The "Jam Scene"
courtesy of Dennis Hardesty
Since I knew my wife and I would be on the Coast all weekend, (celebrating her birthday, Valentine's Day and our friends' 25th Anniversary), I resolved to start jamming early, and on Tuesday night drove to Rogue River, where I had heard a new jam was starting up at the Creekside. When I walked in, I recognized Gene, Bill, and Steve--otherwise known as 'The Remedy'--from my occasional visits to Mahoney's. As Steve finished setting up, Bill came over and explained that their Tuesday night jams at Whiskey River were no more, and someone put them in contact with the Creekside, which none of them had even seen before. They were a tad anxious, with good reason; besides the band, two friends, the cook/bartender, and me, the bar was empty
Despite the empty house, they fired up on time and played hard, and it was a treat for me to hear them in a larger, more comfortable room. They played plenty of stuff old enough for me to know; from Cream to Pink Floyd. I passed up a chance to sing early, and soon Aaron stepped in on bass to become the first jammer of the night. The music was tight, but the bar stayed empty. Just as it was looking pretty grim, at ten PM people started rolling in--much to the band's relief--and many of them were obvious friends and fans. The energy level and volume went way up, and at 11:30 I finally got up for two songs.
I hope some more musicians try this jam out: it's a different night, a big, comfortable room with dance floor, and the first two hours had lots of room for players. Of course, who know what next week will be like?
Thursday night, the Cedarwood had a full-band jam, with Big Ron backed up by Russ McClellan on drums, Mike Bowman on bass, and Mike Herman on guitar. Jammers started rolling up almost from the beginning, including Alex on harp, Paul Olson on drums, 'Ridge' on bass, and 'Ray' on guitar and vocals.
Kevin Widdison played electric on his set, and got the house on its feet with 'Fire on the Mountain' and others. 'Big John' sang solo during a break, then 'Ray' came up again to provide him some guitar backup. Marggy put on her usual energetic set; 'Lucky' showed up at almost eleven, but had time for at least one tune. Other jammers made their contributions, but their names are lost in space--and/or my notes left at home.
Whatever live music happened in Grants Pass this weekend, I missed it by jetting to Bandon after work Friday to enjoy pounding surf, a day of crabbing, and lots of good company. Saturday night, a flyer announcing 'Harp music with a mischeivous touch' drew us to the Phoenix, a newly-opened establishment on the waterfront, where we were thoroughly entertained by Candace K, her harp, guitar, and dulcimer; not to mention her vocal performance, which slipped easily into and out of Joni Michell territory.
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