The official HCAG Jam thread

[Samilyn]

Okay. I hate the thought of having to mix in with Yankees but if you guys don't mind dumbing down your conversational grammar and keep to one-two syllable words I might be able to fit in. We use kitchen language south of the Line. I will not, however, succumb to flatpicking.

I'm with you, Cripes. I suppose I can tolerate any Yankee who can fingerpick a 12 string faster than me.

[Hudman]

It would be a good idea to pick out a list of songs we could all work on before the jam. Maybe work it out where everyone picks one or two songs depending on the size of the group. We can agree on a common tab / sheet music version of each song (or at least the same key). That way we can have some productive jam sessions right away. It would also be a great way to learn new songs and styles outside of our normal comfort zones.

 

I think it would be awesome to video tape some cool jam performances to be broadcast here. That way everyone could get a taste of what it was like. It would help promote future jam sessions.

[Cripes]

It would be a good idea to pick out a list of songs we could all work on before the jam. Maybe work it out where everyone picks one or two songs depending on the size of the group. We can agree on a common tab / sheet music version of each song (or at least the same key). That way we can have some productive jam sessions right away. It would also be a great way to learn new songs and styles outside of our normal comfort zones. I think it would be awesome to video tape some cool jam performances to be broadcast here. That way everyone could get a taste of what it was like. It would help promote future jam sessions.

 

 

Capital idea, Hud.

 

First song...Dixie.

 

First verse:

 

I live down in the land of cotton

My feet stink and yours are rotten

Look away, look away, look away

Dixieland.

 

My Mom was a deep south Southerner. She used to sing southern songs to us as kids with the lyrics she and her childhood friends substituted. My Pop was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. I'm a hybrid.

 

Seriously. What songs seem appropriate? I mean, my covers are basically early 70's stuff and after that I quit listening to pop music altogether. So, I don't really have a repertoire of covers and will need some suggestions.

 

Without too much sifting through the memory banks, these are the (lyric) songs I remember well enough to fake:

 

Two Hangmen - Mason Proffit

Buffalo - "

Lincoln Duncan - Paul Simon

The Boxer - "

This Song Has No Title - Elton John

Helplessly Hoping - Stephen Stills

Four and Twenty - "

Change Partners - " (Yes, I use a pick)

Love The One You're With - " ( " )

John Barleycorn Must Die - Traffic

Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens (Or, as arranged by him)

Leader Of The Band - Dan Fogelberg

 

Pretty sparse but that was a pretty long time ago too.

[Samilyn]

Hmmm.....lemme see......I guess I'll follow Cripes' lead....

I just came back to guitar after a long, long time following hand injuries and surgery, so most of my stuff is 60's and '70s, too. Just to toss in a few favorites:

Mr. Tambourine Man
Blowin' in the Wind
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Both Sides Now
Nights in White Satin
Me 'N Bobby McGee
Moonshadow
Who'll Stop the Rain
If I (You) Were a Carpenter (beautiful when sung as duet)
Cottonfields (love the way Creedence does that one)
Proud Mary

And I invariably wind up being the fingerpicker in the background when somebody cuts loose with Dueling Banjos or anything similar.

I'd definitely enjoy a jam, learning new music, techniques, whatever, and mostly just making music and having a great time with other musicians.

[Hudman]

I am sure we would end up covering a wide variety of music.

[Hudman]

I hate to see this fall off the radar screen.....

[guitarist21]

I hate to see this fall off the radar screen.....

Yes! Glad this one got resurrected. What do we have to do to get this moving and ready to go by this summer? Put someone in charge?

Ellen

[Cripes]

Yes! Glad this one got resurrected. What do we have to do to get this moving and ready to go by this summer? Put someone in charge? Ellen

Put someone in charge? That's the last thing you want to do. The IKFC is an all volunteer army.

Pick a region. The bulk of the spirit here seems to be in the Great Lakes region. That's where the first one should be. Pick a spot, reserve it for a predetermined agreed upon date if necessary, establish the registration fees (beer, food, maps, party hats, etc.), collect same and wait.

[kwakatak]

I hate to see this fall off the radar screen.....

Yeah, me too. I hate to say it, but I forgot about this thread so thanks for the bump. I don't know why I lost track of it since I've been lurking here all week.

Going back on-topic, I still think that Ann Arbor is good for at least some of us getting together. I mentioned it to my wife and she kinda liked the idea of Florida, though - like maybe Orlando. Go figure.

