I doubt this will surprise anybody here on a harp forum, but the biggest jerks I encounter at blues jams are aging rocker guitar players. They seem to automatically assume an adversarial relationship with the jam host and try to dominate the stage. Their solos are too loud, too long, and too lame. They waste stage time tuning up their guitars instead of doing it before their set.
It may be that these local relics have the opinion that blues players are inferior, I don't know. But some of them sure have an attitude as soon as they hit the door.
Blues players are almost universally laid back and cool at jams. Young rocker guitar players are cool, touring pros who come in are very cool. Local legends are cool. There is just this one subset of aging rockers... the Rip Van Winkle rockers who fell asleep in the 70s and just woke up.
They complain about how much stage time they get, about who they go on stage with, and about being asked to TURN DOWN. In general they hate harp players. More than once they have whined about harp players to me, forgetting for a moment that I'm a harp guy.
The level of jerkness seems inversely proportional to their talent. As long as they wear all black, have long thinning hair, and strike those rock-star poses with their guitars they are Rock Gods.
(This rant was inspired by GMaj7's comment in another thread.)
Amen!! Last jam I was attending,one song lasted 40 minutes!! It was a bluesjam,and they couldn't play blues.. At lest they couldn't play a real shuffle.. So I left! Not going to that jam again unless I know there's a descent guitarplayer attending..
I've been the substitute host and ran a few jams. For me, it was a good experience, but it is a completely thankless job. Jerks are not limited to just the guitar. Some harp players are just as bad as those types of guys.
One night, I saw a female guitar player throw a beer and spit at John Nemeth, who was subbing for another host. His crime. He limited her to two tunes, because he had about two dozen guitar players in the house.
Another night, I saw a harp player get ticked off screaming that he didn't get a solo on a tune and stormed off the stage. He turned around, flipped off the guys in the band and screamed, "F*CK YOU!" at the top of his his lungs. He failed to noticed that the bandleader had given him the cue for his solo and he missed it because he was trying to talk to some chick.
Another night at a different jam, I saw a harp player call out all of the other harp players in the audience, he began to berate them from the stage. When a couple of others started heckling him, he started dropping F-bombs toward the audience before he was thrown from the stage by security.
All of the above musicians are rock solid musicians. I have a ton more stories like this...
I don't think the jerk syndrome is limited to the "aging rocker" - in fact we have several "aging rocker" guitar players at the jams I go to who are really great guys.
It is just that there are, unfortunately, jerks in the world. Fortunately, in my experience, at least, they are the exception to the rule - most jammers, from beginner to pro, are friendly, humble and fun to be around. ---------- /Greg
No matter where you happen to be, or what you happen to be doing you are going to run into jerks. No social, economic, racial, etc group is without them.
And at some time or another the jerk in the group will be us; just human nature.
We do not know what was going on with them when they were acting this way, so just treat them as you would want yourself to be treated. Including trying to explain how their actions are not improving anything.
my experiences have been mostly positive but there have been occasions where the guitar player becomes a hog and thinks they are the living incarnate of stevie ray vaughn. also thefew who respect traditional blues. i didnt believe that there was a natural tension between harp and guitar players until i saw for myself.
The last time I was at an open jam another harp player took exception to my being at the session and did his best to bring me down a peg. I generally just like to play with other musicians and enjoy the spirit of jamming when it happens--I am not into head cutting contests. But this fellow kept trying to show me up and prove that he was better than I was-- his antics, like playing over the few solo moments I had, turning up his amp too loud, trying to crowd me off the bandstand--just a bad taste in my mouth. It reminded me why I haven't been in a band for over a decade. ---------- Ted Burke http://youtube.com/watch?v=-VPUDjK-ibQ&feature=relmfu ted-burke.com tburke4@san.rr.co,
My negative experience have mostly involved aging rockers. After hosting a big blues jam at Ziggies for over three years I've seen a lot of musician "personality." Mostly it is great: guys just want to get on stage and boogie.
There are several categories of jerks. The most common is the guy who bugs the crap out of me about who he will be on stage with... It's gotta be the best players. Sorry pal, we go by list order as much as possible. Come for several weeks and do me some favors -- like not complaining all the time -- and I'll see about getting you up with the local pros. In fact, I may hire you to play with the host band when I have openings.
Joe, wow.... Things get real in the bay area, eh? Those are some jam horror stories. I've had to get assertive with jerks only a couple of times; diplomacy usually works.
