You may have seen one of our local musicians, Elise DV, performing in our Road to Memphis with her duo over the past two years. During the holidays, she travelled east to see family, and connected with the Blues Society of Central PA (BSCP) at their jam.
Elise is the guitarist and vocalist for The Elles, a Kansas City all-female blues band. The band has been in existence almost two years and initially started with Lorelle Eller on bass. Lorelle decided to take a step back from the band at the beginning of 2024 and then Elise met drummer Cara Tucker at the Rusty Spur (Lees Summit, MO) Sunday jam. “I got on stage and we were waiting for our friend Paul to get ready,” Elise recalls. “I started playing a song by the rock band RUSH and the drummer played along with me. That never happens – that’s how I knew that Cara was special.” The two started playing together in January 2024.
“I knew I didn’t want to be bored over the holidays, and that I wanted to keep up my jam skills, so I searched Facebook for any jams in my family’s town. The closest group was an hour away in Harrisburg, PA. Right away I felt grateful, first, that I found a blues jam; second, that it was only an hour away; third, that Kansas City has jams six nights a week, most within twenty minutes of my home.” She added that her trip one-way was 19 hours driving, so driving one hour for a jam didn’t seem that far!
Elise found the Facebook group of the BSCP, friended some members and got the jam details, and drove to Champions Sports Bar in Harrisburg, PA. She put her name on the list and was included in the second set.
The BSCP uses a different system for jams than the Kansas City Blues Society. First, they have held their jam at Champions Sports Bar for the last twelve years, and they hold their jam weekly. They don’t have a host band, they just organize the jammers and go! Each jam set is limited to 4 songs and no more than 30 minutes, whereas the tradition in Kansas City is 3 songs and no time limit. Finally, they require that everyone on stage gets a solo if they want one. This is not much different than in Kansas City, where most people extend the courtesy of a solo to all the players. The BSCP also owns their PA system, which stays stored at the venue. They have one member who organizes the jammers and directs the stage traffic, with other people helping out.
Elise was immediately befriended by Tall Dave, who played guitar in her set, and Marianna Schaffer (bass) and Michael Easton (harmonica). She said, “I’m so glad that they explained their jam rules, since they are slightly different than what I’m used to. I freaked out a little when I heard that I would need to fill 30 minutes! But we stretched the songs and it worked out fine.” As a guest from another blues society, Elise was asked to play on the final set as well.
The BSCP publishes a quarterly printed newsletter and they bring in top talent for special shows. Their Winter show features Monster Mike Welch, and past shows have featured our friend Mark ‘Muleman’ Massey, Vanessa Collier, and R.L. Boyce.
Thanks to Elise DV for reaching out to connect our Blues Societies! You can Like and Follow her band The Elles at https://www.facebook.com/TheEllesKC
You can find the Blues Society of Central PA at https://www.facebook.com/groups/556595107690387
(Elise would like to thank Marianna Schaffer and her husband; Michael Easton, George, Tom, Bill Wasch, Tall Dave and everyone else at the Blues Society of Central PA for their hospitality.)