COLD Night - HOT Jam

It was a good one at the River City Grill tonight! We had the regulars, Jason, Doug, Brittany, Tim M., Corey, Chris, Daniel, Richard, Tim P., and Wayne. About midway through, Mike Conner and John Miller showed up. There was another gentlemen with them that I didn't get a name from, as well. Mike (FiddleFest) and John (lots of big name bad credits) brought some hard driving picking and singing to the group!

I thought it may be an off night with the weather, but I gotta say it turned out pretty darned good as the night went on. We all told John and Mike to make sure they come back.

Missed our old pals, Ralph and Joe. Don't know where Joe was, but Ralph was trying to hold off a little illness. Get well soon!

New faces at the Jam Last Night

A good jam. I haven't been in weeks due to work busy-ness, so I enjoyed my ownself.
Down at the end of the circle was a group of guys who said they were from Blacksburg. Hope they come back. We always need new blood, and the on fella played a groovy instrument that he said was Swedish in origin. I thought he called it a Nick Harp, and then he clarified that it was called a nyckelharpa.

It was groovy and he could play.

Hope they all come back.

Java Brothers Rocked WVRU

I was a bit disappointed with how the vocals were mixed for our in-studio songs, but hey, whatcha gonna do?
The stuff from the CD sounded good, because the CD sounded good!

It was fun to hang with Tim Jackson in the Listening Room.

Check out the archive here.

Grille Power

The jam thrives. Had a fine time on Monday down on 3rd street. It was good to see Asenath and my pal Harlow. That kid's bigger every damn day.

We had our team all back from Galax - Jason, Corey, Ginny, Ralph, Frankie, Richard.

Maybe y'all can tell me the memorable tunes, but I thought we was cookin' pretty good.

Great time in the River City

A lot of folks are in Galax and a lot of folks are taking their last vacation of the summer -- which meant the River City Grill was a little less crowded Monday night, but the jam was outstanding. The group was tight and got into some material we'd left behind -- Stuck in the Middle of Nowhere, Fire on the Mountain, Lonesome Pine (in B!)... lots of stuff! Friends, remind me what we played!!!

Been a long time since we rock and rolled...

The JB's are trained so well now it's ingrained in their brains. Freeze them, put them on ice until 2067 (Summer of Love II), defrost them, and they'll play you a "Little Georgia Rose" that'll do you some good. Though the JB's are rarely all together in the same place, round em up and they know what to do without event thinkin' about it.

The JB's did some good tonight over at the River Course Member Guess Jamboree. They tore it up.

Good sound, a groovy New River-side environment, dinner, drinks, and a beautiful sunset made for a fine place to play some music.

Hope they bring us back.

Another Good 'un

The jam was hitting on almost all cylinders again last night. We were missing Ralph, which caused a sputter or two in the engine, but it ran pretty good anyway! We had another really good crowd in attendance, and a fine group of pickers. Those in attendance were: Doug, Avery, Richard, George, Curtis, Christian, Maynard, Nancy, Jason, Joe, Tim P., Dale, Rob, Dan, and myself. (Hope I didn't miss anybody!) We got a card signed and sent out to fellow jammer, Wilson in between tunes, played a couple of requests from the listeners, and in general had a right good time! Looking forward to Ralph returning next week!

Bluegrass Break Down Under

Here's a link to our Aussie pals' blog. Many familiar faces and places.
http://australianbluegrass.com/index.php/exploring-the-south-travelogue-usa-3/

Check out the posts from Galax and Tennessee, too.

Hot. Steamy. Sultry.

No, we're not talking about some trashy novel Wayne Frye's been reading at the beach, we're talking about last night's jam at River City Grill. The place, the people and the pickin' were hot, hot, hot as the RC still deals with its AC issues. They're on it, and hope to have things fixed this week.

Anyway, Chuck and Co. set us up away from the solar-panel windows and closer to the bar (!) as a way to keep us from melting. Had a little smaller group than usual -- maybe due to the heat, but partly due to vacations -- but by 7, the place was pretty darn full. The RC has treated us well during our brief time there ... they set up the chairs, move everything back and are genuinely happy we play at their venue.

