Local OT Jam: Not Your Average Wednesday Night
May 5th, 2011
By:
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- ©Mickey Bernal Photography
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- ©Mickey Bernal Photography
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- ©Mickey Bernal Photography
So I’m at the weekly old-time jam at the 5 Spot last night and Buck asks me, “When are you going to contribute another article for the website?” My answer was “I haven’t been to anything big lately.” I woke up this morning, extremely groggy from such a late night of playing and I realized — What was I thinking? I DO go to something big — every week. It was right in front of my nose the whole time. And after hearing that Rolling Stone magazine recently declared Nashville “Best Music Scene”, I decided to write about the something big I hope I never take for granted.
The Place: The 5 Spot is a great, casual local bar. Yeah, they still let folks smoke. Yup. It gets really loud in there too. I know, I know–it’s a bar. Hey, it’s easy to overlook any faults in friends and family when you love them. This is another of those relationships. Any downside is thrown out the window because the upside is gigantic. Travis and Zach, barkeeps extraordinaire, are friendly, efficient and both great guys. The atmosphere is visually stimulating – whether you’re staring at all the posters stapled to the ceiling over the bar, the TV showing either a great sporting event or some weird, obscure B-film in Italian, the chalk writing that covers so much of the wall space or just checking out all the people populating the place. You can tell this place has seen some action through the years. It’s friendly, comfortable and unpretentious, just like the Wednesday night crowd that shows up regularly.
The Jam: You’ll hear old-time Georgia tunes courtesy of the boys from the Hogslop String Band, Missouri tunes from yours truly, tunes from New Foundland from a lovely visiting couple, bluegrass from the best in the business, swing in at least one jam circle, Cajun, early country songs and folk songs sung with great passion. The old-time crowd is usually the first to start playing. Pretty soon, they’ll be more folks joining in the main circle, some of whom are new to old-time, wanting to learn a few tunes. A crowd tends to form at that end of the bar as listeners clap and ask “What was that one called?”
As the night progresses, the focus seems to shift over to the usual late-arriving bluegrass crowd. By about 10:30, you suddenly realize the place has gotten quite full. You hear somebody playing a bass over by the door. You hear another stand-up in the back corner. There’s 3-part harmony bluegrass songs, being played fast and frenzied and tight as can be. By 11:30, even more people are listening, laughing, playing, swearing they have to leave (but don’t) and having a time. There are several jams going on at this point and unless you’re right up on one of them, you might miss the fantastic leads and talent of the players. Now, I’ve heard these jams go until 3 a.m. but haven’t made it that far into the wee hours. I’m one of the “early” people and leave around 1 a.m. on this particular night. I can only imagine the raucous and amazing playing that continues after I leave.
The People: The variety of people at the 5 Spot never ceases to amaze me. Locals, newbies to Nashville and folks just passing through have one thing in common– the love of traditional music. Whether there to just listen and observe – who make up a good half the crowd most nights – or the musicians playing the tunes; each week’s jam seems electric and infectious. Nashville has definitely caught the old-time bug and it’s spreading fast.
With regulars made up of people including Buddy Spicher, Aaron Till, Wes Langlois, Kevin Mauzy Martin (Hog Slop String Band), Buddy Jackson, Matt Kinman, Ryan Cavanaugh, Adam Wright, Tyler Andal (Greencards) and David Grier – how can you go wrong? At first I thought I’d be too intimidated to play in front of such top shelf musicians, but there’s a real sense of camaraderie and people are encouraging and enthusiastic to help others learn.
At my first jam three years ago, I had just picked up the fiddle seriously. I didn’t know many of the local tunes, fought the bow, and couldn’t keep up with darn near anybody. But time has passed, I have gotten some better and I keep coming back for my weekly fix. Now, I’m usually the first fiddler to open my case. I can sit there for hours, playing with old and young, experts and novices, folks from other countries and my next door neighbor. They all feel like family to me now. This is where I belong. This is where I want to be. This is the time to be in Nashville if you love old-time or bluegrass music. There is something magical happening every week at the 5 Spot and I feel fortunate to be a part of it.
So, when I told Buck last night “I haven’t been to anything big lately.” I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m part of something big every time I pull out my fiddle – a tradition where I’m playing the same tunes on the same fiddle that my grandpa played one hundred years ago. We’re all helping keep a wonderful tradition alive. We’re keeping tunes alive by playing them for others who will get them in their head and hum them while in the shower or in the car. We’re helping to build a community. I believe we’re making some history here too–just by doing what we love. So, I’m glad Nashville was recognized by Rolling Stone. But I could have told you it has the best music scene. And it ain’t coming out of a big record label on Music Row or cost $15 dollars to get in the door. It’s coming from the houses, bars and people across this great town who love what this town stands for. Music. And that is something big.
One Response to “Local OT Jam: Not Your Average Wednesday Night”
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great article!