Irish Whiskey Jam

Returning home from an afternoon walk on Friday, Joseph saw me crossing Vine Street as he passed in his UPD truck. He decided to circle back and he found me on a side street. I opened the truck door and asked what was up, and he asked if I wanted to do a music jam on Saturday. I said yes, and was excited about the opportunity to make music with other people.

I walked to his house Saturday night with a guitar slung to my back, amp in right hand, a 6 pack of Schlitz in the other. I also brought along my ipod so that I could connect it to the amp. If the night started out with just Joseph and I, it would be easier to warm up playing to blues songs. Mike H had yet to arrive when I got to his house, and as I set up my gear I plugged in the ipod and listened to a long, driving song by Junior Kimbrough. Joseph was intrigued, so we started jamming to it. Shawn showed up soon after and he took over on drums and Joseph played bass. Mike M. arrived a little later, and he took over the bass. Mike is a semi professional player, and I find it easy to play along with his bass lines because they are logical and in key at all times. Mike H stopped by a couple hours later, by then we were high on beer and other goodies, and the music was flowing and wild. I played for 6 hours with just a few short breaks, leaving around 3:30am.

I was happy and a bit surprised that my fingers held tough the entire night, no blisters, but the skin was a bit raw by the time it was all over. My skills have increased since the last time I was jamming with them, my knowledge of the pentatonic along with increased finger agility allowed me to feel confident. We played mainly in E, but a few jams we were in G or D. The speed of my playing was improved, and I was able to focus on the music and my reactions to it. The guys seemed happy with my progress, and we laid down some good jams.

I decided to practice today for an hour, which was a mistake because I pushed the raw skin too far and a blister developed on the third finger. Even with this handicap I was still able to play with speed and accuracy to a set of Junior Kimbrough songs.

I have not done much this week for my upcoming travels because I am waiting to hear back from the property manager about the two girls who want to rent my apartment. Hopefully in a day or two they can sign the lease, and I can then begin packing things and prepare myself for the exciting days which will soon be upon me.