JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Open Mic Night Policies

I'm starting to hit some of the open mic nights in my area and have found some interesting differences among them. It might be nice to hear from the JPF community about how their various open mic nights are run.

Usually, there is a sign-up sheet; folks can sign up in order or choose a specific time slot. A helpful host notifies the next-up performer at least one slot in advance so they're pre-tuned and ready to roll. Once onstage, 3 songs are allowed. Some hosts discourage any remarks; others encourage a BRIEF story about the song to be played.

Sometimes, when a performer cancels after signing up, instead of moving all performers up in the schedule, some hosts will allow late walk-ins to grab those slots. (In my book, this seems very UN-kosher to the musicians who have been patiently waiting their turn.)

I've also found that not all information necessary can be found in the venue's entertainment listing in the newspaper. For example, it's probably assumed that all venues welcome cover tunes; however, some do not and should probably mention this fact in their open mic listings.

Anyone care to comment?

------------------
www.mp3.com/crisisrocks
www.mp3.com/dianatyler

Diana,

Sometimes it's actually better to insert someone into an open slot rather than bump everyone up. The reaso is that if you are playing at 10PM.. you might have friends comeing to see your slot... but if 1 or 2 people are no shows and you move up 30 minutes.. then they miss your show. Also, if you have to fill 4 hours.. and all the slots are initially taken, then the stand-by artists fill the slots if and when they open.. or they don't play at all..

A problem that sometimes happens at shows is pre-scheduling friends into certain slots.. but you didn't mention that so you haven't faced it.. getting 3 songs is unusual for an open mic that I have been to. It's usually 1 or 2 songs max. At the JPF shows which have 15-60 artists performing we generally only have each act do a song. If we have time for 2 then we do it in 2 rounds so that everyone gets a chance to see everyone else for at least 1 song before people start bailing out OR if they do leave without watching the others, then they only get 1 song which is fair.

Brian

Diane,
I've found open mics vary a huge amount from venue to venue. It depends to an extent at how popular they are. I've been at some where every singer gets to sing 5-6 songs, others just one. Sometimes they were split up into an exact minute value. (I kept a sheet in my wallet with the times of my current play list, so I could add up the times and fit the slot as close as possible. one night it was 4 minutes, one night it was much much slower and everyone got 12 minutes)
Most of the ones I attended were mostly covers. Only one I can think of was strictly originals.
I found that the host can make all the difference. I went to one where the host would give his 2-3 friends the earliest slots (when the audience was the biggest)
months later they had no clue who the rest of us were. (was very divisive)
Ans slowly but surely most of the "non special" singers left, while the host couldn't figure out why.
Some venues encouraged a lot of jamming, others were strictly solos (or duos and such)

------------------
Harriet
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/9/harrietamesmusic.htm

I'd like to hear more people's thoughts on local open mics.. what works best.. etc...

Thanks,

Brian

There are two I've been to, and at the same venue on different nights.

One is: You must own the copyright. You have 8 minutes. You sign up to a slot, and empty slots get removed. The same genre is not performed 2x in a row. You pay $5 to get in. There's a featured-performer deal like at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. No genre restrictions. You can play, or perform to tape, or a mix.

The other is: anybody goes. Covers or not. 2 songs.

Weird mix on these.





------------------
-----Jenna, GRex

GREX - For people who like great music www.grexonline.com

http://stage.vitaminic.com/giles_ascap2

http://www.soundclick.com/gilesascap

My favorite Open Mic is hosted by Jeff Plankenhorn www.jeffplankenhorn.com at Saengerhalle in New Braunfels, TX. Jeff's 3 piece band opens with a set then they go to the sign up sheet where the performer can elect to have (pre-arranged, of course) Jeff's band back him/her up. The band is SO talented EVERYONE sounds like a rock star! Nice sound system, nice stage, no cover charge and if you want to do cover songs, that's ok! Many Monday nights I have seen awesome talents grace that stage. Generally, performers get to do three songs unless too many pickers show up then only two songs are allowed. Its always been a feel-good experience.

