What: Monday Night Jam Session
Where: Todd Tavern, Alice Springs
Sponsor: Alice Springs Desert Music Club
I attended the Monday night jam session on 23 July 2012 with a mission: Discover why people – in large numbers – keep rocking up? What makes this weekly event so special? Special enough for say 100-150 people to “woolly-up” on a cold Alice evening, leave their warm houses and then make the trek down to the Todd Tavern?
I figured the best way to find out is to ask.
So I did.
“Hey John!” I said in a surprised voice. John is an amazing guitar player and has been performing locally for years. I remember watching him play maybe ten years ago at a pub in the Todd Mall where he showed off his handy guitar work.
“Glad you to see you down here!” I continued.
“Yeah, I brought my guitar just in case.” He replied leaning ever so slightly on his upright electric guitar case.
I already knew why John was there. I’d been promoting the jam session to him for a while. I told him about the charged atmosphere – a room full of musicians and music lovers. A crowd open to virtually all musical expressions. Open to original music. Open to off-beat (no pun intended) acts. Open to creating new sounds by mixing and matching musicians. With the jam session, you never know what musical creations are about to be born!
John finally made it to the jam session “experience” and he was excited. And, I was glad to see him there too. Another talented local muso added to the mix.
“And, what brings you here this evening?” I asked Gerard and Isabelle, a lovely couple and Alice locals.
“We used to come to the jam sessions 20 years ago. That’s how old we are!”
“Are you musicians?” I asked.
‘No. We just love music.’
“And how do you like this jam session?” I continued my line of questioning.
‘Great! The atmosphere is perfect. People are here to listen to the music. They’re not here to watch footy or play pool! It’s all about the music.’
I talked to a lot more people that evening. All reinforcing my theory that the jam session is a local grass roots force to be reckoned with. The people have spoken … The jam session ROCKS!
Mission accomplished.
Awesome little blog, keep it up 🙂