Although I’ve always enjoyed listening music, I didn’t seriously start learning how to play it until my late twenties. At the time I was out of graduate school and working, and I needed something creative to do with my free time. For reasons I still don’t understand, that translated into buying a banjo. After a few years of practicing I reached a coveted first milestone: I could play without neighbors complaining. The next goal was to find people to play with. Because if music is played and no one hears it, does it make a sound—sort of?
It didn’t take long to realize that it’s not easy to find people to play with when you’re an adult and a relatively inexperienced musician. Most other musicians at the same skill level can’t vote yet and most other adults are doing sensible things with their free time, like redecorating the guest bathroom.
Luckily, a friend of mine mentioned this crazy-sounding event where you jam with a bunch of people and you maybe get picked to be in a temporary band whose task is then to create and perform a 4-song set in a month. Ok, maybe unluckily, because at the time the concept sounded terrifying: a combination of not getting picked for dodgeball, plus that dream where you forget to wear pants to school.
Despite an interesting ride over to the jam location on U Street (people tend to ask a lot of odd questions when you have an instrument on the Metro), I still wasn’t entirely sure what I’d gotten myself into. Thankfully, my trepidation fizzled after meeting the other 40 musicians. If you think the prospect of voluntarily performing a set of music with total strangers in a month’s time might attract a special brand of person, then a Flashband event won’t let you down. And, by special, I mean inclusive, creative, generous, and really fun. I ended up grouping with a fiddle, upright bass, and washboard, doing covers of '60s soul and R&B.
In the month between the jam and the show, we rehearsed five or six times, creating a set with three covers and an original song. It was challenging but also a lot of fun. The day of the show, which was at Gypsy Sally’s in Georgetown, we rehearsed beforehand by busking in a park by the river. In about a half an hour of playing we made $40 and attracted quite a large crowd, including an entire Japanese tour group and a pack of kayakers who paddled over to listen in. While it's hard to top that experience, the show itself was amazing, with an energetic crowd and many good bands.
Since then I’ve performed in three other Flashbands, performing at the DC Main Library, Heaven & Hell, Iota, and Columbia Station. The musicians have ranged from people much like myself to pros from the local DC music scene (check out Elena & Los Fulanos and Brian Farrow). In about six months’ time, I went from barely being able to perform in front of people to being able lead a band through a set in a packed venue, making some good friends along the way.
The community of musicians that Flashband has fostered is a rare thing in a time when, to paraphrase, we expect more of technology than of each other. My hope is that through this expanding community many others will have a chance to relate to music as I do now: time to disconnect from busyness and reconnect with others through shared experience of expressiveness and creativity.
Just don’t forget to wear pants.
Want to be featured in an upcoming Flashband Meet the Musician? Contact Deborah Lash for more info.
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