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It may be hard to believe by looking at me now, but back in the ’60s and ’70s I was a bit of a wild child. I started playing keyboards in a garage band when I was 14 years old, graduated to playing in bars at the grand old age of 15, and by the age of 20 I was building sound and lighting systems for all the other bands in the area. My weapons of choice were a Hammond B3 organ with a Leslie speaker, Minimoog synthesizer, Rhodes piano, and an ARP String Ensemble. Those were the days.
Even though my engineering life was pretty tame during the day, I still rocked out on weekends by jumping through fireballs on stage in a chrome jumpsuit, with my hair long enough to pull back in a ponytail. So I wonder just how many of you out there also have a musical past, and maybe want to jam a bit with other musicians at a campground where you’re staying.
RV Travel has a really interesting program you can sign up for, creating a directory of RV Travel readers who are musicians, singers and performers, along with a list of what campground they’re heading to or are already parked at. Like to play folk songs like Peter, Paul and Mary? Then there’s a selection for that. How about bluegrass? Or classic rock like Springsteen? Hank Williams Sr. and Conway Twitty were two of my favorites when I played in a country band, so we’ll put country on the list. But I also loved and played Led Zeppelin and Santana, so there’s got to be a selection for that genre as well.Â
What that means is that by bringing along a guitar or portable keyboard or even a cajón, you can have a fun time jamming at a campground while making a bunch of new musical friends. I don’t know about you, but I simply LOVE playing and singing with new musicians I’ve never met before.
But first, let’s take a survey and see if you’re interested. Then RV Travel will create the sign-up sheet which allows you to enter what instrument(s) you play, the type of music you like, and where you’ll be RVing. Then you can look up and contact the rest of your potential RV jam band. How’s that for some serious fun?Â
The survey form may take a few seconds to load. So please stand by.Â
So take the survey and let us know if you like the idea of an RV Travel music connection. If so, then we be jammin’. —Mike SokolÂ
Let’s play safe out there….
Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 40 years in the industry. Visit NoShockZone.org for more electrical safety tips. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com. For more info on Mike’s qualifications as an electrical expert, click here.
Sorry it occurred to me that the Southern Palms group meets during Snowbird season. Palms Hall is in the Palms section of SP while the 2-4 gathering is in the Sun section ????
Southern Palms RV Resort in Eustis, Fl
has two residents who sponsor Country & Bluegrass music (all talent levels) S,M,W,F&S from 2-4 pm located just a few sites into main entrance. Very enjoyable for both players & onlookers. Outsiders are welcome…some drive over an hour. Also Sunday nights in a Papms hall…music starts at 6pm
I’m sad there is no spot on the survey for someone like me. I travel with a ukulele, which I enjoy playing. But I’m more of a solo musician and not interested in jamming with others (at least not until I become a better musician). Your survey makes it seem like you can’t be a musician unless you want to jam with others.
That’s not true. Of course the survey is about collaboration between various musicians, but you can play a uke and perform by yourself, or get others to sing along if you like. Plus handing out a few shakey toys is a lot of fun. I especially like “eggs” since tambourines can get a little obnoxious at times. Speaking of obnoxious, back in the 80’s when I had the Sokol/Shrader group, we handed out kazoos to the audience in the bars so they could play along with us. Sometimes there would be dozens of tipsy kazoo players all jamming with us in the room. Of course it sounded awful, but everyone was having fun. So if you bring your uke and play a few tunes solo, I’ll bring my accordion and rip out a few polkas. How does that sound?
Mike, The survey is not coming up for me – just showing the results.
Are you traveling around in an RV too? I will probably carry a large keyboard around in case I run across people like you who can play at our site or theirs. I can sing some (in church and Karaoke). I look forward to meeting you some day. I am retiring 3-30-18 so I will have more time to travel after that – in San Franciso Bay Area (Antioch).
John
Music is fun. Its been my valium for decades. I often play at every campfire I can find during the warmer months. Bluegrass is the absolute best for this endeavor and anyone can do it at some level with just a few lessons. My other relaxer is ham radio and it’s also open to anyone. Try either, you’ll like them both.
I’m not a bluegrass player, but I’ve done live sound for many Bluegrass players, including Bill Monroe. Plus I’ve taught music mixing seminars in Nashville and had some great Bluegrass players on stage for mixing demonstrations. Nashville is my favorite city to hang out in just for the music. Of course, the BBQ is pretty great too.
I can play a radio if that will help.
Actually, my wife and I are part of our small church praise team each Sunday morning, but neither of us have any musical instrument talents.
I disagree. If you sing, then you ARE a musician. In fact, some of the best musicians I know don’t play any physical instruments at all. Their own voice is their instrument. Physical instruments are often designed to emulate the human voice. Why do you think pipe organs have “voices”? And what about the cello, which can sound like a sad or happy human voice if played with a lot of “feeling”? I’m an adjunct professor at Shenandoah conservatory so I see and hear singers practicing just as hard as any pianist or percussionist.