...when I attended the Port Aransas Songwriters’ Showcase in 2007, that I would find not only a mando player to back me up that night, but darn good one! ...and not only that night, but for the rest of my life! The Port Aransas Songwriter’s Showcase had become an annual tradition for me, and even though it was not a prestige gig or a paying one, it was dear to me, and I had a hunch that if I kept on going year after year, something really special would happen there eventually.
I had never seen or heard Hamp before that night, but he sounded good backing up other players, and I really liked his set, (he was soulful like Willie) so I invited him to back me up as well. No rehearsal. So, we were all out under the stars at the Tarpon Inn,and Carol Elliot just happened to be sitting next to my sister in the audience. Carol enjoyed the set and asked my sister, “How long have they been playin’ together?” Ruth said, “For about 15 minutes, I think.”
It’s been almost 12 years now and a lot has happened since then. We have rehearsed for one thing! A LOT! When we first started rehearsing together, I enjoyed Hamp’s playing so much that I would lose my place. I would have to just stop, laugh, and say, “Wow!” And I guess if he’s that good and he wants to play music with me, I must not be that bad myself. We’re getting pretty tight.
Hamp brings his jazz background from North Texas and I was a classical guitar major, but we both are folksingers at heart and include a variety of styles of original music: country blues, TX swing, Celtic sounds, jazz....and straight up folk. We both sing lead and harmony; I play mostly guitar, and Hamp plays mostly guitar and mandolin. When we are the headliner, we pull out all the stops and bring along banjo (Hamp) and harp (Janet) but for our Austin Acoustical Cafe opener, we’ll stick to guitars and penny whistle.
Here’s a link to our website where you can watch videos of our last appearance at Austin Acoustical Cafe: http://www.hampandjanet.com/videos/
I’d also like to invite you to the online music community which I host: Everyone Can Jam. People who long to sing or play an instrument, but have run into stumbling blocks, or have been taught that they can’t, but deep down they know that they must...that’s the inspiration for Everyone Can Jam!The Everyone Can Jam community has over 360 members at the time of this writing and is growing every day. It includes highly developed and professional performers and songwriters, teachers, music lovers in general, and most importantly: aspiring beginners... some quite relieved and formerly frustrated.
When you join the Everyone Can Jam community by signing up for my email list, you’ll get weekly newsletters with valuable information about how everyone can learn to play music. You’ll also have access to my free instruction page. Here’s the website: www.everyonecanjam.com
I have works in progress to help musicians of any kind; beginner theory lessons are already on my free instruction page, but most of my lessons at this point focus on helping beginning guitarists. I get about 7 new subscribers to my YouTube channel (Janet Brockman) everyday:mostly beginning guitarists over the age of 50 who are delighted with the results of my lessons. They often report having an instant change from pain to no pain or can’t to can after one short lesson. My two favorite students are in their 80’s and are beginning guitarists!
Here’s a link to a popular YouTube video that will help any musician progress faster at mastering difficult passages: https://youtu.be/vVhny-YzbO8 Would you like to help me reach 1000 subscribers before our show at Austin Acoustical Cafe on April 13th? I currently have 750, so we can do it! If you subscribe to my Janet Brockman YouTube channel, comment on any video and tell me you’re coming to the show, I’ll bring you a free copy of my Strawberries CD.
See you then!