I fire up the computer, switch on the Roland drum kit, put on the headphones…and enter the world of Jamulus. A world that exists through the internet, with disembodied voices from around the planet.
A world where, for a while, music is the answer to all problems. A crucible[1] where friendships are forged without a physical presence.
I always laughed at the suggestion that relationships formed through the internet could be anything other than fantasy. Wrong!
Simon Tomlinson, referred to as The Godfather, puts it better:
“If you had told me at the beginning of the year that for the majority of 2020 most people would be locked in their home; that when you go to the supermarket or other shops you will need to queue up and wear face masks; that you wouldn’t be able to hug your loved ones; that I would form a group of musicians and singers who would perform online every week from their homes, and that that group of people would be as far away as Seattle to Russia? Well, I wouldn’t have believed them. But I’ve now grown a circle of friends that I’ll probably never lose for the rest of my life. We all love to play music together and formed a collective that is now known as ‘The Jamily’: people who love to play, love to sing, love to perform, love technology (well some of them).”
Genesis of the Jamily
On March 23rd 2020 the British people were ordered to stay at home. The most Draconian limitations on our freedom in my lifetime were enacted. The world paused as governments struggled with the pandemic.
On March 28th 2020 the first WorldJam took place.
Picture the scene…
2006: Munich, Bavaria. Volker Fischer’s bandmates are spread across Germany due to education or jobs. He wants to continue making music with them. He creates Jamulus. He makes the programme open-source.
2011: John Winston Wright organises Jams at the King’s Head, Staplehurst, Kent.
2017: They move to The Bell & Jorrocks, a small pub in a quaint English village called Frittenden in Kent, South-East England. They meet in Spring and Autumn. No music is prepared, no songs are rehearsed. Songs are suggested, keys are decided, music happens. Friendships are made. The Wealden Jammers is born.
March 2020: Simon Tomlinson and John Winston Wright have a conversation. They find Jamulus. They form a messenger group of like-minded musicians looking to play online. A Facebook page is started.
John says: “Simon did pretty much everything and I was glad to help out backstage and test stuff.”
The legend of the ‘Octopus’ is born.
I’ll let Simon, aka The Octopus, recount his memories of ‘WJ: Origins’.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing and performing music, ever since a very young boy. I love playing with people and so playing in bands has always been a desire of mine. Prior to the lockdown, I had a pretty busy social life with my wife, Sam.
“We are both members of a number of local amateur dramatic societies (Amdram), performing regularly on stage in musicals, plays and pantomimes.[2] I was also in a number of bands and a duo. I just love performing, I love the thrill and enjoyment of playing music with other people and the sound that we are able to make together.
“When lockdown happened and the prospect of not just being unable to perform, but unable to play or sing with other people, became a reality, I immediately started searching for alternative ways to play music online. I had used online music collaboration software in the past and had not been impressed with it. Within days of the lockdown, I found Jamulus. In a matter of minutes, I was playing on the only central server with a number of Germans and Italians. That first jam was unbelievable; I was really excited at the sound created with people so far away from me. I contacted John Wright and Jez Druce and told them about this amazing piece of software. John had also experimented with online music collaboration software in the past and was the organiser of the Wealden Jammers that I attended. Jez was a good friend, drummer in a couple of bands I am in, and also a member of the same Amdram.
“Within a few days we had jammed with dozens of people across Europe. I set out to convince my local musician friends to try Jamulus. Most were not interested, tried it and didn’t like it, or had a number of technical issues. It was the technical issues that, as an IT professional, I could help people with. I created a Facebook group called ‘Jamulus Online Singers/Musicians Jamming’. Rather a mouthful, but it very quickly spread. Within days the group had around 50 people on it and the questions started: how to install Jamulus, or problems with audio devices and latency issues. I installed my first Jamulus server on a number of cloud providers and was providing public servers that had good latency (the speed it takes to send a packet of information to somewhere else).
“I wanted to organise something where musicians could jam in a more structured way. The first Jam Night occurred on a Wednesday afternoon. We had about 10 or 15 people during the session. Because it was a public server, other people found the room and joined in.
