Wake up, get dressed, commute, work for 8 hours (plus), commute back home, eat dinner, play with the kids, put the kids to bed, get a few hours of “free time” and go to sleep, only to wake up and do it all over again. This is a typical day for most 30-year old professionals living near the city and Joe Osborne, Jeremy Scott, and Neil Jones are no exception. However, every Sunday these seemingly typical males become poets, musicians, producers, and artists. The products of these Sunday sessions are uploaded and available for free at chilljam.com.
ChillJam.com is a “weekly music collective diary ” meant to capture the moment using art. Although Osborne, Scott, and Jones are the main contributors, other artists have and continue to collaborate with Chill Jam.
Art that Mimics Life
The Chill Jam does not boast the highest quality recording or instruments, but that is all part of the sound. The consequence of that sound is an outpouring of emotion and life. “ I guess we’re talking to “the world” when we play music but I don’t really see it that way. I don’t see our music as “messages” or even in relation to an audience. The songs are observations,” says Osborne, the poet and lyricist of the group. “There are many times when I listen to our music or read my words after I’ve written them and it feels like I’ve explained something to myself. When this happens, I feel some level of relief; like I’ve found the answer to a problem that I didn’t even know I was working on.”
Where it all Began
A few years back, Scott answered a craigslist ad from a drummer looking for fellow musicians. “I think it was mutual between Neil and I to start something that wasn’t the norm, something we felt was our project and not whatever the guitar player wrote and wanted to play. I think that is the difference between us and a lot of bands, the music we create is truly a collaborative effort because it’s made on the spot without any preconceived structure or sound.”
Osborne joined the trio after realizing he was living within a few blocks of his old high school friend. Both Osborne and Jones had moved 40 miles away from Linganore High School to the same neighborhood on the western Baltimore City line. A year later, Scott moved only a few blocks away.
As if living in the same neighborhood was not enough, in February 2008, Scott’s first child was born, followed by Osborne’s second son 4 months later and then Jones’ first child 3 months later. It’s as if the Trio was now connected in ways beyond music and camaraderie. “Each of us are family-men and it’s great to be able to get together and relate on this level. There are a lot of changes with having babies and settling into this kind of role and it’s been tremendously helpful to have Neil and Jeremy to experience these changes with me as I go through them.”
Indeed, the organic meshing of these three lives seem to be in perfect harmony. Osborne explains, “Neil (the drummer) is our backbone. We’ve played songs without him but they come across like invertebrates. They’re like jellyfish, often amorphous and sometimes shapeless. His work is like the punctuation at the end of a sentence, whether a period or exclamation point. There’s often a sense of completeness and follow-through on anything Neil contributes to.” He continues with describing the keyboardist, “Jeremy is the body of the music. He creates the beating heart; the real action behind the intention. He is the music’s depth and breadth.”
Not a Band
The guys do not really think of themselves as a band in the literal sense of the word. They don’t really do “gigs” (although they have played for an audience on several special occasions.) The music is mostly improvised and spur of the moment. “To do improv, the mood has to be right, we have not found that in a venue. Besides, we want this to be enjoyable and not like a job. Packing and unpacking gear for a gig is a job in itself.” Scott and Osborne would know as they have been in other bands where the packing begins around 5pm and you don’t get home until 5am.
Besides, every true band needs a name and this trio does not seem to care what people call them. The Chill Jam have referred to themselves as Chill The Universe, Chill, The Chill, The Chill Jam, Chill Jam, and the Chill Music Project. “Our name has been kind of as transient as the music is.” Neil further shows their indifference to being labeled as a band. “I do this for me, if anyone else likes it, great. If they don’t, that’s fine too. I realize we don’t play music that is for everyone, but I don’t want to change what we are doing to appeal to a larger crowd.”
What’s Next?
Even if people do not appreciate improv, Chill Jam’s next big project is sure to find interest from the film enthusiasts. While flying back from a business trip, Neil scribbled frames and scenes for a short movie based on the Old Testament Story of the destruction of Sodam and Gomorrah. Also in the works is another web-based project dedicated to allowing other people to share culture with the world through art.
Both projects are in the beginning phases and have no release date. “Putting time constraints on art takes the fun and spontaneity out of it,” says Scott. “That’s probably the core of the reason I enjoy the project most,” continues Joe. None of us feel like we have to do anything at all. It’s just about what we feel like doing.”
Message to the Masses
When asked what they would like to tell the world, Scott advises everyone to “play or listen to music as much as you can,” while Jones (taking the Ayn Rand approach) advises to “make sure that at least part of the reason you are doing it is for yourself.” Osborne seemed perplexed when answering, saying “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle? Eat your vegetables? I’m not sure I can think this big.” Come on now Joe, you are just being modest. Check out his lyrics inspired by Baltimore and fatherhood below. To get your cure for the daily chore go to chilljam.com.
Lyrics
Heartbeat Baltimore
“Cities carry an electricity which can both inspire and drain us. Each city carries it's own vibe and feel-Baltimore is not excluded from this.”- Joe Osbourne
This is heartbeat Baltimore.
Pounding out loud,
Beating strong and active.
These streets breathe with
The rhythm of stoplights.
Pumping electric lifesblood.
Everyone has a voice
To speak.
Everyone's got something to say.
From the highest skyscraper to the harbor's
Deep water, they've all got a story.
This is heartbeat Baltimore.
Pounding out loud,
Beating strong and active.
I am here.
Now.
And my actions bear meaning to those who will remember.
Each step lays the path
For those who will follow.
Make clear the signs,
So they don't lose their way.
This is heartbeat Baltimore.
Pounding out loud,
Beating strong and active.
The Miner
“There are pieces in there that praise or may even criticize my own father and parts that I envisioned my own sons’ might see in me, either now or in the future.
From another point of view, though, there was an effort at integrating concepts of the Holy Trinity…the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Joe Osbourne
Too many days down dark holes
and you forget what time it is.
But you’re not forgotten.
We're all still here with our hungry hope.
Waiting for the homecoming.
We keep going to school and going to work, and coming home to dinner on the table and then a bedtime story.
....
Well let me tell you one about a boy who kept looking for the day his father would emerge from the earth.
He'd rise up like a god.
Exuding the will to push me to stand.
“I know he's in there for me”, he says.
“I'll just hold on another day for the rescue.”
He keeps waiting and holding on.
The hero will come.
Raise the pillars to the sky in calling.
Break through the clouds,
a brilliant spotlight
on the stage.
Just a word to set us up.
Or a word to take me down
when my wings are melting.
Just hold on, miner.
Someone is coming.
You'll see light again
if you just hold on and remember
all of the things so important.
The reasons you risked.
The reasons you sacrificed.
The boy's grown up now and ain't doing half bad.
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