The group consisted of Doug, Joe, Jason, Chris, Nancy, Mary, Frank, Kendall, Christian, Tim P, Mike D and the guy who plays harmonica who I don't know. Eventually, Bill, Kendall, Tim P, Alan Surface and Jason(?) got a jam going in the nice cool breezes outside. Lately we've had some good jams inside and out, which makes for a good scene.

Tim M and maybe a few others were getting into the act as I left. Somebody can list the tunes played. All in all, a good jam was had.

Heckuva Jam

The jam hit it's stride down at the River City Grill tonight. Maybe it has before, but it was cookin' tonight. We had some excellent new players. John from Australia sitting in on bass was a real asset. Playing left handed like Paul McCartney crossed with Ralph Stanley, he sang good bass, and he knew just about every tune we threw at him.

Ginny is relatively new and sittin' in with some fresh tunes. Mike Dowdy is a familiar face, but he sat in to pick some, which was a treat. We got a rare visit from Slash who anchored the jam out on the sidewalk. Dale was back with us, Kendall was back with us, Christian was back with us. Mary, Larry, Wayne, Ralph, George Smith, Jason Wheeler, Chris Burgoyne, Larry and Bill with their dueling dobros, Mary, Nancy, and some other. Laura Beth and John of Laura Beth and the clover Hollow Boys sat in, too and we hope they'll be back. With the jam splitting in two, we busted out a ton of new tunes. Great vibe tonight.

I'm thinking of about 4 of our die hard regulars who weren't there and the jam was still bustin' at the seams. That's a healthy jam, I tell you what.

LandJamNation

We missed Joe and Doug, but were most happy to have Java Half-Brothers Jason and Mike fill in during the New River Land Trust Land Jam. We had a good crowd inside the barn, played well considering we had one practice, and we sold 1 CD and gave away 3. (The one we sold, the buyer asked: "Is Jason on this?")

And we got free drink tickets for Shooting Creek beer. I had fun, anyway.

How'd it go?

Went down hard with some kind of summer cold.
Jamming not an option.
Netflix online.
Nose dripping.
Wish you all could see it.

Memorial Day Jam at River City Grille

Maybe that was Ralph's last jam...

He wasn't there tonight, but who am I to complain? The jam circle was a little smaller, and it really tightened things up. Doug Capo went AWOL on bass, and Tim Pak filled in ably. We got some cookin' jams going. Ralph was missed, but Wayne played a lot of mando with Nancy, Dan, and even Bill Adams playing some flattop.
Got to see Wilson, in for his once in a blue moon sit ins. Get well soon, Wilson!
Sloan was in taking on a lot of fiddle chores with the always progressing Richard, and Rob showed up late to lend his primo fiddle chops.

Little Cabin on the Hill. Hit Parade o Love. Red Haired Boy. Swingin' Doors. Cherokee Shuffle. What else? Can't remember, but it was some good pickin.

Ralph's last jam ...

... as a New River Valley homeowner (made you look!) was a good one. I think we're settling in pretty well at the RCG. The owners seem sincerely enthusiastic and happy that we're there. The musicians are adapting to the new environs, many of the patrons from The Coffee Mill have hung with us and new fans are turning out to hear the music.

It was good to see old friends Asenath Cales and Don Hall last night. We had a great turnout of musicianers who were still sawing away when I bailed -- Wayne, Doug, Chris, Joe, Tim P. and Jason, among them. Tim Mills was there, eating what appeared to be chicken salad. Also happy to see Richard, Mary, Nancy, Jenny, Rob Z., Christian, Kendall (sans guitar; granddaughter in tow), and a guitarist who met us at Wades, whose name I do not know. Miss anybody? Glad Lewis, the Fryes, Ken and Dave, the Simpkinses and other friends were on hand. I saw Anna on TV this morning! She was spotted at Mabry Mill with a buncha other roustabouts from Grove.

See you next week!

Total Wayne Frye Request Live!

Wayne was only there 2 hours, so he paid off several members of the audience to request HIS songs last night! Incorrigible! Including Country Roads ... a blatant attempt to get his songs sung!

I think the jam's going well at the RCG. Good group last nite, good singers, good pickers, a few new numbers AND Wayne Henderson's nephew played a custom-built WCH guitar.