“We logged into my Zoom account and, for the first time, I could put faces to voices. We created some great music, had fun and made good friends in the process. The next jam was advertised in advance and a private server created.
“Zoom was streamed to Facebook. Audio and video quality weren’t great but, utilising two laptops, it worked.
“My main laptop was for me to play on with Jamulus and to mix the sound I was hearing from others. I took a physical cable from my audio interface and plugged it into another that was attached to a second laptop. On that laptop I used software called OBS to pull in the audio, and Zoom to capture the video. With OBS I livestreamed to Facebook. This laptop was very old. Latency and burbling was a bit of an issue.
“That first streamed show had about 20 people in it. Afterwards, we jammed until 4am. It was a fantastic time of discovery.
“The Facebook group was growing – hundreds of members asking questions on how to play online and how to participate in the show. Pete West asked me if I could create a setlist of song ideas in advance, so I created a basic Google spreadsheet.
“This turned into a more complicated affair with people putting themselves down to play and sing. I sent out the agreed setlist on a Saturday afternoon just before the show started.
“Once the show started, we had a virtual backstage room where people could listen. John Wright and Cathy Matthews ran extra Jamulus clients on their machines to pipe the music from the main studio room into the backstage room. Creating this room was important so that we didn’t have 30 people all sitting on the main room causing extra work for the server.
“There was a logistical challenge, so John played the role of director and studio manager, moving people from the backstage into the studio at the right time. I was hosting, mixing, broadcasting, and sometimes performing too.
“As more people became involved, with the show lasting for 4 or 5 hours, it was becoming more stressful for both me and John. It was mentally and physically exhausting. I knew we needed help, not just for the different aspects of the show but because I was at the limit of my technical knowledge of streaming. I still wasn’t happy with the quality of the live broadcast.
“I advertised on the group for volunteers to help. Laura Mardones (SE), Astrid Mert (NL), Emily van Orsouw (NL), Cedric dos Santos (Fr), Jez Druce (UK) and Cathy Matthews (UK) volunteered. Together with the tech wizardry of Jono, Simon ‘The Houbsta’ White, and Tony ‘The Maestro’ Mountifield, they remain at the heart of the WJ.
“Cedric had previous experience with broadcasting and started to do some cool intro and outro videos. He also did the broadcasting for 8 or 9 shows in a row. Emily helped with the artwork and the Facebook and YouTube graphics. Alex Smith’s expertise in graphics was utilised. Laura and Astrid helped with backstage, hosting, organising, and helping me make decisions. Jez helped out with backstage and hosting.
“The show was getting noticed. I was contacted by a number of people who wanted to help make the show even more professional, or to reach the broadcasting and music industry. Groovy Gecko and a TV producer reached out to us with some ideas. We chose to go with Groovy Gecko and The Floor, who provided some much-needed financial resources.”
At Christmas 2020, Simon hosted a review of the year’s music, which can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmGswXFV3mk
It is well worth watching to see how the quality of audio and video streaming has developed and improved. You will also see the first performance of The BoC[3] where Jez was almost naked. This is not for young eyes, or those of a nervous disposition or possessing good taste.
Here you will find the first performance of the Jamulus Kids’ Band (the brainchild of Ronald Donkerbroek) playing ‘Grenade’ by Bruno Mars (WJ35). Quality singing and playing by talented young musicians. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The second performance on WJ49 was equally superb.
It is heart-warming to see children performing music alongside their parents (people you will all know from the WJ):
Nikki and Vera (Ronald Donkerbroek) NL; Isa and Kyan (Roger ‘Play Ja Ja Ding Dong’ Niesten) NL; Jeffery Punshon (Jono) UK; Emma (Nils Brederlowe) DE; Gaia and Valentina (Angelique and Alex Smith) NL; Elsie (Damon Roots) UK
New members are always welcomed to the Kids’ Band. Parents simply need to contact Ronald Donkerbroek or me and we will make it happen.
WJ11 brought us the first performances from the USA. The US contingent has remained a big part of the success of the WorldJam: as musicians, backstage, presenting, and techies.
It is difficult to play with high latency, which means that the US rarely has the opportunity to play alongside the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. It has been done though, and special mention should be made of David Stenshoel and Heather Townsend.
