by Christine | Feb 6, 2019 | Welcome Column
One of the very best things about bluegrass is jamming, right? Nothing presents a quintessential picture of a bluegrass festival like folks hanging around in lawn chairs picking in the shade, voices joined in joyous harmony. But for some folks, jamming is stressful....
by Christine | Jan 5, 2010 | Welcome Column
Your first open jam session is an experience you will never forget. Boy, do I ever remember mine! I’d been practicing my instrument seemingly forever, but I was still very unsure of my abilities. My friend Tony, also a learner, told me about one of the CBA jams he’d...
by Christine | May 7, 2014 | Welcome Column
Saw a notice in the Message Board about someone trying to find a jam in Contra Costa County. As Regional VP for the CBA in that county, I am embarrassed that I don’t know of many regular jams around here. There’s one in Dublin, but that’s actually Alameda County. I...
by Christine | Oct 7, 2013 | Welcome Column
Hey, this is Marty Varner. I switched days with my dad. I wanted to write about the great new James King album. When I saw the lineup on the CD, I was certain it was something special: James King lead vocals, the incredibly diverse and creative Jesse Brock on...
by Christine | May 29, 2016 | Welcome Column
(Editor’s Note: A bittersweet re-post of a then brand new King CD three years ago. RC) Hey, this is Marty Varner. I switched days with my dad. I wanted to write about the great new James King album.When I saw the lineup on the CD, I was certain it...
by Christine | Jun 24, 2014 | Welcome Column
The twice-a-month bluegrass jam in Corte Madera in Marin County be marks its 15-year anniversary today. There will be no streamers, cake or fireworks. I have no doubt that anyone else even knows about this date. But it is with some small satisfaction that I can look...
by Christine | Apr 9, 2015 | Welcome Column
I got in a bluegrass jam the other day at a party. It occurred to me that this was the first casual jam I had been in in many months. In recent years we’ve gone to a few festivals every year and try to make a short appearance at the campouts (spring and fall they...
by Christine | Mar 3, 2016 | Welcome Column
Let’s talk jamming this month again. By doing that I don’t need to stretch my eclectic and esoteric ramblings into something that is pertinent to a welcome column on the CBA Website splash page. Again, trying hard to avoid reader fatigue, I won’t start with my bass...
by Christine | Dec 31, 2013 | Welcome Column
Happy New Year! We hope to see many of you at the Great 48 in Bakersfield the second weekend of 2014. It is mid-December now (and I am late with the deadline for the Breakdown) and I know hotel reservations are moving briskly. New this year will be a Teen Jam Suite....
by Christine | Jan 4, 2016 | Welcome Column
We are heading into another busy CBA year with more events scheduled than ever before! We have some new officers and coordinators in our volunteer stable who are scheduling events in their home areas.The first event to kick off 2016 is, of course, our big...
