I saw you guys talk about these in another thread and it seems that there are many good stories about them.
Care to share? What was that all about?
I saw you guys talk about these in another thread and it seems that there are many good stories about them.
Care to share? What was that all about?
Sergio, you had to be there.
From The Beginning:
It was all TeleBobs' doing.
Back in the day this was a vibrant community. We had a lot of really great people and since there were a lot of us, a lot of us were gigging players and well - players are players. Get bunch together and we'll start making music. We also used it as a crowdfunding activity to keep the forum going.
The jams actually go back before "The Great Migration" when we were on shall we say, "Tweedscape" which was a very early forum just after the newslists era of the internet. . It was just a crazy enough idea that it might work. I don't even think there was a house band at that first one. It was just a show up and meet and whatever deal at a recording studio. We ended up having a whale of a good time. We had people finally meet in person and established great friendships and collaborations that endure to this day. The focus wasn't so much on playing as it was on just having fun, checking out other folk's gear and general comradery.
The first one was such a rousing success that we all decided we needed more. Shortley thereafter, I started organizing jams in NY, and Crossfyre was the house band. We had players from Connecticut to Ohio showing up and we were playing to a packed house at the notorious "Cottage." It's funny you brought it up now because I'm cleaning stuff out of the house during the remodel and just came across the original FDP Donations coffee can in my memorabilia. That's probably worth something, lol!
Great players too. I can remember some rip-snorting jams with guys trading fours with the knives out!So a bunch of Tweedscape people including TeleBob, Gibsonjunkie, Rickenjangle, Mikey, Fenderboy, IPLAYLOUD, myself and a few others became the core of merry pranksters who kept the thing going.
About this time, the owner of the forum we were at decided to try to monetize it. We all basically jumped ship and landed here. That was against the whole ethos of "Let's just have fun" that a lot of the jam regulars were into. Many of us were working players, and as you know being a working player is, well, work. it was a heck of a lot of fun to have compadres you could meet up with a few times a week a year and just play for the fun of it. Besides, a lot of us were using our time and talent to raise money for the place and now you want us to pay?
You Got to Move
For the above and other reasons, we left Tweedscape and landed here. TFF was nice in that it offered a technology upgrade to the what we considered dated site we had been on.
In retrospect, I think a lot of the people on this forum were a little cheezed at a sweepstakes migration of "crazies" invading their space. And invade we did! With us the idiom was that almost every post had the implied "Jane, you ignorant slut, again you've missed the point completely." You see, we weren't just people posting into cyberspace, we were fast friends and - and ball breakers. It was all in great fun and genuine love, but others didn't see it that way. "Butthurtery" became common.
You Fought in the Tone Wars?
We continued the jams for a while but then the Tone Wars started. This forum has always been pretty gear-centric as opposed to playing. That's not bad, but it's a different paradigm for sure.
I have said on several occasions that it takes years of practice, dedication, rejection as well as heartbreak and sacrifice to become a journeyman player, but anybody with a keyboard and an internet connection can brag about their tone. I stand by that too.
So, we continued the jams but a new dynamic emerged. We had guys who would proselytize for days about how good their gear sounded showing up. Problem was many of them couldn't get past a 12 bar shuffle in A or in some cases, string three notes together in a coherent fashion. We even had one "expert" turn tail and refuse to get onstage. So long and short was we went from being a bunch of players who would meet up and play our asses off to "hosts" for shall we say, less competent players. And like I said in the beginning: players are players. They want to make music. So the shine sort of left the jams, and really, the novelty was wearing off, so folks weren't as keen to spend the money on travel. So they just sort of stopped.
And in the End, The Love You Take
You had to be there.
It was a moment in time where the everything came together. We had the players and songwriters all over the country who had learned how to find and communicate with each other all at once. not just their local scene. The true kindness and friendship, fellowship and generosity of those days are impossible to convey via a medium such as this other than lots of old photos. Some of us have passed on.
I could go on about the hijinx (which were the stuff of legends) and some of the greatest musical moments you'll ever experience but if you weren't there it's just words on a screen.
It was simply a moment in history when a bunch of great musicians came together and opened their hearts and homes to one another. It was the embodiment of what the positive potential of this whole internet thingy has when used to bring folks together rather than divide them.
I feel truly blessed to have been a part of it.
And thank you Sergio, for giving me pause to relive it just a little, A wonderful Christmas gift from you for sure.
Peace,
Chuck
Last edited by Offshore Angler; 12-25-2022 at 06:00 AM.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Ther were two main jamming hosts - TeleBob hosted jams in Connecticut and Offshore Angler and his band, Crossfyre, hosted a bunch in the Rochester area. they were always a huge blast and friendships developed that are still rock solid after all these years. There was usually great food (TeleBob made an Ass Cake at least once) and sometimes Fender gave out SWAG for door prizes. When they jams were in CT Casa de Gibsonjunkie sometimes bedcame the rest stop for those attending from out of state.
