This was my second time at the “Mod-X”. Although the crowd was pretty thin and somewhat distracted, I played two songs I’d done there before (Jesus and John Lennon and This Time) and debuted It’s About Time. Since it was the first time I played it live, I had to take my music stand with me. There was no way I could get all those words memorized that soon. Seems crazy that I can’t remember the words to my own song, but there it is.
There were a few folks playing that were there last time (the 15th, I believe) and a few new musicians. There weren’t many people there when I played (I went first). Jen and Rach showed up just about when I finished. Thanks for coming out anyways you two.
Looking forward to playing a few more of these things to work the kinks out of these songs (and my playing and singing). I came across an open mic night in Canada (of all places) today. It’s at a place just over the river called the Mackenzie House. I’ll keep you posted.
Take care,
J
Permalink
Leave a Comment
Happy St. Patrick’s day everyone! The monthly open mic night at the Art House in Northville turned into a great festival of Irish music (and some other kinds too)! The roster of musicians was packed and so was the house. We had to cut down our sets to two songs instead of three to make time for all of the performers. This was a standing room only performance. People were lined along the walls all night.
Many of the musicians chose Irish tunes to entertain the crowd tonight. I had struggled with what to perform, but finally decided on The Orange and the Green by The Irish Rovers as well as an original piece, which I played last month, An Irish Love Song. Although I was very hesitant to do The Orange and the Green all week (I just started messing around with it a few days ago), it turned out great. I just made sure the audience sang the chorus. They took over! It was awesome. The last two times through, I didn’t even sing (a blessing, trust me). Moral of the story, if you think you’re doing the right thing, even though it scares you, do it!
There were a bunch of great performances tonight. A group that played dulcimers, a harpist, and a few other local acts all entertained us well (Kathy Neiman, Kathy Fitzpatrick come to mind). My new “open mic” friend Dan Yando was able to be there as well and did a great rendition of Over the Rainbow.
It’s been very cool to have a little “flurry” of shows to do this last week or two. I’ll be on the lookout for more venues with open mics until I can start getting shows of my own or with other performers. In the meantime, Happy St. Patty’s day!
John
Permalink
Leave a Comment
Had another open mic downriver tonight. This time at an interesting little place called The Modern Exchange. Turns out it’s a small vintage clothing store in the front. But in the back, it’s an enviable performance venue! The stage is raised with plenty of nice lighting and the sound was very nice. Although the crowd was a bit sparse (about 20-30), it was a great evening of music. I think this venue is just getting the open mic thing off the ground, so I look for it to pick up as the months go by.
As usual, I got to meet a few cool folks. Liz Snavely was the featured performer tonight. She hails from the Grand Rapids area. She did a few songs (solo acoustic) and we took time to chat a bit during and after the show. Jennica Jameson works at the Mod-X and was very cool in telling me about the place last week. She did a couple of songs at the end of the night as well.
Michael Shilakes is a local musician from Taylor. He was another performer rockin’ out the harmonica tonight (me being the other!). He and I compared notes as we both lost our jobs about a year ago. He has taken to playing music full time for a living, while I’m just starting out part time. We agreed to try to get together sometime and play a show. There were quite a few additional performers that I didn’t get the chance to meet.
I was able to play three songs. I did my old standby’s Jesus and John Lennon and This Time. Between those two songs, though, I debuted Rivers. I’d never played that one out before and it seemed to go fairly well. It’s a finger picked piece, so it was something new for me. I noticed that I made more mistakes tonight than ever before, but it didn’t bother me.
Looking forward to playing at the Art House in Northville on Saturday night!
John
Permalink
Leave a Comment
Just got back from the East River Folk Society open mic for this month. This was my second time playing out! Seemed to go pretty well. I played the same songs that I did at Northville, just a different order, as follows:
Jesus and John Lennon
An Irish Love Song
This Time
As was the case last month, I met some pretty cool folks. Mike and Janet came all the way out there to check out the action too. Exchanged a few e-mail addresses and phone numbers. If I keep learning as much as I did tonight every time I play out, I’m gonna really progress pretty quick. I’m sure I’m just on a huge learning curve right now. Getting comfortable though.
Charlie’s band, Rise Again, did a great job on Mr. Tanner again. Man, I’ve been on a Harry Chapin bender for a month because of that song. They also did a great song called the Mary Ellen Carter (from which they take their name) by the late Stan Rogers. I’ve got to look this dude up and check out his music.
Anyway, I’m beat and off to bed. Hope to see you at the Art House in Northville next Saturday.
John
Permalink
Leave a Comment
Although I’ve been focusing on trying to prepare myself to play coffee house shows (and maybe even a gig of my own), I’m still writing. Seems like every week or so I learn something new about my craft.
Been really digging into some early folk of late. Also some singer/songwriter stuff from the ’70’s. Ever since I heard Charlie’s band Rise Again do their cover of Harry Chapin’s Mr. Tanner I’ve been captivated by that song. I even went so far as to post the lyrics on my myspace page (and a short bit in the title of this post). They seem to really hit home. And that last chorus…. whoa. Chapin could really grab your attention with his vocals.
Speaking of Mr. Tanner, I’ve been kicking around the idea of adopting a stage/band name. I love my family name, but it just doesn’t seem that memorable (not to mention the fact that about two people have pronounced it correctly my entire life). But, on the other hand, it just seems so weird to use another name. I’ve come up with a few band-like names and one or two stage names. One friend suggested John Tanner, sort of a tribute to the spirit of Chapin’s song. It’s about the best thing I’ve got so far.
If you have any ideas along these lines, pro or con, drop me a message! Hope to see some of you on March 10th or March 17th.
Thanks,
John
Permalink
Leave a Comment
