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Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Hi All,
Who here has started new local sessions from scratch??
If there are threads on this please refer me to them. Otherwise, lets say you are living in an area outside a major city and want to start a local session, so you don't have to drive 90 minutes to get to the urban session.
What would you do to see if there are people near you who would like to play ITM?
---News paper personal adds?
---Stand outside churches and hand out flyers??
---Leave flyers in bars and clubs?
---Stand outside a stripmall (with permission) inside a homemade booth?
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Disclaimer: I've never tried organizing a regular session, nor have I played someone on television who did.
It sounds like you are as much in search of interested musicians as you are a venue, i.e., you don't know off-hand where the fiddlers, flutists, box players, etc., are all hiding. So I guess one of my first questions would be, is there _any_ kind of folk music/dance activity around where you live? Regular contra dances, for instance? A Country Dance and Song Society chapter? Sons of the Hibernians? Chances are that that's where you'll find musicians interested in Irish trad, or at least contacts for same.
For all you know, there may be a regularly occuring jam session somewhere already, perhaps sponsored or hosted by an organization like those mentioned above. Maybe it's not exactly the kind of session you want -- perhaps the focus is on, say, Scottish or English country music -- but this could be a starting point. So drop in, see who's there, talk to some of the people who for whatever reason make an impression on you, whether because they're talented, friendly, approachable, or a pleasant combination of all three. Maybe they are just itching to get together in a setting like the one you have in mind.
Which, of course, is a whole other question: Are you thinking of hosting the session yourself, in your own parlor? Is there a pub that might not be adverse to having some live ITM? Or perhaps there's some other venue, like a church or community center, that would be a decent alternative.
For a while, I was involved in a "floating" weekly or biweekly session of several regulars, who would take turns hosting the event -- people didn't really want to have it in a pub, and preferred something more familial (did mean that sometimes we'd be interrupted by crying or bored children).
Anyway, a few things off the top of my head. Good luck!
The way our local session started was another fiddler and I discovered our mutual obsession with the music and we started playing together in each other's homes, ferreting out what tunes we had in common. Then we both thought of other people we knew who might be interested. Then we played out at a local trad music event, and more people came up afterward asking about a session. It quickly reached a point where we needed a large public space to play, and now we're 20-30 strong and have been going steadily for 5 or 6 years. If this can happen in a small, isolated town of 26,000, it'll work almost anywhere.
Another option is to put up posters in all the local music shops. Announce a date, time, and place, and see who shows up.
We also use an email list to keep everyone informed about session news and upcoming events. Lots on non-musicians are on the email list, and they often spread the word to visiting friends and relatives, some of whom do play and so bring their instruments. We've had people from Ireland, Scotland, and other distant shores land at our little session in the middle of no where, and it's a great boost.
Also, you may want to start a slow or learning session to encourage people who are drawn to the music but aren't yet up to session pace. We've talked about that a lot here, too: do a search for "slow sessions" and you'll get an earful.
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Thank you everyone.
These are some very good ideas and I will probably try all of them as the occasion comes up.
I also believe in reasonable session protocal and was wondering if I should print up a little flyer about session protocal as a general handout to all? (assuming I can find more that 4 players).
--Michael: I am in a typical town in Western PA. Not much going on that I won't have to "dig" for. People go to Pittsburgh for most things. I love going to Pittsburgh to play with the big buys (and these folks are truly gracious professionals), but it's just too much of a trip a lot of the time.
--Will: Thank you for the links.
The Pittsburgh Irish Festival was good again this year.
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
[stealing time from lecture prep. here]
Good ideas above. But I think it's worth adding two more points:
1) When you build a new session, you have to grow both players and audience. In my observation and experience, a session needs a number of players at various levels of expertise and participation: regulars and alphas, occasionals and newbies. This means installing and maintaining some developmental continuity--Will's comments about a teaching/slow session relevant here. Similarly, you need to grow the audience. In W TX, there's almost no cognizance of what Irtrad is, so we knew we needed to grow an audience and educate them to appreciate the session.
We found a pub (nice cigar/martini bar) which was open for a Friday happy hour but doing very little business.
Played a Patrick's Day one-off gig for them: good results built the bar's confidence that it could work.
Suggested to bar that we do a 10-week "trial period", during which we'd pay for our own beer and request no fee from them. Agreed that at the end of the trial period, either party could terminate, but that if bar wanted us to continue, they'd have to go to free drinks for band and a modest "session leaders" fee.
Did lots of flyers, word-of-mouth, email lists (all of our emails begin with "Please feel free to download, forward, and post. Apologies for any cross-postings"). Write your PSA's carefully, make the session sound exotic, different, and unique, and send to local community, NPR, and college radio--they're always looking for interesting, "offbeat" stuff to talk about on-air. Do on-air shots if you can.
After 10 weeks, we'd built a modest following. No cost to bar, all profit for them, so they wanted us to continue. We agreed on all players drinking free (which is the way it ought to be), but declined any session leaders' fee.
