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really late open mics

elavate7

elavate7

Jul 8, 2009
722
4
www.youtube.com
Disclosures
its all about "THE POCKET"
#1
i dont know bout you, but these piss me off. so my band went to an open mic last night and were the first ones there. when they brought out the sign up list, there were already 10 slots signed, so we were #11. we stayed for the first performance who did like 4 songs ( which is a bit much for an open mic who has like 11 pple on it). we knew it was going to be long till we were up, so we wnt to eat and called it a night lol. i do have a question...are you are you aloud to call in to have your name signed?
 
#3
I know the guys that do the open mics I go to. I ran into a guy that I used to work with at one of them 2 or 3 years ago. He was a basement bass player, and had never gigged before. As a result he was completely unknown to the guys running the open mic.

He got there before I did, and put in a request for a few specific songs (They have a big book o tunes). I walked in the door, got a drink at the bar, ran into this guy, talked to him for a minute, walked into the band room to find a table, the bass player saw me walk by, shoved his bass into my hands and walked away. He didn't come back until the end of the set. Next set he wanted to play drums, so he had me play bass again for a few.

The guy I used to work with got called up shortly before last call. He was a little ticked.
 
#7
I'm glad that we've got a good one in our area. The weeknight event sees people escape early-seeking rest for work the next day. That and the smoking venue [cough] are the only downsides in my view.
 
#8
elavate7 said:
are you are you aloud to call in to have your name signed?
Click to expand...
Evidently that's the case at that open mic. I don't go to those ... I'm from the old school (I play all acoustic music these days), gotta be there in person to sign up ... and a few more things ... Show up at the start, I don't want any "help" (accompaniment) unless I ask for it, STFU when someone is playing and/or singing, and stay til the end if possible (unless it's too painful ... ;))

But you guys are talking about an entirely different scene, I think.
 
#9
It depends on who you know at the open mic. When I first started playing again a a couple of years ago, I'd invariably go on late and play with the worst players there. Now, it's like Phalex says, the house bass player just hands me the cable to plug in, at least when I'm not the house bass player. ;)

There are 4-5 open mics a week in this area, and they all run differently. Some are really fair, some are artistes only, some are just swamped with players. Some are worth taking a new band to, and some are not.
 
#10
Can't say I'm a big fan of open mics. Once you've been in a steady gigging band for a while then these events are not that interesting. The ones I've been to seem to have a core clique of players that get the prime action and newer to the scene players tend to get pushed to the end of the night. Could be good for networking if your looking for a specific talent to fill. Might be cool to lurk for a while and find some good songs to learn.
 
#11
Open mikes and blues jams are like craigslist: creative chaos. There are TONS of these around here (Eugene Oregon) in my travels, I have often found them to be the best way to "audition" for the local scene when you are new in town. You meet local players, get a sense for what is happening or not, who not to work for, etc....
 
#13
The open mic we play at does "Featured Artist", either one our two full bands that are signed up ahead of time and on the flyers for that week (which was cool for us) and they play starting at 8:30, people trickle in and sign up for the rest of the night, and they start at 9:30.
 
#14
There is something about open mics I can't stand. That said I still enjoy going to them and have occasionally hosted them. I really don't know how to properly organize them. There is definitely a mystic art in that. I've tried to order things so that everyone had a fair chance to play but would still end up with a few who hadn't played by the end of the night.

I think you have to go into those things realizing that it is not "your" gig, but simply a chance for you to gain a bit of experience and exposure and network with other musicians. You also have to realize that the host is usually trying to organize the chaos as best as they can and whatever they say goes. This means that you might not play, but you'll always get an opportunity to listen to others.

Typically the host will call whoever is on the list and if they don't show up then they call the next person on the list. Sometimes they'll make a wisecrack about the act not being there or whatever, but typically they won't hold it against you the next time you show up. You just have to learn to show up earlier next time.
 
#15
I can understand some of the frustrations of being called up close to the end of the jam. But it happens.

Usually the guy running the jam wants to see a player do his/her thing when the place isn't full so they can see what their talent level is.

There's a great open Blues jam here in DC. When I first went there, I didn't get called up until close to late. When I got to play, they were impressed and I usually get called up early and often after they figured out that I knew pretty much every Blues groove known to man. I also spent time talking to them, and since they were Blues geeks like me, we got along well, which helped.

For a good jam, the guy running it will try to match players optimally, so sometimes they may mess with the order. For example, there were a couple of younger teenagers at the jam one night. They got on early, and they brought in me to play bass and sing, and another good drummer up there to hold things down for the kids. We had a good set. The guy running the jam apologized for putting me up with the kids, but told me he trusted that I could keep things together, so that's why he did it. He also does stuff like bring in a new bassist with a regular drummer, or keep a hot rhythm section up for more than a couple of sets. He's trying to keep the best group of players up there for the longest time, so that the audience is still entertained.

For the Blues jams, if it's run well, and you're patient, not easily offended, and play bass well, you'll have plenty of opportunities to show your stuff.
 

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