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notice that most open mics only give performers 10-15
minutes to play.
A new organization called Talent Shapers is giving
young people some real stage time. It held its first Young
Musicians Open Jam Session and Workshop a few weeks ago on a
Saturday afternoon in Valparaiso. This event differed from the
typical open mic session in that it allowed more opportunity to
play than to watch. After this first session, it was obvious that
there are kids in the community who want to to get together with
other potential rockers, pickers, and producers, to interact,
share, and show off a little.
One young musician in attendance, 22-year-old Keenan
Baxter, chose a sophisticated digital production device as his
preferred instrument. Although Keenan has an impressive repertoire
of studio produced musical productions, playing live was a
somewhat of a challenge for him and his fellow jam mates most of
whom were playing guitars and drums. The trick was for them to mix
and match musical ideas on-the-fly as it were, and there were some
pretty interesting sounding results from Keenan’s extensive
musical creations, and the other musician’s more organic approach.
Two girls in attendance, Heather Kelver and Danielle
Rodriguez, both 14 years old from the Laporte area, brought their
brand new electric guitars and practice amps, and although a bit
shy, eventually joined in on a jam. All in all, the young
musicians in attendance represented a wide spectrum of musical
prowess, but everyone there shared the same zeal for being able to
play music at a venue that allowed them free-flowing musical
expression, and to just have fun.
This Jam Session was presented in a workshop format,
and organized so that musicians could sign up, and indicate their
performance instrument of choice (including voice as an
instrument), and then be placed at their respective positions, on
a stage complete with a drum set, guitars, amplifiers,
microphones, and speakers (P.A. system), all set up and ready to
use. Glen Steven Johnson of Valparaiso, who provided the
equipment, and some of his own brand of musicianship, coordinated
the Workshop.
Most of the jam session was done in loosely
formatted segments, after establishing “grooves” or musical
progressions, which provided a canvas from which the participants
could embellish and improvise on. Occasionally during the
improvisational performances, Johnson would give pointers and tips
on ways to achieve a better flow with varying chord structures, or
how to use different drum beats and patterns, or help control the
tempo.
Johnson, a lifelong hoosier, and resident of Valparaiso, got the
idea to bring about Jam Sessions for youngsters some twelve years
ago, when he headed the band Zeke’s Wheel with a group of young
musicians from Portage. Young musicians hunger for a place to get
together and jam, but often their biggest obstacle is not only
finding a location, but also transportation. Glen recalls, “My
wife and I were the only ones in the band old enough to drive! It
made our rehearsal and performance scheduling a challenge, but
those kids had talent, and nothing was going to hold them back as
long as they could get a ride.”
In addition to Jam Session/Workshops, Glen Johnson also intends to
cover other areas related to assisting young musicians, like
helping them form bands, and putting on concerts. He’s even
considering developing a talent pool, for other organizations to
go to as a resource when musicians are needed for area events.
According to Johnson, this idea is in its infancy, and has a lot
of potential for growth. He’s certain that this type of service
will be sprouting up all over the country, wherever there are
young musicians hungering for a jam session.
Talent Shapers is planning more such events throughout
2005, so keep an eye out for a Jam Session/Workshop in your
community soon. To find out more about this brand new concept, and
upcoming scheduled workshops, visit the website at
www.talentshapers.com.
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