I encounter a lot of people playing Fabulous Thunderbirds songs around here (much more so than SRV, usually one or two per jam), but I'm not sure if that's a regional thing or national.

I've been attending Blues jams for about 20 years now... will you be jamming with your own band there or just you with other jammers or the host band? Something to consider, there's a reason why you hear the same songs at Blues jams, just regular 12-bar (1,4,5) format, they're easier to follow. If you decide to learn a song that's not the standard 12-bar Blues then the other jammers will have a hard time following you, it won't sound good, and you'll be disappointed.

I would stick to the 1,4,5 format, learn a slow one, medium shuffle, and fast shuffle, that will prepare you for just about anything at a jam. Once you get to know the jammers out there you can find out what other songs they can play and attempt those.

There were times that I wanted to do some Cray but only a few knew the changes... here's a few songs to get you started:

Slow: Stormy Monday, sky is crying, sweet sixteen
Shufles: Help me (Sonny Boy or Jr), why you so mean to me (AK), Hideaway, etc...

one last thing, if this is a true Blues jam with "real" Blues players I wouldn't do any Gary Moore or even Hendrix... SRV yes, if you want something different that is.

Have fun! Jams are a great way to improve your playing.

I'm glad to hear that someone besides me is playing Fabulous Thunderbirds stuff; they are a criminally overlooked source for some great blues tunes.

Are people playing the early ("first fabulous four") albums or playing their hits? I have nothing against their three "commercial" albums ("Tuff Enuff", "Hot Number" and "Powerful Stuff"), but those are really not their best albums.

Even later, when Jimmie Vaughan left, they made some good discs; "Walk that Walk, Talk That Talk" was pretty good, but "Roll Of the Dice" from 1995 (Kid Ramos played guitar) was possibly their best album, outside of their early (pre-Tuff Enuff) albums.

Here is a video of me performing it at BB King's Blues Club in Orlando.

Try "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" by Eric Clapton (Derek & the Dominoes). Audiences love it and no one else in my area ever plays it, so it has become a trademark song for me at my gigs and jams. Here is a video of me performing it at BB King's Blues Club in Orlando.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FEcs26_tVo