ubuntu-allstars team mailing list archive

[Duncan McGreggor <duncan.mcgreggor@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 04/07/2011 09:08 AM, Barry Warsaw wrote:
> On Apr 07, 2011, at 09:44 AM, David Henningsson wrote:
> 
>> If that is our goal, I think we need to split: more than one rehearsal room,
>> every band can only play x songs, and so on.
>>
>> A little more structure, a little less ad-hoc: rehearsal times on the
>> schedule, a formal playlist on the party night, etc.
>>
>> More rehearsal rooms could also help in getting different kinds of music (i e
>> not just american rock classics ;-) ) on the jam.
> 
> I have to be honest, I think there was *too* much structure in Orlando. ;)

I had to bail (catch my plane) Friday night in Orlando, so I can't speak
to that. However, the All Stars Jam in Brussels was fantastic, for just
the reasons that Barry mentions below.

> I totally get the desire to want to put on a good show, rehearsal and have
> everything Just So.  OTOH, I personally fall more to the improvisational side
> of things.  I like mixing it up, jamming, seeing what happens, and not
> worrying so much about the results.  The latter tends to work itself out if
> everyone's having fun and the alcohol is flowing. :)
> 
> I'm probably in a minority, but I think with charts downloaded ahead of time,
> a big display, and a *little bit* of organization (i.e. sign ups for who wants
> to play what songs, lists of instrumentalists to rotate in and out), we can
> have a fun and inclusive musical evening.  Also almost as important, fun and
> inclusive rehearsals, which would be less strict rehearsing and more about
> just playing.
> 
> I do like the idea of limiting each "group" to 3 songs or 20 minutes or
> something.  Then rotate in a new group of folks.  That ensures everyone gets
> to play something, and one rotation may be enough for some people, while
> others may want to or need to play more (say if there weren't enough
> tamborinists for every group).  Often in open mics I've played at, you don't
> even know who you're going to be paired with or what you're going to play, but
> we don't have to go that far!
> 
> I really want folks to have fun, get involved, get a chance to play a song or
> two they really want to play, and be less of a performance and more of a
> participation (in the spirit of Ubuntu after all!).  I think if we do that,
> and get lots of smiles, the audience will have fun too.

There's some historical background that might be good to share as well:

In the past, complaints were registered to HR (and others?) that the
music, while good, was not inclusive -- not every who wanted to play,
got to. This lead to more than one discussion about discontinuing the
post-UDS jam session in the light of so many people being upset about it
the way things had turned out (at various UDSs).

So, even if folks aren't as generously inclined as Barry, we still need
to keep this in mind... we're not putting on a show, we're sharing one
-- and everyone's invited to participate, regardless of ability,
planning, rehearsal, etc. ;-)

d