Murphy Henry

Four students plus me means we had a quintet tonight. Logan and Mark were on banjos, Ellen was on guitar, and Bobby was on bass. Susan was on vacation, but Bob Mc was AWOL. (And after we’d done all that work on "I’ll Fly Away" so we could play it at the jam...)

The song selection was as follows:

Cripple Creek

John Hardy

I Saw the Light (on which Logan played his newly-learned guitar break)

Bury Me Beneath the Willow (Logan again on lead guitar)

Lonesome Road Blues

Salty Dog (so we could practice E and A chords)

Roll On Buddy

Shucking the Corn (so Logan should show off)

Wagon Wheel (we rock on this!)

And if this sounds like the jam is all about Logan, well, it’s not really but he did celebrate his 17^th birthday Sunday and we’re just so happy he’ll still hang out with us!

Last week, Mark attended the “real” jam that Susan has written about, and I asked him to tell us all about it. Here’s what he has to say:

I went to my first "Fruit Stand Jam" on Thursday evening, and took my banjo with me—although I wasn't at all sure that I would take it out of the truck. When I arrived, about 7:30 PM, there were already roughly 30 folks listening to the music in lawn chairs, and a group of maybe a dozen musicians, all outside the building. And only one other banjo player, a teenager who joined for only one song during the time that I was listening. I was surprised that the players were facing the "audience" and kind of bunched together in a group rather than a circle, and realized that it would be very hard for me to position myself in the jam in a way that would allow me to watch someone with a guitar. And I didn't recognize any of the songs they were playing, so I just stood off to the side and watched and listened (with my banjo still in the truck).

After a few songs, I saw Red coming up with his mandolin, so I went over and talked with him a bit while he tuned up. His son Chris and Chris’s girlfriend Jenny (who plays fiddle) joined him, and they all went inside the building, a few other pickers and strummers floated in with them, and a second small jam ensued. This one seemed less formal, and folks were arranged more in a circle, so I got my banjo out and watched Chris, who was on guitar, for any chords that I could recognize. I was mostly "fake" vamping, since I didn't know a lot of the chords, but for the songs that were in G, C and D, I was right in there. It was a blast, although vamping standing up felt really weird the whole time—I need to practice that more. Just keeping time to the music felt good. And it was thorough enjoyment getting to listen to Red, Chris and Jenny play and sing. Ellen and I, along with Susan and Bill, had seen them all just the previous Saturday at Borders, and we all loved that "concert" as well.

I'll definitely go back again, but I'm looking forward more to our Wednesday night Misfit’s jam.

Where, I must say, Mark acquitted himself just fine, which included re-improvising a break to Roll On Buddy. Go, Mark!