I Jam Therefore I Am

jam 3. [slang] to improvise freely, esp. in a jam session.

There is something magical about jamming with other musicians. I know this feeling well, as through out the years I have set in on many jam sessions. From full blown sessions with drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and P.A. to just 2 acoustic guitars on the back porch. I have jammed on electric and acoustic guitars, and drums. I have spent countless hours jamming with me on drums and just a guitar player, or just a bass player. Heck even one time with just a DJ scratching!

It doesn't matter how large or small a jam is, or in what configuration of musicians/instruments it happens to involve. The fact is musicians involved in a jam, are playing what ever comes out of their heart in that moment. That is where the miracle of jamming happens. There is a give and take among those involved. For instance, as a drummer, I can control the dynamics of the music by laying back, or not playing so loud. As soon as I begin to lay back, the rest of the musicians will follow along. Sometimes, a guitar player can mark a crescendo causing me to begin opening up behind the kit or, I can start it myself.

There is also a give and take if you have multiple guitars playing. One takes a lead spot and the other two lay back by palm muting the guitar, or bring texture to the music by playing different chords. The two guitar players laying back can also accentuate the musical highlights creating syncopation, by strumming differently. The list goes on and on, and is only limited by the musicians creativity and skill on their instrument.

This is not to imply that every time a musician jams something miraculous happens, because trust me it doesn't. For a myriad of reasons jams have different degrees of enchantment. There can be opposing trains of though among the musicians participating, or there can be too much life chaos that one cannot block out, causing the musician not to be fully present. There can be technical difficulties, or equipment failure that can blow a vibe right out of the water. Sometimes, you have an off night. Whatever is effecting one musician effects the jam, to one degree or another.

Unless something drastic happens, all jams can be categorized into three simple areas; good, great, and Awesome! Each time a musician jams they expose themselves, causing them grow musically. When the jam is good, you walk away satisfied, but with a feeling something was missing. When a jam is great, you see the smiles of the musicians reflected in the music. When a jam is awesome it's like the floor disappears and you are floating in a serene space. You are simply free, in the moment. There is no effort, the music just happens. This is what we strive for when we are jamming, to sync up in the moment, and let it happen naturally.

Last night a pickin' buddy of mine showed up with acoustic guitar in hand. I have not played my guitar in over 2 weeks so I was a little apprehensive. Rust starts to develop real quickly, especially when you get older! We get tuned up, and take off on the first tune. I wanted to play rhythm and let Earl take the melody/lead so I started off the first tune and he just fell in. Earl was weaving around, over/under, and side by side the rhythm I was laying down. I wound that tune down and started another, not giving Earl a chance to start a rhythm. I could feel myself beginning to warm up, and get more comfortable with the guitar in my hands. Earl was having a great time playing lead, and I was having big fun playing rhythm. I wound that song down, and I needed to re tune. While I was tuning Earl said he wanted me to play lead, and I reluctantly agreed.

He takes off on a new idea he is working on and I tip toe out on the fretboard. As I am playing I begin to focus on the moment, and just let my fingers go where they want. Playing lead is not a strong point of mine. I have messed around with it over the years, and I can get around the fretboard a bit, but that is about it. I can't think about music theory when I am making it, it just happens.

I was lost in the moment when Earl started to wind the song down. When we finished the song Earl was just staring at me, so I ask him what was wrong? He started smiling and said that was beautiful! Earl does not give compliments very often so I knew that I had struck something inside of him. I told him, I didn't do anything special, in fact it's the same old stuff I have been playing around with for years. He said it was different, so I ask him how was it different. He said it just felt right. I thought about it and said if you say so, not really believing what was happening.

He takes off on another idea he is working on, and again I tip toe out into the music, focusing the moment, and let my fingers go where they want. When I am playing a lead I can hear it in the distance, but I am really focused on what the rhythm is doing. Trying to accentuate, or articulate, what the rhythm is saying to me. I feel like I am meandering along...which is essentially what is happening. I hear Earl winding the tune down and we end it. Again he is sitting there smiling and I say what? He said you did it again, and I have no idea what he is talking about. It sounded like it always sounds, nothing more nothing less.

You would think if I was doing something that was out of this world I would feel it, but I did not. I believe there is a reason for this. I was so focused on the moment, the moment I was in was all that mattered, not the next and not the past. I could feel the notes work as I played them, but that was all there was no context other than the moment. I had found the space of an awesome jam and was too focused to see it.

When I am behind a kit jamming, I am much more comfortable than I am with a guitar. In that comfort zone I can feel the the different types of jams I described above. I think it also is the fact that drumming is pure rhythm, meaning, no musical notes if you will. With me usually being the only drummer I can play what fits the music without having to worry about another drummer or percussionist.

When I am playing guitar, my monkey gets fired up and begins beating me with a passion. So to get to the space I found last night, I have to really focus on the moment forcing the monkey back into the jungle. This phenomenon can happen to me behind the kit as well, it's just the comfort zone provides distance between me and my monkey.

In the studies I have undertaken, especially since completing the Landmark Forum, focusing on the moment is the single most fascinating thing to me. All music being performed happens in the moment, for better or worse, it is happening in that moment. I remember reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and thinking if I could harness this idea my music could push through to a brand new level. I believe that is beginning to happen, and it is effecting my performance in ways I could not have fathomed.

PS. The photo above is one I did a couple of years ago. The guitar on the left is a Ibanez JS1200 which I call 'Vette because she is so sleek and sexy and curves in all the right places (GRIN)! The one on the right is a Seagull S-6 which I named Sweetie because she has such a sweet sound and is so comfortable to play.

