Open mic nights

[Geek99]

Went to one last night - was a first timer
More a social event for the church with people doing turns. A pro guitard offered to play a tune with me (which was nice of him but also quite nerve wracking) - my unexpected arrival meant they'd scheduled me in for 11, this was after my child induced curfew do couldn't do it.
Next time ..., guitard suggested "that's alright mama" and a run though at some point before
He said it's better to be prepared if you're a first timer - but I had my relic p bass and I felt ready to take on the world. Mixed feelings about not playing and so not breaking my duck

Edited October 4, 2014 by Geek99

[seashell]

Well done mate. Hope you get to play next time.
. I' ve done a couple of open mics recently, on my own without the rest of my band. I wanted to have a go at jamming with some other musicians, and doing more old fashioned rock and blues.
So I've pitched up at a local blues club and had a go. The first time, I just went along and watched, just to get a feel of the place really.
Next time I pitched up with me bass. Didn't get called up till really late by which time I was really nervous. Made a terrible hash of it tbh, but they were very forgiving and encouraged me to go back again.
So I went back this week and was slightly better. Kept it very simple - pretty much stuck to root notes. But, similar to what happened to you, I got talking to a guy who suggested something I could do with him next time. (Sunshine of Your Love, which at least I do know).
It's a whole new experience just playing off the cuff with guys you've only just met. Quite scary, but it can only improve you as a player, I think.

[icastle]

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1412456713' post='2569114']
It's a whole new experience just playing off the cuff with guys you've only just met. Quite scary, but it can only improve you as a player, I think.
[/quote]

Absolutely.

Playing at home alone or rehearsing with a band is safe and pretty untaxing.

Playing an unrehearsed (or unknown) tune with musicians you've only just met, in front of an audience of other musicians - that's when you really start learning.

[icastle]

I'm not a huge fan of Country music, but here's a snippet from a set at a local plug and play a couple of years back.

Neither myself or the fiddler had ever heard the tune before - all we knew was 'it's in G'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgC5J-oK6ww

[Mornats]

I do loads of open mics and it's quite the experience. You're often there within reaching distance of the half dozen people you're playing too, most of them musicians. It can feel like you're in an exam at times and is quite nerve-wracking but then afterwards once you start chatting to people you find that it's one of the most supportive atmospheres around.

[yorks5stringer]

I attend around 3 open mics a month: I usually favour the quieter ones as often I'm the only Bass player so stay on all night...! My heart often sinks as yet another singer songwriter get ups, declines my bass accompaniment and bores me rigid for 20 minutes! The best one has just been knocked on the head however, just me and the guy who ran it, he'd flick through his book of songs, ask if I knew it, I always said yes and then just read it off his chord chart if I didn't actually know it. We'd always have to finish with "The Chain", just me, an acoustic guitar and him with a Vocaliser. Happy Days ( which incidentally we never did)....

Edited October 4, 2014 by yorks5stringer

[jonunders]

I played at one a few months ago with my bass teacher. We practiced 5 songs and had a singer join us. I was informed that there was no drummer in the background to keep things moving it fell to me to keep the tempo. Not a prob;lem I thought. How wrong I was, I felt like a rabbit in headlights, the most scary thing I have done since picking up the bass. Needless to say things didn't go to plan, everybody was really kind and afterwards my teacher said to me that it was good because the experience I gained was invalueble and only a hand full of people notice the mistakes. thats the fun of playing live and being placed out of your comfort zone.

[blue]

I don't do open mics. First of all I don't perform without compensation.

The reason I don't do them is because around here they're not really open. They are very clicking and mostly hosted by a band and if your not a guitarist or harp player and most of all not a friend of the band, you don't play.

When I was young we had jam sessions and they were truly open to anyone, anyone could sit in. These jam sessions were great and we would play for hours and it was a great networking tool. This was 45 years ago. I was not as guarded back then as I am now.

Blue

[icastle]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1412494112' post='2569228']
The reason I don't do them is because around here they're not really open. They are very clicking and mostly hosted by a band and if your not a guitarist or harp player and most of all not a friend of the band, you don't play.
[/quote]

I think that might be one of those 'UK\US differences' things.

I play at 3 of these on a regular basis and usually do another couple per month on an adhoc basis.

I've not come across any that are run by a band and if there is a clique it's global and you're made part of it within minutes.

Instrument wise, just about anything goes.

As for recompense, I've had a lot of work from various singer songwriters I've met at these places and it builds your reputation, which is never a bad thing.

[Freddy Le Cragg]

I did an open mic night out of boredom one thursday night. On the back of 3 or 4 songs I rattled off, I ended up getting a paying gig from the landlord of the pub and what I loosely call a solo career.

[Marvin]

I don't bother with open mics, most of them around my way are an acoustic fests so completely pointless for a bass player. Even then it's bands testing out material. There is one 'electric' open mic but it's quite cliquey, so much so it was rumoured it'd stop running as it was so poorly attended.

