by Tom Blair
Columnist

I’ll tell you one thing for sure: when the 1st of November comes in Arizona, look out, because that’s when jamming time is in full swing for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of musicians.

Just in the East Valley of Mesa and Apache Junction alone, there may be five or six jam sessions a day going on. Some of them may have as many as 30 to 50 musicians and a few hundred onlookers (fans) and dancers there. Some of the auditoriums or community centers are huge, with attached swimming pools, restaurant, bar and golf course. I mean it’s a pretty big deal. Most jams take place in the daytime, usually from 12:30 pm to 3 pm, and some are held from 7 to 9 pm in the evening. The admission is always free to the public.

Some of these musicians have been professionals during their life and just enjoy playing again with others and entertaining the people. Some are pretty bad, too, because anyone can get in to play at a jam! Even if you don’t play an instrument, you can get up and sing.

There are some jams that try to prevent too many lousy singers and pickers by having “Invitation only” musicians, while others say you must play an instrument to get in. There are big band jams, gospel, country, and blue grass jams; most are a mixture of anything and everything.

It’s kinda like an audition for the Gong Show when it starts – everyone gets their stuff set up, and then they start at one end and go around to each musician and give them a turn at the microphone.

There are quite a few husband and wife duos, a lot of people in their 60s, 70s and 80s. It’s rare to see anyone under 55. You can tell that some were pretty dang good in their day, and a few still are.

You’d better not get Floyd’s chair, or Joe’s or Bill’s. When some of these people come to a jam every week, they like to sit in a certain chair, and you’d better not get there early and try to sit there or someone might wax the rubber on your cane. As a matter of fact, some even park their car in a certain spot at the jams, and you’d better not park there either.

There may be an old guy with a harmonica, a widow on the fiddle, an accordion player from Minnesota, and pickers with vintage Gibsons, Fenders and Gretch guitars worth thousands of dollars. There may be piano players, steel guitars, a drummer and 15 singers at a jam, but it’s fun for the musicians and the audience.

They sell their latest CD’s, socialize, tell stories about their past, and talk about other musicians, especially the ones that died last year or the year before, and there are always some who leave us. I miss those guys I played with the past few years, like Dale, Jack, Frank, Don and my Rock & Roll sax man Ray.

If you come to Arizona in the winter, make sure you go to a few jams; e-mail me, and I’ll tell you where they are. It would be fun to have some in Fargo, too.

Tom “Road” Blair

Website: www.tomroadblair.comt