"Ok, We're Rolling...On Two"

Ever since I can remember I have wanted a drum set. I can remember being about 10 or 11, and digging different sizes of boxes out of a nearby dumpster. I drug the boxes home and assembled them in the walk in closet in the shape of a drum set. There were probably 5 or 6 boxes total. I went to the kitchen and raided Mom's large spoon drawer for some large wooden spoons. I "borrowed" Dad's AM/FM radio, which was pretty big for that era and had plenty of volume. Tuned in a Top 40 radio station and began playing my "drum set". I think Mom lost more spoons through my drum set adventures.

Years later when I was 15 or so, I got a little more inventive with drum set creations. By this time I had my own room separate from the house. I had an old recliner that I would tilt back for the perfect "tom" height, put a hardshelled suitcase on the floor for the base drum, and I had gone to the lumber yard and bought a dowel rod and cut to the approximate size of drum sticks. I sat all this up near a wall in my room so I could use that as a ride cymbal. By this time I had a stereo and albums. I was jammin'.

Finally in 1977 I had saved enough money at a part time job to get a used drum set. Whoo Hoo! The real thing! I was playing every day to all kinds of music, Legs Diamond, Moxy, Rush, Kansas anything I could get my hands on. Mom became kind of concerned as she saw "Rock Star" all over my face. How is it Moms know everything? One day she asked me "What are you going to do with your life if you don't make it as a rock star?" That was an interesting question that I did not have an answer for.

So I thought about it for quite a while. I knew I wanted to be involved in music some how, but if I could not play what would I do. Then it dawned on me, I would be a recording engineer, I could actually be involved in making music, just not performing. Even at that age, I could see one the benefits of being an Audio Engineer, I would not have to be on the road all the time...go figure. Mom and I never finished that conversation, but I had solidified the thought of being an AE in my head.

In 1980 it was time to graduate from High School. I knew what I wanted to do, there was just no financial way to pull it off. Back in those days very few Colleges had Audio Engineering programs. There was an independent tech school in Florida that was offered an associates in Audio Engineering, but the school was not accredited, therefore no traditional funding sources were available. So, after graduation I attended a local Junior College for three semesters floundering around in the Liberal Arts program. I really felt like I was wasting my time so I dropped out.

I was going through some counselling at the college I had been attending, and the councillor had a contact to somebody in the music industry. She did some research and found out about a class put on by the RIAA at a major studio in San Antonio. The cost was around $500 and it was a 40 hour hands on class. Mom and I talked about it, and she agreed to help me accomplish this goal. I was working for Holiday Inn at the time as a bartender, so I transferred to a Holiday Inn in San Antonio taking a job as banquette houseman. I stayed in a cheap hotel room until I could find some place to stay.

I will never forget walking into the studio the first time, I was completely awed! The live room was so huge, the grand piano looked tiny. The control room was equally impressive a 32 channel mixing board, 2 1/4 inch 24 track MTR, and outboard gear out the wazoo. I was completely dazzled. Most of the people in the class were there for fun, but I was there for business, the business of learning. I was taking notes in every class, and absorbing everything I could. To complete the class there was a final written test, and each student got a chance to mix down the material we had recorded earlier in the class. We also had a final interview. After reviewing the mix down I had done the engineer giving the class said he had noticed that I was taking the class very seriously. I told him that I wanted to be an AE. He said I had potential as my mix had impressed him. He told me that if this was what I really wanted to do, go to an electronics tech school, as studios will almost always take an intern with electronics in their background.

So, off I went searching for a school to attend in the San Antonio area. I did attend a tech school for a year and was doing good in class. Love ended up getting in the way, and I missed to many days in one semester and got booted from class. Funding dried up, and I ended up in the US Army Signal Corp.

My last duty station was a mountain top in Northern Germany with six guy on a Microwave radio site. I had been playing acoustic guitar as opposed to drums, as guitars fit better in a wall locker! So I was still playing music while I was in the service. The last 6 months I was in Germany, I decided I wanted to engineer and produce a demo tape. So, with three $20 mics bought at the PX, two cassette decks, my home stereo equipment, and a small consumer mixer, I worked my butt off in almost every spare minute I had, to track and mix a 7 song demo tape of my original music. I was proud of my accomplishment.

Upon honorable discharge from the Army in 1989, I went to work in Houston working in the telecommunications industry. I was making more money than I had ever made in my life and all of the money was going to buying gear and instruments. After 3 years of hard work, and a lot of luck, I ended up building a small demo studio. I began producing demos for local musicians and bands. I was having a blast and producing some pretty good recordings with the limited equipment I had. I was beginning to get a small reputation in certain circles as being a good engineer.
That all came to a screeching halt in 1996, when somebody decided they wanted my gear more than I did. They kicked open the front door and walked off with almost $8K in gear. By this time, technology had replaced my telecommunications job, so the good money I was making was not there anymore. I put what equipment was left in storage and gave up on my dream. I did not want to play anything, or have anything to do with music. Heck, I couldn't even listen to the radio for over 6 months.

Fastforward to 2004, I am out in the office, and I get the bug to play my acoustic. I dig it out of storage, tuned it up and played for almost 2 hours. The connection to the music was back, and along with it the desire to record again. I decided, it was time to begin the rebuilding process. Little by little, piece by piece, I am rebuilding the dream of playing and engineering/producing music.