[Cripes]

Orlando in the fall maybe. It's facking hot down here, people.

[kwakatak]

Orlando in the fall maybe. It's facking hot down here, people.

That's what I said, but she's thinking about what the rest of the family will be doing in the meantime. Conversely, it can get damn cold there at night during the winter so I'd be up for the fall too.

...not that I'm ditching Michigan, though. (Insert snide NCAAF joke here)

[Hudman]

I was in Orlando during 4th of July week in the early 1990's. It was like standing in front of a blast furnace. I can't imagine the fall being much cooler. I was thinking late summer / autumn (August / September).

 

I am 100% open to whatever the group decides. I am confident we can get 8-10 people together for an intro regional event to help fuel interest in a larger national event later on down the road.

 

Pictures, videos and the stories we share here after the jam will get the ball rolling.

 

[Queequeg]

Yeah, me too. I hate to say it, but I forgot about this thread so thanks for the bump. I don't know why I lost track of it since I've been lurking here all week. Going back on-topic, I still think that Ann Arbor is good for at least some of us getting together. I mentioned it to my wife and she kinda liked the idea of Florida, though - like maybe Orlando. Go figure.

It's times just such as this that remind me of how far off the beaten path I have gone in this life. How distant from mainstream I am. What an odd duck I have become.
Two of the most popular and revered cities in the country; no- in the world have been suggested as potential destinations for this gig.
Las Vegas and Orlando.
And I say to myself, there's a rather short list of places I dislike with a passion in my travels thus far.
I dislike them enough not to participate in this jam-o-rama thing. And these two towns are on that list, very near the tippy-top.
Millions of people go to Las Vegas and Orlando, vacation meccas that they are, and have the time of their lives, hate to leave, and can't wait to come back again.
I know; I am just the square peg in the proverbial round hole.

[JasmineTea]

Shux, I'd rather do Pittsburg than Florida, Kwak. Tell the 'ole lady will have the jam at your house...

I'm open minded, I guess. I'll have a better idea when summer rolls back around.

The "trailer trash" jam does'nt sound so bad to me. It's not so far of a drive either. And heck, if Ellen rides with me she can chip-in for gas.

Any good restaraunts near the trailer park, Hud?

[JasmineTea]

I am just the square peg in the proverbial round hole.

I would'nt go either if it was in Vegas, Orlando. I'm for some small out-of-the-way place. None of these "vacation spots" for me.

 

I'm for The Trailer Trash Jam. Beer, campfire, sleepingbag, and hopefully a greasy diner not too far away.

[guitarist21]

I'm for The Trailer Trash Jam. Beer, campfire, sleepingbag, and hopefully a greasy diner not too far away.

Me too. I don't think I could get out to Vegas or Orlando anyway. I think that somwhere in Michigan is the best idea so far.

Ellen

[Hudman]

I would'nt go either if it was in Vegas, Orlando. I'm for some small out-of-the-way place. None of these "vacation spots" for me. I'm for The Trailer Trash Jam. Beer, campfire, sleepingbag, and hopefully a greasy diner not too far away.

 

Actually, two of my non-guitar playing buddies handle preparing all of the food on all of our massive camp trips and parties (15+ per year). They prepare meals for groups up to 50 people on a regular basis. The make absolutely huge, delicious meals. They intend to start a catering business in the near future. They thought the IKFC caper you guys pulled for me was cool so they volunteered to hang out with us and handle preparing breakfast (made to order) and dinner for the weekend. They catered our baby shower a few months ago. There were 55 people present and they all raved about the food afterwards. They enjoy acoustic music, beer, Crown Royal, Captain Morgan and are always a treat to have around the campfire.

 

It would keep the price down on the food expense but not on the quality (they are much better cooks than I) and you will be full all weekend long. In fact, we eat so much at breakfast (omlettes, bacon, sausage, french toast, etc...) that we usually don't get hungry again until dinner. Dinner? You can eat enough to hurt yourself. Those guys make enough food to feed a small army.

 

Lunch? We can grab lunch while in the Ann Arbor area during the afternoon.

 

Again, I am just making suggestions. I know it sounds like I am selling this plan to you guys but I'm not. I am open to ANY suggestions. I'm happy we are talking about it again.

[Cripes]

Well? Hud seems to be steering all the right answers to the right questions. I live in Orlando. The whole event to me is a chance to get away and Orlando isn't qualifying that. I would not do Lost Wages. I would do the Great Lakes event. I'd drive up. Great sightseeing trip. Wherever it is, it should be at a place where at least one person is familiar with and is a do-able radius for the majority of other attendees.

