GUIDANCE FOR "THE FIFTY"
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HELLO JAMMERS!
The goal of our first jam is to play 5 songs together. This jam is a pilot with 50 musicians - henceforth referred to as The Fifty. We’re going to learn a lot and have fun doing it. Third Story Films will be making 5 YouTubes for us. We’ll use these to recruit 250 musicians for our next jam!
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GUIDANCE BY TOPIC:
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I'M NOT SURE IF I'M ONE OF THE FIFTY?
There have been a few starts and stops with Fantasy Jam so you will definitely not be blamed for being a little confused. To bring you up to speed, in October 2024 we reached out to all previously registered musicians to see if they were still interested in participating. If you responded to that email and confirmed participation, you are registered and are indeed one of The Fifty.
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If you just heard about Fantasy Jam and have recently registered, your name will be inserted into the remaining openings or, if no openings exist, put on a waiting list. Either way, you will be contacted. Should you have questions, please email us at FantasyJamInfo@gmail.com.
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AS A MEMBER OF THE FIFTY, I COMMIT TO THE FOLLOWING:
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I will learn the 5 songs listed below
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I will show up at the right time on the scheduled date
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I will only play the necessary notes and nothing more - Taken verbatim from Rockin’ 1,000
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I will not play during the breaks - Taken verbatim from Rockin’ 1,000
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I will be patient and bring a happy disposition. I understand there is likely to be a lot of standing around, a lot of trial and error. We will all be frustrated ... together.
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EVENT DATE:
Monday, February 17, 2025. This is President's Day and a Federal holiday.
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If you can't make it, please don’t sign up.
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If there's a 50/50 chance you'll change your mind, please don't sign up.
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If you don't think you can learn the 5 songs, please don't sign up.
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if you're not dependable, please don't sign up.
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AUDIENCE:
As this is a pilot jam, except for 20 volunteers, the general public (your kids, friends, girl/boyfriend, fan club) are NOT invited. Come alone please.
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EVENT LOCATION:
At an indoor event space in Washington, DC. The exact address will be shared with The Fifty and we ask them to come alone ie without friends, family, fans, partners.
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SONGS WE WILL PLAY:
1. I Love Rock 'N Roll - Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
2. Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon
3. Are you gonna go my way? - Lenny Kravitz
4. American Girl - Tom Petty
5. Buddy Holly - Weezer​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
DAY OF EVENT SCHEDULE:
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* IF YOU DON'T SHOW UP AT THIS TIME, YOU WILL NOT BE ADMITTED. ​SORRY TO BE SO HARSH BUT WE NEED TO PERFORM SOUND CHECKS IN ORDER.
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​WILL YOU FEED ME AND DRINK ME?
Yes! Pizza and water will be served throughout the day and there is a dedicated lunch hour from 2:00 to 3:00pm. Succulent and tasty beers, courtesy of DC Brau, will be provided from 4:00 to 8:00pm.
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HOW IS THIS ALL GOING TO WORK?
Upon arriving, each musician will receive a silent disco headset. During the jam you will hear a click track in your left ear and the lead band in your right. The lead band has a guitarist, bassist, drummer, and vocalist just like the 4 musician groups in The Fifty. You are not required to use the silent disco headset. The alternative is to follow the direction of Jon the Music Director and the sound of the Lead band.
After checking in, Fantasy Jam’s Audio Engineer Ivan Andonov of North American Sound, will situate you and perform a sound check. Bassists and Guitarists will plug their amps into provided mixers which will plug into a soundboard. Drummers will have area mic’s in their area. Vocalists will have standing mic’s.
Fantasy Jam’s Music Director, Jon Watkins will lead rehearsals from 3 to 6pm and the final performance from 6 to 7pm. Each musician group will have a leader who Jon will communicate with.
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NO, REALLY, HOW IS THIS ALL GOING TO WORK?
For this to work, every musician needs to know their parts in the songs cold. Ice cold. Please do not come unprepared.