David has become known as the King of Latency, regularly performing with musicians outside of the States. Having been on many songs with him, I can tell you it is as if he is standing next to me; his control is that good.
Heather has started a weekly Latency Jam, moving between the US and Europe. Practising with high latency could well result in more collaborations across the globe. The sessions are not only fun, but motivational. I joined in on the London server recently (I’m no good with latency) and was in awe of their ability to play with extreme delay. More collaborations won’t be long, Heather.
I also want to mention Viktor ‘The Bing Bong Man’ Reptoid[4], who consistently plays from his home in St Petersburgh, Russia with 130-140ms delay. When you consider the number of instruments he plays, as well as singing, his ability is truly inspiring. His sense of humour is pretty good too.
Lives are affected
To understand how the WJ has affected people’s lives, I asked for some personal experiences. The stories received from the UK, Europe and the USA all share the same themes: Making music. Making friends. What would we have done without Jamulus and the WorldJam?
Condensing these deeply moving, uplifting messages of hope into a few lines could not possibly do them justice, although ‘The Houbsta’ Simon White’s comment will ring true for all:
“I shudder to think where I would be now without WorldJam. The friendships that have built up through sharing music and tech knowledge have been a great support in these difficult times. I think I have found a few kindred spirits and online jamming is at the heart of that. It’s also about the rush of producing a show, helping people and watching them blossom as they get to grips with the concepts and realise that they can perform and get a real ‘live’ experience.”
I have included the messages in the appendix. I urge people to read them and find that they are not alone in their experiences, thoughts, trials, endeavours and feelings.
Fantasy?
This is real life. It is no fantasy. We are in a time of struggle, with emotional distress and physical pain at a level not experienced in western culture in my lifetime.
Within Jamulus and the WorldJam, no one is harmed by a bum note, a loss of tempo, a mistake, a studio going down, the sound not being right. During the darkest of days, I can enter the world of Jamulus and feel like I’ve swallowed sunshine.
We have all shared the joy of the first Jamulus baby, Jude Tomlinson, born on the 25th of January 2021. The Jamily presented Simon and Sam with a plethora of gifts from around the world. These were delivered by Sarah Anstey (Sazzle) who conceived and coordinated the ‘Secret Tomlinson Baby Group’. This came as a complete surprise to Simon and Sam…the Jamily can keep a secret! (Simon and Sam, please sign Jude up for the Jamulus Kids’ Band as soon as possible.)
Volker Fischer stood down as lead of the Jamulus development team. (Our very own Tony Mountifield, aka The Maestro, is in the team.) His decision to make Jamulus an open-source programme has enabled thousands to continue making music with others.
As an unnamed user put it: “This software is hands down the emotional saviour of this lockdown.”
Not surprisingly, many of us in the Jamily wanted to express our thanks to Volker. Brian Pratt came up with the idea of a ‘Buy Volker A Beer’ fund. Several thousand dollars later, Volker has been able to buy something for himself, instead of always giving away his time and expertise.
A deeper kindness
These two examples of generous kindness are the public expression of what the Jamily can do.
But it goes deeper.
There are, daily, acts of kindness known only to the people involved. There is an unerring ability to recognise when a member is distressed, emotionally struggling, or facing personal and family difficulties. Listening without judgement can help somebody make a decision, change a decision, respond to someone else’s pain, help others in similar circumstances. In essence we ‘pay it forward’.[5] I have experience of how just a message or a chat can ease the burden.
I know that others have found the same sense of belonging to a group that cares. Mental health issues have been exacerbated by the lockdown. These difficulties often go unnoticed. As someone said to me about 40 years ago: “It’s not like having a broken arm; people can see that.”
Emotional pain and mental health damage are frequently hidden beneath layers of self-built survival tactics, and rarely resolve themselves unaided. You can sweep it under the carpet but eventually you’ll trip over the bumps.
I have no doubt that Jamulus and the WorldJam has had a mitigating effect on the health of everyone involved. Musicians need to play. Not playing enables worries to grow disproportionately. I would go so far as to say that, in many cases, severe depression and its attendant consequences, has been defeated by the power of music and the involvement of the Jamily. We are the equivalent of storybook bear Winnie the Pooh and his friends sitting beside depressed Eeyore the donkey just because they care.
