Heartland Unplugged

This Week

2011-08-30T05:12:00.001-07:00

Looking forward to Wednesday night jam. This a good place to practice your songs.

Carolyn's New CD

2011-08-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

From Picking in the Heartland: Did you know that one of our regular attenders has released her first CD. It is titled: Carolyn Niccum - "Steppin' Out". It has ten of her all time favorite songs. This is a wonderful accomplishment so please give her your congratulations at our jam this Friday. Each CD is value priced at $10.

You may want to bring a ten dollar bill with you Friday night. If Carolyn runs out of her CD, Picking in the Heartland also accepts donations. :)

"Picking in the Heartland" this Friday Night

2011-08-20T08:29:00.001-07:00

I'll be traveling just a short distance to the next jam. Bluegrass Picking in the Heartland http://pickingintheheartland.blogspot.com/ is a new acoustic jam located on the east side of town (Kansas City, MO). The jam is being held the fourth Friday of each month.

Our Last Heartland Unplugged

2010-11-30T15:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a great 4 1/2 years. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Thanks for Frank Vail for always being there to take these. He's sure talented. Thanks also to Donna and Craig for cooking all of those cheeseburgers. We really had a good time...didn't we!

Thanks for Jamming with Us

2010-09-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

Lots of jammers came out last night....some new...some old. We all had a great time. I learned some new songs. Maybe I should say I learned "of" some new songs. It takes me a while to actually learn a new song. Bill mentioned on his bluegrass blog that the two bluegrass clubs in town will be starting up in October. Be sure to get on out and support these...along with the folks at Country Meadows Baptist who run a weekly Thursday night bluegrass jam. All of these folks volunteer their time to enable all of us to have a safe, comfortable place to play together. So if you're sitting around home on a Friday afternoon, wondering whether or not you want to put the effort out to drive over to the local jam (or maybe you're feeling guilty because you really haven't been practicing), get up off of the couch and get on over there.

We Loved the Frayed Nots

2010-07-04T15:33:00.001-07:00

We received lots of compliments about the the performance Friday night. The Frayed Nots were wonderful. They're wonderful harmonies filled the hall. We can hardly wait for them to come back and play again. Here are some great pictures that Frank Vail took during the evening's events.

Frayed Nots to Perform this Friday Night

2010-06-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

We're going to have a pair of talented musicians on stage this Friday night. The Frayed Nots are made up of husband and wife team Dave and Kathleen Gustafson on guitar and mandolin. They play a variety of music and can’t make up their minds. It’s not bluegrass, it’s not country, it’s not folk, it’s not something you hear on the radio…well, you can see how they got the name “Frayed Nots.” Dave is heavily influenced by Doc Watson and Kathleen was corrupted by her parents constantly playing swing. They meet somewhere in the middle in an interesting blend of fiddle tunes, swing, jazz, blues and whatever they like. (And they’re NOT going to quit their day jobs!)

A Great Time in May!

2010-06-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

Everyone had a wonderful time at May's Heartland Unplugged. Frank was there to take lots of great pictures again. Be sure to contact me if you'd like a high resolution copy of your photo. Just email to heartlandunplugged@gmail.com and I'll be happy to send you one.

A Wonderful Night with Steve!

2010-03-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

What a great night! Steve really put on a show for an almost packed house. Those who have heard him perform before knew they were in for a real treat. I got a kick out of the reaction from those that were seeing Steve perform for the first time. Many were still comenting on his talent the next day. I want to thank Steve for performing and hope he will be back again.

Besides Steve we saw a lot of folks who came to jam. Thanks for all of the support we get from the Country Meadows and the Thursday Night Jam folks who came to play. I always look forward to seeing them. We are so blessed to have so many fine musicians in the Kansas City area. I'm so envious, it almost makes me want to practice regularly...almost. By the way, if any of you have any tips on how to become more devoted to regular practice, I would sure appreciate hearing from you.

January '10's Event

2010-02-12T14:41:00.003-08:00

Well it's a new year and we've started it off with a bang. It sure was nice getting together after having to cancel the December jam. The weather has sure been bad but it cooperated long enough for everyone to turn out and have an enjoyable evening.

The one thing unique about this acoustic jam is the variety of music. There was some very good bluegrass, country, old time music. There were also a lot of songs that were more of a mellow variety. I’m not sure what to call the type of music that I heard, but it was very soft, comfortable and relaxing.

Enjoy the photos from the jam and hope to see you next month. Steve Gouge will be performing “The Curly Show” on stage. Curly puts on an excellent show that you won’t want to miss. He’ll start at 7:00pm.

January '10

2010-02-12T14:41:00.001-08:00

December Heartland Unplugged Cancelled

2009-12-23T17:30:00.001-08:00

We're very sorry to have to cancel this month's Heartland Unplugged, but with it happening on Christmas Day, we thought it would be the best thing.

It sounds like there might be some messy weather heading this way, so please be careful out there.

We hope you have a very enjoyable holiday season and we look forward to gettin' back with you the fourth Friday in January.

