Portland, OR is a great city in general, but it's an especially great city for an adult hobbyist to engage with others under the auspices of Irish traditional music. Just this past week, I participated in 4 separate sessions over 5 days. Saturday was an outdoor afternoon session at a block party in an idyllic setting within the wonderful Mt. Tabor neighborhood. Sunday evening was a recurring session at a bar/restaurant in Vancouver, WA just across the river from Portland. (My presence at this one made no difference whatsoever but it was still a learning experience). Tuesday night was a lively session that happens every week at a brewery in Tigard, which is a town a little south and west of Portland. And Wednesday was a super fun gathering at a meadery in the "wow I wish I lived here" neighborhood of Sellwood where I was able to lead on several tunes.
To top it off, I didn't even go to the session that I usually attend each Sunday afternoon in Northwest Portland at the Hostel Cafe. And that's not all. There were other open sessions happening on Saturday and Thursday that I knew about but didn't attend. Plus there are also closed or invite only sessions most nights of the week that you can go to as a listener. I'm still meeting people that I've never even seen before when I go to these things.
For someone like me who is at best a mediocre adult learner who has been putting in lots of work to get up to speed and increase my repertoire, it's very motivating to know that there are opportunities like this in abundance. At those four sessions in the last week not only was I welcomed to participate and play but I was in the same circle as some top notch musicians. I often still think that I am the least qualified participant at the table, but I also feel privileged to even be able to take part in the unison tune playing. Sometimes while driving to a session I make an effort to clear my mind and get into a really positive headspace before walking in.
I'm sure there are lots of DIY music communities in the area: bluegrass, old-time, ukulele clubs, trad jazz, guitar groups, early music, singing sessions, choro jams, and so on. But the Irish jigs n' reel clique seems like the only one that checks all the boxes...get to play tenor banjo (check), no chords/accompaniment or solo breaks required (check), all instrumental and no singing (check). I guess old-time also qualifies but there are no jigs, slide or slip-jigs in old-time so you miss out on a diversity of rhythms. Plus tenor banjo is not the right type of banjo for that.
Despite my focus on the Irish trad repertoire, I don't think of myself as having a style or playing in a style. What I want to do is play a banjo or banjo-like instrument. Tuned in 5ths. Played using a plectrum/guitar pick. And with this instrument and that plectrum I only want to play melodies 100% of the time. I don't want to have to play chords or even think about chords, or strum or sing or anything like that. Irish music completely falls within those whims/constraints.
It's great that I have this DIY Irish music community to be a part of. The above picture of Pure Hell - Noise Addition is of no relation to the topic of this post, but someone played this LP at the Rain Drop taphouse in Beaverton and it sounded awesome so I took a picture!
***
No comments:
Post a Comment