Students Mellow Out to John Kaplan’s Acoustic Tunes

By Broadside Correspondent Jen Driggers

To the delight of students, Jazzman's Café, located at the south entrance of the Johnson Center, features Tuesday Jams, weekly jam sessions that feature acoustic shows by local artists. Once again this year, the café has a full line-up of area musicians to entertain students during Tuesday Jams’ regular 4:30-6:30 p.m. time slot. The café, which features comfy chairs, dimmed lighting, softly colored pastel walls and wooden tables and countertops, provides a very relaxed atmosphere where students can enjoy the weekly musical guests.

Last Tuesday, this semester’s first Tuesday Jams event took place at Jazzman's café starring local musician Jon Kaplan, an acoustic artist who does various shows around the area. Students came to sip on the various beverages or munch on the many treats offered there. From coffee, "jazz blasts" and smoothies, to muffins, cookies and biscotti, there were plenty of treats to choose from. Some, however, showed up Tuesday night just to relax and listen to music.

"Tuesday Jams are a good way to chill with friends," said George Mason University junior student Steyer Rehorn.

During his two-hour set on Tuesday Night, Kaplan played some cover songs such as; "Overkill," by Colin Hay, "Island in the Sun," by Weezer, and "Barely Breathing" By Duncan Sheik. He also played songs by Death Cab for Cutie, as well as some of his own original tunes. Finding inspiration from life experiences, Kaplan changes things around to appreciate life in a more musical form.

Kaplan, who has been playing for about 10 years, has been a member of the Washington, D.C.-based band "Bicycle Thieves" since 2000. In 2003 the band featured some of their music on a CD, The Second Place Confession, which Kaplan was selling at Jazzman's for $5. He has been playing at Mason for a few years, and tries to get back once each semester. Besides playing at Mason, he has played with his band at the Black Cat and the 9:30 Club, and performed solo at various colleges.

“[He did] good covers,” said Andrew Nieves, a junior at Mason, “I really enjoyed it. The fresh, new originals are really good too.”

Anna Sproull, also a junior, agreed: The music was "relaxing, chill.”

Kristen Byrne, chair of Program Board’s concert committee, helps bring small and local bands or artists to play at Mason events, including Tuesday Jams. According to Byrne, the concert committee issued a survey to Mason students about a month and a half ago to assess what type of music is most popular at the university and brought Gym Class Heroes and OneRepublic to play at Mason.

This Tuesday, the trend of smaller, local artists playing at Jazzman’s Café will continue with this week’s Tuesday Jams event. According to students, the weekly music shows are a good way to relax and enjoy music, comfy chairs, tasty drinks and conversations with friends.