A Few More Pictures of Redhead Express

2009-12-19T12:52:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd post a few more pictures from a great concert featuring Redhead Express.

The Redhead Express Performs at the Jam

2009-11-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a terrific show from one of the nicest families I've met. Did we ever have a great time at Heartland Unplugged. The Redhead Express performed in order to help us raise money for local assistance programs. We had a great turnout for the show and everyone enjoyed the show so much they wouldn't let the group leave the stage. Please enjoy some of the photos that Frank Vail took. I will post a few now and then will post more soon.

The Redhead Express to Perform on Stage this Friday Night

2009-11-24T04:02:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited about starting up a stage show again at Heartland Unplugged. Now, in addition to the wonderful music we all enjoy from the musicians that come to jam, we will be entertained by a group that performs in Branson, MO. The Redhead Express, www.redheadexpress.com , will take the stage at 7:00pm this Friday night November 27th. Admission is free as always but we will be accepting donations for our local community assistance organizations. The need has grown tremendously over the last few months and you can really make a difference as we head into the holiday season. Please come out this Friday night and support this wonderful family and these local agencies that assist our neighbors in need.

Fall is Here...October '09

2009-11-20T19:21:00.001-08:00

What a great turnout. You couldn't ask for finer musicians. We were really blessed with some terrific music and friendships.

We Came Together on the Fourth Friday

2009-11-20T19:17:00.001-08:00

I'm trying to catch up on posting some of the wonderful photos....enjoy.

Another Great Night August '09

2009-11-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

August was a great jam and I hope you enjoy all of the nice pictures.

July '09 - Great Weather

2009-08-02T20:00:00.001-07:00

As you can see, we still could use a good artist to do something about our sign.

Heartland Unplugged is this Friday Night

2009-07-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

This is just a reminder for everyone to come on out for July's Heartland Unplugged. It will be this Friday night from 6:00 to 10:00pm. Movies in the Park will be happening just outside the door in the church's park starting at 9:00pm. I've heard that the movie is Ice Age, the Meltdown. It should be a lot of fun. If you know anyone young (or young at heart) you might want to tell them about his. Bring lawn chairs and enjoy the free movie and popcorn.

Nice June Evening at Heartland Unplugged

2009-07-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves at Heartland Unplugged on June 22, 2009. We had a great turnout and had a great time playing and singing all the favorites. A nice crowd turned out to listen and we all appreciated all of the homemade goodies....two fantastically moist cakes and a wonderful cobbler made using freshly picked raspberries. The cobbler was still warm and Pat and Dale brought along some vanilla ice cream to top it off with. I hope you enjoy looking at all of the wonderful pictures that were taken. (It looks like we could use a new sign if anyone out there is artistic.)

Bear Creek Church Fish Fry

2009-06-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 6th, we went down to the Bear Creek Fish Fry in Osceola, MO. Great food and entertainment. Look close and you might just recognize someone.

May's Heartland Unplugged...Very Nice!

2009-05-24T19:14:00.001-07:00

Once again we've had a very nice Heartland Unplugged and we have some great photos to share. All of us at HU were very excited to see so many new faces show up to play. Some were from cities like Warrensburg, MO, Emporia and Leavenworth, KS. Many people commented how well the group jelled together with their singing and playing. It was such a nice night. We were also very happy to see many of our friends from "Bluegrass Picking in the Meadows" show up to play. Again I'd like to comment on what a great program they have and what nice people they all are. I've added their Bluegrass Blogsite to the links on this page, so be sure and visit their site and make a comment or two. I know they enjoy the discussion.

April's Heartland Unplugged

2009-05-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry that it took sooooo.... long for me to finally post pictures from last month's Heartland Unplugged. I told Frank (who took all the pictures) that I have a rule that if I post the pictures sometime before the next Heartland Unplugged, I did good. Well here I am the night before, trying to rush some pictures onto the net. I don't think Frank will be happy.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-01-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of pictures this month. Frank wasn’t at the event and no one else thought to bring a camera.

I think everyone was a little worn out after Christmas because I noticed that more than the usual number of people left earlier in the evening. Even then, we still had a few that stayed ‘til after 11:00pm. I was surprised when I didn’t see that many new instruments show up at the jam. Either Santa wasn’t all that generous or the economy is really starting to hurt us where it really counts. I guess it could be that we just all have enough guitars…but I can’t really see that. Can you ever have too many guitars?

My New Year’s Resolution for ’09 is to work with Doc and others to make Heartland Unplugged bigger and better than ever. If any of you have ideas for how to make this happen, come join us.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T04:18:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is starting to be known for more than just the annual Thursday where we all eat too much. In the past few years, we've followed it up with a Friday night of Heartland Unplugged style music. We had a great turnout of musicians last night so the audience was treated to a wide variety of songs. Here are just some of the pictures snapped last night.

