I don't know why I even bother

I'm lucky. I never needed the lure of performing to get me to play - it was always just for me (and the long-suffering Mrs. bsman over the past 46 years) - and treated opportunities to perform and play with others as enjoyable diversions.
 
I appreciate all the sympathy and thoughtful responses to my rant.
Latest development is that I have stumbled onto a group of local musicians that I was friends with 50 yrs ago, in high school and in my early 20s. Back then I was just a rank beginner struggling to tune a dang guitar and most of these folks were already in bands. I moved away and lost touch with them over my college and work career. Seems like they all continued playing out most of their lives and now they meet on Sundays at the local Eagles Lodge for a jam session and social. Some of them are still out there in the clubs doin it. Turns out one of them is a pretty close neighbor who heard there was a musician who live at my place and dropped by the house out of curiosity. So I got an invite once we figured out who each other was. Last Sunday on the way home from my GD thing I stopped by to check out the jam. Wound up playing a few tunes and was invited back anytime. Plus I got to reconnect with some old friends I havnt seen in 50 yrs. The group consisted of a couple of good drummers and bass players, a sax player, and a couple of decent guitarists. The rest were random old guys strumming acoustics and singing country hits from the 70s, lol. The tunes were mostly stuff we all grew up and cut our teeth on in the 70s. Skynard, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Marshall Tucker, etc, plus some old Haggard and Jones kinda stuff.
So I guess Im gonna continue to drop in for a while on Sunday evenings and see how it goes. Not my fav choice of music but I can live with most of it.
Im dreading the day politics comes up, but maybe most of em havn't changed. They were all decent dudes back in the day. We'll see.
 
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Another update and hopefully positive development.
Last night I went to see Don Was and the Pan Detroit Ensemble, great show btw, they played the entire Blues for Allah album straight thru with KILLER jazz arrangements. Prob the best Slipknot Ive ever heard, GD performances included. He also had one of the best horn sections Ive ever heard not to mention that gal who sings her lungs out.
Anyhoo.... me and my GD duo partner met this mandolin player in the lobby who was very excited to play with us so we'll probably be checking him out very soon. We've kinda been missing a lead instrumentalist and hoping we could find a good mandolin player. We tried one guy who was really good but he was way too much of a bluegrass traditionalist and couldn't really grok the tunes. This guy seems to be on the same page
so things are looking up! Fingers crossed. Now if we can just find a drummer or percussionist with some dynamics and taste we could really have something great and unique.
 
Pine Apple Slim said:
Another update and hopefully positive development.
Last night I went to see Don Was and the Pan Detroit Ensemble, great show btw, they played the entire Blues for Allah album straight thru with KILLER jazz arrangements. Prob the best Slipknot Ive ever heard, GD performances included. He also had one of the best horn sections Ive ever heard not to mention that gal who sings her lungs out.
Anyhoo.... me and my GD duo partner met this mandolin player in the lobby who was very excited to play with us so we'll probably be checking him out very soon. We've kinda been missing a lead instrumentalist and hoping we could find a good mandolin player. We tried one guy who was really good but he was way too much of a bluegrass traditionalist and couldn't really grok the tunes. This guy seems to be on the same page
so things are looking up! Fingers crossed. Now if we can just find a drummer or percussionist with some dynamics and taste we could really have something great and unique.
Click to expand...

Is this a Smurfco story, an AI replication of a story that has Grateful Dead Jam band playing Slipknot metal on a mandolin, or am I just really lost and out of touch? :messedup:
 
baimun said:
Is this a Smurfco story, an AI replication of a story that has Grateful Dead Jam band playing Slipknot metal on a mandolin, or am I just really lost and out of touch? :messedup:
Click to expand...
I doubt we'll be tackling Slipknot any time soon. We might try Crazy Fingers,
 
Pine Apple Slim said:
Another update and hopefully positive development.
Last night I went to see Don Was and the Pan Detroit Ensemble, great show btw, they played the entire Blues for Allah album straight thru with KILLER jazz arrangements. Prob the best Slipknot Ive ever heard, GD performances included. He also had one of the best horn sections Ive ever heard not to mention that gal who sings her lungs out.
Anyhoo.... me and my GD duo partner met this mandolin player in the lobby who was very excited to play with us so we'll probably be checking him out very soon. We've kinda been missing a lead instrumentalist and hoping we could find a good mandolin player. We tried one guy who was really good but he was way too much of a bluegrass traditionalist and couldn't really grok the tunes. This guy seems to be on the same page
so things are looking up! Fingers crossed. Now if we can just find a drummer or percussionist with some dynamics and taste we could really have something great and unique.
Click to expand...

Happy to hear both the updates.

If you’re feeling the music with the others and somebody wants to get political, just tell them I’d rather be friends and play music than talk about that shit if you’re not getting the right vibe.
 
Yesterday I went back to the Eagles Lodge Jam. Organizer posted on FB moved it up a few hrs due to weather and called it "all acoustic". Neither of my old friends (drummer and bassist) was there. I thought Id take the upright and we'll all get in a circle and pick. No such luck. The other bassist from last week was there and was real protective of his turf and obviously didn't want to share the duties.
It wound up being a 10 man old guy strumming army with horrible time keeping. I pulled out my nylon string and sat over in the corner thinking I'll quietly learn a few of their tunes. But they all had their acoustic amps and were all trying to out loud each other with terrible piezo tone. They didn't play anything I didnt already know or could readily pick up before the end of the first verse. Just not a good time. The organizer is a decent guitarist and allrite dude, and most of the old fart singer/strummers were nice enough. But this one dude, a loud obnoxious "country singer" in the full Clint Black regalia really got on my nerves. How come theres always that one dude who's always drunk and loud before noon and thinks he's Gods gift to entertainment? Also the one young guy who didnt get the memo and brought his electric. That would have been ok except he just banged out bar chords mostly off the beat. I left after an hr.
So I think thats pretty much gonna end this adventure. I plan on telling the old friend drummer and bassist from back in the day they are always welcome at my place but I don't think I'll be going back to the old Eagles Lodge any time soon.
 
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Pine Apple Slim said:
Yesterday I went back to the Eagles Lodge Jam. Organizer posted on FB moved it up a few hrs due to weather and called it "all acoustic". Neither of my old friends (drummer and bassist) was there. I thought Id take the upright and we'll all get in a circle and pick. No such luck. The other bassist from last week was there and was real protective of his turf and obviously didn't want to share the duties.
It wound up being a 10 man old guy strumming army with horrible time keeping. I pulled out my nylon string and sat over in the corner thinking I'll quietly learn a few of their tunes. But they all had their acoustic amps and were all trying to out loud each other with terrible piezo tone. They didn't play anything I didnt already know or could readily pick up before the end of the first verse. Just not a good time. The organizer is a decent guitarist and allrite dude, and most of the old fart singer/strummers were nice enough. But this one dude, a loud obnoxious "country singer" in the full Clint Black regalia really got on my nerves. How come theres always that one dude who's always drunk and loud before noon and thinks he's Gods gift to entertainment? Also the one young guy who didnt get the memo and brought his electric. That would have been ok except he just banged out bar chords mostly off the beat. I left after an hr.
So I think thats pretty much gonna end this adventure. I plan on telling the old friend drummer and bassist from back in the day they are always welcome at my place but I don't think I'll be going back to the old Eagles Lodge any time soon.
Click to expand...
This how I envision most open jams.
 
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