Jam Night

Charles, Eddie (great guy), Me, Devin, Jim

Once again we rocked it at jam night! It was a great time. We played Pride and Joy, Hey Joe, and Key to the Highway. I am very fortunate to have a great bunch of guys to play music with. And even more fortunate to be sharing it with my son.

We made a good showing and it was a lot of fun. We had a great buy, Eddie, stand in for Matt on drums.

The great thing about the jam is that if you can get into the flow then the rest of the world doesn't even matter. It is hard to get there when you have butterflies. By the time you get to the flow the whole thing is over.

We met some great guys from Issaquah. The Road Dogz told us about another jam that is out in Fall City on Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Good hours for a Sunday.

Thankfully I was able to convince my co-workers that I would be no good to them after a night of music and frivolity. I am barely capable on a good day!

Our manager Sandi

I want to thank Devin, Charles, Jim and Eddie for making my day. You guys rock! Also a big thanks to our manager. It helps to have a sexy manager inspiring you.

A little recognition

Jam night at the J&M

Just kidding. If I played music for recognition I would either quit playing now or play way more. My experience is that playing is work. Granted I am not a musical prodigy or even a savant.
I play for me. I play for my son. If anyone even enjoys it a little that's great. It's not why I play. I am way too old to care what others think. On the flip side it is great that Frank Hidalgo took the picture above. It is a great picture if I do say so.
It isn't recognition of my musical ability. It does look like I am having fun though. That is the recognition.

The creative process

I am trying to get a blues band together. I am really new to the whole band thing. I think because I am such a novice that I haven't been tainted by any bad experiences. I still have an open mind.
Our band doesn't have a name yet. Our set list is 5 songs (so far). Our lineup is still pretty fluid. We haven't been able to get a consistent drummer. It is all very unstable.

The cool part is that it is still fun. It is a lot of work. It takes a lot of time to plan and get everybody to practice. One thing that is very cool is that we have a great practice space donated by the owner of Andrews Inc, thanks Vern! It does make things much simpler.

Our current lineup is Devin on lead guitar, Charles on bass, Matt on drums and myself on guitar and vocals. We had a great practice yesterday. It was very rewarding. Actually I had two practices yesterday. One with the band and the other with Devin and myself. We had to haul the gear over to Matt's house from our normal practice space. We were early so we jammed for about 35 minutes. It was sweet.

I put together some of my thoughts about the creative process at my other blog stevewdewitt.dyndns.info .

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!

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.