[Mornats]

We tend to take our band and do more acousticy numbers. So it'll be me on bass, Pinball on guitar and our singer. We've had a percussionist join us recently and he comes along now with his cajon.

[RhysP]

I don't understand people taking basses to open mic nights to be honest, as they very much tend to be places for singer/songwriters to play their stuff. If I was playing any of my acoustic stuff at an open mic night the last thing I'd want is a bassist with no experience of the material being played trying to bluff their way along with it.

Jam nights are a different thing altogether.

In my experience all these sorts of things tend to be incredibly cliquey & as a result I tend not to bother with them anymore - spent too many evenings waiting to play whilst the organisers & their friends turn it into a big buddy club circle jerk.

Edited October 5, 2014 by RhysP

[scalpy]

Met my wife playing an open mic night. Haven't felt the need to play another such evening since.

[Cat Burrito]

I think Open Mic is a great way of improving playing or road testing a new band. The danger often is expecting your band to then make the jump from performing there to paid gigs and I've had three bands that got stuck in that circuit initially. I agree some of them can be a bit clicky too but then that's just a case of doing the fun ones and being a bit more selective. On balance I'm a fan despite how this post reads back.

[paulbass]

I've done a few open mike nights a few years ago and it was fun. I prefer it when you just jam something in a certain key and see where it takes you. I feel your on an even keel that way rather trying to play something the others know and you dont. You can meet some great people and i found that you can connect with certain musicians when you least expect it! Ive even been in bands with some of them and become good friends.

[tauzero]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1412513705' post='2569464']
I don't understand people taking basses to open mic nights to be honest, as they very much tend to be places for singer/songwriters to play their stuff. If I was playing any of my acoustic stuff at an open mic night the last thing I'd want is a bassist with no experience of the material being played trying to bluff their way along with it.
[/quote]

My experience has been rather different. My more recent open micing followed on from getting Mrs Zero to sing in public - we started going to one open mic night, and I finished up becoming the house band's bassist (they didn't have one before), which meant that I could be called on to play with anyone. Some nights were primarily singer/songwriters or people doing rather odd covers, other nights I barely got a chance to have a drink. So I couldn't generalise from attending the same open mic night regularly, let alone from attending assorted ones.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1412527423' post='2569601']
Met my wife playing an open mic night. Haven't felt the need to play another such evening since.
[/quote]

Oh come on, she can't be [i][b]that[/b][/i] bad, and anyway now you can't get caught like that again.

[Tuco]

I'm actually going to my first one in over 20 years next week!!

I'm kinda cheating though because I'll be with my drummer

[Geek99]

Organiser tells me the next one is oct 25th, and guitard willing to do duet so I have a firm date

[KevB]

I found them really useful, especially when I was co-opted into the house band for a while. Though I'd ben in a few bands by that time my musican knowledge was still pretty basic (probably still is) but being put 'on the spot' enough times does get you thinking if nothing else. I think it also gave me a bit more discipline as someone might ask me to play something i didn't know and I migh try to busk it one week but then I'd know i needed to go away and learn it for the next time they showed up. I always wondered why seasoned players showed up though I'm gald they did 'cos I learned a lot. I couldn't see what was in it for them except just the love of playing, which is fine I guess.

[Bottle]

I don't think there's any substitute for playing with other musicians. Now don't get me wrong, it won't replace at-home practice to a metronome and/or backing tracks, but there's no interaction. As others have echoed above, preparation is key, as well as knowing a few well-known songs (favourite at the moment is the venerable 'Hey Joe' but YMMV). I find knowing your way around a few standard keys helpful (and their relative minors and knowing some chord tones within those keys). The keys I've found useful include the following: Cmaj/Am, Gmaj/Em, Amaj/F#m, Dmaj/Bm etc

I've found a decent jam night in Ely after trying a couple out in Cambridge. They're a really friendly bunch - couple of good drummers, a few guitards and several bassists (I reckon at least four at the last one not including myself). There's a real range of musicians - one of the guys is well into '50's and '60's Rock 'n' Roll, Chuck Berry etc. Others are into more contemporary songs ('Get Lucky' seems popular). First song up we just jammed, I laid down a groove in Em (Em > Cmaj > Am > Dmaj) and we just sorta noodled around that.

I'd say suck it up and get playing - you never know what might come of it, and you'll soon get to see what needs work. I've picked up lots of things in my technique that need attention. It's helpful having a bass tutor at the moment too.


Ian

Edited October 6, 2014 by Bottle

[FinnDave]

Always seems like musical dogging to me, you meet up with complete strangers, perform intimate (musical) acts and go away feeling rather ashamed of yourself.

[Freddy Le Cragg]

I have one starting up next Friday....

[FinnDave]

In Oxfordshire? I'll be there, I know no shame.