Jam Report

The jam tonight was really good! Had plenty of pickers, and a decent crowd of listeners. The Grill wasn't as full as it has been, of course the students are gone, so that took away some of the crowd. Can't name all of those in attendance, but a special shout out goes to Tim Pack. He came over and as he was pulling up we were motioning for him to get his bass, since Doug was AWOL. Tim went back home, got his bass, and made an excellent representation for himself! We sure do appreciated having that low end rythmn going!

Good trouble in River City

I think the jam is going well in the new environs. Y'all tell me.

Can't Explain

Radford Fiddle and Banjo Jam Moves to River City Grill

Good food, good folks, and a great big window to watch the people stroll by. I got a good feeling about the River City Grill and the jam's roosting there. It's a great venue, and I loved seeing all my friends there. If you don't know by now, 95% of friends here I've made by playing music, so it's great to feel it going to a new place. Turning a corner, if you will.

Y'all oughta come down and check it out.

Spring/Summer '10

Anybody got any favorite festivals or concerts coming up? We're just about in fiddlers convention season.


Great jam last night, as usual.

Super market jam

Literally. A SUPER market jam. Don't know what the natives will think when we uproot them again.

Btw, stopped by the River City Grill. They're hoping for an April 10 grand opening. Bigger place than maybe I first thought. I hope they know what they're getting into when they invited us.

Two Scoops of Carolina Chocolate Drops in Floyd

The first show March 31 done sold out. Tickets are on sale for a 9:30 p.m. show at the Floyd Country Store.

Alex Chilton, R.I.P.

I don't know how many of you ever heard of this guy. He was frickin' awesome. Saw him at a famous gig at Lucky's Upstairs in Radford in '87. His band Big Star influenced all the bands I loved in the '80s -- especially the Replacements and R.E.M.

Blue Highway

Blue Highway put on a great show in Roanoke last Friday night.
Came across this piece on them. Click here.

Not enough bluegrass on this blog...

So here's some from Alison Krauss.



Featuring Tim Stafford on guitar (we saw him last week with Blue Highway), Jerry Douglas with his long gone pony tail, and (wikipedia confirms this) master fiddler Stuart Duncan on the mandolin. (Like the picture of Sean Connery signed by Roger Moore!)

JB's record masterpiece

Not since Please Please Me has a record so awesome been recorded so quick.

Watch your local record retailer for the soon to be release awesomeness that is the Java Brothers debut album.

Taking suggestions on album titles.

Nora Jane Struthers and PJ

Good song, well played.

A New Hope

Or, a new home. The Jam relocated to the Wades Supermarket in Radford after a 7 year stretch at the Coffee Mill. I gotta say, I was impressed by the first night.

• A great turnout
• Plenty of room
• Tons of parking
• Early start / Early end - old geezers like me like to get to bed at a decent hour!
• Nice sound to the room

Could be the start of something nice! I love how comfortable it felt. And why shouldn't it? All our friends were there, pickin tunes.

Thanks to Wades for putting out the welcome mat.

Side Door Sessions - Feb 20th - Video clips

Here's a sampling of a few video clips from the Side Door Session #15 on Feb 20, 2010... (note the special guest appearance of dancing sensation Lucy Berrier toward the end of Pretty Little Bird by the Whitetop Mountaineers!).....

Indian Run - Jerusalem Ridge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DJKMB7yZwQ

Indian Run - Big Sciota

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpswPxPzoBU

Whitetop Mountaineers - Southern Flavor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlG6Zm9cmZM

Whitetop Mountaineers - Free Little Bird:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhG3sJH9UNE

Laura Beth and Clover Hollow Boys - Song #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x76S2dOZGaA

Laura Beth and Clover Hollow Boys - Song #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z4Gtf7zdGs

Jam at Wades in Radford - 6:30-9:00

Come out and support the jam and a local business. It's win-win, baby!