Music is the international language that brings people together. It ignores the boundaries of race, creed, culture, language, and any other restrictive noun you care to mention.[6]
Music has the power to evoke deep memories and feelings: I hear Stop by the Spice Girls and I’m transported to the most wonderful time of my life when my daughters were little and we danced around the living room. It’s such a strong part of my life that when I took them to see the Spice Girls (who were fantastic, by the way) at Wembley in 2019, the moment they played Stop we went into the dance without thinking. (The same happened when S Club 7 played Reach for the Stars in Eastbourne several years earlier.)
The future
The WorldJam has grown exponentially.[7] Consequently, changes will be needed to ensure its survival.
To quote Simon Tomlinson:
“The show has evolved. Starting as a forum for people to jam together, it has become a more professional showcase of talent. There is a website and database to manage the musicians and songs, which is primarily maintained by Simon White and Tony Mountifield. Each show needs about 14 volunteers for directing, producing, sound engineering, broadcasting, studio managing, technicians, artwork and video work. It is currently reaching a point where it is sometimes difficult for new or existing performers to find a slot to perform.
“Changes have been made to reduce the maximum number of performances to allow more people to have a chance. It is yet to be determined if these changes are enough or if further changes are needed. The show is as inclusive as possible.
“I set out to give musicians and singers an outlet to perform during the lockdown, but it grew into much more than that.
“It unites people of all cultures, countries, genres; a philosophy I never knew I had a desire to cultivate prior to the lockdown but one that now moves me more than ever to continue.”
I am in no doubt that this philosophy is embraced by all involved with the WorldJam. Change is, inevitably, a difficult but necessary part of growth and wisdom in all endeavours; personal and collective. Resistance to change is normal (unlike The Borg’s vision: ‘Resistance is futile’).[8] Healthy, inclusive discussion is an essential part of planning and execution.
A shameless plug!
The cost of the platforms to run the show is about £300-£400 per month. The broadcast server is often around £200 on its own. There are additional costs for all the other Jamulus music servers, the re-stream and Zoom account, plus other miscellaneous costs.
If anybody who enjoys the unlimited use of the WorldJam facilities would like to make a donation, simply click the ‘Donate’ button at the foot of the page here on worldjam.vip.
Volunteers are always needed to help run the shows. Training is given; ‘shadowing’ is the first step; fun is had and you will be helping hundreds of fellow musicians, singers and techies do what they do best. Just make it known on the Jamulus WorldJam Facebook page that you would like to help. Or go to this page: https://worldjam.vip/articles.php?src=/blog/volunteering-for-worldjam/
You will be snapped up quicker than The BoC can think of a new abusive term for me.
Conclusion
If I am certain of one thing, it is this:
Once this period of unpleasantness withdraws sufficiently, friends in the ether will meet in person. Friendships will be consolidated. Real life will be better. Fantasy will continue…but in private please.
As Bill and Ted would say: “Be excellent to each other.”
Declaration of independence
Everybody will have their own memories, thoughts and views about the WorldJam. I cannot possibly reflect them all. These musings are mine alone; I take full responsibility for any mistakes or omissions and apologise to those whom I have not specifically mentioned.
Peter West April 2021
The Jamily: Inclusive. Compassionate. Supportive. What real life should be like.
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this article to Stuart ‘Charlie’ Charlesworth (10/07/1974-19/04/2020). Husband, father, a great singer, a big personality and member of the Wealden Jammers. He was genuinely one of life’s good guys. Covid 19 took Charlie before the WorldJam could bring him to a wider audience.
The world is a lesser place without you Charlie.
Appendix 1
Europe
John Winston-Wright (UK) Instigator of the Wealden Jammers
Here is my recollection of the beginnings of world jam. At the start of lockdown Simon T messaged me regarding my previous experience at internet jamming as he knew I had done some beforehand. The software I had used in the past was no longer available so we started looking for a current platform. After a few trials we came across Jamulus and were pleasantly surprised how well it worked. We joined a messenger group of likeminded musicians looking to play on line which soon became busy so we started a facebook page. We had really good experiences at random jams and then Simon decided to create an event and world jam was born. The first few were very experimental, working out how to stream and sync video and provide feeds, having multiple servers etc. Simon did pretty much everything and I was very glad to help out backstage and test stuff. It has been great to see WorldJam become established and more successful than we could have ever imagined with a fantastic group of people both backstage and performing.