That said, there’s still going to be a lot of trial and error and experimentation. From 3:00pm to 6:00pm we will play each song 6 or 7 times. Herein lies the request to be tolerant and to see this process as fun rather than as an ordeal. Indeed, we will be putting into practice for the first time our ideas on:
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How to communicate with and sync each musician as well as
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How to amplify and record the sound in a space that was not designed for the colossal volume we will be making.
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WHO IS THE LEAD BAND?
LUSH www.lushdcband.com has very generously agreed to be our lead band!!! Please see their calendar and go check them out!
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HOW WILL WE LEARN THE SONGS?
LUSH will be creating a video tutorial for each song that will be shared with you on December 1, 2024. This will give you 2 and half months to learn them. The video’s are important to watch as we will not be playing the songs as they were recorded. No, we will need to play paired down versions that have removed parts that will be difficult for 50 musicians to play at once.
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VOCALISTS ARE SPECIAL, SO SPECIAL, GOTTA HAVE SOME OF YOUR ATTENTION, GIVE IT TO ME ...
Vocalists are invited to a rehearsal on Saturday, February 8th. The time and location is to be determined. This is NOT a rehearsal to learn the lyrics and melodies - you should know these already. Rather, it’s to understand each vocalists’ range and register and to figure out how we’re going to match these with the songs we’re playing.
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GUIDANCE FOR DRUMMERS
Drummers load in at 10:00am on February 17th. If you don’t show up during this time, you will not be admitted. As soon as sound check is complete, drummers are free to roam till 3pm.
Drummers should bring:
- At a minimum, small drum rug, 1 snare, 1 bass/kick, hi-hats, 1 ride, 1 crash, 2 toms
- At a maximum, small drum rug, 1 snare, 1 bass/kick, hi-hats, 1 ride, 3 crash, 3 toms. Please do not bring more than this. Area mics/additional equipment is not needed. Please leave at home
If your bass/kick has your band's logo on it, we kindly ask you to find a different one or allow us to attach a disc shaped piece of poster board to the kick to cover the logo.
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GUIDANCE FOR BASSISTS
Bassists load in at 11am on February 17th. If you don’t show up during this time, you will not be admitted. As soon as sound check is complete, bassists are free to roam till 3pm.
Bassists should bring: Bass Guitar. Bass amp - smaller the better.
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GUIDANCE FOR GUITARISTS
Guitarists load in at noon on February 17th. If you don’t show up during this time, you will not be admitted. As soon as sound check is complete, guitarists are free to roam till 3pm.
Guitarists should bring:
- Electric Guitar. Guitar amp - smaller the better.
- DI box with a 1/4 inch plug, able to plug into XLR. If you don't have a DI Box, please let Mike know and he will arrange to get one for you.
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Buddy Holly will be played in its original key of AbM, so our guitarists will need to work on their bar chords.
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GUIDANCE FOR VOCALISTS
Vocalists load in at 1:00pm on February 17th. If you don’t show up during this time, you will not be admitted. As soon as sound check is complete, vocalists are free to roam till 3pm.
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VOLUNTEER NEEDS
20 Volunteers are needed throughout the day to help with the following:
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Set up the venue
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Check-in musicians as they arrive
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Help musicians load in and load out their equipment
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Hand out T-shirts. Volunteers get one too!
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Usher musicians to their spot on the floor
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Manage the free pizza and beer table. This is for volunteers too!
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Troubleshoot and answer questions
To volunteer, sign up HERE
Note: If you're a Fantasy Jam musician, you're NOT eligible to volunteer. But please ask your friends!
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IMPORTANT DATES SUMMARY - Mark your calendars NOW
Sunday, December 1, 2024 - You will be sent 5 video tutorials for the 5 songs
Saturday, February 8, 2025 - Rehearsal for vocalists
Monday, February 17, 2025 - Fantasy Jam!!!
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I HAVE A QUESTION
Please email Michael at FantasyJamInfo@gmail.com
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MANAGEMENT TEAM
Event Producer - Michael Gumpert, FantasyJamInfo@gmail.com
Music Director - Jon Watkins - JonWatkinsMusic.com
Sound engineer - Ivan Andonov - NorthAmericanSound.com
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But note that we will be using email and this website as the primary methods of communication
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