I have been to a ton of open mics in the Philadelphia area, and even ran my own for a while. I'll list some ideas below, but my favorite idea is used at Godfrey Daniels, where everyone arrives by a certain time, and picks a Scrabble tile (A-Z), which determines performance order for the evening. If you want to trade tiles with someone at that time, you're free to do so. The host then collects the tiles one by one, and creates the list.

Other methods I've seen:
- Sign up on the internet, or upon arrival. The host sometimes sticks to the list, and sometimes chooses to ignore the list. This allows some "quality control" by the host, but can be frustrating (and possibly unfair) to the musicians.

- Sign up by a specific time, and the host determines set length based on how many people signed up.

- Sign up sheet has a certain # of slots, and you can select the slot you want. The earlier you get there, the more choices you have. This worked to my benefit once because I came in a little late, and all the spots were filled except slot #1. So I took that slot, and played in front of an eager, enthusiastic crowd.

- Open mic "feature" gets to perform a longer set. Personally, I don't like this. I feel that open mic should be equal opportunity throughout the night.

- When I ran my little open mic night, I brought a white board, and wrote the performer's names on the board. They had their own marquee!

- There's an open mic down the street from me (Big Heads), where a band plays, then you get to play, and can choose whether you want accompaniment or not. Since I've become a "regular", I just jam with the band and other performers whenever I feel like it. This week I played congas, and next week I'll bring a keyboard - it's such a loose, party atmosphere, that I keep coming back.

- As many of you know, the Bluebird Cafe is so popular that lines form outside the cafe for open mic sign-up. A drawing determines whether you play or not. If you are not selected, you get a voucher that almost guarantees you can play the next time you come. And the voucher never expires, so you can come back a year later and still use it!

- Some hosts print out guidelines for newcomers, including what to say/not say, and reminders to tune-up before you get on stage (BTW, tuning on stage really disrupts the flow, and encourages audiences to lose focus). These guidelines help keep the show tight, which usually translates to good entertainment.

- Many things go into making a great open mic experience - the venue, the audience, the quality of the music. The best experience is when you feel supported and listened to by the audience. I've found that the personality of the host has the greatest impact on the audience. Hosts should be enthusiastic, supportive, and fair, and expect the best from the audience as well.

There are 2 open mics in my area that I attend frequently.. then run pretty much the same...
One Cafe holds 2 open mics/week... One on Tuesday night... the other on Friday night.. The only difference between the two is that on Friday night they have a "featured artist" which performs for 1 hour.
There is a sign up sheet at the door... performers sign in as they enter.... There is a host who handles the sound & introduces the acts... Everyone is allowed 3 songs or 15 minutes... except for really, really busy nights... the limit is 2 songs.
On Friday, the night opens with 2-3 open mic performers before the featured artist... There is a donation basket at the door for the evening for the featured artist. When the featured artist is done.. Open mic is opened back up.
Seems to work really well

The other open mic is sponsored by our local songwriting assoc. Original music is favored... the only requirement is if you sing a cover you must give credit to the songwriter... All members have an opportunity to host the open mic... sign up in advance... generally will open up the night with a 20 minute set... then announce performers... Again.. sign in sheet is at the door... first come.. first play... 3 song limit..
Love to sing!!!
Joanne

I appreciate everyone taking the time to add their open mic experiences to this column. (I like the Scrabble tile idea--it adds the exciting element of chance to the evening!)

Thanks for all your input!



------------------
www.mp3.com/crisisrocks
www.mp3.com/dianatyler

Howdy...

I dunno if you are still taking experiences with open mics but...

My experiences with open mics are limited to say the least (I've finally decided to get off my duff and start playing out, instead of composing and trying to "dream" that audience into materializing. I figured open mics in a safe environment were the best way to go - for now...)

The one place I've gone to (the Golden Goose Coffee House in Lakeside, CA) encourages cover material, and were rather Christian-oriented, but they allowed me to sing my own songs (I had to change the lyrics to one of them, as there were children running about), and were actually pretty supportive, despite my gadawful guitar playing.

I'm learning some more covers before I go back, tho'. I'll let you know what develops...

------------------
"...The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.
There's also a negative side..."
~ Hunter S. Thompson

[This message has been edited by JOATSong (edited 04-05-2003).]

[This message has been edited by JOATSong (edited 04-05-2003).]