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The music here in Johnson County is plentiful and enjoyable but if you
stick to only that which is within the Johnson County limits, you'll
be missing a lot. Today, Notes is going to spend some time on
one of our blue grass and gospel neighbors, the Symth County Jam.
The jam is held at the Lions Club at 116 Industrial Park Road in
Chilhowie. This road is on the east side of US 11 (between US 11 and
I-81) and is the first right after crossing into Smyth County from the
south on US 11. The club is the first building on the right and, if
that's not easy enough, you can spot it right away by the sea of cars
parked around it on Monday nights.
It seems like a long way to go but it's a fairly short and pleasant
trip right up TN 91 through Laurel Bloomery and Damascus, on nearly to
Glade Springs, where you will turn north on either US 11 (the Lee
Highway) or I-81 – your choice. If you come into Chilhowie from I-81
and aren't familiar with Industrial Park Road, you'll have to look
around or ask but any mapping program should help you out in getting
there.
Once there, you'll probably see some familiar faces in the crowd. Some
of the same folks you see picking at the community center and
Morefield's were there last Monday (the 9th), including Bryan Osborne,
who frequently plays locally. He starts out from Creston, comes down
Forge Creek road and has gone several miles before he even gets to
Mountain City, where many of you would be starting from. Bill Greer
and at least part of the Mountain Gospel Heirs (see the Notes
of July 4, '10) were there and there were other local pickers and
listeners as well.
On entering, Notes happened to pick a spot next to a friendly
couple who turned out to be Jim Sisco and Lucy from Laurel Bloomery.
They go up every Monday, “Wouldn't miss it” according to Lucy, and
they provided some of the information Notes has to share with
you today.
The club seats maybe around a couple of hundred people comfortably,
has a food and drink stand back in the rear and a kitchen providing
hot dogs and other stuff, along with hot coffee and cold drinks. The
sound system is basic but adequate; the stage area is raised a little
so you can get a good look at what's going on from any chair on the
floor. The place begins coming to life around 6 p.m. Music starts
anywhere from 6:30 to 7 and the chairs start getting scarce about a
half hour later. It's a good idea to arrive well before 7, drop a
contribution in the can on the way in, get whatever you'd like to
snack on and pick either a chair on the floor or a seat at the
numerous tables around the edges of the room so you can both eat and
listen in comfort. This advice is based on what the folks there called
“a real slow night” (many of the usual pickers were at the Galax
Fiddlers Convention that night). When everyone is available for
pickin', it's probably a lot more crowded and gets that way much
earlier in the evening.
Monday started off with the pledge of allegiance and then a small
group provided the pickin' while Tommy Richardson opened up with
several songs, including a nice gospel tune he wrote back in 1984.
(Jim Sisco provided the commentary as the group played along and
Notes appreciates his help, since there wasn't time to meet any of
the folks before they came on.) The pickers, led by Larry Blevins on a
great mandolin, provided nice backup. When Tommy finished, the group
continued to play. One of the best parts was the three or four pieces,
including “Blue Grass Stomp” and “Bull Run”, led by Blevins' grandson,
11-year-old Jonah. He can really handle his mandolin. Blevins
commented that he “wished I could play a mandolin like that when I was
11.”
Notes
stayed until a little after eight and then started back to Mountain
City. The place was just getting warmed up by then and apparently
stays going until 10 or 11 o'clock or later. Another couple had come
up on stage to sing along with the pickers and everyone was having a
good time. It's hard to not notice how enthusiastic the audience is at
the Symth County Jam and the pickers and singers seem to respond to
it.
There's a lot of information available on the jam:
www.smythcountyjam.com is the web site and has tons of stuff
including some short videos, the history of the jam, and albums and
information on the Smyth County Jam Festival. Among other items, you
can find bios with pictures of Larry and Jonah Blevins as well as
Mountain City's Jim Pardue (see Notes of July 19, '10), Carmie
Cornett and Lula Belle Mead (by the way, whether locally or at the
Symth County Jam, if you have a chance to see either of these ladies
play the bass or mandolin, do it. They have a wonderful time and, when
they play, everyone around does, too.)
The jam is maintained by Larry and Sandy Hogston with Ersel and Deane
Fletcher. They have a newsletter, “Jam Briefings” available and you
can always give them a call at 276 496-5467 (for the Hogstons) or 276
429-5228 (the Fletchers). Notes had a short moment to chat with
Sandy Hogston and Deane Fletcher. They are a couple of very nice and
very knowledgeable ladies doing a really good job there. We're looking
forward to going back on a night when husbands Larry and Ersel are not
tied up in Galax.
In the meantime, stop by the community center and support pickin' here
in Johnson County on Friday nights and be sure to visit the nice folks
at Moorefield’s on Saturday nights. So much pickin', so little time.
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