stop and screw up the song. But they will notice and remember if you don’t follow the unspoken rules of the jam. And in a large jam one of the unspoken rules is that everybody gets one break. You can squeeze in that extra break only if you kick off an instrumental or if you are the lead singer and kick the song off.
As I said, Scott and Bob A and I always want that extra break! And there is nothing wrong with taking it. And there’s nothing wrong with passing it up either, just to keep the other jammers on their toes!
Next subject: (Couldn’t find a good way to segue into this!) We did a new thing last night when we were playing Old Joe Clark. After everyone had taken a break (NINE breaks!) I said, as I often do, “Everybody play together!” Which they did. But I noticed that with four banjos playing at the same time, I couldn’t really hear the guitars and Kristina’s mandolin (she was soloing on Old Joe for the first time and did an excellent job).
So after we’d ended the song, I said, “Let’s try something new. Let’s have all the guitars and the mandolin play the A parts together and then let’s have the banjos play the B parts.” They all looked a little skeptical, but they tried it and it sounded great! Then I said, “Okay, let’s try it the other way. All the banjos play the A parts and then the guitars and mandolins can play the B parts.” And that sounded great, too. Kathy asked which way I thought sounded better, but I thought they both sounded good.
This is an example of some of the variations that will work in a large group, if you have players who are skilled enough to know what the A and B parts are and capable of coming in on that particular section. I am proud to say that the Tip Jar Jammers can do this! Jamming every week has really helped them elevate their playing skills.
And now for our weekly fashion report: Kasey was wearing the cutest little dress last night. I don’t have the fashion expertise to adequately describe it, but it was a light pink with some sort of cream-colored short jacket-like thing on the top. And I loved her gold sparkly shoes! Ben said to say that he was wearing dark brown boots with mud on them! And a fashion shout-out to Bob Van who had on yet another nicely pressed short-sleeved shirt and what looked like new jeans and Top-Sider-type shoes with black socks. I do notice when you dress up, Bobby! You clean up good!
There is no dress code for the Longest Day Jam tomorrow! See you there!
Here is the link in case you haven’t had a chance to donate yet. Our team is called Murphy’s Misfits.
My Team Page:http://thelongestday.alz.org/home/team/90881
Thanks SO MUCH to all of you who have donated. I appreciate it so much. As you know, I’m doing this jam to honor my mom and dad, Wynk and L.G. Hicks, who both developed Alzheimer’s in their later years. You can well imagine how much I’m hoping for a cure!
Murphy Method Blog 