Lichfield Blues Hounds

Well a new format for the review this week! I decided to move away from listing the usual names and song titles performed with almost absolute repetition!

This was the first night featuring the new drum kit. I say the new drum kit because this kit, purchased by Tony M, will now be resident at the jam. The great advantage being that house drummers don’t have to bring their own kits thus saving the, probably, little appreciated, assembly and dis-assembly routine that most drummers have to endure !

Some problems with the PA earlier in the evening spoilt it for those performing through this phase. Apologies to all involved.

Nice to see some new faces this week though only one of them came to play the other merely ‘sounding out the vibe’ ! We hope to see a new 16 year old guitar player in the coming weeks.

So welcome to Roger. Roger had emailed us during the prior week and we managed to convince him to come along and bring his guitar. He took a little convincing because he had never played live before. After overcoming some nervousness and general apprehension, to be expected, he thoroughly enjoyed himself during his set with Heather and Matt and we enjoyed having him along. He said he’s definitely coming back next week !

If you have never been to the jam night you should not be put off by the website pictures of people with expensive guitars. It’s the playing that counts not the size of wallets !!! Roger will testify that we are here to help and nurture our newbies !

From an audience perspective the performances, as usual these days, were of a good standard. One audience member who had returned after an absence of a few months commented to me as to how much better the music was now. Well done everyone. Pleasing the audience is what it’s all about but also allowing jammers to develop as players.

Talking of developing players ... 15 year old Tom Smith has been attending when he can for some time now and gave a fine performance playing this week with Stevie. Every time Tom comes along he seems to have gained more runs and licks and confidence. Well done Tom. Tome was using a very nice sounding black Epiphone Les Paul.

It was good to see drummer Jason Farrow back at the jam and also Bryan Foote who performed the opening numbers with a near complete 58 Deluxe line up.

Continuing thanks to John C and Chris Perrin for bringing along their amps.

Also, once again thanks to Tony Mottram for not only the finest pictures of us ‘stars’ that even ‘The Stars’ would be envious of but for also continuing to keep the jam alive with endless enthusiasm. Thanks Tony !

Matt Thorpe

	2nd May 2006 Jam Night Review
The Night's House Band	Tony Mottram - Bass Matt Thorpe - Guitar Chris Perrin - Guitar, Vocal Jason Farrow - Drums Tony Stokes - Harp	Pictures
The Night's Gear	Fender Bassman 100 Head + Laney 4x10 Cab (bass) Fender Hor Rod deville (guitar) 'The House' Drumkit Marshall JMP1 + Marshall 8080 Power amp rack + 2x12 Fender Blues Junior	Well a new format for the review this week! I decided to move away from listing the usual names and song titles performed with almost absolute repetition! This was the first night featuring the new drum kit. I say the new drum kit because this kit, purchased by Tony M, will now be resident at the jam. The great advantage being that house drummers don’t have to bring their own kits thus saving the, probably, little appreciated, assembly and dis-assembly routine that most drummers have to endure ! Some problems with the PA earlier in the evening spoilt it for those performing through this phase. Apologies to all involved. Nice to see some new faces this week though only one of them came to play the other merely ‘sounding out the vibe’ ! We hope to see a new 16 year old guitar player in the coming weeks. So welcome to Roger. Roger had emailed us during the prior week and we managed to convince him to come along and bring his guitar. He took a little convincing because he had never played live before. After overcoming some nervousness and general apprehension, to be expected, he thoroughly enjoyed himself during his set with Heather and Matt and we enjoyed having him along. He said he’s definitely coming back next week ! If you have never been to the jam night you should not be put off by the website pictures of people with expensive guitars. It’s the playing that counts not the size of wallets !!! Roger will testify that we are here to help and nurture our newbies ! From an audience perspective the performances, as usual these days, were of a good standard. One audience member who had returned after an absence of a few months commented to me as to how much better the music was now. Well done everyone. Pleasing the audience is what it’s all about but also allowing jammers to develop as players. Talking of developing players ... 15 year old Tom Smith has been attending when he can for some time now and gave a fine performance playing this week with Stevie. Every time Tom comes along he seems to have gained more runs and licks and confidence. Well done Tom. Tome was using a very nice sounding black Epiphone Les Paul. It was good to see drummer Jason Farrow back at the jam and also Bryan Foote who performed the opening numbers with a near complete 58 Deluxe line up. Continuing thanks to John C and Chris Perrin for bringing along their amps. Also, once again thanks to Tony Mottram for not only the finest pictures of us ‘stars’ that even ‘The Stars’ would be envious of but for also continuing to keep the jam alive with endless enthusiasm. Thanks Tony ! Matt Thorpe