Does anyone have a funny story about a session that went wrong. Someone making a fool of themselves. I read in another thread about an american who stormed out because she was offended when the group asked her to tune her fiddle down to C
I’ve never seen/been to a “session” I am sure it will be a long time before I play for other people (judging by my wife’s reaction)I was curious how these things go.
I’d like to see one
[ This Message was edited by: Nubby on 2002-03-25 23:26 ]
Oh geez, yes. . .let’s see, there was a session where someone, during what I thought was a perfectly good conversation of tempo, leaned over and said, “Well you’re on OUR turf now.” I got a real charge out of THAT.
Or the banjo player who shows up, doesn’t introduce himself, plugs in a bass foot pedal widget and tells us to tune to that. I don’t THINK so!
Or the time I didn’t cover my windway when trying to clean the mystery substance from the fipple. . .the shriek was not planned!
There ought to be a good story after tonight, because I’m smuggling whistles in my mandolin case into the bluegrass session.
Mack
It might turn out okay, Mack. The only other actual people I’ve played with were my brothers who have a bluegrass band and allowed me to “jam” with them one day. I played “Riding on a Load of Hay” for them and they joined in on guitar and mandolin. Before I knew it they were quite interested and the last time I talked to one of them he was pointing out a couple of songs they were going to learn that had a whistle in them!
Susan
On 2002-03-23 10:26, Mack.Hoover wrote:
There ought to be a good story after tonight, because I’m smuggling whistles in my mandolin case into the bluegrass session.
Mack
They fit nicely in my banjo and guitar case too. I just tell my bluegrassers its a instrument from the hills…i just dont say WHICH hills.
Mack, how did that session go?
I was not at this session. But a friend of mine told me about how embarrassed she was to discover that she had been the entertainment of the group by having a tail of toilet paper sticking out of the waist line of her slacks.
Sessions must be solemn places indeed if these are the best we can come up with.
Maybe it’s just that what seemed funny after a few pints was less so in the morning - or forgotten altogether.
A great ida for a thread! Thanks for sharing!
The Lords of Chaos occasionally visit our local sessions. There was the time where not one but two young ones with brand-new digiridoos showed up. No one stopped them–it was delightfully goofy.
There was a fellow whose “instrument” was a bunch of wind chimes on a stick which he jangled sorta rhythmically. There was the snare drummer, not half bad, who played on EVERY tune, even during a slow air.
There was the session of three guitars, three drums and one whistle? The whistler (me) asked them to at least take turns but that didn’t last and soon everyone was happily bashing away together. Except me–I crept away and watched from the bar.
One more: Sitting in a circle, session’s humming along nicely and a new fellow asks me, “What are the chords?” Excuse me, says I, what do you mean. “Well,” says he, “this is pretty simple music structurally so I just need to know the basic chords and I’ll be able to play right along.” You’re correct, says I, most of the chords are basic, but they come at different places depending on the tune being played. “You mean I have to know all these tunes to be able to play backup?” says he. Well, yes, you’d at least need to recognize them. “Well **** that,” says he, picks up his case and leaves.
I was playing a gig on St. Pat’s day last year that was more or less a session, just myself and a mandolin playing friend, when this drunk comes up to us in the midst of O’Carolan’s Concerto and asks us, “Do you - Do you guyz know the South Shide [Chicago] Irish Shong?”
Somehow I managed to keep playing and finished the tune, despite a sudden and powerful urge to reach for my Kerry Pro low D and whack him a good one. Not like he’d have felt it.
Not a session, but once, years ago, I brough my Appalachian dulcimer to a friend’s house to play. After a couple of drinks and hanging out, it’s time to play some tunes. I open the case on my lap, look inside, no dulcimer. I had taken it out to play at home, and it’s so light, I didn’t notice it’s absence when I picked up the case.
Another occasion of mild amusement was as guests at a friend’s for dinner, my daughter, 7 at the time, played a duet on whistle with me. While we were playing, we both noticed the water drop falling from the end of her whistle to the floor and both started laughing during our tune. No one else noticed the drop and wondered what was so funny.
(I loved that story about steam coming from someone’s whistle on the outdoor stage. And about a year ago, someone said he was on stage and tried some flute technique on the whistle that caused water droplets to shoot from the whistle onto the front row, lit up by spotlights.)
Tony
On 2002-03-28 22:27, Caffeina wrote:
One more: Sitting in a circle, session’s humming along nicely and a new fellow asks me, “What are the chords?” Excuse me, says I, what do you mean. “Well,” says he, “this is pretty simple music structurally so I just need to know the basic chords and I’ll be able to play right along.” You’re correct, says I, most of the chords are basic, but they come at different places depending on the tune being played. “You mean I have to know all these tunes to be able to play backup?” says he. Well, yes, you’d at least need to recognize them. “Well **** that,” says he, picks up his case and leaves.
ROFLMAO!
Very recently there was this “fiddler” at my favorite session. His playing was pretty abysmal, but in terms of technical ability we are all remarkable forgiving (hey, I play there, too!). But this guy just would not stop. Ever. You couldn’t get a word in edgewise, he would just go on noodling and committing appalling acts of tunocide. We had to call out to people, “how about a song?” and actually stop this guy after the singer started… At one point we played some reels and he just went right into Wind that Shakes the Barley. In our very relaxed session a tune set is either so established that everyone just plays it automatically (like Father Kelly’s/Sligo Maid/Star of Munster) or you follow the leader. Everyone was so fed up and his playing was so off-pitch, off-tune, off-rhythm that no one joined in (everyone prayed he wouldn’t play it a third time…). Just depressing.
The funniest thing was, a week later I am complaining to one of my session-buddies from a different session, saying “You wouldn’t believe this guy who showed up at the Harp last Friday, he couldn’t play, was obnoxious as hell, and just wouldn’t take a break!”
“Oh, you mean Marvin.* He is there from time to time,” my buddy replied.
* Name changed—ed.