Here's why: in our circumstances, we wanted lots of time and no pressure, so we could build the scene. If a bar is paying out cash each week, they're likely to panic and think "it's not working" way too early. Declining a fee kept the pressure off them, and therefore off us. On the other hand, I always insist that players tip the regular Friday-night waiter very well. That way, he's always glad to see us and takes very good care of us. Also, when the owners need to know how it's going, they ask Chris-the-waiter, who's the bar staff most able to observe, and he can report accurately (but also in our behalf) that it's going great.
Also, by not accepting a fee, we always have the leeway to be absent on a given week. We travel a lot, and if none of the session anchors are there, it's easier (and probably musically better) for us just to cancel the session that week, than try to hire in replacements (and, in this town, where would we find them?).
Now, 2.5 years later, we regularly have 100-130 people in a corner bar Friday evenings 6:30-8:30. And these are all ages, including families and professionals, as well as college kids. The bar loves this, as the professionals drink "grown-up drinks", not dime beer, so the bar makes more money.
For us, the continuity, first-class treatment, and ability to take a weekend off whenever necessary, have been worth the investment of time and absent leaders' fee.
One other observation: Greg, your .sig file says "Guitar". Are you playing tunes or backup? If the latter, you *really* need to find at least one or two melody players whose repertoire allow them to hold a session together for 2 hours or more. It's almost impossible to lead a session from a backing instrument.
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
good plan coyotebanjo, but it is on 2nd level ... and 1st level is to find companeros with good sorted bunch of instruments and build up a set of tunes together.
so I would start with some weekly living room sessions with one to three other players for at least one to two month before I start searching the public venue ... bringing these musos together at a good friends birthday party or some like events to play just half an hour or so is good to become known as something fun and worth to go for when announced playing in a public session nearby ... so after maybe three to six month in this level 1 go for coyotebanjos level 2 and further on ... good luck (I twice tried to go from level 1 to level 2 but there are many reasons why it does not work... but sure IŽll try again!!!)
Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Hi All,
Who here has started new local sessions from scratch??
If there are threads on this please refer me to them. Otherwise, lets say you are living in an area outside a major city and want to start a local session, so you don't have to drive 90 minutes to get to the urban session.
What would you do to see if there are people near you who would like to play ITM?
---News paper personal adds?
---Stand outside churches and hand out flyers??
---Leave flyers in bars and clubs?
---Stand outside a stripmall (with permission) inside a homemade booth?
What would you do?
What have you done?
Thank you.
Best Regards
Greg
-Guitar
# Posted on September 6th 2003 by Greg
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Ask the local pub, if you can play there
then stick up a few flyers
# Posted on September 7th 2003 by baorbrat
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Disclaimer: I've never tried organizing a regular session, nor have I played someone on television who did.
It sounds like you are as much in search of interested musicians as you are a venue, i.e., you don't know off-hand where the fiddlers, flutists, box players, etc., are all hiding. So I guess one of my first questions would be, is there _any_ kind of folk music/dance activity around where you live? Regular contra dances, for instance? A Country Dance and Song Society chapter? Sons of the Hibernians? Chances are that that's where you'll find musicians interested in Irish trad, or at least contacts for same.
For all you know, there may be a regularly occuring jam session somewhere already, perhaps sponsored or hosted by an organization like those mentioned above. Maybe it's not exactly the kind of session you want -- perhaps the focus is on, say, Scottish or English country music -- but this could be a starting point. So drop in, see who's there, talk to some of the people who for whatever reason make an impression on you, whether because they're talented, friendly, approachable, or a pleasant combination of all three. Maybe they are just itching to get together in a setting like the one you have in mind.
Which, of course, is a whole other question: Are you thinking of hosting the session yourself, in your own parlor? Is there a pub that might not be adverse to having some live ITM? Or perhaps there's some other venue, like a church or community center, that would be a decent alternative.
For a while, I was involved in a "floating" weekly or biweekly session of several regulars, who would take turns hosting the event -- people didn't really want to have it in a pub, and preferred something more familial (did mean that sometimes we'd be interrupted by crying or bored children).
Anyway, a few things off the top of my head. Good luck!
# Posted on September 7th 2003 by sts
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Go to a session that doesn't play ITM.
Play it and see who is interested.
Poach them to your new session.
# Posted on September 7th 2003 by geoffwright
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Greg, for previous discussions on this topic, go to:
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display.php/1940
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display.php/1282
The way our local session started was another fiddler and I discovered our mutual obsession with the music and we started playing together in each other's homes, ferreting out what tunes we had in common. Then we both thought of other people we knew who might be interested. Then we played out at a local trad music event, and more people came up afterward asking about a session. It quickly reached a point where we needed a large public space to play, and now we're 20-30 strong and have been going steadily for 5 or 6 years. If this can happen in a small, isolated town of 26,000, it'll work almost anywhere.
Another option is to put up posters in all the local music shops. Announce a date, time, and place, and see who shows up.