Here's a piece that was an obituary of sorts for the Coffee Mill jam that appeared in RU's online publication the Whim.
An excerpt:

Laughter and conversation mixed with bluegrass music flowing from fiddles, banjos, mandolins, guitars, and an upright bass filled the air last Monday, Feb. 22 at a packed Coffee Mill. Every seat was filled as a range from toddlers to seniors clapped their hands and stomped their feet to the music. The energy inside the Coffee Mill made it easy to see it was a special night on Main Street, and it may be the last special night on Main Street for a long time to come. After eight years of serving the City of Radford, the Coffee Mill is closing its doors for good.

“I, personally, am very sorry to see the Coffee Mill close,” fiddle player and a founder of the jam Ralph Berrier said. “Not because of the jam, but because the Mill has been such a wonderful gathering spot for downtown Radford.”

The Coffee Mill has been a popular hangout for both natives of Radford and Radford University students.

“I like the community,” junior Mark Samudre said. “I like getting away from campus and doing my work and stuff.”

Graduate student, Jon Murrill, likes the atmosphere of not just the Coffee Mill, but of the jam sessions as well.

“I try to come as often as I can for [a] couple of months now,” Murrill said. “I saw it from the road and it felt like a fun atmosphere.”

Radford University students don’t just come out to watch the jam; some participate. Banjo player Jason Wheeler comes out to the jams every Monday night and participates with the rest of the group.

“When I first started playing the banjo I was in tenth grade in high school,” Wheeler said. ”I started going to the Coffee Mill jam shortly after I started playing. I did not know many songs, and was a newbie when it came to playing, especially in public. The group of musicians welcomed me and allowed me to sit down and learn from them. I learned a great deal from that jam, and I credit it with the quickness of my development on the banjo.”

With the closing of the Coffee Mill, the Radford Fiddle and Banjo Jam loses the place it called home for the past seven years.

“It seems ironic that two weeks ago we were celebrating our 10 year anniversary, and now, two weeks later, we’re having our last jam,” Berrier said to an attentive audience.

It may be the last jam at the Coffee Mill, but that doesn’t mean it’s the last jam.

“The jam will survive,” Berrier said. “It’s lasted 10 years and has been held at other venues.”

The jam will move to the cafe area in Wades Supermarket every Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. until it finds a permanent location. This isn’t the first time the jam was forced to change locations. When the jam first formed in 2000, the group wandered between several locations such as Mocha Joe’s and BT’s, until they settled down at Joe’s Diner for three years. The Coffee Mill has hosted the jam since they opened their doors eight years ago. The move is necessary, but the group made sure to pay homage to their home of over half a decade.

“We’ve been guests in their house for seven years, so we thank them,” Berrier said.

Cover and story photo by Thomas Bowman

New Home for Radford Fiddle and Banjo Jam

Temporarily at least...
Ralph writes:

Hi all,

The jam will be moving to the cafe at Wades Supermarket, 405 Main Street in Radford, starting next Monday, March 1. The owners will allow us to play there for a few weeks while we decide upon a permanent location.

Because Wades closes at 9 p.m., the jam will run from 6:30-9 p.m. I am sure we could start at 6 p.m. if folks want to arrive early.

I think Wades plans to staff the cafe area with a cashier, so we can pay for coffee or food close to the action. Enjoy a few chicken fingers with your bluegrass!

Wades is a locally owned grocery store that has been part of the New River Valley for 60 years. I am most grateful to the co-owners, Sarah Harris and Greg Wade, for being so accomodating. If you shop at Wades before Monday, be sure to thank them for their hospitality.

Wades is located on the opposite side of town from The Coffee Mill -- travel away from the university westward on Main Street, about 3/4 of a mile past Radford High School. You will have no problem finding it.

See you at the jam!

RBjr.

Don't let the Jam die. Support it wherever it is.

The Undiscovered Country

The Jam ended its 7 year run at the Coffee Mill in Radford last night. The place was as packed as it's ever been, and then some. The pickers got in their last licks and a lot of familiar faces were there to be part of the Last Jam, but it wasn't really a bummer at all for me. The incredible turnout of listeners and players told me that we're just being shushed off and we'll roost somewhere else.

All signs are pointing to us ending up at Wade's for the time being. I've heard a lot about groups who want to take us in, and it's great to feel welcomed like that. I've been going to the Coffee Mill Jam for as long as I've been in Radford, and it's where I've met 99% of my friends in this town. The jam is a giant reason I like living here, and I'm going to work to preserve it. I'm not alone, though, so like I said, I'm not at all bummed. This is a chance to perfect the jam!

