September is winding down fast and I had promised the overdubs would be done by the end of the month. But it's been an incredible flurry of musical activity for me to cover as the resident media mooch. I just got in from sitting in with a great musician from England, Steve Payne. Michael Pickett did a feature set as did a young woman called Sara. And, considering my luck at jams, I should be thankful that I got on at all. but I grabbed my guitar as the evening was winding down and did a couple of tunes with Steve.
I was trying to make up my mind which tune I would sing, but after we were into it for a little bit, i got the feeling that the only way I was going to sing is if I jump right in. Lucky for me, I had some lyrics that fit with the groove we were playing so I just started singing "Girlfriend Blues". I don't know if Steve was planning to launch into a vocal himself, after all, it was him that started playing that groove. Anyway, he seemed cool about it. I was glad that I made it down for his last appearance in Canada, but it reminded me why I don't go to these jams. This time I had been invited by Steve himself and I barely got to play. It is the assertive ones who get to play in these jams. But, on the other hand, I must be prepared. This time, I couldn't even decide which song(s) I should play. I should at least have a few tunes at hand, hopefully something people can play-along - maybe even sing along. That will come in handy since I just made arrangements to attend the Ontario Council of Folk Fetivals conference in Sudbury. I had a great time last time I attended one of these - non-stop jammin in the hallways of the hotel (on dedicated "music" floors)
One more obstacle between me and a finished album - but a wise move for the career. Too bad I'll have to pass on opening for Harry Manx at Readers Cafe in Dunville. I will be opening some other dates for him, though. Well, we'll press up some "preview" CDs to hand out to artisitic directors and whoever else. I hope I get invited to a couple of folk festivals next summer. It's always great to see someone who didn't think they would like the blues, but after hearing my version of the blues, they now loved the blues.