October '08 Heartland Unplugged

2008-10-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

I did it again. I got behind on posting the pictures. Frank really likes it when after he goes to all of the trouble to shoot the pictures, re-size them to make it easier for me to handle them, saves them to a disc and hand delivers the disc to me, I can't seem to find the time to post them to the blog. Sorry about that Frank. Next Heartland Unplugged will be easy to remember...it's the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving Thursday. We usually have a good turnout. If anyone has any leftovers, they should bring them. My favorite is pumpkin pie with whipped cream topping (the real stuff out of the can...not the frozen kind). That goes for cranberry sauce too. I like the real stuff out of the can. If it isn't molded in the shape of a can, complete with the rings in the middle, it just isn't the real stuff.

Lot's of great photos...Ernie on guitar, Doc on his mandolin, a couple of good ones of Joe, nice couple (Tony and Kat) and many more from the HU family.

August 22, 2008 Heartland Unplugged

2008-09-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

Some very nice photos from Friday's Heartland Unplugged.

Visiting a Bluegrass Jam in Nashville

2008-08-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

Okay… In order to keep things fair, we visited a Bluegrass Jam that is held on Sunday night at the Station Inn in Nashville. We had a ball. I talked with several of the jammers. This jam reminded me a lot of the jams I see at Heartland Unplugged. Everyone kind of sat in a circle and took turns leading a song. There were breaks in the song for solo parts. There were two or three Dobro players, maybe three fiddlers, 4 or 5 mandolin players and a couple of banjo players. There was also a standup bass player. I’ll include a picture at the end of my rambling. Anyway, I found that we jammers all speak a common language when it comes to talking about jams. I told one guy in the audience that we had just been to see an “Old Time Music” jam. He said that that was the song on the other side of the record. I asked him which side was the “A” side. He liked that.

A guitar player that I talked with told me about his recent experience with attending “Nashcamp”. He said that it was sort of a fantasy camp. There were about 65 people attending and they were divided up into several bands. Each band had to learn a song or two and then at the end, they had to perform the song(s) in front of a live audience at the Station Inn. He said that it was a wonderful experience and he learned a lot. I think he said the cost was around $950.

Anyway..here is the picture:

The Difference between Bluegrass and Old Time Music

2008-08-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

First of all you have to understand that this is my understanding of what I heard (very unofficial description.) My wife and I are on a trip thru Tennessee and North Carolina. While traveling along we’ve had the opportunity to listen and talk with several musicians. I was talking with a lady banjo player the other day, and asked her what the difference was between bluegrass and old time music. She said that originally in the hills around there, it started out with just a fiddler playing. It was used for barn dances and such. The next instrument to come along was the lap dulcimer. The fiddler would play for most of the time and then the dulcimer would help play (I think) during choruses and such. Eventually guitars and banjos were added. The style of banjo pickin’ was clawhammer. She demonstrated. This was basically “Old Time Music”. Everyone would basically play together thru the whole song.

When Bill Monroe came along he took over in the band (can’t remember which band) for (can’t remember who) and introduced a new style of banjo pickin’ …three finger style. He also introduced the idea of “breaks” where there would be instrumentals during the song that different individuals would take.

So I hope I described this okay. I’m sure there is more to it, but for me it is two things:

1. Does the banjo player play clawhammer style or three finger style

2. …and does everyone play together thru the whole song or are there breaks

I sat in on a jam in Asheville, NC (no I didn’t play…just listened). This was an “Old Time Music” jam held regularly on a Wednesday night at a pub in downtown Asheville. There I got to see first hand what that type of music was like. These were very good players. They played and sang with lots of energy and enthusiasm. Everyone did play the whole song together without the breaks that I hear in the Bluegrass jams back home. Hopefully, I can attach a picture that I took there.

July's Jam ... Just (I'm stuck...can't think of another "J" word)

2008-08-01T21:52:00.001-07:00

This one was the best. Just wonderful. The musicians played superbly. That does it...I have to start practicing more. Have you ever decided that you were going to start practicing at least an hour a night? I've probably told myself that ten times before. I get very frustrated that I don't practice. I know how much better I would be if I would only practice regularly. I'm sure glad that no one else out there has this problem.

Now, for some more nice pics.

We'll have the air conditioner on...

2008-07-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days have been real scorchers. Luckily the Friendship Room inside the church has an excellent air conditioner. So you have no excuse for not being there this Friday night. You know it's going to be a lot of fun. Shoot me an email if you want to know directions. We're pretty easy to find...just a few blocks east from the intersection of Bannister and Blue Ridge in South Kansas City.

June '08 Heartland Unplugged

2008-06-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

Everyone enjoyed themselves and had a wonderful evening! Come and join us the fourth Friday in July. There is hardly a better way to make friends and have a great time. I saw some friends this month that I hadn't seen for a while, along with some that I met for the first time.

Once again, Frank took some wonderful pictures. I mean these were incredible. If you want to save off a copy of a photo, be sure to single-click it first, then right-mouse click over the larger photo to save. The resolution is better that way. I think you then have to just hit the back button on your web browser to return. I’ve been able to copy some nice photos that way.

