Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Coffee Mill Can Barely Hope To Contain Us

Must've been the combined factors of warm temperatures, daylight saving time and spring break (which meant more parking). I have no idea how many people were at the Mill last night. Wayne said folks were playing outside when he arrived at 6:40. Some never made it indoors, which were packed, as usual.

Listen. There were SIX fiddles in the jam at one point. That has to be some kinda record. Wait! Doug Dalton was outside. SEVEN fiddles total! I feel like Jerry Lewis watching the Labor Day money total flip over. I think I might be misting up.

Youth held sway, with the teenish Houston kids arriving from Floyd County, fiddles and mandolin in tow (guys, you shoulda heard the girls harmonize after the jam. They were really good). Our young bespectacled buddy Blake sawed a few hot ones, too.

OK, I'm curious now. Going around the horn indoors we had Wayne, Asenath, Tim, Sloane, Larry, an 80-year-old dobroist named Sherman, Richard, the lady whose name escapes me on guitar (Mrs. Goshorn?), Mary, Frank, Nancy, the Houston trio, Jason, young Blake, Chris (holding it together with an outstanding pinch-hit bass performance) and me. That's 18 inside.

Outside was George, Kendall, Bill, Doug, the Clatterbucks, Tim Pak ... anybody else? That's seven.

Twenty-five jammers! Yes, it was a bit rough and rocky at times, but hey, as the Father said, "The road is rocky but it won't be rocky long!" Oh Lord!

3 comments:

Chris Burgoyne said...

Amen!

I like to see what happens when we have an "unusual" jam where the regular suspects are not around and the jam has to reconstitute itself with the people present. I think it was Donald Rumsfeld who said, "You don't jam with the people you wish you had, but rather the jammers you got." I paraphrase, of course.

Keeps things fresh. I wouldn't mind if some people plugged the occasional obvious gap of course, but hey...

Wayne said...

The lady on the bass and her husband were outside (are they the Clatterbucks?), the young mando player that has been around a few times was out there, as was George's friend from Shawsville that usually plays dobro, but was on fiddle last night, yes another fiddle player! (Try to hold it together now, Ralph)

Also Timmy Mills was on the inside with us. So that's at least three others for a total of 28. It was quite the event!!

Ralph said...

Yes, Curtis! Didn't talk to him, either.