Stay-cations are deceiving. They offer the illusion that you have all this time to get all these things done while still relaxing and recharging. How all that is actually supposed to happen is beyond me. For me, stay-cation relaxing means ignoring bed times and
alarm clocks. I stay up later and get up even later. And then, the stay-cation is over before you know it and it’s back to whatever your regular routine is.
Yes, my two week stay-cation has begun. I kicked it off Friday night with a Netflix movie and pizza. I followed that up on Sunday by playing at the Charlotte Blues Jam. Which was fun!
I was pretty excited and pumped about the jam to begin with and then with that first set, it was so much fun and felt like it went so well that that same feeling of excitement comes surging back when I think about it or watch the video of it. Yes, there is video. Yes, I will get it posted.
It turned out to be a little eventful for me. A harp player I’ve been chatting with about some of the music finally came out to the jam and brought his 
gear. And played. I got to play with him in that first set. It was pretty cool. Playing with a harp player, at least in my experience so far, brings a certain energy and dynamic to the experience that I like. I really have a great time seconding a good harp player.
In addition to that first set being a blast of a good time, it also provided the opportunity to solve two issues I’d been having. The first was a volume or gain issue that’s been a little puzzling.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before but if I have now the story has a conclusion. Because I usually play clean, no effects pedals engaged, it seems the amp doesn’t get quite enough signal from the pickups on my Gretsch. It’s a bit longer story, to explain why the pedals matter and how I figured this out, than I want to cover at the moment. The short explanation is simply that the pickups on my Gretsch aren’t as hot as the ones on my Les Paul or Telecaster.
So for this last jam I took both my Gretsch and my Les Paul. I chose to play the Les Paul. I left the pedals as they were. I didn’t disengage anything so I ended up with at least a bit of overdrive with some bite. This time I had the opposite problem. I had lots of room to turn the guitar up and no room to turn it down, and it was plenty loud. Now you can hear me.
The other issue that got solved was how to handle the stops or breaks that some songs have. I love singing and playing ‘Don’t Start Me to Talking’ but it has these breaks where you talk sing a line followed by a punch of sound from the band and then a break and so on for about four to eight bars and then it finishes out a regular 12 bar blues pattern. I’ve been having trouble playing, singing, and getting everyone on point with those stops. Fortunately, Kevin helped out by directing from the floor. He did it just enough for me to pick it up. Light bulb on! Being able to do that and get everyone in sync made playing that song even more fun.
It was great to finally get to play with Kim. It’s always a great thing when we have new people join in. And, he wasn’t our only first timer. We had a couple few others as well. They all brought incredible talent and skills. As is sometimes the case. Not everyone had a lot of experience playing in the type of setting that is the blues jam. It was fun watching a couple of the more experienced drummers mentor and coach a young drummer who is fairly new to the jam experience. See, it’s not only some of us guitar players that need a little help.
I hope all the new and non-regulars that came out to play this time come back soon and often. They were a great addition to the evening.
I’m still pretty pumped from the jam. And. I still have the video to edit. I would like to thank Kevin for his directorial assistance. Man. That helps so much. I’m excited to get the video posted. I’m hoping to have it up in a couple of days. I still have one more batch from the previous jam to get up first. Then I’ll get to this latest one. And I think I need to look for a couple of new songs to start learning. I’ve got one in mind for sure. I wonder what else I can find.