Here is a picture from a Rochester jam. Chuck provided a big camper and we all visited House of Guitars acting like a British rock band on tour... it was hilarious!
L-R Gibsonjunkie, Rickenjangle, TeleBob, IPLAYLOUD, Fenderboy, Offshre Angler and a buddy of TeleBob's named Roger (I think).
Last edited by gibsonjunkie; 12-25-2022 at 07:07 PM.
"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain
LMAO, forgot about the ass cakes.
Ok, here's some hijinx hints you can ask others about:
Mustard from a Deer's ass
"The Serenade"
The Magic Bus"
The Train Ride to NYC
"discoloration" at the strip joint
Fag-it-tas
The HOG
I could go on, but that should keep you busy.
Oh, and some mighty-fine steaks on Gibsonjunkies grill. When Nick asks you over for steak, you say YES!
Oh yeah, we had the "Blue Holers" in Cleveland do some jams too. Fine folks.
Last edited by Offshore Angler; 12-25-2022 at 06:10 AM.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Let's not forget zooming down the highway in the SHO or the strippers all falling over Joe because of his French accent! (Or me paying a "dancer" $20 to distract TeleBob while he was playing guitar during one of his band's sets!)Originally Posted by Offshore Angler
"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain
So Sergio, I guess all I can tell you is that if you're ever in a bar and an elderly musician makes mention of "The Windmill" or "The Cottage", buy him a drink and cancel your plans for the rest of the night.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Wow! What a treat to come across thread. Indeed, those were great times. We laughed and played music with total abandon!
Thank you Chuck, for your extensive and entertaining account of the whole tawdry affair. We were indeed the original pioneers of "The Internet Jam" phenomenon that took place in the late 1990's and well into the next century.
And yes, we were a raucous, but warm hearted, friendly bunch with a wicked sense of humor, and a serious loyalty to anyone we called "friend."
I love the list of "hijinx hits" you put together. LMAO!
I would like to add one particularly important venture from the day because of how many people it reached and what it meant to me, and hopefully musicians in general.
Tele-Bob's Jam Across America Tour. As a pro photographer, I was on the road constantly, and often found myself with nothing to do at night. So I threw it out there.
Over the course of the next 2 or 3 years, I was able to jam with forum members in 25 states! Some were as involved as learning a band's set list, and then sitting in for the night as a regular member, while others were a simple gathering in someone's living room for a face to face acoustic jam. Some were highly attended jams at a VFW hall or local barn in the south where people just turned out to play.
Many of these people have become life-long friends, and became huge participants in the jam scene.
Stefan in Texas hosted a number of great jams in the Dallas area. RCinMempho hosted several times near Memphis. AnnieD attended a few of the California Jams and hosted once as we played a few clubs in the Chico Area. We walked in, she was treated like royalty, and the guitar players immediately offered up their spots so I could sit in. No questions asked. I was a friend of Annie's and that's all they needed to know. Such awesome times. The guys in Maryland, MarkBJorke? if I remember correctly, oh, and the North Bennington Vermont jam, The Big Dig Boston Jam complete with "Big Dig Cake," and the ever controversial FDP, "Eat my Shorts" Jam that happened at a time when I was suspended from the FPD for a discussion expressing my disapproval of wearing shorts at a gig. My mom made the cake for that one which was a big pair of shorts with an actual zipper frosted into it! It read "FDP Jam, Eat My Shorts" which was posted throughout the forum during my suspension, and I'm sure prompted other suspensions! LOL! I think we raised $500, and I donated it to the FDP anyway. Hey, if it wasn't for them, we would never be having all this fun. I could go on for hours here. Such rich times of our lives. An honor and a privilege to know so many of you, and to have the chance to make music.
I'd also like to mention the New York City jams that IPLAYLOUD organized with full Fender support at some great jam rooms. The Philadelphia jams were terrific. So many great folks and awesome players. And no one was left to struggle. After meeting the guys in Bonefish, a rock band with a rockabilly swing from Spearfish South Dakota, they invited me to sit in for the following 10 years after my first appearance with them. Great guys. Miss them to this day. Some excellent jams in Florida, please forgive me as my memory fails me the names. Just so many great people.
When the dust finally settled, I had hosted 14 jams myself in Connecticut and I will always remember them fondly.
If any of you read this and remember a time we jammed, please write something about it here. I am deeply moved to see this and would love to remember every single instance!
Thank you Chuck for posting. I love the way the memories come flooding back! You're a good man!
If you're bored, you're not groovin'.
Bob! It's a Christmas Miracle!
