This is the official site for my grandpa’s band. They aren’t really an official “band” per say, but they are a group of passionate musicians that collaborated many years ago in Chicago, Illinois and they continue to make music together today. They call themselves “Friday Night Jam.”

When you first get onto the site, you will see their logo that looks like the picture to the right. Underneath, there are all the navigation links, such as “Politics,” “Photos,” and most importantly, “Songs.” The navigation’s pretty easy considering you just click and up comes the page.

Except for the page filled with their free music downloads, all the other pages on this site are simple to use. Click on the song link. Immediately, you’ll hear music from the player you see as you scroll down. There, you can hear full versions of their best play of that song. Give it a listen! They’re pretty darn amazing if you ask me.

Below that, there is a list of songs to download FOR FREE! So if you liked those songs you heard from the player above, you can download it right onto your iTunes easily by clicking the “Download MP3” button off to the right side of the screen. From there, another screen will pop up. Click the link to complete the download and then save it.

Now, I’m not just saying this because I grew up listening to them play, but they really are a great band. They play many covers as well as their own music-all very well played. Their variety of sounds with so many different instruments is an added bonus as to what makes their sound so dynamic. I think, personally, the best part about this band is their passion for playing music. All of them play with their hearts, not their hands and that makes them such an enjoyable band to hear and watch. Definitely check their site out, though it doesn’t express even half of how amazing they are!

Jam People

The Friday Night Jam etiquette and conceptual philosophy.
Written in respomse to a challenge to how we run the jam.
First we work off of the general jam concept that we are all here to have fun playing music but under a general set of guidelines;

A. Everyone who wants to play and can gets a turn to perform every round
B. Everyone who wants to play a song must provide a song sheet for anyone who needs or wants one.
( We will no longer accept the excuse that " years ago I handed out a sheet " )Do Your own homework.
There are obviously many very simple songs were it is not needed, common sense works here.
C. Anybody who wants to and can play a solo should be allowed to, in every song, the person leading the song should look around the room , see who's there and play an appropriate song for the solo players there. However in set 1. solo players must actually be able to play one.
D. We are all equal at the jam ,great players , new comers, old timers no one is better than anyone else.

E. All players will follow the general style and volume parameters of the jam host. The jam host makes sure that within the evening everyone is accommodated.

F. If there are problems or technical things to fix Jam members will not be rude ,loud or use the problem to cause dessent . In Fact trouble makers shoud not come. The people that host the jam spend tons of time and money to prepare the jam each week and they deserve to have fun as well .

The Friday Night Jam works under several premisses;
1. We are here to make good music and continue to grow and become better as musicians and people
2. Great singing groups need great solo players and great solo players need great singing groups to play solos for, Thus we strive to do more and better songs all the time and to improve our overall sound so we attract great players. Never more true than when one our great players retires or relocates.
3. Typically, our First Set is a "show set", High energy songs , lots of solos and voices and above all, songs that the main singer can actually do. There are other sets for new songs and whatever.
4. Any problems or disagreements with the jam host should be discussed after the jam.
5. My hopes and expectations;

Every week I expect happy, no problem jam members with good new material to come in , help out with some of the work, bring some type of sharable treat , contribute to the cost fund, be cooperative with the host and generally be a pleasure to have around. I think sharing makes people happy.