Jamming

Affording some relief from bitter and unseasonably frigid weather inherited from gusting Arctic blasts, Missouri fans and Bluegrass musicians convened at a capital city hotel and its convention center last weekend to enjoy the annual Mid West convention of the Society for Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America. While the main auditorium hosted a roster of regional bands punctuated by awards ceremonies, Bluegrass pickers converged in the hotel`s cavernous lobby where spontaneous jam sessions erupted like springtime flowerbeds heralding the long-awaited end of an icy winter.

Curious hotel guests lingered about to investigate the spirited and spontaneous music.  With some wonderment, one puzzled onlooker inquired what was the “Society for the Prevention of Bluegrass Music…” all about? The jammers politely paused and courteously clarified that the Society`s goal was the “Preservation”  and celebration of the Bluegrass music genre. The listener returned, “Kinda like the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans?” Smiles were exchanged.

In the face of inclement weather, folks from the Show-Me State devotedly invoke Mark Twain`s meteorological injunction, “If you don`t like the weather in Missouri, wait five minutes.” Twain lived much of his later years in Hartford, CT, and he is buried next to his wife in Elmira,  NY. The actual quotation attributed to him is, ” If you don`t like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes.” Twain was a professed banjophile.

A requisite five minute wait notwithstanding, promptly after Missouri`s  all ready frosty weekend temperatures in the teens, the thermometer plummeted to below zero in the subsequent glacial and snowy days.

P.S. Check-out the “5 string BRC open back `Fleur-de-lis` banjo” on eBay Jan.14-21.

As the end of summer draws nigh, the days grow quietly shorter and evening temperatures  slowly ebb. To bid farewell to the vacation season and greet the crisp nights ahead of autumn, the brewpub gang and our pickin` pals from the Ozark foothills convened for a jam session at a yogurt shop in our capital city in the shadow of the state legislative house (click to enlarge).

Celebrating the arrival of back-to-school days, parents and kids streamed through the shop all evening to share a family yogurt treat together and pause to enjoy the high lonesome sound of mountain music. It was a scene of Americana befitting a Norman Rockwell painting for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Do yogurt and Bluegrass mix? Yep, big time.

Last weekend, the brew pub gang journeyed south again for our semi annual get together for a day  of pickin` and grinnin` with our Bluegrass buddies in Eldon. Newcomers to this  semiyearly jam session  wondered about specific travel directions to this unfamiliar little faming community  in the foothills of the Ozarks.

No Mapquest  or GPS would be required: drive due south to cross the Big Muddy (Missouri River) and proceed till you see the large roadside “Pickers Junction” sign. The next right turn will take you to  McD`s where the pickers convene in the activity room.

How easy can it get? We had  a great day with the best pickin` pals in the Heartland.

Quiz: Check-out Gainor & Friends on a brief You Tube video clip and see if you can name that tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCCwdyig4uE

Answer: Whiskey Before Breakfast

A couple of times per year, the Sunday afternoon brew pub pickers and BRC founder trek across the rolling plains of MO for a Saturday jam session with our Bluegrass brethren in the rural community of Eldon.  The musicians convoke in the activity room of the mid town McDonald`s burger emporium, just across the street from the bait shop, for a marathon of picking and grinning. This gives ample occasion for the joyful acolytes of Bluegrass to renew communal vows of poverty.

Local citizenry gather at the eatery throughout the day for a family meal, and youngsters pull-off their thumping hip hop headphones briefly to regard the live acoustic  music. As a musician resined-up his bow, a coltish youngster asked, ” Is that a violin?”  A smiling response called it a fiddle. As the lad departed,  he shrugged, “What`s the difference?”

A picker quietly mused later, “When you spill beer on a fiddle, no one cares.” The jammers chuckled warmly. A rookie musician, first timer to a picking session, was gently advised that rather than a jam session, this was a Bluegrass Immersion Experience- like a language school. An avuncular veteran encouraged her, “Educating Bluegrass musicians is like breaking wild horses. It`s a total cultural reintegration.” The band generously welcomed the newcomer.

Puzzled parents looking on wondered if this hillbilly culture could be a risky and potential avenue for their kids to experiment with other mysterious music genres like Zydeco, Celtic, Django`s gypsy guitar, Western swing, Flamenco, Ravi`s sibilant sitar, or Klezmer. No worry, mom and dad. Bluegrass music is as homegrown as barbecue on the Fourth of July.

P.S. Check-out the latest BRC “Peace Dove” banjo, our workshop`s signature model, on ebay from Feb. 23 to March 2nd (sold). Upon receipt of purchase, the buyer emailed, “Great looking and sounding banjo!”