[kwakatak]

Again, I am just making suggestions. I know it sounds like I am selling this plan to you guys but I'm not. I am open to ANY suggestions. I'm happy we are talking about it again.

 

 

I never thought you were. Detroit came to my mind for the simple fact that know at least 4 people in that area and have already been up there once to sample the hospitality so I know what to expect. I also know that airfare from Pittsburgh to Detroit is more affordable than the likes of Orlando or Vegas. So far you've put out some solid ideas.

[guitarist21]

Well? Hud seems to be steering all the right answers to the right questions. I live in Orlando. The whole event to me is a chance to get away and Orlando isn't qualifying that. I would not do Lost Wages. I would do the Great Lakes event. I'd drive up. Great sightseeing trip. Wherever it is, it should be at a place where at least one person is familiar with and is a do-able radius for the majority of other attendees.

 

 

Dude one time me and my family drove from Chicago to Florida and back and it was by far one of the most awesome long drives ever. There isn't a ton to see through the bottom of Illinois, but the rest of the drive is awesome. Great scenery and cool places to stop on the way. Way more exciting than Chicago to Colorado or Chicago to Boston (only that trip was sweet when we went to Niagra Falls and drove through New York state) or Chicago to South Dakota.

 

Back on topic - Kwak, do not worry about bugs. My mom is a West Nile/Malaria nut (she is also a Hello Kitty nut as some of you may recall) and believe me if this happens on Hud's campsite (which I think it ought to) I will be sent up with many different varieties of bug spray (most containing some toxic chemicals), thousands of tiki torches, and little Off candles and stuff.

 

I have these awesome folding chairs that I brought to camp this year and they have no arms so they are perfect for guitar playing. They'd come with too.

 

Ellen

[Cripes]

Camping. There's a gritty thought. Wake up, take a French shower, dust the pits and scrape the teeth. Grab some vittles and then quietly work out some new tunes folks have brought 'til everyone is alive again. Then, jam a little, walk a little, do some solo stuff, jam a little, BS a little, generally let what little hair remains down for a couple days. That'll work.

[Hudman]

I like it already. I grew up in the Poconos not far from Long Pond (which as a NASCAR afficianado you should be familiar with) so I'm well-familiar with partying in those sorts of settings. hell, I even lived in a trailer for the firt 12 years of my life, so I know all about that. For example, I know that if the heat kicks on we're pretty much gonna have to take the guitars outside because you can't hear yourself think when that furnace fires up. If there's a lake nearby I'll be in my true element; many nights during my teens I'd play Led Zeppelin - and Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" - next to the cool black water late at night. Just make sure to bring lots of bug spray, a few tiki torches or a bug zapper if you must. Sounds like food is not going to be an issue. Just as long as there's a beer aisle in the local grocery store or Wal-Mart to keep my buzz going into the wee hours, some decent coffee to jump start my heart in the morning (preferably after 9AM), and some hot running water I'll be happy. Just a word of warning: if the {censored}ter stinks I'm probably gonna turn into Randy Quaid's character "cousin Eddie" from Christmas Vacation.

 

Well, the camper is a little nicer than many of the "mobile homes" you will see in trailer parks. It was bought new 3 years ago. It has heat (quiet) and AC (quiet). The pop up camper is mine. It's apprx. 9 years old and is in great shape. It has heat, but no AC. It get's cool at night, so lack of AC is never an issue. The bathroom and showers are located 100 feet away from the campsite, therefore we won't be using the rest room in the camper so we don't have to worry about any "cousin Eddie" toilet / septic tank issues. The bathroom / shower house is never crowded or too busy.

 

The campground is huge. I want to say 300 acres.....There is apprx. 100 campers stationed in semi-permenant campsites. It is only open to the public during the 3 race weekends during the year. The campground is located directly next door to Michigan International Speedway. It is like adult spring break during race weekend because 3/4 of the campground is wide open, empty grassy areas divided up into 1000 campsites. They fill every one of them during the 3 race weekends. The rest of the year the place is very calm and relaxing (and empty).

 

We have a ton of tiki-torches and I think there is a bug light. I never had any bug issues there.

 

I will have to sell the plan to my inlaws if we decide to do it there. It will all depend on their schedule and the race schedule (they have one race in June, one in July and one in August). I don't think they will have a problem with it.