This month we feature the Central Plains Jamband Society
Here is what they have to say…
The Central Plains Jamband Society (CPJS) is a grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to improving the jamband music scene throughout the Midwest. We accomplish our goals by holding a variety of music, social, and philanthropic events throughout the year.
In the summer of 2001, a small group of like-minded jamband fans organized together in hopes of accomplishing several key goals: to provide a social community for fans, to raise awareness of jamband music, to hold philanthropic events to promote local charities, and, ultimately, to unite fans with bands. In the fall of 2001, we launched our website (www.cpjs.org) to provide a place for fans to gather, share ideas, and promote local and regional events.
We believe the best way to accomplish our goals is to create a social environment in which the fans can interact with one another and become friends. To this end, CPJS hosts online discussion forums and organizes music festivals, live concerts, CD trading parties, and other social events.
We encourage all of our members to support the jamband scene by regularly attending live music, be it local, regional or national. CPJS regularly organizes member gatherings, fundraisers, and fun events to help strengthen our community. We hope to create a loyal membership within CPJS to help spread the about jamband music. We feel there’s something special about this music and those who create it, and we want to share that with as many people as possible. Our organization works to bring the fans together with the bands they enjoy.
Our accomplishments include:
♫ Sponsorship and production of the Own Grown Stage at the 2004 Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival held in Lawrence, KS. CPJS showcased local and regional acts, and featured national acts such as Green Lemon, Shanti Groove and Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon. The afternoons were filled with artist "Meet and Greets" with Particle, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Derek Trucks Band, Galactic and many more.
♫ Production and promotion of music festivals and annual social events:
CPJS Disc Golf Tournament
CPJS Jam Bowl bowling social events
CPJS Jamfest music festival
CD release parties
CD trading parties
♫ CPJS.org provides fans with an on-line forum dedicated to covering the music scene within a six state area. Our website provides exposure to performances in our coverage area, as well as interviews and reviews from our fan contributions, and also provides a forum for open discussion.
♫ CPJS is also active in philanthropic events, holding fundraisers and food drives in cooperation with organizations such as Panic Fans for Food, The Rose Brooks Home for Domestic Violence, Harvesters, and The American Red Cross.