Friday (5/15), I went to Oolenoy to jam. This has become, over the last 5 years, a very well rooted part of my life. For those who have not been, let me describe the atmosphere. On highway 135, head north out of Easley, towards Table Rock. Just half a mile before 135 meets and intersects highway 8, you will see a quaint wooden schoolhouse of old on the left side of the road. It's interesting, to me, that the schoolhouse is still standing. It's been around for quite some time and has housed school lessons, church services, festivals, and other gatherings for the entire time it's been standing. There is a history on the wall just as you walk in, so I would invite anyone interested in the history of the building to visit and take a look.
The building has 2 rooms, a main hall, and a smaller room. The large hall is around 30 feet wide by 60 feet or so long, with a stage on one end. When the Bluegrass jams began, they centered around the stage, with a sound system pumping out all the tunes. However, years ago, they decided to form a large circle at the foot of the stage, akin to a symphony box. Just outside the circle that forms are some church pews, after that they set out chairs for the audience to enjoy the music that proceeds. The circle is a very efficient way of sharing the microphone among the many pickers that attend. You can pass the mic, as soon as you finish your song.
The other room is mainly used by hardcore jammers. Some people refer to this as the "Battle Jam", but as negative as that sounds, I don't consider it to be bad. If you aren't good enough to take a break on a song, or sing, you just back out of the small circle that inevitably forms, or shake your head "No" when you're offered the opportunity. This is the room I usually hang out in during the winter months. There are at least 2 other places to jam at Oolenoy. One is the front porch/walk. This is usually where I hang out in the summer months. The other is the renovated back porch. Sometimes some of the best jams can happen in the oddest places, and Oolenoy is no exception. I have been in jams in the small hallway between the large room and the back porch, which were some of the best jams I've ever been a part of. Cramped as it is, the acoustics in that room make it very desirable to some of the better pickers, so things can get a little tight.
Friday night was not an exceptional night for me, other than I played mandolin most of the night. I'm not a good mandolin player, but I enjoy it when I play, so I'm not sure why I don't do it more often. I haven't played mandolin in at least 5 months (maybe longer), and it showed. The night ended early, as I took my wife and youngest daughter (1 year old) along. Just as I was leaving, Gerald Elenburg walked in, and I wished at that point that I could hang around a bit.
One night, about 4 years ago, Gerald walked in as the jams were breaking up. He jammed for a little while and Matt Oglesby started asking him about his songwriting. If you know me at all, you know that I have written several songs, and am very interested in the methods or madness of other songwriters. I cued in on this and listened intently to their entire conversation. We sat at Oolenoy until nearly 4:00 am Saturday morning listening to Gerald talk about songwriting and meeting some of the biggest names in the business. That's one of the coolest things that's ever happened at Oolenoy.
On Saturday night, my wife wanted to go out with my sister for a "Girls night out". I certainly didn't have a problem with this, since my Bluegrass habit causes her to get mad at me for going out so frequently. I decided I'd go to either Brazeale's store (178), or Owings. Both have advantages and disadvantages. One advantage Brazeale's has over me is distance. It's a 40 minute drive to get to Owings, so I don't get down there much.
I decided, since I was starting late (8:20), to head down to Brazeale's. It ended up being a good decision since Don and Oregan had decided to do the same. I played mandolin once again and enjoyed my time. After Don broke 2 strings on stage, he decided that was enough, and left. I hung around for a little while longer, talking to David Clark, but I left before 10:30.
I have a tendency to "bang" on the mandolin in between songs, when there's a "lull". There was one of these moments where I was working on a lick on the mandolin, when I heard something familiar. I started trying to figure out on the mandolin what I was hearing in my head. It sounded so familiar, yet so strange. I worked on it for a while, but was unable to figure out what song it is, or if it is a song already written. If I can't figure it out soon, I might just have to claim it for my own.
They had had a hot dog supper Saturday evening, which went well as far as I could tell. As I said, I didn't get down there until later, so I wasn't able to enjoy the festivities. Maybe next time.
Sundays I usually spend with my parents at the farm. We have dinner, then usually sit on the front porch and watch the kids play. This Sunday was no different, other than the rain prevented the kids from playing in the yard. I pulled out my mandolin and worked a little while on that tune in my head. I asked several times if any of my family recognized the song, but since they don't keep up with Bluegrass like I do, they wouldn't know the difference between Salt Creek and Old Joe Clark (which is not much). It's still bugging me, even now that I can't figure out what the song is, and it sounds so familiar that I don't believe it isn't one.
So, at the end of the weekend, it was rather uneventful. Hopefully I will have more to present during the week or next week.
Oolenoy
State: SC
Town: Dacusville
Cover charge: $0
Bands featured: Jam only
Opening/Starting time: 7:00ish (pm) (some of the older crowd gets there earlier)
Type of music: Bluegrass/Old time/Old Country
Contact: ?
Brazeale's Store
State: SC
Town: Closer to Pendleton than anywhere else
Cover charge: $0
Bands featured: Jam with open stage
Opening/Starting time: 7:00 (pm)
Type of music: Bluegrass/Old Country
Contact: Don Acevedo
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