You've decided to come to the All Ages Jam @ Jazzbones on Wednesday but you are not sure how to act, what to do, how to prepare. Don't worry, we've all been there. Here are some tips to get you started. 

What's a jam?
The traditional jam would be musicians getting together and improvising over an agreed upon key. The jams are there for musicians to hone their improvisational skills and practice different types of music. It can really give you a lot of different angles and new flavor to your own music. One of the most important things to know is when to play and when to not play, in a traditional jam.
However, we understand that not everyone is at this level where they can just jump in and play over anything. Our all ages jams are there for the participants of the Live It OutLoud program to have a safe space to play music, bring their friends and reconnect with other likeminded artists. At our jam, you can just as easily get up there and perform as a full band, as you can ask the host band if they know a particular song. If you really want to learn how to jam, just tell the host that and you will get to try the awesomeness of improvisation.

How to prepare
The stage will be back lined, however, don't expect that you can walk right in and borrow someone else's instrument. Come prepared! Bring your instrument, cable, picks, tuners, sticks, capos and extra strings. 
Be there on time for sign up.

What to do at the jam
Sign up and don't be afraid to go first. The host and host band will normally get the thing started for you anyway. 
Since our jams are backlined, you will most likely be using other people's gear. Be respectful. Never tune another person's instrument (to another tuning than standard) or play with the settings without asking first. 
If you are on stage - play. Don't get on stage and then try to figure out what to play, this disrupts the flow of the evening and takes time from other artists.

What about the vocalists?
It can be really hard to be a vocalist at a traditional jam. But we've got you covered. The host band knows a plethora of songs, I am sure you can find a song that you and they both know.

Please keep coming to the jams - even if you aren't sure you want to play, supporting the jams will keep them going.

Yesterday's benefit concert in memory of the late Steve Gale was a wonderful success. In the spirit of Steve Gale all the proceeds were donated to the Live It OutLoud program. We are still tallying up the donations, but we just wanted to thank all of Steve's friends and family for their support. It was an amazing experience hearing all the stories of how he changed people's lives. Some explained how they were better people because of him. It is obvious how much he was loved and respected by his community. And how much he will be missed.
We are blessed that in his name all this love is directed to donations to our programs. 
It was great to see the support of the young people, from Feather Point to other participants who were there to support the music scene and the Live It OutLoud program. A great big thank you to everyone involved!

Raymond Hayden, who is also a mentor in the Live It OutLoud program is a guest blogger for Shure. He just posted this blog entitled "How To Book Your First Paid Music Gig". As a young musician working your way into the music scene it can be hard to get venues to take a chance on up-and-coming artists like yourselves - so here are some ideas on how to do that!

The meet and greet yesterday went great and welcome aboard to the new participants. Sign ups close on June 1st at midnight - so there's less than two weeks left to register. 

​The Washington State Fair is giving you the chance to perform the National Anthem LIVE on the Grandstand stage in front of thousands of roaring fans at one of our 2017 concerts or rodeo performances. This is a once in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase your vocal talent.

Sound like fun? Just record a video of yourself or your group singing the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner, upload to YouTube and submit the online contest entryform.
Deadline to enter your video is Sunday, February 27 at 11:59pm.