If you’re an artist and would like a high resolution copy of any of the photos, just talk with Frank when you’re at Heartland Unplugged. Frank usually has his laptop there and will probably work out getting you a digital copy of your photo(s).

June's Heartland Unplugged is this Friday

2008-06-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

Just a gentle reminder that this coming Friday, June 27th, is this month's jam session. I know there are a lot of festivals going on this time of year, but if you aren't able to get out of town (at these gas prices???), you can always make the short trip over to our place. Some of the other jams in town are closed down for the summer, so we are expecting another good turnout.

A quick dinner (Cheeseburger, chips and a drink) is available for the suggested donation of just $3. Where else can you go and get a deal like that. Come on by and meet some of the other friendly folks that come to play, sing or just listen. We're always looking for volunteers, so give me a call at 816-525-5689 if you can help with setup, tear down, hosting, emails, postcards, web page development, newsletter, etc.

April 25th Gathering

2008-05-11T20:04:00.001-07:00

We hope everyone enjoyed themselves at Heartland Unplugged in April. I know I had fun attempting to cook hamburgers for everyone. I don't know how Donna and Craig do it. Everyone said that my hamburgers were good, but I think they were just being kind. Hopefully Donna and Craig will return in May. I've noticed that a couple of the other Friday night jams are stopping for the summer. The nice thing about Heartland Unplugged is that we're open all year long. Please come jam with us (or listen) at our next HU on May 23rd. We're expecting a large turnout.

Many Songs....Too Little Time

2008-03-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

You know, someone told me that if a song takes 4 or 5 minutes to perform and there are maybe 12 musicians in a circle of chairs, it can take a long time before it gets to be your turn again. So that's kind of what inspired my title for this Heartland Unplugged. That's why we break up and make our way into the different jam rooms that St. Luke's has to offer. We can form smaller groups and move around to play with different people. One thing that I notice is that the audience stays mostly in the main room and listens to only those musicians. At future jams I'm hoping you will get up and move around to some of the other jam rooms that are going on. There are usually extra chairs in those rooms and the musicians definitely do not mind having a few listeners. You can always make you way back to the main room to get another cup of coffee or grab another cheeseburger.

Happy 3rd Anniversary

2008-02-23T16:14:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe it's been three years! Time flies when you're having fun. Last night we saw many of our old friends from Heartland Unplugged, along with meeting several new ones. I hope everyone had time to wander around to the different jammin' rooms to get a good flavor for what HU has to offer. There was something for everyone: bluegrass, country, folk, blues, rock, you name it....and the talent...wow! Our little jam on the fourth Friday of every month just keeps growing. Enough of my jabbering on. Let's get on with what you really came to see...the pictures!

Hoping for Nicer Weather Tomorrow Night

2008-02-21T14:17:00.000-08:00

Well...I'm sitting here at my computer...it's Thursday afternoon and Kansas City was just dumped on again, for the ??? time this winter. Lots of sleet came down today. I think I heard that we're supposed to get some light snow in the morning. You know, in years past, we've had some of our best nights of music during this type of weather. The church is warm and inviting. Lots of good friends. It really turns out to be one of the best times to visit Heartland Unplugged. Tomorrow night marks our third year anniversary of HU. We're planning on having cake and ice cream to celebrate. The Browns will be cooking up their tasty cheeseburgers. What more could you ask for. You've got to brave the cold and come on out. It may be my imagination, but I swear the music just keeps getting better. That should come as no surprise, after all, we've been playing together for three years. I'll quit for now...Thursday night is bowling night for me. I bowl with my Dad, daughter, Son-in-law, and sister. I love bowling with family at the Sterling Bowl in Sugar Creek, but hate missing out on Gary's jam every Thursday night. Things are always hopping over at the Community of Christ church just up the road on Blue Ridge. That Sugar Ridge band is one terrific bluegrass band. There's also always a good group of other musicians to jam with in one of the back rooms. They seem to come from all over Missouri and Kansas.

December and January Heartland Unplugged

2008-02-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of photos to post. Thanks again to Frank, I have photos from the last two months. We've had several new musicians join us and their contributions have been fantastic. There is so much talent out there. Well, on with the photos.

After Thanksgiving Heartland Unplugged

2007-11-23T21:36:00.001-08:00

I think I'm setting a record for how fast I'm getting the pictures onto the web after a Heartland Unplugged. Thanks Frank. You'll never know what a favor you've done for me by reducing the size of these photo files. While I'm thanking people, I can't forget to thank Donna and Craig for the delicious cheeseburgers they fix. If you don't like the music, you still should come for the food. (Just kidding...after all, who would not like this music...). Any comments?...please email them to me at carlg@kc.rr.com.

Thanks and I hope you all had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday. It's your own fault if you ate too much (or shopped too much...watch those credit card charges...).

Your friend,
Carl

October's Heartland Unplugged

2007-11-23T21:23:00.000-08:00

What a great time. Friends met just a few days before Halloween for another fun-filled night of music. I swear, these are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. As always, Frank volunteered his time to provide photographs...this time he even reduced their file size to make them easier for me to upload. Whew...what a difference! I love these pictures but I would also like to include your thoughts about the night. Please email me at carlg@kc.rr.com and I'll be able to include more intelligent comments about the evening.

