Nashville Jam Session
I'm not the best fan, really... not by LJ standards. I go to conventions and the like for ME. I don't go with the intent or goal to write up reports. I just go, meet up with friends, make new friends, and enjoy the experience as much as I can for myself, because I love the whole thing (well, most of it). I take my photos, I see my pals, I interact as much as possible with the celebs I like, and when I get home, if I'm moved to share something, I will. Sometimes I post photos, sometimes I write up a report or two, but I seldom if ever feel compelled by "my audience" to do so. Besides, by the time I get on the computer, there are usually at least a dozen sites where you can "read all about it" or even see the whole thing on videos.
This time I kinda feel like I have to share with you. Because so few people have been privileged to hear Jensen sing for them. Because there are no recordings,no photos, no videos of the occasion. Just words. So...
Short form: It was lovely. Really. It was a privilege to be there and an experience I will always treasure. Knowing how private Jensen can be, how nervous he was for the first jam session in LA, how personal something like music is... I am so impressed that he continually challenges himself, steps outside his comfort zone, and delivers for his fans.
Longer form: It was still lovely. I had questioned my sanity for spending so much money for a ticket, driving well over 1,000 miles round trip, putting the trip together at the last minute to spend Saturday only at the convention, just to hear Jensen Ackles sing and play guitar (oh yeah, with Steve Carlson). But I don't regret it at all.
People kept telling me what a fine voice Jensen has, but when all I could find were videos of questionable sound quality and recordings where I had to pick out his voice in the background, I needed to hear it for myself. As he said at the very beginning of the session, he's an actor, not a singer; he's not a musician, never wanted to be. (This is when Steve Carlson interjected that Jensen may not be a musician but he is "very musical".) That said, the man can sing. He has a fine strong voice and is a very good guitar player. I would be happy listening to him sing and play songs all day. And Steve, of course, IS a professional musician. Their voices blended very well as they took turns with the lead, with Jensen singing his own harmonies to Steve's songs. I was impressed with the original harmonies Jensen added to Steve's songs. It seems that Mr. Ackles is quite multi-talented. He had even written some of the lyrics to "Love You or Leave You".
Jensen is as skilled at putting emotion into his singing as into his dramatic performances. His renditions of "Bad Company", "Rock 'n' Roll Radio", and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (with Steve) were full of feeling. I'd heard he was really nervous for the first jam session, with Jason Manns, and made a few mistakes. (I would have forgiven him, as the other attendees did.) This time he and Steve had made up a playlist, and propped up an iPad with the playlist and lyrics visible to both of them. It seemed therefore a little more like a show and less like a jam session in someone's living room than I had expected. But the camaraderie and banter between the two of them was as comfortable as it should have been for two former roommates. We heard many stories about the songs, the lyrics, the music and even their friendship. That was worth the price of admission right there.
While they were singing "If I Had a Million", the first song Jensen learned to play, a staff member came in with two beers and two more whiskey glasses, moved quietly behind the table between the singers, and set them down softly as a mouse. Steve and Jensen were finishing the lines "But I don't have a million, and I don't have a speed plane, and I don't have a boat upon the sea..." when Jensen noticed the new glasses being set down and quipped loudly "I have liquor though!"
It was also fun watching Jensen try to get a reaction/opinion of the music from the security guards. At one point he turned to one of them and asked what he thought of the song, claiming that the guard's opinion was the most important. I'm sure they had expected to stand glumly and observantly in place and never anticipated being drawn into the show! Jason Manns and Guy Norman Bee were listening unobtrusively in the back row. Creation's Adam Malin was there as well. I saw nobody who seemed to be wishing they were elsewhere, not even the security guards.
I'm not a musically-inclined person. I know many of Steve's songs but by no means all of them; I play no musical instruments with enough skill to let anybody else hear me, and I generally prefer the sounds of my own thoughts over having music in the background. I was, frankly and unapologetically, there to hear Jensen sing and play his guitar. It was an opportunity I could not afford the first time and there was no guarantee there would ever be another. I am so very glad I was able to be present for this mini-concert. It was scheduled to last 35 minutes, and wound up lasting about an hour.
I'm not sure I was ever without a smile on my face. Several times I closed my eyes and just let the music wash over me, enjoying the songs and drinking in as much of the experience as possible. It was possible at those times to imagine that I was a lucky guest at a semi-private party, listening to two good friends sing and talk about their music.
If you haven't already read this write-up by spnfans/fangasm, go here for actual details like the playlist: http://fangasmthebook.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/bad-company-ackles-and-carlson-nashville-jam (By the way, I'd like that gig. Promise people that someday you will write a book on the fans of Supernatural, and then get to travel to conventions as "journalists" and be granted green room or backstage access to the stars for interviews for your book. You don't even have to write the book, just publish some reports now and then to keep the momentum going and keep the celebs talking. Maybe even write the trips as deductions on your taxes, I don't know. Hmmmm.... that sounds jealous and bitter, doesn't it? Did I mention I'm a selfish fan and I wish I'd thought of this idea first?) Actually, I'm indebted to the folks at fangasm many times over for the great con reports they post. When I can't make it to a convention, which of course happens a lot, I like to know what happened; when I have been there, it's a refreshing jog down memory lane and always a different and interesting take on the experience. This time is no exception, so thank you, ladies :)