Simon White (The Houbsta) (FR)
So, when lockdown started, I had a case of Covid and I was washed out for a few days. Coming out of that I was still isolated by myself in my music room, and I started to think about live streaming. I was missing going out jamming with friends – though it hadn’t been something I’d done a lot of over the last few years. I also felt it would be fun to play a bit of guitar on a stream and see the reaction. Funnily enough my famous cousin Peter White watched my first stream and commented on it!
That first stream was on the 29th March to a few friends on Facebook. I just clicked “go live” and activated my webcam and mic. It looked and sounded pretty terrible. I then started learning about improving the stream with OBS software. I streamed each week on a Sunday evening. Soon a friend, Nicolas Chardon, suggested Jamulus as a tool and we did a jam together with Jamulus and Jitsi initially but performance wasn’t great. But it proved we could play live online and stream it even with my simple setup.
I looked around for somewhere to post our jams with Jamulus and found Jamulus WorldJam on Facebook. I posted my 10th jam (which I did with my Dad) to the group on 31st May 2020 and Simon Tomlinson and Cedric Dos Santos gave me some good feedback, including technical tips. So, we started exchanging ideas as I had used obs.ninja even way back then, and I signed up to WorldJam around 24th June and played in WorldJam 15 on the 11th July.
My first contribution to the site was looking at how to “stick” the instrument names to the top of the screen when scrolling, to make it easier to find a song with an open slot for a specific instrument. The site doesn’t look like it did at that time anymore, so it might be difficult to imagine. Simon Tomlinson added my correction for that, but when I suggested something else, he said I could fix it myself on GitHub and gradually I set up my own version of the site and started adding a lot of the backstage functionality. I did the running order, the soundcheck and the rota pages in particular.
I shudder to think where I would be now without WorldJam. The friendships that have built up through sharing music and tech knowledge have been a great support in these difficult times. I think I have found a few kindred spirits and online jamming is at the heart of that. It’s also about the rush of producing a show, helping people and watching them blossom as they get to grips with the concepts and realise they can perform and get a real “live” experience.
A highlight for me was appearing on French national radio as the journalists from France Inter visited a “backstage” experience in my little home studio.
Tony Mountifield (The Maestro) (UK)
Saw your request on Discord for comments re WJ, so here are mine:
With my local jazz jams cancelled, at the end of March 2020 I started googling for what to play music with others online. I downloaded JamKazam on 8 Apr, failed to get it working (their servers were flaky due to sudden demand), and downloaded Jamulus the same day. My son, who is also a techie, did the same, and we successfully got Jamulus working between us that day. He also quickly got a server running on AWS.
I play keys and my son plays drums. When he left home for university some years ago, I really missed being able to play music with him. But since we both got onto Jamulus, we’ve been able to play together regularly again, with others too, which has been lovely.
A few days later I found the new Facebook groups for “Jamulus (official)” and “Jamulus Musicians” and joined both. Both these groups have continued to grow (the latter was renamed to “Jamulus WorldJam” in August), and I’ve met many new friends through them.
Highlights for me have been:
1. Meeting so many people on the FB groups and public Jamulus servers, playing music together and making lots of new friends in different countries.
2. Getting involved in some of the tech for both Jamulus and WorldJam, e.g., creating Jamulus Explorer, helping improve disordered packet handling in Jamulus, and helping on the WJ website.
3. Performing all sorts of different songs on WJ, although not nearly as prolific as some! My first WJ wasn’t until #12 in June, and I’ve played 20 songs so far, with a further 8 currently scheduled.
Going forward, I’m expecting to stay involved with Jamulus and WorldJam, even after Covid, and to stay in contact with the Jamily. As real life starts to open up again, I wonder if Saturday WJs might become less often than every week, but it would be great for them to continue in some way.