Thank you Bob. You were the one who made it all happen and without a doubt the ringleader.
Don't forget the Kate Buckets Defense Fund. The things the guitar community did back then - just because we could - still make me feel proud, humble and misty when I look back.
Merry Christmas to all!
Last edited by Offshore Angler; 12-25-2022 at 10:39 AM.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Too bad so many members no longer attend the forum
Oh stop it Chuck. I'm getting all moist now, and promised myself I wouldn't do this!
If you're bored, you're not groovin'.
Hey, fenderboy just moved from PA and bought a house near me! Rickejangle and I are still gigging (not together but some of the same joints).
Just sayin', It could happen. What would be epic would be to all go to Brazil and jam with Sergio. Or better yet, we all chip in to buy him a round-trip here.
He's earned it, and he's just he guy to pass the torch to. He gets it.
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Depending on just "where" you are getting moist, this could take a different turn quickly...
"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain
Intersting places we jammed... Lou's Cottage Inn, The Band Room, The Windmill (with the mustard-dispensing deer ass) and the Bike Museum, to name a few.
"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain
....and let's not forget the "Harmonica-free Zone Jams." That actually caught some footing and started to happen at other jams around the country. It had to! LOL!
I remember a couple harp guys showed up all pissed off and tried to crash the jam. Rudy, the owner, threw them out!
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid...38368020124118
Last edited by Tele-Bob; 12-26-2022 at 11:55 AM.
If you're bored, you're not groovin'.
I’m in!!!!
Chuck, I would gladly chip in to get Sergio up here.
If you're bored, you're not groovin'.
OK, Your place or mine? I can put him up here at the Offshore-arossa (may still be partially under remodel but no big deal) and we can do the Cottage. Your place I'm sure Casa de Junkie is available. Or you guys might just want to crash at the hotel near me. If we do it here I'll take us fishing. and of course, I'll make sure we have a kick-ass band to back us.
Sometime in later spring so the weather is tolerable for him and nobody gets snowed out of the jam. That will give him time to get ready. I'll supply him with all the gear he needs.
Other details?
Picking a date is usually the biggest headache.
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Thinking about it - while this wouldn't be our first international jam, it might be the first intercontinental jam. That's something to make it worthwhile.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
I must say I’m excited.
Now, as for chipping in to get me on board, it probably won’t be necessary. I had plans to spend my honeymoon in California in 2020 and had to postpone those plans due to the pandemic. Me and the wife are starting to plan our US trip again and it’ll be only a matter of including a trip up north from San Francisco.
Just give me some time as we still gotta get visas and arrange the necessary preparations but I’m sure it’ll happen. Start gigging and I’ll join you guys!
Excellent. We're all on the other coast. TeleBob and Nick are NYC adjacent, I'm in the NY wine and apple country (the most beautiful part of the USA) with lakes you have to see to believe. You can pretty much drink the water out of them. Why go to San Francisco when you have The Big Apple!?
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
It’s just that there are some places I would like to see before I die. Seen some already, and a good lot of the other ones are in CA. Haight-Ashbury for one. I also have one or two things I intend do do in LA.
But I can certainly take an extra plane and meet you guys. I’ll just have to plan this because my wife will be with me. I’ll really like to see as many of you as I can. Jamming with you guys will be terrific!
I can understand you wanting to see places of history, so I won't try to dissuade you, but since I travel to San Francisco at least once a year, I've done the rounds, and the Haight-Ashbury of today is just another local borough. There's no sign of the Summer of Love anymore. Well, it was over 50 years ago...
But if you've never seen San Francisco, go for it! Just watch your step and hold on to your wallet tightly.
Striving to be ordinary
Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!
He means that literally.
SF's municipal services include a Department of Defecation website which chronicles in real time the areas with the most prolific piles of human excreta which pollute the city's streets, sidewalks, and parks.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
lol I can understand what you guys mean but consider this:
First, I’ve only got one lifetime on this Earth and no Plutonium fueled DeLorean so all I can do is be there now.
Second, “hold on to your wallet tightly”? Did you guys ever read about Brazil’s crime rates? California is a Disney park compared to Rio de Janeiro LOL
Don't say you weren't warned.
Striving to be ordinary
Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!
I am not trying to minimize or mock your warning, I’m actually thankful.
But I tell you: if you worry about San Francisco, I can tell you: it is a THOUSAND times worse in places like Ciudad de México and Rio de Janeiro.
I've been to Mexico City; I won't argue the point. Except maybe for the poop on the street. I've never been to Rio de Janeiro, and as much as I'd like to, I don't think fate his it in store for me.
Striving to be ordinary
Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!