Ruth Babylon made a cool video of the last jam. It was good one, a mostly typical one. But it's not the last jam, it's just the last jam for the Coffee Mill.

Y'all stay tuned for updates on our next stop!

Side Door Tomorrow Night! Sat Feb 20th

Don't miss it y'all!

The Side Door Sessions ride again this Saturday night at the intersection of 3rd and Grove in Radford.

Music will feature our old friend Jackson Cunningham, performing with Martha Spencer - the Whitetop Mountaineers.

Also performing will be Ken Richardson, Indian Run, featuring fiddler Paul Herling, and our own Nancy Corey, and Laura Beth and the Clover Hollow Boys.

Doors open at 7:00 and the music starts at 7:30.

Jam Exodus

Apparently the Jam is being cast into the Wilderness. Ralph passes on the sad news:

Hi all,
As many of you learned last night, The Coffee Mill is closing next week. It appears that next Monday's jam will be the last there. I'll keep you posted on what the plan is -- an "executive committee" met post-jam at Sharkey's to discuss the situation, but after two rounds of beers we forgot what we were meeting about.

We have some options we'll explore for where to go next. We may just play somewhere briefly as a stop-gap until we find a new home. We might even take a couple of weeks off before settling in somewhere else. Another option is to simply retire the jam after 10 good years, but nobody seemed enthused with that idea. So, we'll keep looking as we thank The Coffee Mill for letting us be their guests for the past 7 years.

Any suggestions? Just e' me.

Anyway, to clarify, there WILL be a jam next week at The Coffee Mill. Hopefully by then we'll know what we're doing next.

RBjr.

Bummer. Where will we go next? Retiring from jammin' is unthinkable. Don't let our sweet love die!

Side Door February 20th -Whitetop Mountaineers

Mark your calendars!
Side Door XV is coming and we've got a great lineup featuring the Whitetop Mountaineers.


Also appearing will be Indian Run, Ken Richardson, and Laura Beth and the Clover Hollow Boys.

Do yourself a favor and don't miss it!

Who's up for Galax?

On a snowy day like today, think about the long hot nights and long scorched days pickin' at Galax.
I've got to start planning now if I want to make it.

Happy 10th Anniversary Fiddle and Banjo Jam!

Amazing! Tempus fugit, indeed. The jam just turned 10 and it was a typically excellent one. Somebody told Doug he could miss it, and that Joe could bail out on a blistering version of Roanoke, but it was still great. A fine cake was there. Our fine friends were there, miss Lucy was there and Ms. Ruth. Our long lost pal Wilson. The prodigal Susie Gaskins! I'm gettin' teary eyed just thinkin' about it.

Wayne told me the theme was to play the first song you could remember playing at the jam. I do not have a distinct memory of a first song so I tried a likely one - Bill Monroe's "On and On" in G. Later I decided that "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms" might have been more likely an Ralph agreed, though he doesn't know either. Wayne said he played "Little Georgia Rose" which is probably the first one I remember him playing.

I'm gettin' to feel like an old-timer. I came to the jam when I moved to Radford in June of ought-three and I've been comin' out Mondays ever since. I've said that it adds about $10,000 to what I think my house is worth, but it's probably more than that. Not every town has a solid regular jam like this where people can come out as beginners and become really good, just by sittin' in and playing. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you come to the jam week in and week out, you'll GET good. And you'll have a good time doin' it. Once you get a jam like this in your back yard, you'd have to be crazy to move away.

Back in 2003, I remember Tom Layton was there a lot. We used to see a lot more of Vernon Elkins. Susie was usually the bass player. I don't think I had a conversation with Wayne for the first year. I know the first couple times I made the jam I got lost on breaks, I lost the beat, I forgot words, but the jam was always super supportive. No matter how I butchered a break, they told me to take another one. Thanks!

