Jam sessions bring good vibes to roots music lovers at AEDC

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. --  "What'll, it be, 'Old Joe Clark,' 'Rye Whiskey,' or how about 'Whiskey Before Breakfast?'" asks Andy Escue, a Dynetics engineer supporting Aerospace Testing Alliance's (ATA) modeling and analysis group. 

He looks around at a group of eight people and he sees a few heads nodding in agreement on the last choice. 

No, Escue isn't asking someone if they want a drink. 

It's a musical jam session that takes place every Tuesday at noon in the picnic area between the A&E Building and the Carroll Building at Arnold Engineering Development Center. 

Around 10 months ago, Escue and his best friend, David Yoder, an ATA project engineer at the Propulsion Wind Tunnel facility, started meeting there around lunchtime to play music while enjoying some fresh air. 

Before long, they were joined by several others as the word spread and an open invitation went out for like-minded individuals to join in the fun. 

Escue and Yoder may be the founders of the group, but some of those who join in the jam session on a regular basis have been playing as long or maybe longer than the ages of the two men combined. 

"My grandparents introduced me to bluegrass music, Escue said, but, in terms of who I like to listen to, that would probably be Bill Monroe. I listened to Nickel Creek originally, but since then it's been Bill Monroe mostly and of course, Flatt and Scruggs. I really like them. The traditional bluegrass sound is what I really like, whether that comes from today's musicians or those from over 60 years ago." 

Escue first met Yoder when they were both undergraduate students at Tennessee Technology University in Cookeville. 

"Andy was my best man in my wedding and as a wedding gift I got this," said Yoder, pointing to an upright bass. "It was a little over a year ago. So, that's how long I've been playing. Bass fiddle, it's got many names. I think most people call it an upright bass. 

"I like to play because I like to hang out with these guys," he continued. "I think it's been about a year. [I] played guitar off and on for many years and had roommates in college who had guitars and picked it up from that." 

Escue said the jam sessions provide a good excuse to play music, hone skills, for friends to spend time together and also to get a little break from work. 

"A good thing about the kind of music that we play is that a lot of people are already familiar with the traditional songs," he said. "And if you're not, you can sort of jump in and play the chords most of these songs include, they're not very complicated." 

Michael Lynch, an ATA software engineer who works in the lab that models the test facilities, said he is a newcomer to the group. 

"Andy and I think he struck up a conversation one day, we were talking about music and he had an image of doing this," Lynch said. "I didn't know most of these people coming into it, but they've all been extremely nice." 

Maureen Burke, a civil design section manager with ATA's investment and design branch who has been at AEDC since 2001, said she has played the banjo for the past seven years but only recently joined Escue's group of fellow musicians. 

"Andy Escue e-mailed me, though I didn't know him," she said. "I ended up on their list because someone identified me in the 'network' of musicians. The e-mail list has grown as the group [members] spread the word. I showed up a few times over the winter, but started as a regular in early August just after my annual trip to Clifftop, W.Va. [at the Appalachian String Band festival]." 

Burke said the jam sessions bring together musicians at all levels of experience and expertise. 

"We appreciate it when the semi-professional ones join us, like Kraig Smith and Jeff Haley, who both play in bands," she said. "They really help bring the level up and keep a strong, steady, driving beat." 

She was also encouraged when Carrie Reinholtz, an ATA instrumentation and diagnostics engineer, recently joined the group at their weekly sessions. 

"We finally had a fiddler join us today [Carrie Reinholtz] and hope she continues," Burke said. "She has a classical background so she's having fun branching out into fiddle tunes." 

The group is continuing to evolve and try new things. 

"We're trying to learn a new tune for the month together," Burke added. "This will help us amateurs to stay focused and motivated. Also, we will be building a repertoire of common tunes." 

She said other things are also on the horizon for those attending the jam sessions, including a bluegrass jam on Fridays and dedicated old time fiddle jam sessions on Tuesdays. She pointed out some of the differences between bluegrass and the old time style of folk music, the latter of which is played for dancing. 

"The difference between old time and bluegrass is subtle, yet they do draw somewhat different crowds, especially at music jams," Burke explained. "Bluegrass tends to feature the banjo finger style using a resonator and rotates the lead melody between instruments. Old time is early American mountain and Appalachian music with English, Irish and African roots. Generally the old time music features the fiddle and old time banjo, with guitar and bass for rhythm."