We also use an email list to keep everyone informed about session news and upcoming events. Lots on non-musicians are on the email list, and they often spread the word to visiting friends and relatives, some of whom do play and so bring their instruments. We've had people from Ireland, Scotland, and other distant shores land at our little session in the middle of no where, and it's a great boost.
Also, you may want to start a slow or learning session to encourage people who are drawn to the music but aren't yet up to session pace. We've talked about that a lot here, too: do a search for "slow sessions" and you'll get an earful.
Good luck, let us know how it goes.
# Posted on September 7th 2003 by Will CPT
Salient question
Where are you, Greg? Do you know of anyone else in your [family | village | town | city | county | country] who might be interested?
---Michael B.
# Posted on September 7th 2003 by MichaelBolton
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
Thank you everyone.
These are some very good ideas and I will probably try all of them as the occasion comes up.
I also believe in reasonable session protocal and was wondering if I should print up a little flyer about session protocal as a general handout to all? (assuming I can find more that 4 players).
--Michael: I am in a typical town in Western PA. Not much going on that I won't have to "dig" for. People go to Pittsburgh for most things. I love going to Pittsburgh to play with the big buys (and these folks are truly gracious professionals), but it's just too much of a trip a lot of the time.
--Will: Thank you for the links.
The Pittsburgh Irish Festival was good again this year.
Best Regards to all,
Greg
Guitar
# Posted on September 8th 2003 by Greg
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
[stealing time from lecture prep. here]
Good ideas above. But I think it's worth adding two more points:
1) When you build a new session, you have to grow both players and audience. In my observation and experience, a session needs a number of players at various levels of expertise and participation: regulars and alphas, occasionals and newbies. This means installing and maintaining some developmental continuity--Will's comments about a teaching/slow session relevant here. Similarly, you need to grow the audience. In W TX, there's almost no cognizance of what Irtrad is, so we knew we needed to grow an audience and educate them to appreciate the session.
We found a pub (nice cigar/martini bar) which was open for a Friday happy hour but doing very little business.
Played a Patrick's Day one-off gig for them: good results built the bar's confidence that it could work.
Suggested to bar that we do a 10-week "trial period", during which we'd pay for our own beer and request no fee from them. Agreed that at the end of the trial period, either party could terminate, but that if bar wanted us to continue, they'd have to go to free drinks for band and a modest "session leaders" fee.
Did lots of flyers, word-of-mouth, email lists (all of our emails begin with "Please feel free to download, forward, and post. Apologies for any cross-postings"). Write your PSA's carefully, make the session sound exotic, different, and unique, and send to local community, NPR, and college radio--they're always looking for interesting, "offbeat" stuff to talk about on-air. Do on-air shots if you can.
After 10 weeks, we'd built a modest following. No cost to bar, all profit for them, so they wanted us to continue. We agreed on all players drinking free (which is the way it ought to be), but declined any session leaders' fee.
Here's why: in our circumstances, we wanted lots of time and no pressure, so we could build the scene. If a bar is paying out cash each week, they're likely to panic and think "it's not working" way too early. Declining a fee kept the pressure off them, and therefore off us. On the other hand, I always insist that players tip the regular Friday-night waiter very well. That way, he's always glad to see us and takes very good care of us. Also, when the owners need to know how it's going, they ask Chris-the-waiter, who's the bar staff most able to observe, and he can report accurately (but also in our behalf) that it's going great.
Also, by not accepting a fee, we always have the leeway to be absent on a given week. We travel a lot, and if none of the session anchors are there, it's easier (and probably musically better) for us just to cancel the session that week, than try to hire in replacements (and, in this town, where would we find them?).
Now, 2.5 years later, we regularly have 100-130 people in a corner bar Friday evenings 6:30-8:30. And these are all ages, including families and professionals, as well as college kids. The bar loves this, as the professionals drink "grown-up drinks", not dime beer, so the bar makes more money.
For us, the continuity, first-class treatment, and ability to take a weekend off whenever necessary, have been worth the investment of time and absent leaders' fee.
One other observation: Greg, your .sig file says "Guitar". Are you playing tunes or backup? If the latter, you *really* need to find at least one or two melody players whose repertoire allow them to hold a session together for 2 hours or more. It's almost impossible to lead a session from a backing instrument.
# Posted on September 8th 2003 by coyotebanjo
Re: Need ideas -- What is the best way to start a new local session?
good plan coyotebanjo, but it is on 2nd level ... and 1st level is to find companeros with good sorted bunch of instruments and build up a set of tunes together.
so I would start with some weekly living room sessions with one to three other players for at least one to two month before I start searching the public venue ... bringing these musos together at a good friends birthday party or some like events to play just half an hour or so is good to become known as something fun and worth to go for when announced playing in a public session nearby ... so after maybe three to six month in this level 1 go for coyotebanjos level 2 and further on ... good luck (I twice tried to go from level 1 to level 2 but there are many reasons why it does not work... but sure IŽll try again!!!)
# Posted on September 9th 2003 by crannog