Sunday, November 23, 2014

ROGER'S RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE YBA

The YBA being locked out of the Lincoln Building is not entirely surprising. For years I have cautioned YBA boards to keep this possibility in the back of their minds and to be thinking about alternatives. That has now finally occurred. At their board meeting on Friday, Nov. 21,  I presented two pages of suggestions to the YBA.  Following is an edited version of those pages:
First see my last entry  posted.  That was the introduction to those two pages. Then this was added:  No similar group holds weekly jams in which most all members participate although some smaller jams do occur. I encouraged creative thinking: YOU NOW HAVE GOT TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX! I had obtained the Lincoln band room by doing just that. That makes me the guy who BUILT the existing Box and now the board will eventually have to come up with other ideas. Many people appear to have great difficulty doing that. It is probably one of those right brain left brain problems, but that is another story.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LINCOLN JAMS: How Bob Massey and myself had started the bluegrass club.  After gathering a some pickers, whom I knew, we got organized. The first jam that night was in my kitchen.  Our biggest dilemma was where and when to pick.  We discussed our homes and and the basement of Bob's small church where he was the pastor. But what would we do if 40 or more people showed up? Bob wanted to stay out of bars. I came up with the idea of getting a school room and arranged that with  District Two in the Lincoln Bldg.  We arbitrarily selected Friday evening. No one at that time wanted to jam weekly, but preferred monthly or even less frequent jams. Having had experience with school custodians, who had to unlock a door for us, I said the jams had to be weekly as the janitors would never remember any odd date. It had to be part of their Friday routine. THAT IS THE ONLY REASON WEEKLY JAMS were ever born. I told the board that they would likely end up totally frustrated if they tried to organize these jams weekly elsewhere and there that there was  no reason they  had to have them that often.

NOTHING IS SACRED ABOUT EXISTING YBA ACTIVITIES. The YBA does not have to have weekly jams or even sponsor regular jams at all. No one attends ALL weekly jams. Pickers take advantage by just attending when they want to and ignoring other Fridays  If they really want to pick every week let them gather others of a like mind and set up their own weekly sessions.  

WHAT OTHER BG GROUPS DO.  Missoula based MRBA (about 215 members) has NO weekly or monthly jams. They do have three Ruby’s Winter  Jam Series w/jamming and a potluck in each of Jan., Feb., & March. The MRBA Spring Festival is a showcase of  bands in April near Stevensville with admission charged for all. The Hard Times Festival near Darby, organized by Mike and Tari Conroy,  is not an official MRBA activity and also has fees. Non-MRBA jams include weekly at the Top Hat bar, bi-weekly pickin’ circle at the Tangled Tones Studio and occasionally at the Missoula Manor Carousel Room.

B.A.N.D. of North Dakota holds jams in four locations around the state. The only  weekly jam is in Jamestown at a church. Monthly jams are held in Bismarck, Valley City, and Fargo. They list probable tunes and keys for each in their MONTHLY printed newsletter.

WYOMING: Has no bluegrass associations. Ed Capen has tried to copy the YBA weekly jams at a gas station in Thermopolis. Other jams are held at various times in Worland, Buffalo, Sheridan, etc. IDAHO is similar as is S. Dakota.
     
THE YBA COULD ENCOURAGE SMALL GROUP JAMS for those who want to jam weekly or whatever. I know of 2-3 person jams in Laurel and west Billings now. Bands with regular practices actually are having closed jams for their members as they try out new tunes.  There could be open jam groups in the Heights, Lockwood, central Billings, West End, South Billings, etc. They could start with just two or three pickers and be held in homes. These jams could be advertised in the YBA newsletter and website.

STILL WANT REGULAR YBA JAMS? And they could be held monthly. You are probably back to church halls, etc., or else move to an alcohol serving facility like fraternal & veteran’s clubs. Many members object to alcohol for personal reasons and would not attend.  And they wouldn’t have to be Friday evening,  They should be rather centrally located. They might have to rent one. How healthy is the financial statement? Probably not enough money for that.   What other choices does the YBA have?

 THEY CAN’T MAKE ALL THE PEOPLE HAPPY ALL THE TIME. Every organization has it’s chronic gripers and so does the YBA. If any don’t like the board's decisions let them run for the Board or just shut up. Cater to MOST of the members instead.

ONE FINAL SOBERING NOTE: Considering that the Lincoln jams have been the  heart of the YBA for more than 20 years is it just time to terminate the entire Yellowstone Bluegrass Association and let the bands and pickers fend for themselves?  I hope not, but maybe that is what will have to happen. Don’t give up without a fight.  I finished by thanking them for serving the YBA. 

Conclusion to this post:

I did not stay for the board discussions, but I expect they will still try to find a free facility in which to hold jams on Friday evenings from 7-9 PM. Having gone through that more than 20 years ago I can't imagine anywhere they would be welcome. When I arrived one man was encouraging them to ask the Elks Club for jamming space. Having played there several times with the Old Time Fiddler's Sunday dances I don't think they have a chance with the Elks. (The BPOE hires the Fiddlers for $250-$300 as a dance band. They bring in a large crowd and the Elks serve many drinks and  dinners to those crowds.) There is a very large ballroom there with a matching very large bar. Friday evenings they must have a huge crowd for dinner and drinks. It is also a private membership club with limited access and a very crowded parking lot for busy activities. All fraternal and veteran's clubs are having money problems today. None can be expected to be overly generous in giving their facilities away to groups which will pay nothing in return.  

I am afraid the YBA president, Sharon Karlson, and board will end up "banging their heads against a wall," in trying to arrange weekly or even monthly jams for the general membership. They could stop all this type of jamming and simply continue with the other existing YBA activities which have been quite good. With two showcases at the boys and girls ranch and two big jams with food at the Universalist Church each year, plus other picnics, steak fries, etc. the YBA is still doing more than most other area bluegrass associations. Added to non YBA jamming including the Columbus and Livingston summer sessions local area pickers have plenty of opportunities. If any members are dissatisfied let them find a good place for weekly or monthly YBA jamming. Good luck on any of that. Actually the very best YBA jamming has been at the two U. church sessions. Several jams are going at once and the best musicians are there and having a great time. The best pickers have largely shunned the Lincoln jams for years for one reason. They have been simply too boring for all but novice to intermediate players. The U. Church sessions have been much better.

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