Open Mic Night

[richardp69]

I think I mentioned that I hooked up with a really good guitar player from a town named Hillman, about an hour away. He plays really well and his voice is decent. My guitar playing is very so/so and I just play background/fills for him mostly. I handle most of the lead vocals.

We've been playing at an open Mic in Hillman. The facility is really nice with a superb sound system and an appreciative crowd. The players range from really very good (a couple did session work in Nashville) to novices just starting out and getting their feet wet in front of a crowd. The crows is really supportive regardless of skill level.

Last night Jeff and I did three songs. John Denver's "Back Home Again", Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" and we closed with my arrangement of "America the Beautiful".

Hillman is a very small, very conservative town with salt of the earth people who work hard for what they need and to put food on the table (usually at minimum wage), don't expect handouts or for others to pay their way and who love the country we live in and call home.

After we played "America The Beautiful" they were all up and stomping and clapping. It's one of the things I really appreciate about living in a tiny Mid Western town. The people are real and appreciate what they have (often times that's not all that much) and they feel fortunate to live here in the US of A . and aren't afraid to tell you so.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Hillman is a very small, very conservative town with salt of the earth people who work hard for what they need and to put food on the table (usually at minimum wage), don't expect handouts or for others to pay their way and who love the country we live in and call home.

After we played "America The Beautiful" they were all up and stomping and clapping. It's one of the things I really appreciate about living in a tiny Mid Western town. The people are real and appreciate what they have (often times that's not all that much) and they feel fortunate to live here in the US of A . and aren't afraid to tell you so.

Man I would love for my family and I to be part of that...

 

[Rich Cohen]

I played at an open mic last night in a lovely rural setting in Nelson County, Virginia. And my wife went with me! Thus I couldn't philander.

 

[GGJaguar]

Sounds great. I got turned off of open mic nights because the ones I went to were cliquish. Clearly the one you went to is very welcoming.

 

[Cougar]

My guitar playing is very so/so and I just play background/fills for him mostly. I handle most of the lead vocals.

Wow, great to hear, Richard! And good choice of music for that crowd!

 

[Rich Cohen]

Sounds great. I got turned off of open mic nights because the ones I went to were cliquish. Clearly the one you went to is very welcoming.

The performing group is great. The only annoyance was some loud patrons at the bar and a squeaky front door. The guy in the white beard on the right was the annoying bar patron. The two on the left were also loud. The entire establishment was constructed from trees on the property of the farm in which the bar/restaurant is located. The bar surface is amazing. I have found that if you insert yourself into the cliquish group with interesting questions for them, they will warm up...at least most of the time. Most folks are friendly after a friendly gesture, I find.

 

[fronobulax]

The only annoyance was some loud patrons at the bar

In Ye Olden Days the differences between a concert and background music were pretty obvious and the expected behavior from the audience was different. People usually paid to attend a concert and were expected to give the performers their undivided attention so eating, drinking and conversation were unexpected and discouraged. Background music was just that and some degradation from the concert experience was expected.

Now there are clashes of expectations between people who go to a venue that is presenting background music and hope for a concert. But unless the venue is a concert hall, complaining about noisy patrons is not going to have much impact. Indeed I hear far more complaints locally about background music (live or otherwise) that is too loud.

 

[walrus]

Great story, Richard! I'm envious!

BTW, I'd love to hear your version of "America the Beautiful" if you ever get a chance to record it.

walrus

 

[richardp69]

Great story, Richard! I'm envious!

BTW, I'd love to hear your version of "America the Beautiful" if you ever get a chance to record it.

walrus

Yeah, my partner is going to record 10 or so of our songs for a demo CD we'll use to share with places we may play at. When/if we get that done I'll post a couple of the songs (if I can figure out how to do it)

 

[Nuuska]

Here ?

 

[Brad Little]

I'm a regular at an open mic about a half hour away. It's been my first return to performing since my bout with cancer and has a few thing going for it. One, it's in a bakery/coffee shop (only open one night a month for the open mic), so no obnoxious drunks. Two, there is a professional sound man (traveled the world with some big acts). It's all acoustic and very encouraging for inexperienced players. Players vary from inexperienced to veteran performers, including a few alumni of the '60s Greenwich Village scene. Cons are that because the venue is not regularly open evenings, it's a destination, not some place people are used to dropping in for after dinner coffee and pastry, so lots of the same people each month. but usually a few newcomers. Hey, if you're in the vicinity of Oxford, CT check it out, second Tuesday of the month at the Oxford Baking Company. (We need more Guilds to contrast to the mostly Martin players!)

 

[richardp69]

Here ?

Not sure what you're referiing to with "here?".

 

[fronobulax]

Not sure what you're referiing to with "here?".

I went searching for a place with that name in Nelson County VA and didn't find one so my guess is that @Nuuska - who has been known to geolocate places - took a guess and got it wrong.

Maybe he was just trying for a generic "dive bar" in which case this isn't the veer it seems like

These Ice Cream Treats Taste Like a Dive Bar

The five-percent ABV "Dive Bars" recreate the experience with notes of real beer, salty peanuts, sticky caramel floors, and a hint of a tobacco.

www.foodandwine.com

 

[Nuuska]

Yup - I searched Hillman Michigan - and this is what I found - did not spend any more time for possible alternatives.

 

[Nuuska]

Plus - "about one hour drive" matches . . .

 

[richardp69]

oh, ok. I'm not from Hillman. I live about an hour away) The open Mic is at Patchwood Plaza. No alcohol served and a nice mix of people from teenagers to old guys like me.

 

[Nuuska]

So I was about 1/2 miles off - and on the other side of the street - DANG - but then - I was aiming from 4044 miles distance - so methinks it was fairly accurate.

 

[fronobulax]

And I will confess I lost the bubble and associated Chauncey's with Rich's open mic, not Richard's.

 

[Rich Cohen]

I went searching for a place with that name in Nelson County VA and didn't find one so my guess is that @Nuuska - who has been known to geolocate places - took a guess and got it wrong.

Maybe he was just trying for a generic "dive bar" in which case this isn't the veer it seems like

These Ice Cream Treats Taste Like a Dive Bar

The five-percent ABV "Dive Bars" recreate the experience with notes of real beer, salty peanuts, sticky caramel floors, and a hint of a tobacco.

www.foodandwine.com

Frono,
It's called Woodridge Brewery, off of US 29 in Nelson County. It's off the beaten track, up a hill in the middle of nowhere. The restaurant/bar was constructed out of trees on the land which is actually a farm. They have some great brews there. Otherwise, I tend to play at open mics in Lovingston at a place called Rapunzel's, also off of 29 South. Then there's the restaurant in Charlottesville called The Local which has an open mic every Monday night beginning at 9pm. Some people to come down from Culpeper to play there also.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Frono,
It's called Woodridge Brewery, off of US 29 in Nelson County. It's off the beaten track, up a hill in the middle of nowhere. The restaurant/bar was constructed out of trees on the land which is actually a farm. They have some great brews there. Otherwise, I tend to play at open mics in Lovingston at a place called Rapunzel's, also off of 29 South. Then there's the restaurant in Charlottesville called The Local which has an open mic every Monday night beginning at 9pm. Some people to come down from Culpeper to play there also.

Does Neal still run an open mic night in your town?