JAM Sessions....yes or no?

[John A.]

Open jams have reasons for how things are done; some do it better than others.

The host band starts by playing a set; this is done because the musical evening needs to start independently of when guest musicians may show up. Showing up to hear the host band teaches stagecraft to beginners and gives the guest musicians a comparative gauge on the musical style and level of play.
The order of guest players loosely proceeds to more advanced throughout the evening; part of this reflects the traditional recital in which the newer students play first, then the intermediate, then the advanced students. This lends an ascending profile to the evening encouraging people from leaving early. Part of this profile is done by the guests themselves when they sign the sheet. You may have noticed that advanced musicians will sign for the later spots when earlier spots are still unsigned. By the end of the evening it is typical that the profile is peaking with the stage deep in talent blooming musical magic.
To the degree that the sheet's a public document typically resting on a table near the stage, it is part of the open jam as a connection hub; including your contact info enables offers to audition, sit in, sub, host, or join a band.

IME, that's not how jams are run. I've never been to a session with specific time slots. I also don't think I've seen a sign-up sheet requesting contact info. More typically, there's a sign-up sheet either separated by instrument or with a column for instrument, and people are called up more or less in order by instrument. Sometimes it's a little less "fair" than that, with the leader more consciously combining players according to ability or familiarity. But I imagine it varies considerably from scene to scene.

[Skip Ellis]

it’s the sad trombone sound.

i don’t know man. Lots of reasons in your post that jam sessions are lame. But playing with people and hanging out with other musicians and being a supportive part of a musical community is fun and rewarding

For you maybe.... for me .......no.

[Skip Ellis]

]fair enough
But this one I just can't really understand. What good is it? Playing with people is fun. Playing with new people is exciting. Having music come off when there was no music before is an exhilarating experience. I dunno.[/I]

For me, it's not and anyway, I don't like being around people I don't know (probably brought on by PTSD from my all expense paid trip to SE Asia some years back) and I don't hang out with musicians unless I'm on gig and then I go home and do other stuff. I don't particularly enjoy playing music - it's just something that I've always been able to do well enough to get paid for - I see no particular magic in it. Jam sessions, to me, are just organized chaos with no set arrangements and usually end up in a 'cutting' contest. Since I got good (relatively) enough to get paid, it's been a job, not a hobby, whether I was running a full line retail store, manufacturing speaker cabinets, or gigging 3-4 nights a week while holding down a day job. If you enjoy it and live to play, by all means go do it and enjoy yourself. I see jams sessions and open mics as just a way for a venue to get free music.

[djg]

[QUOTE=Skip Ellis;1464959I don't hang out with musicians unless I'm on gig and then I go home and do other stuff.[/QUOTE]

like hanging out with other musicians online?

[Skip Ellis]

like hanging out with other musicians online?

I spend about 10 minutes a day on here and another 5 on AGF and another 5 on the Steel Guitar Forum - mostly to see what's for sale. I might comment if I see something that interests me but that's getting rarer these days.

[DawgBone]

I spend about 10 minutes a day on here and another 5 on AGF and another 5 on the Steel Guitar Forum - mostly to see what's for sale. I might comment if I see something that interests me but that's getting rarer these days.

Having lived in Florida, I understand much of your pain when it comes to the music scene. I recently looked up a few of the clubs I was playing over a decade ago around St. Pete. Still the same clubs, still the same handful of guys I knew playing them. I been missing Florida lately for the beaches, weather, family, and chill vibe but about two weeks after I made a move I'd be missing the music scene and my band around central Texas. I don't really miss the hordes of people with city life either...

I had a book once by jazz guitarist Ted Shumate called "Chord Concepts". I noticed in it he said he used to play down at the Hurricane regularly. That's on St. Pete Beach, down Pass-a-Grille. I moved there in 2003 and never saw any music there, ever. The Hurricane is three stories with a rooftop bar and would be such a amazing place for a gig but I was told by locals that Tampa Bay's music scene crashed really hard in the 90's and now Pass-a-grille is just a ghost town at night with waves crashing on a nice beach.