“I’m not saying that we always sound great,” said graphic designer Carlos Hasse about his weekly guitar circle held at Symposia Bookstore in Hoboken every Tuesday night, “but it’s always a good time.”
The Hoboken resident has been heading up the circle for the past two years trying to keep a balance of attracting new people and maintaining a small-group feel. At most the group has had eight members, which was a lot for the predominantly guitar-based group.
The group gets together at the used bookstore on Washington Street merely to jam and play guitar songs together.
“Sometimes it gets a little tough for everyone to get on the same page,” Hasse said, “but for the most part the songs are all easy to arrange.” Now, the group averages five or six players a night, which is just enough for the participants. “Once it gets more than that, everything gets a bit crowded.”
“There’s no real end to the kind of stuff we are willing to try.” – Carlos Hasse
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“It’s not just guitars,” said manager Carmen Rusu, who has worked at the store with her husband for eight years. “Some people like to sing and accompany the musicians, too. It’s a lot of fun on a Tuesday night.”
Beginners welcome
Hass and company welcome musicians of any skill level to the circles and, being a guitarist of 25 years himself, Hasse is always looking for more players.
“We’re very loose and open and like sharing songs with each other,” Hasse said. “There’s no real end to the kind of stuff we are willing to try. Most of our stuff isn’t too complicated – they’re pretty straight forward chords that most people are able to pick up on.”
From jazz tunes to country, the circle plays a variety of different songs that the musicians pick up as they go. “I leave it completely open to the players,” Hasse said. “It’s definitely a sharing environment.”
Small-band feel
“So far, I‘ve learned a lot more tunes and picked up some great guitar technique,” Hasse said about the circle. “And apart from the enjoyment of the music for ourselves, it’s a great way to meet some new people.” Although the group has played with other larger acoustic guitar groups, like the Hudson County Acoustic Musicians Group Jam, the circle wants to remain a close-knit operation.
“We played this massive group jam at a bar,” Hasse said. “There were more than 20 people. You could barely hear yourself play. Everyone was just strumming and singing, which is an example of what we don’t want to do with the circle.”
Although the group is considering all of the opportunities for the circle, like performing professionally, Hasse would be happy to keep his small circle inside the bookstore.
“The core idea behind the circle has been to play music for ourselves,” Hasse said. “We welcome anyone to come down and join us.”
For more information about the weekly guitar circle, visit www.symposia.us.
Sean Allocca can be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com