They don’t call it Hell de Janeiro for nothing ;)
San Fran is pretty tame. It's no Haiti or Bogota by a long shot. South side of Chicago would scare me lot more. The street sign at the intersection of Haight and Ashbury is a tourist Mecca. You'll be fine. BTW, Magoo's Pizza is now a furniture store.
Beautiful scenery in that area. Take the PCH down to Monterey.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
You should see Miami.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
So, first step would be you guys settling about which city the jams will take place in
Easiest for me is for me to host here. I can have a venue and band easily, however; that means Nick has a long car drive with the Fartinator. Pretty sure I can coax fenderboy out of retirement for a local event too.
Bob, are you still doing any shows up your way? Need to make sure we don't keep anyone from a paying gig. Rickenjange is a gigging machine being the young whippersnapper he is. I know he and his OL like to travel a bunch so we'll check his schedule. If I have a local show that evening it won't interfere with the jam. We'll bring in the equipment trailer - only thing is that if there's a show that night it would be greatly appreciated if we had lots of help with the load in and out so we don't have to do it ourselves twice in one day. Everything in sound system is wireless so setup is a breeze.
IPL, 5Teles, others I haven't heard from in ages we might need to track down. I got $100 for anyone who gets BLUELOU there.
All that said, if Bob wants to host I'm in for that too, just need to coordinate the schedule with the bands I play in.
Best way to start the date dance is to narrow it down to two or three week window and refine from there. That's going to be pretty much on Sergio since we'll be working around his vacation (unless he makes a separate trip.)
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Easiest for me is for me to host here. I can have a venue and band easily, however; that means Nick has a long car drive with the Fartinator. Pretty sure I can coax fenderboy out of retirement for a local event too.
Bob, are you still doing any shows up your way? Need to make sure we don't keep anyone from a paying gig. Rickenjange is a gigging machine being the young whippersnapper he is. I know he and his OL like to travel a bunch so we'll check his schedule. If I have a local show that evening it won't interfere with the jam. We'll bring in the equipment trailer - only thing is that if there's a show that night it would be greatly appreciated if we had lots of help with the load in and out so we don't have to do it ourselves twice in one day. Everything in sound system is wireless so setup is a breeze.
IPL, 5Teles, others I haven't heard from in ages we might need to track down. I got $100 for anyone who gets BLUELOU there.
All that said, if Bob wants to host I'm in for that too, just need to coordinate the schedule with the bands I play in.
Best way to start the date dance is to narrow it down to two or three week window and refine from there. That's going to be pretty much on Sergio since we'll be working around his vacation (unless he makes a separate trip.)
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
BTW, IF we have it here plan on a HOG trip. Bonamassa's "guitar nerd store" is closed unfortunately.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Hmmmm, maybe to up the epic -amundo scale I'll check and see if Darryl's House would be available for the jam. Or even cooler - maybe the -shall we say, "legendary" back room at the Record Archive.
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
You guys are tempting me to go straight Northeast. I have relatives in MD and it’d be way easier and cheaper to visit them and then go jam with you guys.
Well, so far there hasn't been a real groundswell of interest here at the forum.
I have some thoughts I've collected over the last few days that I'd like to kick around.
The old format is still viable, but I think there's a HUGE opportunity to exploit current technology to make it accessible in some form to everyone and make this forum a bit more vibrant and attract people. I'm thinking:
1) A few of us have some great contacts and venues available to use
2) We stream it live on YouTube, so everyone can share the experience and post comments real time. The livestream experience will require a visually stunning venue to get the best from it. Can do.
3) We get the LPF crew involved too, lots of great players over there and you never know if a '59 burst will show up for sale. (Given the performance of my 401k lately I may be in the market.)
4) TFF can do a print-on-demand gear sale to raise some funds. We will also have a very modest suggested donation at the jam to raise funds for TFF, 100% of proceeds go to forum with 100% transparent accounting.
All ideas are welcome.
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
That’s all awesome and I think you guys don’t have to wait for me to start, this spring could be the kickstart of these jams Andy I’ll be there eventually. As soon as I can arrange my trip to the US of A. Which WILL happen.
I'll say that that there isn't the traffic and members regularly posting here that there was in the past.
|I bet if the LPF was added in there's a lot more people who come through there, there'd likely be more interest with them added in.
Personally, while I'd love to join in, job and family stop me from travelling to it, unless it was in my direct area.
********************************
"Do you call sleeping with a guitar in your hands practicing?"
"It is if you don't drop it."
- Trent Lane, Daria, Episode 1-2.
I am not here every day, but would love to be a part of any action! If TeleBob finds a local spot, Casa de Gibsonjunkie will be open for guests. I even have a new Weber Grill for cooking MONSTER Ribeyes! I'ed also love a ride up to Rochacha! Chuck also gives good jam! Of course heded North also means a bass fishing trip with Chuck!
"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain
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