Pickin' and jammin' in these parts

Kathleen Kearns; Staff Writer

"Hey, Buck!"

"What?"

"How 'bout 'Wildwood Flower?'"

With that, a dozen musicians in a barn in Chatham County let fly. From the audience, a man and two women with taps on their shoes get up and smile and shuffle and clack along in time.

Welcome to Charlie's Barn on a Friday night, a place where local bluegrass musicians can stop by and pick a few while fans sit back and listen.

There may not be thirteen-hundred-and-fifty-two pickers in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, but there are a lot of people here who mess around once in a while with a fiddle or a guitar. Or a mandolin, banjo, dobro or bass, for that matter. And a few more who just like to listen and tap their feet.

The one thing a bluegrass picker needs besides an instrument is other people to play with. It's not bluegrass unless you have company.

But finding that company can be a challenge, especially if you're a relatively new picker or new to the area. Ask local musicians where you can find a bluegrass jam session to drop in on and you'll hear, "Well, there used to be one at Chilango's" or "I heard there was one up in Hillsborough somewhere" or "Let me know when you find out."

Venues close, and jam sessions tend to evolve into bands, which then drift off and practice elsewhere. But there are a few ongoing sessions nearby that are open to anybody who can strum or chunk their way through "Cripple Creek" and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."

One of those is Charlie's Barn, which has hosted weekly jams for about 14 years. Charlie Bouldin, who started the sessions, died three years ago, but his wife, Lillie Bouldin, and a couple of stalwarts have kept the Friday night music going.

The group is mostly regulars, but the atmosphere is welcoming. With its wood paneling, folding chairs, and plastic buckets for donations, the place feels more like a church hall than a barn. A colorful mural of a rural scene -- church, railroad, mill wheel, and rolling hills -- graces the wall behind the stage.

Up on that stage on a recent Friday night, there was an electric bass, an upright bass, three acoustic guitars, a couple banjos, a dobro, some singers and a guy on harmonica. With the democratic courtesy characteristic of bluegrass musicians, they took turns stepping forward for a break and then stepping back again to let somebody else take over. Those who knew the tune well led off; those who were less sure sat back and strummed along softly.

Introductions were cursory, just the song title and something along the lines of "You want to kick it off?" An audience of 70 or so clapped enthusiastically between numbers.

At Reno Sharpe's Chatham County store on a Saturday morning, things are even more casual. Going to Reno's is like stepping back into rural North Carolina before all the Yankees arrived. With its unpainted weathered-board walls, metal roof and lack of indoor plumbing, Reno's is clearly a store that has stood right there for a long, long time. On the ground out front are thousands of rusted bottle caps tossed aside by generations of porch-sitters.

On the third Saturday morning of each month, a steady stream of people carrying black instrument cases comes in through the squeaky-hinged wooden door. Inside, the atmosphere is a cross between old-time country store and rummage sale. Counters and open shelves are full of old radios, coffee percolators, a stuffed fox and cans of Campbell's tomato soup.

There's no stage here, and the audience is smaller than at Charlie's -- maybe 25 or so. Some sit on an assortment of chairs while others stand around or listen from the front porch.

As pickers accumulate, the music just gets itself going. They tune up at the back of the store before moving up front and checking the composition of the morning's pick-up band.

"Do we have a singer?" someone asks.

They do, plus two fiddlers, three mandolins, two banjos, a dobro, and a bunch of guitars.

"Preacher, you got one?" a young man in a white T-shirt and overalls asks an older man with slicked-back hair. (It turns out he is a preacher, from the Sandy Branch Baptist Church.)

Preacher does: "Old Joe Clark."

"Old Joe Clark, OK."

Preacher, on banjo, leads off.

Then somebody suggests, "'Using My Bible for a Road Map,' in G."

"You going to burst into song?" somebody teases somebody else.

"I might."

"Well, I don't know about that."

And they're off again.

Reno Sharpe, who looks to be in his 80s, leans against the shelves on one side of his store and smiles.

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Besides Charlie's and Reno's, there are other public and private jams around the area where folks play bluegrass and its older cousin, old-time music. In addition to those listed below, you can find others through word of mouth. To get you started, unverified rumor has it that there's a session in Vass in an old roller skating rink, another in a pottery shop south of Carthage, and a third on Mebane Oaks Road. If you find out the details, pass the word.

Except at sessions meant for beginners, bluegrass etiquette suggests that newcomers sit back and listen a while before joining in. You've got to be able to stay in tune, and you back up before you lead. But you knew that.

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Regular Bluegrass Jams

Charlie's Barn

Hillside Music Road, Chatham County; Fridays, 7 p.m. to 9 or 10.

Take U.S. 15-501 South. North of Pittsboro, take U.S. 64 West 6.4 miles. Turn right on Buckner Clark Road. Go less than half a mile and turn left onto Hillside Music Road. At the end of the pavement, continue on the gravel road to the barn. Open to pickers and listeners.

Reno's Store

Goldston-Pittsboro Road, Chatham County; third Saturdays; 10 a.m. "til we're tired"

Take U.S. 15-501 South to the roundabout at the Pittsboro courthouse. Take U.S. 64 west half a mile and turn left onto N.C. 902 West, which becomes the Goldston-Pittsboro Road. After about 3.5 miles, 902 will veer off; stay on Goldston-Pittsboro Road for another 6.2 miles. Reno's will be on the left. Open to pickers and listeners.

James Pharmacy/Lu-E-G's

111 N. Churton St., Hillsborough; first and third Thursdays; host band 8 p.m.; old-time jam session 9 p.m.

Open to pickers and listeners.

Zepp Country Music

4 E. Third St., Wendell

Tuesdays, 7 to 10 p.m., beginner/intermediate bluegrass jam. Pickers only.

Thursdays, 7 to 10 p.m., public bluegrass jam. Open to pickers and listeners.

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Local Traditional Music Publications

"The Old Time Herald," a quarterly magazine that lists open sessions for old-time music. For subscription information visit www.oldtimeherald.org or write P.O. Box 994, Carrboro, N.C. 27510. 967-7727.

PineCone, the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, lists jams in their monthly newsletters. Visit www.pinecone.org and click on "Join Us" or write P.O. Box 28534, Raleigh, N.C. 27611. 990-1900.

Chapel Hill News, 11/2/2003