How was your open mic or jam night last night?

[chris_b]

1 hour ago, p4ul said:

My local "The Welly" passes a full blown wellington boot about for the cash and have a card tap attached to it, AND the beer goes up by 10% at 8pm whenever musicians play as a "help the starving musician levey" which is clearly advertised and no one balks at it cos free entry for ever.

 

The crowd are very generous with the bucket. Which is why the management's short-sightedness is going to lose them a great earner.

 

I like the Welly boot idea. Nice one. We also have a card reader, which gets used a lot.

[tauzero]

Had a pretty full card tonight. Postponed from a couple of weeks ago as the organiser was unwell, there was a fairly small number of performers and as that included one drummer and one bass player, we were quite in demand - plus me playing guitar for Mrs Zero for four songs, and then we got called back for another couple later. We have another open mic night with the same organisers tomorrow night too.

[tauzero]

Probably going to cut down the amount that I go to the Shirley British Legion open mic night, as the guitarist who plays bass badly is also the one sat at the mixer who can just grab his bass and impose himself on whoever's playing, and I'm finding it a bit stressful (it's OK when somebody other than me who can play bass is playing, it's not so good when you're anticipating 25% of the notes being out of tune, time, or both). Plus we only get two songs apiece so Mrs Zero has even less to do than I have. Still, I did get to play a couple of songs with Annette that I've never played (or, in one case, heard) before, so that was fun.

 

Rather sobering event coming home from it. I leave the M42 at junction 10, and the roundabout was partially closed off by a number of police cars and another couple of vehicles, plus an ambulance. Going past the scene, I caught a glimpse of someone lying on the road with a full-face helmet a metre away from them. No sign of activity around them. It didn't look good.

[tauzero]

Just to follow on from those events, there's a report today that the motorcyclist died after a collision with a tractor.

 

On a happier note, Mrs Zero accompanied me to the open mic tonight. I didn't take a guitar, as one of the hosts played guitar for us on some songs we'd prearranged. Very enjoyable evening, kept me on my toes as there were three songs I didn't know - cue rapid exploration of Ultimate-Guitar.com to find the chords and squinting at my phone to follow them. And I jumped up to play "Nights in white satin" with one performer, and then discovered that he was tuned a semitone down, always a recipe for disaster.

[TrevorR]

Fun time at the Surrey Country Roots Jam last night. Bass players were thin on the ground with a couple  of last minute drop outs, so I ended up playing a few tomes. I was down to play four tunes - one of which I’d suggested and three more I was asked to play or had previously volunteered for. Then I got roped in to play with a guy I kinda know from another jam - he’s “a character”and so I played an impromptu, in the wrong key version of Springsteen’s The River and then Country Roads (both hanging on by the seat of my pants).

 

Best thing was, when I first sat down I saw another bass player off to my left who seemed vaguely familiar. However, with that whole “seeing someone you know but in the wrong context” thing, I just couldn’t place him… a which point, he waved and said “Hi”. Of course, it was @Happy Jack who had come along to check the jam out and see what the standard was and the split between proper old school country, country-pop and the seriously betasseled brigade. So good to see him and sit and chat. He ended getting up for one Hank Williams number playing his lovely old Ovation bass.

 

[Happy Jack]

49 minutes ago, TrevorR said:

Fun time at the Surrey Country Roots Jam last night. Bass players were thin on the ground with a couple  of last minute drop outs, so I ended up playing a few tomes. I was down to play four tunes - one of which I’d suggested and three more I was asked to play or had previously volunteered for. Then I got roped in to play with a guy I kinda know from another jam - he’s “a character”and so I played an impromptu, in the wrong key version of Springsteen’s The River and then Country Roads (both hanging on by the seat of my pants).

 

Best thing was, when I first sat down I saw another bass player off to my left who seemed vaguely familiar. However, with that whole “seeing someone you know but in the wrong context” thing, I just couldn’t place him… a which point, he waved and said “Hi”. Of course, it was @Happy Jack who had come along to check the jam out and see what the standard was and the split between proper old school country, country-pop and the seriously betasseled brigade. So good to see him and sit and chat. He ended getting up for one Hank Williams number playing his lovely old Ovation bass.

 

Yup, fun to be there, and of course I got put with a "character" as well which is why we ended up playing Move It On Over as a 13-bar, a novel approach and one with many advantages. 🙄

 

Nice jam that. Decent venue, loads of free parking over the road, good selection of beers, above all a very friendly bunch.

 

Made a nice change from "Slow Blues in G" and foot-on-the-monitor, braindead Dadrock ... What's that you say, Sooty? Would I like another extended guitar solo? Oh well ... if you insist ...

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/772330602298385

[tauzero]

We get the occasional extended solo, and the lads do get excited...

 

 

I can't climb onto chairs these days, I just have a walk around and a sit down.

[Chienmortbb]

Well I ran my first open mic night yesterday at the Legion in Broadstone, Poole. I knew that one of the best Open Mic'ers around was on holiday, and although I have been pushing it for three weeks, I have not had much interest.

 

I used my new Wharfedale Typhon 8AXFs and a single Citronic Casa 10 Sub. I mixed it through my A&H CQ20R mixer using two mics, one a Sontronics Solo, the other was a Behringer BA85A. Two feeds were also connected for instruments.

 

Initially the sound was odd, then I realised that the LH top was set way down on the speaker, and it came to life. 

 

There seemed to be no performers present until I said that people could sing to a backing track. One of the lads got up and said he would get his guitar from the car. He told me later that it was a fluke that he had his guitar in the car, and he had not heard that open mic night was happening. I was shocked when he walked back in with an Acoustasonic, and he proceeded to play 6 songs, showing some real skill on the guitar. 

 

Later, another chap said he came, although he had almost lost his voice. Both he and Acoustasonic man said that they would be back next month. Finally, a few people got up and sang along to backing tracks.

 

So although the attendance was small, I am encouraged that younger lad said he would bring his Dad on Keyboards next time and Chris, always good for playing as long as you want, is back next month. I am looking forward to it already.

 

[rwillett]

I did my first singing open mic last night. Not sang in public since I was wearing shorts and did "Where is love?" from Oliver. 

 

I did two songs of my own, "Blues ain't no good to me" and "Another lonely man". 

 

Never sung with a microphone, never sung whilst playing a guitar and never in front of a crowd. So popped my cherry a number of times there. 

 

Thankfully they were gentle and of the six people who did things I was the only one with original material so that was a slight bonus. People were very nice afterward. 

 

A Sennheiser E935 is now winging it's way to me. Not making that mistake again and will practise an awful lot more. I didn't bomb but learnt a lot. 
 

Rob