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I was quite honored when, last summer, Jonas Friddle of Banjo After Dark, asked me to make a guest video.
The topic I choose was one we regularly work on in Guitar Crew; knowing which songs are appropriate to bring to the jam.
In this video I share my thoughts on, why it’s fun to bring a song to lead at an open jam, the types of songs to lead, and a few pointers to smooth the bumpy road that that beginning song leaders alway encounter.
Do you have any advice to share, or an interesting story from a time when you lead a song, or when you heard someone else lead a song? We’d love to hear it!
p.s. I highly recommend joining Jonas’ Banjo After Dark Patreonpage. It’s free to join (although tossing a few bucks his way is always helpful) and I think you’ll find some fantastic resources.
Jason McInnes Teaches How To Choose A Jam Song on Banjo After Dark.
In the previous post I wrote a about recording recording Little Birdie with puja and maria. That got me thinking about Frank Hamilton who taught me that song when I went to visit him in 2010.
Here’s a recording of Little Birdie as we sang it that day.
I talked with Frank the other day and he sounds fantastic. His enthusiasm and positivity rang through my earbuds just like always. It had been a long time since we talked and I was very glad to hear his voice.
It was the summer of 2015 and there was an excited buzz in the air as the audience was finding their seats for the Young Stracke All-Stars album release show. It had become known that Ella Jenkins had made it to the show, and everyone knew they were in the presence of someone very special. Ella and I had met several times and had even played some gigs together, but we didn’t know each other so well yet. I was quite honored that she had accepted our invitation, and that we could share our music with her.
By the fall of 2015 I had heard that Ella had moved into an assisted care facility not far from the Old Town School of Folk Music, where I was teaching, and the neighborhood where I lived. Eventually, something inside me clicked and I thought, “Oh. The kids don’t have school next Monday because of the holiday. We should go visit Ella!”
For the rest of my time in Chicago, we had a regular meetup with Ella when school was not in session. I’d stop at the store to pick up some snacks for the kids, a bouquet of flowers, and peppermint ice cream, which was Ella’s favorite.
We’d all gather in a communal room at the facility. This room had a piano and lots of space for us to spread out our instrument case, winter coats and snacks and little siblings would have room to roam freely. The facility staff was always very kind and graciously put up with us moving the furniture around.
Sometimes we’d have lots of families, other times it was just a few. No matter what we’d always have quite a time singing The Cuckoo, This Train, This Little Light of Mine and lots of other favorites! Often, a small crowd of other residents and their caregivers would gather to sing and clap along with us.
Emma Reading her School Report About Ella
I’m not sure how affected the kids were by being in the presence of someone famous, which Ella was. But Ella’s aura was never about fame. The intense, potent energy that one felt in Ella’s presence came from her love of music and community.
When I think back on my time leading the Young Stracke All-Stars, and teaching in Chicago, these are some of my strongest memories. Not memories like stories, but memories of a feeling that, through our visits, we were all able to gather our lessons in music and community and take them out of the classroom and bring them to life in the larger world. In many ways, that world had, at least some way, been opened to us by Ella Jenkins and her music.
Sharing some artwork.
It was in afternoons like these, and other days when it was just Ella in me, that she became a very dear friend of mine. I’m not sure she could always remember my name, but I know that she knew who I was and she was always glad to have me visit. We had an understanding that we traveled together in the spirit of music.
I was lucky that she and I had some quiet, peaceful time together on her 100th birthday, last August. Ella was very tired, but the sound of my uke perked her up and soon she was all smiles and lifted up by the music and singing along and playing imaginary drums. As you might imagine, we sang through some favorites; the Cuckoo, This Little Light of Mine and one of her favorites, The Glory of Love as performed by her friend Big Bill Broonzy.
Celebrating Ella’s National Heritage Fellowship Award One time I brought my record player so Ella could listen to the Young Stracke All-Stars’ 7″ record.
Ella’s spirit traveled on, on November 9, 2024.
It make me sad that I won’t be able to sing with her in person anymore. Thankfully, at least one of her songs comes to my lips every day.
I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn so much from her and to have spent so much heart-felt time together.
Love you, Ella! I miss you so much. Thank you for opening your heart to me. Jason
Putting on a show for all the other residence to celebrate Ella’s birthday.
Always bring some flowers!
Erin and I stopped by to watch the National Heritage Fellowship award show. Ella couldn’t travel to DC to be part of it, but we had a wonderful time watching together.
Maria was able to drop by!
Ella LOVED to play in A minor. She’d say, “They used to call me A minor Ella!”
When I think of the ways that I’ve grown, I know I couldn’t a’ made it alone. I owe a lot to the sharing, caring, daring wonderful friends that I’ve known.