September 28, 2007

2007-11-12T20:13:00.000-08:00

Don't you just hate those people that never update their website. Well...it's been a month and a half since I've sat down at the computer and uploaded pic's. Sorry about that. These pictures are from September '07's Heartland Unplugged. Hope you like them.

Heartland Unplugged Takes Part in Community Fun Day

2007-09-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

Heartland Unplugged was very well represented at St. Luke's Community Fun Day this afternoon. Curly and Doc performed for the crowd and were very well received. This year marked the first time that we had an instrument give-a-way at the event. We had a tremendous response to the contest and I'm happy to say that we made two young people very happy today. A young man named Alex won the new Rogue mandolin and a young girl named Savannah won the Rogue acoustic-electric guitar. Curly also sweetened the pot by offering a free guitar lesson to the winner of the guitar.

August 24, 2007 - Very Enjoyable Evening

2007-09-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

Another comfortable night of listening to some very good music....

If you've never visited Heartland Unplugged, you should really come by next month. It's always held on the fourth Friday of the month. August's HU began the same way most of them have. Pappy was one of the first musicians to arrive. He got busy tuning his instrument. The music started slowly and quietly...very relaxing. Meanwhile Bill and Craig got busy preparing cheeseburgers...some of the best around. More of the evening's crowd trickled in. I'm always looking forward to finding out who will come. It's a different mix almost every time. But that's what makes this acoustic jam so interesting. Before the night is over, the crowd would have heard country, bluegrass, gospel, celtic, folk, blues, ...you name it. Such a friendly supportive audience. They are so helpful. For some of the musicians, this will be one of the first times that they will play and sing in front of a live audience. Everyone claps and encourages the musicians. Others that have played for a year or more are starting to become very confident in their playing. They have been boosted up by the support. There are also the expert musicians in attendance. They are always willing to show and share their techniques. If you've been keeping that guitar in the closet for years, it's time to pull it out and come up and join in on the fun. After all you'll never learn if you don't get involved.

I know you'll enjoy the pictures that Frank took.

July 27th Heartland Unplugged

2007-08-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Another good turnout. Great variety of music. Lots of friends. If you haven't visited one of our fourth Friday of the month's Heartland Unplugged, you've really been missing out. This message goes out to those of you who think you can't play an instrument or sing (you probably can though). Come on out and visit with the friendly people who just come to listen and socialize. You can't beat this. Air conditioned room, good food for a modest donation, no cover charge, etc.

Well...on with the pictures.....

Some pictures from June 22nd

2007-06-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to attend June's HU, but I heard everyone had a very enjoyable evening of music and friendship. Take a look at a few of the pictures that Frank took:

May 25, 2007 – Good Start to the Holiday Weekend

2007-05-31T19:35:00.001-07:00

Hours before Friday night’s Heartland Unplugged, we were all wondering who would show up. We’d heard that some of our regulars, like Jim, Carolyn and Dale wouldn’t be there because of one of the festivals starting up. We wondered if we would have a good turnout. Well it didn’t take long to overcome that fear. Musicians started showing up a little after six and there was a steady stream for the next hour and a half. It was a great turnout and we all had a terrific night.

Thanks to Frank again for snapping some great pictures of some of our wonderful people.

April 27, 2007

2007-05-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

Friday had a slightly smaller turnout due to April showers threatening. Even with the smaller crowd, we had a fun-filled evening of great music. Once again we saw some new faces (and some new instruments). Speaking of which, has anyone been over for the grand opening of Musician's Friend Outlet Store. I know they moved to somewhere around the instersection of 291 and 210 hiways. They were offering some good discounts this weekend, but I needed to stay away. I'm not buying any new instruments....at least for now. Be sure to attend the next Heartland Unplugged. It will be Friday night, May 25th. If you need more information, see the contact information at the top of this blog. God bless you and keep you safe.

Here's pictures of some of the very friendly people who were there Friday night:

March 23rd, 2007 – Very Nice!!

2007-03-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

Every time we have another Heartland Unplugged, I tell myself I’m going to get right at making another entry in this blogsite. Well you know what they say about “good intentions”. Ever since we were visited by the folks from the MOKANOPRY website, and I saw how they posted information about us the very next morning, I’ve felt shamed in to trying to better at this. This month I’ve heard of another website, www.folkjam.org, and I’m adding it as another one of our links. Hope you like it and find it helpful.

Once again we saw Gary Russell and a lot of people from the Thursday Nite Opry at 98th and Blue Ridge (the Community of Christ Church). We’ve always felt a real connection with them. They helped us get started and continue to support Heartland Unplugged. Their show is terrific and the people are so friendly there. If you haven’t been there, you’re really missing out.
I’ll guess I’ll shut up now and show some more pictures of people having fun. Feel free to make comments if you’d like. Just click on the comments link below and they’ll walk you thru a quick registration.