USA
Brian Pratt
I’ve been in basement bands on and off for years, never played a show unless you count that one time at the grand opening of the local Buddhist meditation center (that was weird). I came back from Burning Man last year determined to pick up bass, since nobody else in our music-themed camp seemed interested in playing the one we had sitting there by the two pianos and two guitars. I was working on that goal with my basement buddies once a week when COVID hit – we jumped to Jamulus at which point I stumbled into the World Jam crowd, and now I’m playing pretty much seven days a week with a whole new additional set of friends. It’s been AMAZING.
Heather Townsend
I’ve been a resident of Seattle for approximately 25 years, originally from Toronto, Canada. I’m a late bloomer when it comes to singing, starting out 20 years ago via Karaoke, and graduated into being in several bands throughout the years, currently 2 that were gigging regularly until the pandemic started. Joining the Jamulus World Jam and jamming/performing with different artists has opened up a world of possibilities and has expanded my vocal capacity through dabbling in multiple different genres than I would normally perform with my bands. I’m not so afraid of going into falsetto! Love my Jamuly!!
Mark Kozu
I am a lifelong Seattle area resident. I play guitar and was a volunteer Youth Worship Leader for 22 years. For the past 12 years I have played guitar on the Praise Team at the same church. When Covid-19 shut down churches I started looking for a way for us to play online and found Jamulus. It was difficult to interest other Praise Team members to try Jamulus, but in the meantime, I discovered the Jamulus WorldJam. Others from the US were discovering WorldJam at the same time and I connected with Steve Hopkins, also from Seattle and Steve Gee from Chicago, IL. The 3 of us were the first US act to perform for the Jamulus WorldJam back on June 13. The next week Brian Pratt joined us and the Seattle WorldJam presence has been growing ever since. I am grateful for the friends that I have made from all around the world as a result of Jamulus WorldJam.
Chuck Cosby
I grew up in Houston and moved to the Seattle area in 1977. I started playing Guitar when I was 14 and played in a band in Houston. I started a band in the mid-nineties and we only played original music that I wrote. Then 7 years ago I joined a local Jam band in Woodinville. My friend has a huge house, so we don’t play out, we bring the people to us! When Covid hit I found Jamulus but I can’t get any of my band mates to join it. So, I have met a lot of new bandmates and its’ great. I have performed 3 times so far at the World Jam. I Jam almost every night now – super fun!
Bob Gale
I started playing bass guitar in college and played pretty frequently in bar/party bands as well as university jazz bands. Then I got married, moved to Seattle, and decided to “settle down” and focus on career and family. When our kids got older, I started playing more frequently again. Last year, I started playing one night a week in a jazz combo through a wonderful non-profit called Seattle Jazz Night School. Then the Coronavirus hit and put an end to all that! When I caught wind of Jamulus via my friend Brian Pratt, it was like the clouds parting and a new ray of sunshine streaming down. Now I’m playing more than ever! I’m learning and playing several new songs per week and playing in the weekly WorldJam, and have helped Jazz Night School get up and running on Jamulus. Though I miss playing with people in person, I really don’t miss lugging my equipment around!
Steve Hopkins
I started playing drums before Ringo made his US debut. Teen dances turned into club gigs. In the early 70’s, I made a solid effort to make it in the business. After a couple years, Disco music took over and we were out of work. I continued playing in weekend bands for years. Recorded a few LPs along the way and finally, (after retiring) was back as a full-time musician. This time last year I was playing a Blues festival in Mississippi. COVID hit, and all of our bookings cancelled. I searched the internet for some means of connecting our band remotely and came upon Jamulus. My band mates each had issues that prevented a quality experience and soon they gave up. I made a comment on Jamulus World Jam #8, and shortly after, received a reply suggesting I team up with Mark Kozu. Steve Gee joined and we debuted on WJ11. Soon, other US musicians joined and here we are, WJ27 with 30+ performances, many genres, many new friends, from cities and countries around the world. The satisfaction of preparing, rehearsing, and performing with my Jamily, is as rewarding as any big stage I have worked.