Pete Seeger and Dave Bernz
Up and Down the River with Friends Introduction from the crew At the jam Lots of smiles! The Captain (on the left) and a crew member Picking some tunes before we embarked. Tunes on the sloopl The rudder The deck. Not much space to sit, huh? It was a lot of work to hoist sail. I’m obviously very glad to be done. Kate and Janet The main sail of the Sloop Clearwater!
Most, if not all, of these photos were taken by Mary Zerkel.
In August of 2014 some dears ones, in particular Judy Higgins, and I caravaned from the greater Old Town School of Folk Music region of Chicago to Beacon, NY to sing and sail on the Sloop Clearwater; Pete Seeger’s boat on the Hudson River.
Such a trip had been on my mind for a year or two and the swirl of good feelings in our musical community after Pete died on January 27, 2014, blew the idea from my daydreams into reality. “Sailing Up and Down the River with Friends” began.
About 20 of us made the trip for this very memorable voyage. The boat was “a real, functioning sloop,” as the crew let us know during introductions. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it definitely wasn’t designed for tourists. There was ropes, pulleys and other boat hardware covering every inch of the deck. Where were we going to sit for our jam?!?!?
The crew lead us in the sea shanty, Paddy Works on the Railway, as we pulled together to hoist the main sail. I’m not sure why they chose a railroad song, rather than a sea faring song, but it was a perfect fit. They instructed about 10 of to take hold of the halyard and pull to the beat of the song. The crew counted off an incredibly slow tempo, which made sense immediately when it became apparent how difficult it was going to be to hoist the sail. Slow and steady, with my arms burning, the sail was up and we continued on our way. I was already exhausted! And, I never heard a sea shanty the same way again.
It was a quite, beautiful afternoon on the river with mostly sunny skies. As we embarked there was this one small dramatic dark cloud that sauntered right over us. It loosened a handful of raindrops and for one moment I was nervous that our jam was going to be rained out. But, the cloud quickly carried on, and we didn’t feel another drop. Later I thought, “Ah, that cloud was Pete saying hi in his own particular way.”
As the excursion continued, we had a fantastic jam. It was clear from the crew introductions that they had expected us to follow their lead during the music portion of the ride. But, without much notice, instruments were unpacked and the sound of our music filled the air. We all took turns leading songs, and the crew eased back to enjoy the jam with us. We probably played for an hour or so. Then, instruments were packed, ropes were wound back up and we headed back to shore.
Ten years. Wow, a lot has changed in ten years and that on the Hudson River feels both very far away in my memory, and also much nearer. The time from the Sloop trip to my last teaching day at the Old Town School was five years. Then, my last class at OTS to today was also five years. Hard to imagine that those two stretches of time were equal. Life is so different. I wonder if I’ll ever lead another event like that. Not that I want to! I’m very happy these days with my slower pace.
It’s been a tearful experience to look through these photos, many of which I haven’t seen since they were originally taken. In that time, Zelda, who was a member of the Young Stracke All-Stars, completed her undergrad degree. I live with Grace and Maria now, which has been the most delightful surprise of the past 10 years. I was able to have lunch with Anthony and Dana, who I hadn’t seen at least five years, earlier this summer. Many of the others I see on an occasional virtual jam or concert. We all played a lot of music together during my Chicago years and I feel so lucky that, even if we don’t get to play together very much anymore, I still consider them close friends. I know that, if the opportunity presented itself, we could jump right into a version of Pete’s Sailing Up and Down the River, just like old times.
Jess Baldissero is not only a good friend, she is one of my favorite songwriters. I was honored that she sat with me earlier in the week to discuss the discoveries and accidents of the creative process. We shared some laughs, talked about good times and hard times and we each played a few songs.
Three tracks from The Hermit, my debut solo album are streaming during the pre-order period. The full album will be released June 28, 2024 on Bandcamp.
They wanted to play more. They’re just too busy. They’re frustrated with the pace of their progress. They’re overwhelmed and don’t know what to practice.
I get it. I feel that way about music all the time. Thankfully, I’ve developed some strategies to get me out of such a funk and this is one of them.
Next time you don’t know what to play, or are bored or frustrated with the same old songs, try some dreaming.
The video is the best description I can make of this process. I’ve also made a .pdf that has some drawings that can be useful, but there’s very little instruction on it.
Elizabeth Breen | Miki Greenberg | Jason McInnes | Lindsay Weinberg
As Miki would say, “The classic lineup of piano, banjo and two oboes.”
Our first show was October of 2008 at the Tonic Room.
Our album release show was in February 2012 and our last show was sometime that spring.