The Next Heartland Unplugged is this Friday Night

2007-03-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

This promises to be another great night of music and friendship. I’m expecting our largest turnout ever. Like the title said, the next HU is this Friday night, March 23rd, from 7:00 – 10:00pm. Those times are just for advertising purposes though, because we usually start going around 6:00 and don’t end until almost midnight. If you need directions, punch in the address in an online map program (the address is in the blogsite title above) or call the church 816-763-8444. Quick directions are: go to south Kansas City, get off of 435 or 71 on Bannister Road near Bannister Mall and go east about a mile or so. The church is on the corner of Bannister and James A. Reed Rd (the next stoplight east of Blue Ridge Blvd). Mention you saw this and we'll buy you a coke. See you there.

February '07's Heartland Unplugged

2007-03-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

ANOTHER GREAT TURNOUT!!! What a great night of music and friendship. If you weren't able to come, you sure missed a good one. Take a look at the crowd....

Cake and ice cream were served to celebrate the two year anniversary of Heartland Unplugged....that's Marie blowing the candles out....

Everyone enjoyed the cake and ice cream...

Chef Craig served up some great cheeseburgers and brats...

.... some pictures of folks playing and singing....

I forgot to mention that besides the new people that show up at each HU, we also seem to see more than our share of new instruments. I blame that on stores like Guitar Center and Musician's Friend Outlet. Ever since these stores hit town, there seem to be more and more new instruments appearing at these jams. As a public service announcement I feel like I have to ask that each musician limit his purchases of new instruments to no more that two per month. That is unless one of his current instruments gets broken or stolen....or he/she wins the lottery or gets a tax refund. Then it would be okay to increase this number....but only then...

...oh but then I just thought...someone may not have a guitar and they want to buy one of yours. Well that wouldn't be very nice of you not to sell them one of yours (after all, you have quite a few). So you sell them one and then you'd be down one. Well then it would be okay to also buy a replacement for that one....

Well I guess it's goodbye for now....see you next fourth Friday!

Couldn’t have asked for more – January’s HU was fantastic!

2007-01-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks in part to the daytime temperatures that were in the mid-50’s, a large crowd turned out last night to enjoy playing/singing and listening to some great music….just take a look at some of the pictures (remember that you can click on the picture to enlarge it).

The food was great, as usual. Donna served up tall cheeseburgers and plump brats. Pat & Bonnie brought homemade cookies.

We welcomed the return of some old friends and also made some new ones during the evening. The sound system worked great. The wireless mic perched on the mobile stand was a hit. Doc mic’d his bass and played it sideways on his lap like a guitar. Poor guy…someone should tell him how to play it correctly. : ) It kind of looked weird but it sounded good. Just shortly after someone from the crowd asked me about where Jim and Carolyn were, they showed up. I sure like Carolyn’s white guitar with the intricately carved eagle in the sound hole. We all love Jim’s singing and harmonica playing. David & Kathy were there…and David and Kathleen were also there. I bet it’s pretty rare for that to occur at a jam. I bet we were the only jam to have that happen last night.
A newcomer, Stephen, entertained us with his fast fiddle playing.

Just to let you know, we also have a jam every Wednesday night (6:30 – 10 pm) at the church. There’s a dinner provided just before the jam (5:30 – 6:15pm). The dinner is a freewill donation type dinner.

Nice Weather for December's Heartland Unplugged

2006-12-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

We couldn't have asked for better weather for December '06 Heartland Unplugged. Temperature was very warm for this late in December and the rain held off until we all went home. Kat, Tony, Marie, Craig, Donna and Kristina helped with setup and food again this month. They did a terrific job again. The cheeseburgers and brawts were great. Be sure to click on a picture to enlarge it.

That's Tony showing you a sample of what you get for just a suggested $2 donation.

Here's Donna serving a cheeseburger.

Thanks to all who turned out and made the night such a success. We'll look forward to January's event. It will be held on the fourth Friday in January. Thanks to all who showed up to sing and play: Gary, Steve, Chris, Carl, Jim, Jim, Dale, Tim, Melvin, Paul, Bonnie, Joe and Rod. I'll shut up now and just finish up with a lot of pictures. I do have just a few comments about the pictures. It looks like Marie was pretty excited early on (head shakin'), but as the evening went on she looks all tuckered out (or maybe her and Rod were just listening to a slow, sad song). Glad to see Sammy at the event. He's doing much better. We were very happy to see friends from HABOT and the Thursday Night Opry attend our event. They're always welcome and we look forward to meeting them.

Next Heartland Unplugged Will Be On Fifth Friday

2006-12-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

This is to let everyone know that the next Heartland Unplugged is on December 29th, the fifth Friday in December. Be sure to come. January's will start us back on the fourth Friday, again.

What a Great Turnout for a Holiday Weekend!!

