New music association hopes to spark open jam sessions

Culture & Events — 23 February 2011

Resident Mervin Brownlee is hoping to forge greater ties in the local music community around ‘old tyme’ music.

The newly formed Sunset Country Heritage Music Association is aiming to create more open ‘jamming’ in a friendly atmosphere, host dances with friends and neighbours, host concerts and open mic’ nights with old-tyme themes and take jam sessions out into local parks and outdoor settings.

A somewhat recent arrival to Dryden, from Vancouver, Brownlee is an amateur musician himself who says he misses the abundant opportunities to learn from other players in a fun group setting. He’s hoping to recreate an interesting and interactive performance format in Dryden.

“I’m bored sitting around the house listening to music by myself,” he said. “We used to have a jam session every Monday night, from 7 p.m. to whenever they kicked us out. You get in circle and everybody gets a turn. You announce the song you’re playing and the key it’s in. If you know the song, you play along; if you don’t know the song you try to learn it by ear.”

Using the Nashville system (an informal method of transcribing music) players with rudimentary musical knowledge can easily describe the chord changes of a song to others with a series of numbers.

Brownlee says he’s hoping to host a few upcoming jam sessions at the Ukrainian Hall — bluegrass, and old-tyme country lending itself the best to an acoustic format. In the summertime he wants to move the sessions outdoors into local parks.

“It’s all about having a good time,” he said. “Hopefully, there can be a sense of ‘family time’. I would like to get the kids involved in this kind of stuff. I’m working with Will Durant (DHS senior). I’ve asked him to think about what kids might be interested in doing along these lines.

One of the ideas was more ‘coffeehouse’ type opportunities for the kids to showcase their talent outside of the school. Another thing he said to me is that kids don’t have a place to rehearse.”

In the near future, Brownlee says the Sunset Country Heritage Music Association will embark on a membership blitz, offering individual, family and corporate memberships that will help the group rent spaces for their events.

For more information on the Sunset Country Heritage Music Association, call Mervin Brownlee at 216-8319.

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