As it seems to get more political and segregated each year (heaps of thanks to a handful of certain Non-Louisiana "Cajun musicians"), the best 8 hours of my life at Augusta are owed to this man on guitar and vocals.


This is one fragment one of my favorite days at Augusta, next to jamming with my young fiddler friend, Greg Beurgler, 6 and 5 years ago. My memory serves me correctly, this was my favorite day. No more red tape politics. If I ever go back to West Virginia, it'll be to visit my new friend, Leonard.

Please understand, I'm not trying to steer people away from Augusta. I just warn you that you will be rejected at jams that include certain "special" out of Louisiana towners.

I think early country music and Cajun music were a good match sharing week #1 at Augusta, The jam blending instruments and traditions actually harkens back to the roots of folk music....folks making music. Next year we'll do it again. I loved every bit of it and made a new friend.

Leslie- if there's some reasons for me to go back to Augusta, you're one of them. I like playing music with people who aren't climbing a status ladder. I wish we had video of our jam

That a '42 Gibson l-4 that fellow is playing?

Jim,

You said a mouth full. Jams can be very dicey indeed!
Of couse, gigs and bands can be dicey too.

Liz used to tell me "Oh, just have fun with it".
But it can be difficult to do when you've got so
much of yourself into your craft.

And politics .. yuk! I've got this theory .. that no
matter what you do, talent will only take you so far,
and then you become forced to break the glass ceiling
by entering into politics. (Many choose to not do that.)

OK, I'm off my soap box. But I do feel bad that I missed
Augusta. I worked all week on legacy remediations
for FDA compliance requirements.

Even a bad jam is better than a good day at work

I'm happy for you that y'all (and everyone else) could
make it

--Big

Nick- You said it right, brother. Wish you could have made it, and I hope your wife is doing better. I just had heard that she is having some neurological trouble. I'm in that disease tree too, but not the same disease. Please send her my best.

Hi Jim,

I can't overemphasize what a turn off "jam politics" has been to me over the years. I notice that many (not all) of the self-annointed purists usually come from outside of the tradition (I.e. not Cajun, not from the Appalachians etc.).

Whatever their problem is, they never pass up an opportunity to finger-wag or lecture the poor ignorant masses on the various purity and authenticity rules they've memorized (or invented). Having fun becomes secondary.

They go under many names:

"Bluegrass Mafia"
"Old Time Nazis"
"The Cajun Gestapo"

My solution is pretty simple. (i) (at camp) have a few extra beers and wait until they go to bed. They're often early risers so 10 PM is waaay past their bedtime; (ii) Avoid them and jam with others whose prioirity is having fun.

I think Cajun music is better than most specialty genres. Old Time (especially) and Bluegrass seem to attract purists whose idea of a party is a 40-minute fiddle tune played in an isolated semi circle of approving nods.

Sometimes I prefer playing with beginners who are simply overjoyed to be jamming with people for the 1st time. Their enthusiasm is contagious and so much more appealing.

"Old Time (especially) and Bluegrass seem to attract purists whose idea of a party is a 40-minute fiddle tune played in an isolated semi circle of approving nods."

That's a great quote - only thing I'd add is "no variations or improvisation allowed."

Amen Brother Nick. Wise man!

Roger

Nick, you hit the nail on the head and thensome. It seems like I'm either jamming far away from the porch of Hallihurst, or playing way past midnight, kind of like you mentioned.

And I too enjoy playing with beginners and intermediate, especially ones who show empathy and enthusiasm.

There's a status ladder at Augusta that has turned me off for years.

And for those involved with staff at Augusta, I'm sorry if my attitude is upsetting, but being told to play somewhere else took the cake. I was there first with a small group of people and we were only on our 3rd song. It's just plain, d*mned rude.

And I didn't move, I ignored. If I made some enemies because of this, so be it.

This is more upsetting than someone telling me I can't jam in their "click", which also happened twice.

Absolutely fantastic video! Loved seeing (and hearing) this... Thanks Jim!

R!CK

Cheers Rick, thanks, my brother

I applaud you for not moving my friend. WTF? What, or why would someone tell you to move to a different place in order to make room for someone else. That really would have ticked me off too. Couldn't you just share the bill. I jammed in Mountain View, Arkansas, this July 4, weekend and there were other Cajun Musicians (non-Louisiana), and I shared the jams with equal respect. We would do a song and then I would ask them to do one. Like my quote says, "We're all in this thing together". That being life. And we all have to eat and defecate. And nobody's smells like roses, I can tell you that. And if they think theirs does, they're sadly mistaken. Michael

Yeah, I was actually hoping that they'd join us, but this person who said we should "move on", and perhaps another of their group were a little too elite. I'm not saying everyone in that particular jam is like that. Just a couple people who seem to regulate, and have been doing so for years.

I didn't move and just kept playing, not hardly taking a break between songs, so they finally found their selves another spot. That Hallihurst porch is big enough for alot of people, but when you have an accordion, the porch shrinks. Not true for fiddlers, there's always loads of fiddles at jams.

The best occasion I had jamming Cajun is when I got there Wednesday, I made a point to get a spot. I got out on that porch at 4 o'clock PM, looooong before people showed up. Got to playing, and got to jam with people I really wanted to see.

And by nightfall, I was happy to pass my accordion around to my Cajun friends. And thankfully, there was no regulator around

Wow
What you all said above. I've had so many similar experiences. The best Augusta jams I've experienced were either not on that ****ed porch, or were far away from "prime time". The best went until about 4am, and part of what made it so great was hearing the "purists" complain about having been kept up so late, by people laughing and singing! I guess we broke the "rules" by actually having fun, and expressing it.
Anyway - thanks everybody. It's a relief to know that it wasn't me.

I call it the pecking order. Go to the jam tent at Festival Acadianne and wait for the jam police to show up. I do what Jim does I keep on playing. In Thibodaux I had to fight with the old fools that used to run the jam. It was advertised as an open jam but open it was not. They finally got run out of there and starting the first Monday in August I will be in charge and my rule is if you come to play you will. I make sure the time is shared. I call the jam police Elvis on stage. They all think they are something special. It's funny we usually don't think alike.
Le Piquant