2006-11-25T12:58:00.000-08:00

We sure had a lot of good music, food and fun at this month's Heartland Unplugged. I'm going to try and mix some pictures in this month (I found out that you can click on the pictures to enlarge them). The first one is of Nancy and John playing together. They are really serious about learning this type of music. This husband and wife duo have been coming to HU for the last couple of months. We're glad they chose our jam to play at. That's Tom on guitar behind them.

Donna, Craig, Tony and Cat served up some terrific cheeseburgers and brats, w/chips and soda. For a $2 donation, you just can't beat it. We sure appreciate all they do. That goes for everyone that volunteers and helps to put this on each month. That's Jim placing an order with Donna.

I mentioned that we had a terrific turnout. Lots of musicians. Some came just to sing along, too. Besides the main room, where the mic was at, there were a couple of "jammin' rooms". You sure couldn't complain about the lack of music.

I took a picture of the main jammin' area.

Now I guess I'll finish up with a picture of some of Paul and Bonnies' friends. We appreciate these families turning out. They provided us with some good harmony on some "CCR" songs. That's also Kathleen playing guitar on the right side of the picture. Her fiance, David, really needs to lighten up and try to sing some silly songs. :)

Great Time and Great Friends

2006-11-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

We had another fun Heartland Unplugged in October (Fourth Friday of course). There were a lot of the usual faces there, but it was also exciting to see so many new ones. There's no way that I'll be able to remember everyone, but I'll try to list some of the musicians. There was Doc, Carl, Jim, Carolyn, Wayne, Pappy, Melvin, Steve, Paul, Bonnie, Dale, Dale, Joe, and the list goes on. There were a couple of new couples who were just great: David and Kathleen, John and Nancy. Thanks to the folks who helped with setup and food. It's so nice to have volunteers that want to see this thing go. The music started at 6:00 and lasted 'til past 10:00. Sorry if you missed this one, but the next one in November should be a very special one. It will be held on the Friday following Thanksgiving, so it should prove to be the perfect place for you to come and work off all of that food... or maybe just sit, listen and relax. We'll have to designate someone to be the honorary turkey. Maybe we could put it to a vote. Anyone have a turkey costume left over from Halloween?

Now I’ve Got to Get My Act Together

2006-09-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

This is my first experience with writing to a blogsite. Sometimes you feel like you’re speaking into thin air. In other words, you never knew if folks are listening or not. Well this may be changing. Last night the folks that run the http://www.mokanopry.com/ website paid Heartland Unplugged a visit. They publish to their website information about area jams, such as ours. They were very nice and complementary in their write up about HU. They’ll never know how much we appreciate that. Anyway, they published a link to this blogsite, so now I’m afraid that someone may actually be reading this. So I had better start being more regular about writing to it. We had a very comfortable, fun night of music last night at HU. Most of the regulars showed up to play and sing. Once again we held it in the Friendship Room Hall of the Church. This room has small tables that are just right to hold the cheeseburgers, chips and drinks that are served. The casual atmosphere helps to promote friendly conversations. For the jammers who sat in a circle and passed the microphone, the new wireless microphone that Doc picked up at the Musician’s Friend outlet store worked great….no more mic cable to bother with. The extra jamming rooms made a great place for seasoned musicians to play together. They also provided a place for us folks just starting out to get together and try to come up with songs that we can later play and sing. We continue to get compliments about what a great campus the church is for this kind of thing. Everyone’s crazy about all of the soft chairs with no arms, too. I don’t think people were thinking about us when they first bought these chairs, but they certainly did us a big favor. You won’t want to miss the next HU. It’s always held on the fourth Friday of the month, from 7 ‘til 10pm. Hope to see you there.

Getting Ready

2006-09-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

September's Heartland Unplugged is this Friday night and we're all anticipating another fun filled enjoyable evening. What a blessing it is to see our numbers continue to grow. Such wonderful people...both those who come to play and also the ones who come to sing or listen. I also am always amazed at how helpful people can be. As the jam continues to grow there have been some who have come forward and volunteered to help in all aspects of running the jam. It's great. I'm very hopeful that even more will volunteer to help as we try to keep up with the growth. We continue to hear comments from those who attend that the church is ideally set up for a jam like this. HU currently has the largest turnout from those who like bluegrass/gospel type music, but we keep encouraging those who enjoy other types of acoustic music to come and join in. I personally like folk music from the 60's and will try to interject that every now and then. We're also hoping to hear more acoustic blues type music. You all have a nice day and I hope to see you on Friday.

Two Events This Month (September)

2006-09-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m back again. I can’t believe I feel like I’ve been so busy that I can’t spend even five minutes and type something in on this thing (a blog is a noun isn’t it). The last couple of HU’s have been terrific. We’ve moved the main stage (hall) down to the “Friendship Room” near the front of the church. It’s providing a much more intimate setting for us all to partake in lots of familiar acoustic music. We still had an additional jamming room or two. We’re also very thankful for the additional volunteers who’ve come forward the last few times. It’s really making the evening flow much smoother.