Bill Pearce
I started playing drums in high school in the mid-60s and played in several garage bands over the years, but never really “played” until I joined the adult School of Rock in Seattle about 6 years ago. It was the first time I took lessons, where I learned I was doing things all wrong! I played 4 shows there, including the pinnacle, a Led Zeppelin show where I played 10 songs. Several of us from that school formed a group that played 60s and 70s classic rock. The third iteration of that group, along with another punk/pop group (covers and originals), was just starting to take off when COVID hit. I was also very involved with a curated music community in Seattle called Festival of Friends, which reminds me a lot of Jamulus. We would assign ourselves to songs, practice them separately, and then play them at a club…cold! I met a lot of great musicians and made a lot of friends in that group. I’ve brought two of them into World Jam, and hope I can convince more – Jamulus and World Jam is an awesome experience!
Chris Rimple
My wife and I are both experienced a cappella choral singers, and in late 2018 we joined a School of Rock adult program to learn drums (her) and keys (me). We played in a couple shows organized by the school, then split off with other students to form our own cover band. We built up a repertoire of songs and were speaking with local venues to perform our first show, then COVID hit and stopped us in our tracks – we didn’t rehearse for more than 4 months. Eventually I found Jamulus and discovered that an old friend (Mark Kozu) was using it. He encouraged me to join him and others for my first performance on WorldJam 15, and then I brought in my cover band. We’ve been rehearsing multiple times per week, have performed on most WorldJams since July, and have doubled our repertoire – none of which would have been possible without Jamulus, the WorldJam, and our new Jamily.
Ben Wallis
Throughout my 20s and 30s, I sang and played acoustic guitar in pubs, around campfires, at parties, and any stage I could get on to. Then, shortly after moving from London to Seattle a few years ago, I came across the School of Rock, bought a bass and discovered the joy of performing as part of a group. A few of us (including Chris and Judy) clicked and formed our own covers band. As Chris explained, the pandemic hit just as we were ready to start performing in public, and it is thanks to Jamulus that we have been able to continue enjoying playing together and growing as a band.
Lisa Pierce
While in high school I was in band and choir and sang several solos at the annual school POP concert and two musicals. While in college formed a cover band and met my husband Ric. Moved to Seattle in 1985, did not sing formally again until I started taking vocal lessons at the School of Rock West Seattle. Performed a 3-song vocal showcase with my vocal coach and then joined the Adult Performance Group where I have done 5 shows to date. The director cast me on several songs I would never have chosen and forced me to find the joy in singing a song I didn’t like. Split off with Chris, Judy, Ben, Chip and my husband Ric to form our cover band and we had been rehearsing for 5 months when COVID hit. SO thankful Cris found Jamulus and got us all up to speed with the tech to use it. We have done shows almost every week since July and learned more songs faster than ever before, including songs that would probably not have been chosen for the band. It has been so great meeting new music minded people and getting the chance to play and perform during this pandemic has saved my sanity. THANK YOU WORLD JAM!
[1] A place or situation in which different cultures or styles can mix together to produce something new and exciting. (Cambridge Dictionary)
[2] An eccentric, essentially British institution. The Dame is always a man; the Principal Boy is always a woman. Music, slapstick, cross-dressing, poor jokes, and lots of audience participation. (‘It’s behind you!’… ‘Oh no it’s not!’)
[3] The BoC: a disgraceful bunch of nutters from the UK and NL who delight in verbally abusing each other at every available opportunity.
[4] So called for his entry into Waiting Room 1 as Assistant Stage Manager, which left those present on the floor with laughter.
[5] An expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others instead of to the original benefactor. A phrase possibly coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her book: In the Garden of Delight; Thomas y Crowell (pub); ISBN 1297685628; 1916.
[6] All human beings are 99.9 percent identical in their genetic makeup. National Human Genome Research Institute: https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Genetics-vs-Genomics
[7] Up to and including WJ51, there have been approximately 368 different musicians performing. If we include the upcoming shows, that number rises to 400, which means that we have about 30 ‘Newbies’ joining the Jamily. (Figures courtesy of The Houbsta)
[8] The line “Resistance is futile” was first uttered by the evil robotic aliens in the third-season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode aired in 1990 and went down in history as one of the most epic cliff-hangers in television history.