So let me go back to my other point (if I may ramble...where was I????) Not only does every town NOT have a jam, very few towns do. And fewer still have a regular every-week jam, and fewer still have a friendly jam that encourages anybody and everybody to join in and be a part of it. It's very special, and we know that we owe the biggest debt to Ralph Berrier for being the anchor, and showing up week after week to keep the jam going as it was getting started, and over ten long (short!) years as musicians came and went and were replaced and came back.

Here's to Ralph and here's to the musicians, and here's to ten more years!

Jam report 2/1

A fine group of musicianers and listeners warmed themselves by the fire of the jam Monday night. More than 15 music-makers plowed through songs like a VDOT truck through a snow-covered street. Well, better than that actually, considering my street. There were about 40 people in the place most of the night.

We dusted off old favorites "Big Scioti," "Cattle in the Cane" (which Chris led on fiddle! Last 2 weeks: bass, fiddle, no mandolin), "St. Anne's Reel" and many sing-alongable tunes, too.

Coming soon: 10 Years of the Radford Fiddle and Banjo Jam.

Wow!

I've said this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again, but I have a tendency to go into these shows with terrible anxiety because I don't know what's going to happen. Bands might not show up, they might play badly, if I'm playing, I'm sure to forget the words...etc.

This week was no exception. And like the thirteen previous shows, things worked out just fine. In fact, they worked out way better than fine. I remembered the words to my songs, Ralph helped me out and we didn't have any trainwrecks --success! Once our set was out of the way, the Java Brothers did their best (our best?) to tear it up, and I think we represented ourselves well. Thanks to all in attendance for the encouragement.

After the JBs, Bob came right out and turned the show on it's head with some great solo banjo ballads. There's something really great about the clawhammer banjo that I find irresistable, and my boy Bob's got it.
The crowd was particularly feisty last night and they got a show. The last band up was the Brian Peters trio, who I had never heard at all. They fit the bill at the Side Door because they were local, willing to play, recommended, and best of all, a jazz band. We'd never had one, and I was excited. I was nervous, too, though because, as I said, I'd never heard them. I needn't have worried, and with Vibes, electric bass, and drums, they took the joint over with great tunes like
Take the A Train, Chameleon, Four, Blue Bossa, Blue Monk, and and All Blues for a demanded encore. They were really great, and I loved how the crowd responded to them.

The whole show was exactly what I had in mind when we started this thing. Music of all kinds played for an attentive audience in a groovy atmosphere.

Thanks again to all the musicians and volunteers who helped and the audience who come and make the Sessions their own!

See you for the next one on February 20th!

Last Jam before Side Door 14

As usual I arrived a bit late and found the jam rockin' and packed. There was no place to sit for nearly an hour. But that's cool cause I got to catch up with Joe, Tim, Sam and other musicians who couldn't get a seat in the circle. Also hobnobbed with our awesome regular fan base. They're aficionados.

Saw some new faces at the jam which is always good. We got some new original banjo tunes (both good!) out of Joe and Jason. We had a bunch of fiddles between Sloan and Ralph and Richard. Ralph left and Chris didn't hurt anybody with his fiddle.


Ralph had to leave early but we soldiered on.

Don't forget now, the Side Door rides again on Saturday night.

The Brian Peters Trio
Bob Browder
The Java Brothers

and more!

Side Door Session Next Saturday - January 23rd

Here in 20-oh-10!

Another good 'urn

Downtown was hoppin', especially in the vicinity of 1144 E. Main Street. At one point I counted 15 pickers and 25 listeners -- 40 people inside The Coffee Mill! More filtered in and out throughout the evening.

Joe indulged in a couple of originals on a night when banjers reined. Wayne and George sang many fine numbers, guitarists and mandolinists picked sweetly, and the wheels came off an old-time fiddle medley. In other words, just another hard-driving bluegrass jam session in Radford (except that we actually had a guy playing a washtub bass near the end of the evening. He was pretty good!)

Great jam to start the year!

The cold temperatures kept some of the crowd down, but we had about 15 musicianers playing to a decent-sized audience at the Mill last night.

Boyz, gurlz, name some tunes we played. Wayne, after you left, Jason led us in "Auld Lang Syne" and Chris and I sang a Stanley Brothers song I don't remember. Richard was giving Chris a fiddle lesson when I bolted.

Hope Joe is feeling better.