"If you haven't already signed up, there's a big piece of paper on the left hand side of the stage. Hurry up."

With those familiar words, The Last Minute Jam began each and every Tuesday night. The improvisational, throw-anybody-in-the-mix soiree conducted by lanky, curly-haired guitarist/vocalist/host Greg Davis became, in the words of Colonel Tom Sheehy, "the longest, most prodigious jam session in Philly rock history."

The Jam — a name owned by LMJ drummer George Manney — will be 10 years old this June. With that in mind, here comes another one of Dobbs soon-to-be-closing galas this Saturday night.

Each Tuesday evening's Jam would pile up eight miles high with scads and scores of local musicians dying to play on the stage of Dobbs, be it a Jimi Hendrix cover tune with Davis wailing in the background or just testing the live piranha-coroded waters with an original number or two. The Jam was the place to be if you wanted to be noticed as a musician in Philly.

Created by drummer Manney (now GEO Sound studio owner/operator as well as Tower Records manager) the Jam had a pretty auspicious beginning.

"There was an opening one Tuesday night at Khyber Pass," says Manney from his studio, "It was my birthday, June 4 of '86. We ran it there for six months. I had to bring my own PA as well as tote my drums around. It wasn't until Dobbs sound guy Rick Franco came and offered us a bigger spot with its own PA." He laughs about the dynamic house band which featured Manney, Davis, keyboard guy Wally Smith and bassist Michael Radcliffe and could do almost anything at anytime.

"In the five or six years we were together we only rehearsed about five or six times. We were that good and that in tune with each other. The best thing about the Jam, though, was that you learned to play every friggin' kind of music out there. It's tough playing up against and with the best musicians in the country on the spur of the moment" Some of those musicians included Scott Henderson from Joe Zawinul's band, Yes' Chris Squire (who spent more time in the bathroom than on stage), Robert Plant's band, Spencer Davis, the Psychedelic Furs and Greg Kihn, who left his shitty Chestnut Cabaret gig midset to play LMJ.

Now that on-the-lam Bobby Shame has headed off to San Francisco with a satchel full of money, longtime jammers Jay Medley (from Resin) and John Torres (from New Jersey) have taken control of the band, playing mostly covers of glam-era muzak types like Bowie, Sparks, T Rex and the New York Dolls.

Maney's LMJ copyright also plays a part in his new label, a label that'll put out its first CD, Last Minute Jam All Stars Vol 1., in June, featuring such faves as Kenn Kweder, Kevin Karg, Rich Kaufman, Alan Hewitt, Hayes and MIA local legend Joey Wilson in the improv spirit of the Jam. Manney will distribute the self-produced CDs on his own through Tower Records.

Saturday evening's last Last Minute Jam will feature Manney, Davis, Radcliffe and Smith and will also include vocalists Joe Parsons, Joey Wilson, Ben Arnold and the always inspired Kweder, plus plenty of surprises.

The Last Minute Jam's Tenth Anniversary at JC Dobbs, 334 South St., Saturday May 25 at 10 p.m, 925-4053.

Join the
City Paper
Mailing List