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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2018)
LIFESTYLES WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 1–SEPTEMBER 2, 2018 Harmony Staff photo by Kathy Aney Local bluegrass musicians jam every Saturday afternoon at Great Pacific. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Verne Marr plays banjo at a bluegrass jam session Saturday afternoon at the Great Pacific Wine & Coffee Co. Loose-knit group gathers each Saturday to play bluegrass and old- time music By BRITTANY NORTON East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Dick Kaiser plays the fiddle at a recent bluegrass jam session at the Great Pacific Wine & Coffee Co. Amidst the late after- and everyone else joined noon sun streaming in, and they played buoy- through Great Pacific’s ant songs that reverberated windows, a young man from every corner of the sat at a table, pulled out restaurant. his guitar and began strumming a few quiet chords here and there. “That’s the thing He was later joined by two older gentle- about small towns— man with their own In big towns, instruments. people go out They conversed periodically and con- for entertainment. tinued to tune or qui- In small towns, etly pluck at their instruments. The two you have to older men fiddled with their banjos between make your own.” sips of beer. And Dick Kaiser, original member every couple minutes another person would filter into the down- town Pendleton restau- It wasn’t a performance, rant — some carrying gui- but the musicians received tars, banjos, or violins; smatterings of applause others had harmonicas or from other patrons in the mandolins. restaurant. Between every Three round tables song, they would take sips that occupied the space of their beer, wine or cof- just in front of the stage fee and a short conver- were joined together so sation would ensue. But the musicians could sit in before long, they’d be a circle. By the time the playing again. The music went on for eighth musician showed up someone started a tune hours. People filtered into Staff photo by Kathy Aney Everett Pickler plays gui- tar during a Saturday bluegrass jam session at the Great Pacific Wine & Coffee Co. the restaurant, took a seat to watch them play and left after an hour or so, but the musicians never minded who was there. They continued to play for themselves. For about 25 years, Great Pacific has served as a gathering place for musi- cians who like to jam out to bluegrass and old-time music on Saturday after- noons. It’s an informal affair. They don’t have a band name, and the meet- ings aren’t advertised to the Staff photo by Kathy Aney Melisa McDonald plays guitar and harmonica at a recent bluegrass jam session at the Great Pacific Wine & Coffee Co. community. It’s a casual agreement to show up — a group of people bonded by the love of music and joy derived from playing. “As a rule, it’s not adver- tised,” said Vern Marr, who’s been playing there since the late 1990s. “You just have to learn about it through other people.” The group attracts peo- ple from surrounding areas such as Hermiston, Mil- ton-Freewater, La Grande, Athena, Weston and Tri-Cities. And if people from more far out locales are in town, they may join in as well. Jennifer Peterson is a learning specialist for a school district in Clacka- mas. She lived in Pendle- ton until 1990 when she moved away for school. But she visits her home- town four or five times a year, and when she does she makes sure to stop by Great Pacific to play some tunes with the group. “Every time she comes to town, I know where she’ll be,” said Peterson’s mom. Peterson plays the vio- lin and mandolin. She started playing with the musicians at Great Pacific by asking to join in. “Every time I’m here, it feels like coming home,” Peterson said. There are no strict rules or guidelines to playing with the group. People start showing up around 3 p.m. and play for as long as See MUSIC/3C