My band, "Poke Chop and the Other White Meats," has been engaged to host the first-ever Saturday night jam at the North Atlantic Blues Festival in Rockland, Maine, on July 10! http://www.northatlanticbluesfestival.com/ There are always several nationally/internationally known acts at the festival - this year includes Keb Mo and Shemekia Copeland - and we're hoping maybe somebody like that will drop by the jam!

Good on ya! Here's hoping one of their bassplayers never makes it to the stage, and you just happen to be set up already.

(No ill will intended towards a fellow bass player, mind you.)

Very cool!

Get somebody to bring a righty bass to have on stage and ready to go.

Bring your own dang righty bass.

At most of the blues jams I've been to around here, the bass player or guitarist hands off their instrument to people sitting in. Cuts down on down time between tunes and reduces clutter if every wanker in the place doesn't bring their own axe plus cases. Horns and harps are a different matter.

I'm just sayin'...

Golly, I dunno, Davio. Massachusetts must be different; we don't really have any "wankers" at our jams, just fine and serious musicians. And get this: The guitarists not only bring their own instrument, a lot of 'em tote in their own amp...

folks bring their own guitars here too. Amps are usually provided. Keys and drums provided. PA provided... no guitars (bass or otherwise) though...

LOL
Good for you guys Chad. I hope it goes really well.

Well, Davio, if you really want to come up for the jam July 10, you let me know and I'll have Ron bring his Fender Jazz 5.

But, while I'm at it, I've been to jams at both The Cantab and Johnny D's, and everybody there had their own instruments. Maybe you just hang out with a bunch of losers...

This is the gospel truth. It is also (one reason) why I don't go to jams anymore.

I live within walking distance of Berklee...I can't get away from the wankers! They're even out on the street when I go for a walk!


Don't get me started. Wankers insisting that their rig is far superior to everyone else's and that they couldn't possibly get a useable sound from a backline is a sore spot with me.

When the backline provided for the jammers is the finest 20 year-old Peavey solid state amp that $30 can buy, I miss my own amp.

That's not really what I was talking about. I don't think of that as a "backline"...that's more of a sick/sad joke.

Hey Chad, that's great news. Can't wait for some video of your performance. Break a leg......not

Thanks, T.!

I use an ancient Peavey keyboard amp when we host our weekly jam. This is because if some yahoo blows it up, I won't feel as bad as if he did it to my relatively new Hartke rig.

Gtr. players bring their own amps to a jam so they can turn them up as loud as they want, and often much louder than the 15w amps Ron provides for the jam, and think no one can make them turn down. Since I am usually the only bass player in attendance, I tell everybody that if they play too loud, and refuse to turn down after I ask them to, I will unplug and sit down. "Go try to be a guitar god with no bass, ya bums..." This works.

RE: Berklee: The University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) has a well-regarded music program, too, and produces just as many wankers as Berklee ever did.

But they're not internationally infamous wankers...