Jam sessions are indeed important to any music scene and all genres. They are a barometer of the health of a region's music scene and serve as a sort of "convention" for musicians to network with other musicians, which in turn means possibly getting future gigs. The only problem is that, unless you are with the house band, you are not getting paid for the night...and even some house bands don't get paid! This aside, I can certainly see the logic that not getting paid for one gig (jam session) could lead to several paid gigs with other musicians and bands. But, this still doesn't solve the problem I have with lack of free time.
Yes, I am a musician. But, I am also a father, a husband, and a homeowner. This places a very high importance that any excursion outside of my home, musically speaking, must result in me bringing home money...period. What gets lost by some younger artists is that, as an artist, you are self employed. And, the older you get, the more financial responsibilities you have. Thus, time is very valuable. My wife can testify to the fact that when I'm home I'm still at work. Even the very blogs that I post are actually work. How, you ask? Well, one of the primary goals for any artist is to increase their presence...especially their web presence now-a-days, as people are not going out as much as they used to for the performing arts. Posting blogs is a very efficient way of increasing your web presence, because they are a priority target for search engines.
Then there is the marketing aspect. Anyone who has studied modern marketing knows that today's western society has gone into a much more "personal"mode of thinking. In other words, people are looking more and more for very specific things that cater to their needs or wants. This is all thanks to the internet, which makes it incredibly easy for people to find things within their particular interests. Also, people have a greater interest in what is going on with the lives of others, including any artist that they may want to invest both time and treasure in. They want to have a greater (if not personal) connection with an artist and get to know about that artist's personality. Blogging is an incredibly efficient way of doing all of this. Not just because of the search engines, but because of the fact that blogs can be syndicated into feeds, which can turn the blog into a form of viral marketing.
That was a whole lot of words just for me to say that I can reach a whole lot more people just through my blog alone, than I can by playing in some venue every week in a situation where: A) most people coming down aren't fans anyway, but are other musicians, B) most listeners, who aren't musicians, are more interested in what's happening on the television screen above the bar, and C) I'm in a situation where I have to spend money on gas to get there, most likely buy a couple of drinks or pay a cover (or both), possibly pay for parking (particularly if it's in New York City), while not getting paid. All of this in turn means that, not only would I not be coming home with very, very badly needed cash, but I wouldn't even be breaking even! I would be coming home in the negatives...and how many gigs am I GUARANTEED from making it to a jam session? How many gigs would I get in a "timely" fashion to compensate for the money spent? Not at all a situation to find yourself in when you have a mortgage, an out of work wife to try and support, and a toddler who needs food and diapers.
Of course, I realize that I can't effectively do everything that must be done to grow my career from my computer desk. I think it's much like trying to conduct a war by exclusively utilizing air power...at some point you will need boots on the ground!
So, what is my final verdict on the importance of jam sessions? Like I said earlier, they ARE important and help to ensure the health of a music scene. However, I think that once a musician reaches a certain phase in their life, they have to really choose when it is a good time to go to a jam session and would it be a fruitful outing in terms of new phone numbers obtained, new ideas and information exchanged, potential gigs, etc.
For me, I already know or have access to so many musicians (be it from cats I met at jam sessions when I was younger with far fewer responsibilities, or the musicians that they themselves know and play with), that I have no need to go to a jam session for phone numbers. I don't have any problems finding gigs or creating them for myself, so there isn't too much of a need to go to a jam session to try and land a gig with someone else (unless there is someone in particular that I would like to play with, who doesn't know who I am). This just leaves the exchange of information and new ideas. I get a lot of information from my daily research sessions on the internet, though I'll be the first to admit that it isn't quite the same as receiving information first hand and in person from the person who has it to give.
So, you want to hit a jam session? By all means do it! It's an important part of every musician's growth. Just make sure to get plenty of jam sessions in before you get married, own a house, and find yourself being a parent!
Written by Shenole Latimer