And, then . . . I don’t think a decision was made to retire the band. I remember it just kind of happening.
We had taken a long time to make the record. By the time the album came out all four of us were sending our creative energy towards other projects and family life.
It’s a Girl was much more like being in a theater production than any other band I was part of before, or since. Theatrical shows close and so did this band, I suppose.
Setting clear goals, in terms of both skillset and finished work, continues to take an increasingly important place in my creative world. It’s funny, now, to think that setting of goals was not something I thought about very much.
Just as I, as a musician, practice scales, etudes and other small bits of music, I’ve developed a sketchbook practice which supports me in building the visual art skills that I lack at the moment.
At the end of 2021 I began working on a large pen and ink piece. I stepped up to the paper and realized, almost immediately, that I did not have control of the necessary skills to complete the piece as I wanted. I could understand the process intellectually, but it wasn’t going to come out of my pen without more practice.
I used some scrap paper and put this sketchbook together to explore the greyscale. I used three of my favorite mark making tools; pencils, roller ball pens, and fine line pens. In addition, I shifted between hatching and blending techniques with the idea that I would be able to explore not only my abilities, but also the qualities of each instrument.
Thank you for taking a look.
And, please reach out if my experiences could be of service to your art and/or music making practice. I’m happy to answer any questions that you leave in the comments or send me an email.
It’s been three years since I left my home of the previous 25 years and drove this Uhaul trailer into the great unknown.
During that time, as I laid my head down on my pillow, I heard the roaring wind and crashing waves on the Lake Superior coast and the sand-filled gales and coyotes howl in the foothills of the Chihuahuan Desert.
The winds of change have been heaving me along the highway for a long time. Now, it’s time to settle back down.
A few weeks ago I was packing up another Uhaul to make a move which I know would bring me to a lull in the vigorous wind gusts. My friend, Kevin Burrows, wrote a short piece on social media which summed up exactly how I am feeling, as the winds die down and I settle into my new home.
I am honored that he agreed to allow me to share it with you.
Where have you been blown from? Where did you get blown to? Did you find a soft place to land?
One response to “Landing Softly”
Alta Grace McCullough
I landed in a soft place when I was born into my mother’s Sanchez family: A wonderful group of human beings; loving, humorous, alive!
Since I carry them all in my heart I am always in a soft place….
I have been invited to show several pieces at the upcoming exhibition, Water Worlds, An Exhibition Exploring the Essence of Water (details follow). It’s the first time that I will have multiple pieces at a show, which is very exciting.
I was asked to provide an artist statement to accompany the work. It’s been a long time since I’ve written an artist statement and I’ve never written one based on my visual art.
I’m very happy with my final statement. Here it is. Thank you for reading.
Jason McInnes
Artist Statement
Spring 2022
Gather sustaining provisions.
Reinforce the tunnel walls.
Chip away the stone, blow by blow.
I work like a miner pursuing a vein of gold; the precarious notion that, through the mastery of materials, I become the master of my own existence.
I was built, broken and rebuilt in the midwest of the United States, although I now reside in New Mexico. I am a music-centric teaching artist by vocation. I build systems of learning in my visual and music-based artmaking, which I use to fortify my resolve to “be here now”.
I am drawn to uncomplicated mark making materials. I gravitate toward simple tools like pencils, charcoal and erasers because they are readily available. I dig for universal truths in the tip of a common ballpoint pen. I work alongside the sun; freeing it to develop its greyscale along with me. I choose media that can easily fit in a backpack, be pulled from a pocket on a walk through the desert foothills, or can be worked with in limited studio space.
A mixture of celestial light and human-made light, like street lamps and illuminated signage, dependably grab attention. So does the crisp edge of a line of mesquite trees cutting into a blue sky. My work reflects these relationships as a way to offer reverence to the cosmos as well as serving as a path to keep nourished and grounded.
Water Worlds, An Exhibition Exploring the Essence of Water, Opening Night Reception
Exhibition – Friday, June 10 through Sunday, June 26
Opening Night Reception – Friday, June 10 – 4:00 – 6:30
This exhibition is made possible with the cooperation of KB Studios, Chicago IL and is curated by artist and educator Kaye Buchman. This show demonstrates various artists’ interest in honoring and preserving our most precious resource – water. A portion of proceeds from the sale of work will go to the Alliance for the Great Lakes. The show will open on June 10 and run through June 30.Featured Artists are:Jason McInnes Mary Ridley Mary Gomberg Susan Gamerman Katharine Hathaway Kathleen Maltese Phyllis Rabineau Sue Teller Janet Wishinsky Joan Baer Virginia Carstarphen Kay Buchman
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