A huge facet of the Bandit Kings
(that I neglected to mention in the last post)
is the Monday night OPEN JAM
at The Rhumb Line
in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
BKs have hosted for the past three years
Dan our guitarist planted the seeds many years ago
grew it into the institution it is today.
and although other Caretakers have managed it for brief spells,
we're basically inheriting decades of Dan's hard work.
we're honored to have his blessing,
as well as the blessing of the Owner and Staff
and the stakes are high. failure is not an option.
Things have gone well the past three years,
incredible people show up every week
and everyone has had fun
no one can deny Dan has done the lions share of the Work.
(Dan can play The Jam itself like an instrument,
setting up groups, leading at times, backing off at others,
always keeping the vibe swift yet fun)
Important to note here:
1) Nothing has been planned until now.
because we wanted to take in every moment before Dan heads west.
we accomplished that.
2) We can't just play without Dan starting now.
because we'll sound like the "Bandit Kings Without Dan" no one wants that.
The last post details why we cannot replace Dan with another guitarist.
So: we'll go into hiding
to train, prepare, rearrange, reconfigure, etc...
In the interim, Dennis & I will hold down the fort
and bring in some of your favorite guitarists for opening & closing sets.
THANKS to Mark Pelosi for a killer night last week
come on down to check out Joe Wilkins tonight
witness the madness of Inge Berge on January 21st (no children allowed)
mark your calendars: Bandit Kings return February 11th and 25th
we value your opinions & feedback so I'll probably setup an Open Jam FB page (sigh...)
hey... thanks again, man.
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Nice little transitional piece, Joe. Yeah, the Jam has gone through some eras, hasn't it? It was the very core, the psychic center of my own move to - and life in - Gloucester, for many years.
ReplyDeleteI'd never have become a part of that crazy island had it not been for John Newcomer dragging me up there in like 1996 to play a couple of tunes... which morphed into me dragging Nate Richardson up there with keyboardist Rob Moellering (anyone remember Rob? We had a great, Phish-soaked Farewell To Rob jam one week before he moved to San Fran). The night we first all took the stage together up there in 1997 and played You Enjoy Myself was a night I'll never forget.
That led to my playing house bass for a while, mostly because I had moved there and was playing with Dan in "King" at the time, with Danny Graziani, Pete Koeplin and crew. I still fondly remember the Dan King and Friends night when I came back from getting some cables 10 minutes before first set, only to find Dan K. being wheeled into an ambulance in front of the Rhummy. Apparently the chicken salad from White Hen got him, so we just did an "...And Friends" gig. It was actually pretty rockin', if I recall.
There were nights when we played six songs back to back into each other, only the first of which we saw coming. The sequential left turns took all of us by surprise and made for one hell of a heady ride. Dan, Pete, you know what I'm talking about.
Then there were the serrated, velvet blade-like nights playing in a trio with Inge Berge and Nelson Bragg or Leo Ciaramitaro (he still had his Sh- back then). That's apart from the nights when Kascia and Robin and Amy sang with us. Sometimes even Marueen would get up there and belt one out!
Meanwhile Nate and the Silas Shepard Trio made some noise there between 1998-2001 or so, and it was really at the open jam where Secret Service got its start; that's where I met Greg Dann and Steve Caraway, anyway. I even played there once or twice with Deb Hardy, whose more acoustic stylings could take on a pretty powerful edge when properly amplified.
And whether you planned to play or not on a monday, there were always, always, opportunities to get back there, grab a a tambourine or a spare mic, and add your two cents to the cascade of rock. Two basses, three guitars, cowbells, halloween costumes... you never did know what the Jam might bring, but it was always a bounty of REAL music, live interactions and a community bonding in a way like no other. And through it all, Fred and Ellen and Carolyn and Caroline and Martha and Erica were there to keep things moving, provide morale and a welcoming presence to all who came to make noise, or just consume it.
And now, after passing through many hands and many capable shepherds (many drummers, interestingly!), the Bandit Kings continue the legacy as they have for three years now. I can think of no better stewards to bring the Open Jam into its first true Post-Dan era.
You guys rock. Keep it up, man.
Matt