I really thought there wasn’t any point in trying
I almost lost hope in myself as an artist. I thought there would be no point in continuing to sing in a world that just wanted to grind you down and squeeze out as much productivity out of you as it though you were worth. I was on the tail end of a bad breakdown and decided I would just drag myself out to a few jams and see what came of it.
What was that thing called again? Oh right. “Jam Mondays” or something like that.
A few IG searches and I found the venue. “The Monday Jam”. At Marble Bar. Very fancy. One week turned into two. Turned into a weekly thing. I found other singers, instrumentalists, producers and artists, cover bands, creative entrepreneurs, and they all had a flame in them burning.
The energy was contagious
I learned about other jam nights, some were on different days of the week, some were monthly get togethers. I found out about a woman owned, queer friendly jam called ‘off beat collective’ which became a big favorite of mine. It was in a warehouse in Marrickville which I loved. The vibe was crazy, and everyone was so friendly. I kept seeing this other jam pop up on social media called
The Garage Jam
It was based in Bondi. I lived in Bondi! So, it was close by, and I decided to go. Wow. This really felt like a grassroots movement. As the name would suggest, it was operated out of a garage, and these guys had CHOPS. The place was decorated fantastically, and the crowd spilled out onto the sidewalk.
Of course, the jam has its dedicated troupe who showed up for the music, but people walked through. Moms pushing strollers, joggers running by, and people walking their dogs, all with a pearly white smile plastered across their face (it is Bondi after all, isn’t it?) as they saw what we were up to.
That, in my opinion, is the very thing music should be about.
This wasn’t a monetised event. It was by people doing it for the love of it for people showing up because they wanted to hear music. Decorating the air waves with GOOD music.
There wasn’t a bar in this garage serving drinks. There weren’t any pokies machines or sports gambling facilities sucking money out of people. This was a movement of inspired people, doing something greater than themselves.
Most of the musicians involved and the groupies who came along are of latin descent. Chilean, argentina, spanish. When I got up to sing a song, there was some downtime between the singers, and I decided to tell a few jokes I had been working jokes. I had been doing stand up comedy for a few months and thought I’d do a little MC work. No one told me to, but it landed okay. It gave the people something to focus on and be entertained by in the down time.
I saw an opportunity to help while getting some practice in, and it worked! I got some practice, I heard people laughing, and there was a little bit of load taken off the organizers shoulders. I was asked to come back and do it again! I had to write more jokes!
Unfortunately, SOMEONE had to piss in the pie
(it may or may not have been a pub down the road which noticed their gambling and bar facilities take a hit in their bottom line) and we were asked to cease our lovely outdoor party.
I swear you can’t even take a shit in Australia without getting your arsehole registered.
So, the Garage Jammers had a choice. Give up, tail between the legs, fold the cards and say they had a good run. Or find a way to keep the party rolling. And they did just that!
We found the most beautiful venues to keep hosting the jams (I had nothing to do with securing venues I just tell jokes and introduce people), with amazing ambiance, no pokies, and a beautiful cocktail bar. I don’t like how the music and alcohol industry are joined at the hip – but I digress – a song sounds better with a few vinos in your system… Whether your singing improves continuously with alcohol consumption is a different story.
And guess who’s going to be their joke telling, note hitting, dress wearing MC, keeping guests laughing and the show moving smoothly? Me! MEEE! MAUAHAHUAH!
Right place, right time?
Sure. But I wouldn’t have been in the right place at the right time if I wasn’t doing something just for the love of it. Because I enjoyed the process.
And from what I can see, The Garage Jame wouldn’t be continuously selling out venues if they hadn’t been putting this incredible jam together for the love of the game either.
I thought that the point in making music was so that I could make a living out of it and be famous or whatever. And although I really would like for that to happen, it isn’t the point. The point is to do it for the love.