Jammin' at the J&M

Tonight I am jammin' at the J&M Cafe in Seattle's Pioneer Square. It is a lot of fun. Playing music as a hobby is work. I can't yet imagine playing music for a living. It is no wonder some musicians play the blues.

This is my friend Cory Wilds setting up for the jam night about a month and a half ago. He is a hard working musician.

I am looking for band mates these days. I have had some small successes with some guys I know and it has been great.

What I am getting out of this jam night is a great sense of what I want to do with my time and energy now that I have time and energy.

I am gonna play the blues and make it rock!

It's tough to play the blues

I am learning the song "She loves my automobile" by that little old band from Texas, ZZ Top. It seems to be straight I, IV, V blues in A. It isn't.

from left to right Dusty Hill, Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard

There is some weird stuff going on in the solo that I can't figure out. Being a novice blues player I am getting a little frustrated by this. I really like this 2 min screamer. I intend on playing it at jam night.

I have the notation from Cory in hand and I am going to learn this. Who would have thought that the blues were so complex (at least to me)?

Jam night at the J&M in Seattle

The J&M Cafe in Seattle, oldest bar in Pioneer Square, hosts a jam night every other Tuesday of the month.
The evening starts off with The Cory Wilds band at 9:00PM. Cory's band plays a rockin' set and then Cory brings up other musicians to continue the event.
It is a fun evening with a lot of blues music. The jams are sometimes spontaneous and other times a group will get up and play a very tight couple of songs.
If you are a blues fan it is a very cool time. The J&M is located at 201 1st ave s in Seattle, WA. The food there is great and no cover charge for the evenings festivities.

My son and I have been attending the jam for about a month and a half. It has been great. We have met several fine musicians and even had my good friend Jeremy Hoog show up and sing a couple of songs. What a great vocalist he is.

Even though this is on a Tuesday, if you are in the area and craving some blues of the most improvisational type you must stop by. You never know what you will hear.

The next jam night is November 15th starting at 9:00PM.