We’re getting very excited about the upcoming “Community Fun Day” outside at St. Luke’s. It’s going to be from 11:00 to 1:00 on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 16th. I hope everyone will be able to turn out for this one. HU is going to take part by helping to erect a large tent with a stage and sound system at one end. Doc’s already been contacting musicians to come and play.

A week later we’ll have the regular HU on Friday night, the 22nd. I’m sure it’s going to be another memorable affair. In addition to the normal cheeseburgers we make and sell, we’re also thinking about offering grilled chicken sandwiches.

... looking forward to the next two weekends.

May’s Heartland Unplugged Cancelled

2006-05-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

The church had a scheduling conflict on the fourth Friday of the month and so we chose to cancel this month’s HU. We’re sorry for any inconvenience that may have caused you and hope that you will join us again when we meet on the fourth Friday of June. Some the other jam’s around town stop meeting during the summer months, but that’s when HU really heats up. We’re planning on having our best summer ever. If you’re looking for a place to play along with other musicians each week, you can always just show up on Wednesday night at the church from around 6:00 to 9:00pm. There are usually 10 to 15 other musicians there. It’s a great place to hone your own skills or pass on something you know to someone just starting out. Remember, wherever you decide to play, just keep it up. You’re part of growing community in the Kansas City area devoted to seeing that this type of music continues.

Results are In

2006-03-27T16:11:00.000-08:00

We all experienced another successful Heartland Unplugged last Friday night. We had approximately 25 musicians and 20 people in the audience present. Once again everyone seemed to enjoy the food: brats, cheeseburgers, or hotdogs w/chips and a drink for just a $2 donation. The fresh baked chocolate chip cookies were a hit again. Several people asked for the recipe for the homemade salsa that was made by one of the ladies from the church. Steve Gouge entertained the audience with his unique style of music. There were two jam rooms going on during the night. The musicians must have enjoyed themselves because a few of them stayed after closing time (10pm) and kept playing while the staff cleaned up. Heartland Unplugged seems to be really taking off and we’re all hoping for an even larger turnout for the next one on the fourth Friday in April.

Doc's Message about March 24th's HU

2006-03-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

Doc sent this message out on Wednesday....

Hi folks...
GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS...
Just a quick reminder that it is once again time for HEARTLAND
UNPLUGGED and we hope that you can attend...
Come join us Friday, March 24th, the fourth Friday (March has 5 Fridays in
the month, so please join us then, and not the 5th Fiday, 03/31/06)
As always, our doors will open at 6pm for open jams...plenty of room
for pickers, jammers, and listeners of all ages 5-105 are encouraged
to attend.....
If you, your group/ensemble would like to be showcased, feel free to
discuss that with us....or perhaps you can recommend someone to us
that you think would like the opportunity to perform...
Rain or shine, snow or ice, get out and come enjoy the show and
jam...refreshments will be available, or bring your own "potluck"
snacks and drinks...arrive early and grab a good seat...bring your
spouse, kids, b/f or g/f or invite the neighbors...
Looking forward to seeing you there...
GOD BLESS
DOC
Other weekly jams:
WED 6pm..St Luke's United Methodist Church, James Reed & Bannister
Road (95th street)
THUR 6pm...9801 Blue Ridge Community of Christ Church
1st Saturday 7AM-10AM...COUNTRY BREAKFAST St Luke's($2) a great deal
on a great meal
3rd Friday HABOT NKC 6pm-10:45pm
4th Friday 6pm...HEARTLAND UNPLUGGED St Luke's
(HEARTLANDUNPLUGGED@hotmail.com)

Next HU is this Friday – March 24th

2006-03-22T05:01:00.000-08:00

The fourth Friday is here at last and we’re making preparations to have a great Heartland Unplugged. If you drive by the corner of Bannister and James A. Reed in South Kansas City you will see our new banners. They look great. We’re hoping for a record turnout and with the help of the new banners, we should see more people from the surrounding community. I guess it’s time to pull out that old guitar from the closet and dust it off. You know you have to start back on it someday and you’ve put it off long enough. See you there. If you need to contact us, our email is heartlandunplugged@hotmail.com.

Next Heartland Unplugged Coming Up

2006-02-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

The next Heartland Unplugged is coming up on Friday, February 24, 2006, from 7:00 to 10:00. It will held at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 9420 James A. Reed Rd., Kansas City, MO. If you have questions or need directions, you can email us at heartlandunplugged@hotmail.com. Two types of people come out to these jams; musicians (some polished, some not) and listeners (some people call them the audience). This is going to be the one-year anniversary of HU, so we’re going to have a big cake and probably will sing happy birthday. It’s been quite an accomplishment to keep it going for a year. We’ve got great ideas for the next one; new signs, stage backdrop, new sound system, praise/gospel stage (a second stage to compliment the current bluegrass one), etc. The ideas just keep flowing. If you can think of any, why don’t you come and get involved. Doc and I would really welcome the help. If I remember, I’ll bring my camera and take a few pictures to upload from Friday.

Welcome to Heartland Unplugged!

2006-02-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

This blog is targeted towards all types of "unplugged" music.