But I would disagree with you that hosting is a "completely thankless job." Players thank me frequently for running a fun and fair jam. The club owner thanks me (and pays me). Our local alternate weekly paper named it the Best Blues Jam in Denver.
Mostly it is fun. The very best players who come to the jam -- the local pros who come in -- are among the nicest people of all. The regulars are great, too. The occasional jerks are a pain.
The band I play in here in New Orleans runs a jam every Thursday night on Frenchman Street, and I don't have any horror stories, nor jerk stories. We don't let it happen. We have people come from all over the world, that play all sorts of instruments, as well as numerous local players, some well known, that have just gotten off their gigs, and sometime we just keep on going until everyone is satisfied. We do not have a sign up sheet, but we keep telling people that it is a jam, and if you want to play come up and make your presence known. Sometimes we will have 4 or 5 horns players show up, and we all play together. We have a ton of harp players show up, all the time, because I am president of the Harmonica Club. We even had three harp players from Norway show up one night. We let them all play together. Its a hoot. Music is supposed to be fun, and we won't let it be anything else. If someone is way too loud, I will whisper in their ear, to please turn down, and they always do, because I ask them nicely. Sometimes when we hava a whole lot of people playing we will wind up in a big circle, and all take turns. I have counted 12 people on stage at one time before and after it is over the normal comment is "Boy that was fun"
I would imagine that some of you reading this have been to our jam, perhaps. They gave us a one month trial in March, and we are still there, and they said we can stay there for the rest of our live, if we wish.
Rick very commendable being able to run a fair jam that long.Takes some panache,diplomacy,and a strong personality.
I and quite a few good paying customers have walked on a few jams supposedly blues that turned into guitar war soloing fiascoes,here in vegas.The cream rises to the top,and the guys that are really good behave with class.
Yes some guys are grandfathered in,or part of the clique,which is understandable to a point.Funny how the biggest pains leave after there done,not spending a pittance.
Las Vegas Blues Society jams are run by a harp player,and if you run your mouth without singing or having the harp in it your out.Get there early sign in,stay late you will get your shot.
Last Edited by on Oct 12, 2012 4:14 PM
Totally unfair thread here... These aging guitar dudes spend a good $5,000 on pedal boards that are as long as some airport runways..and a hefty sum on all those polishing cloths they use to continuously rub down their guitar (on stage). Is giving them an extra 45 minutes to play the pentatonic scale THAT unreasonable? ?
Sigh.. What have we become.. ---------- Greg Jones 16:23 Custom Harmonicas greg@1623customharmonicas.com 1623customharmonicas.com
Harvey, excellent. He tours nationally with Cassie Taylor and the Soul Cavalry (Otis Taylor's daughter). He is a badass guitar player and a hell of a good guy.
Some of these comments remind me of the HCH vid where Jason Ricci was being played all over by the guitarist.
In the end, Jason walked, which is the best thing to do IMHO.
(as an aside: Weird Karma thing or what? My captcha for this post is 'thkbqb'. I'm taking that as a subliminal message to thank Barbeque Bob for his help on the chrom thread I started. Thank you Bob!)
Last Edited by on Oct 13, 2012 12:39 AM
Let’s not forget “Peddle Board Guy” who has mastered how to captivate his audience who endure the excruciating factory noises emitting through the house PA with anticipation that we might get to hear 1 clean break to determine what the guy actually sounds like as a guitar player. And you will have to come back again next week if you want to hear that.
But, all that aside, surf on over to a guitar forum if you want to know what they think of us. They generally think of us as the drunken brother-in-law on the front porch at 2am. Too loud and can’t find the key.
I’m just happy to play.
Last Edited by on Oct 13, 2012 1:16 PM
Rick - it isn't always like that. I've met some awesome people and formed some great friendships because of blues jams. The bad stories tend to be memorable when threads like this start. It's a thread about jerks, not people falling in love and getting married.
Playing at any jam is like ordering a sandwich and wondering what the mystery meat is going to be. I like jam sessions because of the unexpected things that happen. It makes you a better player to handle whatever comes down the pike.
This evening I was playing at a jam and I got the verbal nod form the main guitar to do a solo, but the other guitar player was so wrapped up in his solo he didn't stop when I started my solo. I simply stopped playing and let him run wild and just smiled at the host. He finished and I let it roll, no harm done. Live and let live is my thought process at any jam...thay are all differnt and I'm out to simply have fun.
