Bluegrass ... and more!

It all started with a simple enough question: "Do you happen to play any instruments?"

I had bought a farm in Missouri and was in the process of selling my first hay crop to Phil, one of my new neighbors, when the question came up.... Did I play any instruments? Like many people, I had played guitar when I was younger, but as a single mother homeschooling eight children, working, and running a homestead, who had time for such things?! It had been at least 20 years since I had last played. I wasn't even sure if I still had my guitar. "Why?" I asked.

"Well, we have these things called 'bluegrass jams' down here," Phil explained. "Abunch of people show up at a store or restaurant once a week and bring their instruments, and we all sit around and play bluegrass music. Anyone's welcome, whether you want to play or just listen. If you'd like to come, we have one at the restaurant on Mondays, and there's one the next town over in the Town Square every Thursday, and ..." And that's how it began.

No, I didn't run right out and buy a guitar and start jamming. In fact, I promptly forgot about it. I finished my business, returned to my little farm in Northern Illinois, and went back to raising children, working, and running a homestead.

But the idea nagged at me.

Whenever I got bored, or thought I needed a new hobby, I would think of bluegrass jams. What fun, I would think, to sit around and play music all evening with a lot of other people! As the kids got older and I found myself with more free time, I thought of it more and more. And then one day, several years later, I finally decided to do something about it.

I went upstairs and dug around in the storage area, finally unearthing my old guitar. Then I went to the local music store to get new picks and strings. While I was there, I asked if anyone knew of any "bluegrass jams" in the area. The teenage clerk smirked and said, "Bluegrass? Not here." The tattooed jazz guitarist who worked in the back looked thoughtful and said, "I'm sure I heard about one once, but I don't remember where." It seemed that bluegrass wasn't exactly a favored sport in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Despite the popularity of the "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack, it was just as hard to find any bluegrass CDs in the area record shops. I finally ran across a few, and listened to them over and over until I knew every word and note. Then I started playing my guitar along with them. Someday, I vowed, I would find one of these jams, and I wanted to be ready when I did.

My children didn't know what to think. They would come home and find me sitting on the couch with my guitar, playing along to fiddles and mandolins on the CD player for hours at a time. "Mom's reverting to her hippie days," one said. "She's having a mid-life crisis," they all finally decided.

Nonetheless, they bought me a hardshell guitar case for my birthday, probably reasoning that if I had a way to transport my guitar, I would play it somewhere other than at home. And thus, with no further excuse, I decided it was time to find a bluegrass jam. I was ready.

It took hours of searching the Internet before I finally found a jam in Warrenville, IL, that was held once a month. The listing was old, and I didn't even know if the event still existed, but when the day arrived I went anyway. Not knowing what to expect, I dragged along Cathy, a musical friend who also lived in Warrenville. Although I brought my guitar, I left it in the car. My plan was to sit and listen to a few songs, decide whether I liked it, and then maybe come back the next month.

Little did I know! We walked in to a small coffeehouse and sat down to a cheerful, upbeat medley that immediately put smiles on our faces. There were about 20 people of all ages playing guitars, fiddles, banjos, and instruments that I had never seen before. Most of them smiled and nodded a friendly hello as we walked in, never missing a beat. A few songs later, some of the "pickers" introduced themselves and asked if I had brought an instrument. When I told them that my guitar was out in the car, they insisted that I get it. It wouldn't have mattered if I only knew how to play a single chord; I found out that everyone is welcomed and appreciated in the bluegrass community.

I had so much fun that poor Cathy, who had to leave for an appointment, ended up walking home while I stayed and played. After the jam ended, I discovered that it was only one of many jams in the northern Illinois area. I was steered to the Northern Illinois Bluegrass Association (www.nibaweb.org, 34 Rolland Place, Fox Lake, IL 60020), which has a monthly newsletter listing all the jams and related events in the upper Midwest.

It wasn't long before I found myself totally immersed in my new "hobby." I bought a new guitar, started learning mandolin and fiddle, and went to every jam I could. Like the best of hobbies, this one was productive, educational, and fun! Not only did I learn hundreds of traditional songs, I met some of the most wonderful people, and now sing with two bands (The Bottom Line, www. thebottomlinemusic.com, and On Tyme, www.ontyme.us).

I also discovered that there is a lot of "giving" in the bluegrass world. People regularly volunteer to play at churches, veteran's homes and nursing homes. Knowledge and ability are freely shared, and newcomers are always enthusiastically welcomed. Besides jams, there are weekend festivals held throughout the year all over the U.S. where fellow bluegrassers gather to jam, fellowship, eat, and listen to other performers. The NIBA is also seeking to start jams up at area colleges and universities to encourage young people to learn this traditional music.

Many bluegrass songs are gospel-oriented, and the bluegrass community is not unlike a church in many respects. People help each other, have potluck dinners together, travel to festivals together, pray for each other, and generally care for and about each other. Farmers, students, cleaning ladies, programmers, business managers, professors- all are family without distinction in the bluegrass world, held together by the common bond of music.

For more information contact: [e-mail]; www. nibaweb.org; 815-735-6328.

REJA MATESKI

SECRETARY, NORTHERN IL BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATION