Archive for May, 2009
Open Mic Network Update – May 25th, 2009
Hi everybody,
Both Open Mics ran very smoothly last week. The Dan was busy but very, very manageable with 18 performers gracing the stage including one new face David Blackmore (no relation to Richie Blackmore).
He gave us a couple of songs accompanied by “percussionist for hire” Costa who is the Open Mic Network’s version of James Brown’s “The Hardest Working Man In Showbusiness”.
The night ended with Kenny Wison getting Carroll (bass), Glen Skuthorpe (lead guitar) and Costa (percussion) up on stage for an all in Jam. Wonderful music played by wonderful musicians and a perfect way to end off the night.
With the start of the Open Mic @ The Joiners the start time for The Dan will go back to 8pm. If there’s an influx of performers I’ll have to play the start time by ear. We’ll see how it goes.
David Blackmore & Costa
The Joiners on the other hand started a little slow at first but the running sheet filled up as the night went on. For me, as MC, it felt like the good old days at The Dan.
There were 15 performers last Thursday with two new faces James Ross and Sam popping in to say hello. James wowed the audience with his 1950’s numbers while I accompanied Sam on a version of “Flame Trees”.
Loosh stopped by again to showcase some more of his original music but my person al highlight was a performance by a 1990’s cover trio called “Flannell Lounge” made up of Matt Saunders, Emily and Shane. What a great name 
Flannell Lounge in full flight
Car-parking was an issue again last week at The Joiners but unfortunately there’s not much that anybody can do about it and having “The Phantom” extend their season at the Entertainment Centre didn’t help matters however, this Thursday sees the “The Pussycat Dolls” performing at the EntCent as well so brace yourselves.
I can assure you though, from looking at the EntCent website, performances on a Thursday night won’t happen very often. I’ll try as much as I can to let you all know in advance any information regarding events at the EntCent falling on a Thursday. Events such as:
- Ross Noble Arena Tour 2009 – June 18th
- Princess Wishes (Disney On Ice) – June 25th
- So You Think You Can Dance – July 16th
- David Copperfield – August 13th
After Mr Copperfield it looks all clear to the end of 2009 however, this can change at anytime.
In other Open Mic Network news…
This website as well as the Open Mic Network as a whole is for everybody. We will only get out of it what we put into it. Now that the Open Mic Network website is in full swing I want to let you know of some of the things I want to do with the website and how you can help me out with it.
Media – I’m always on the lookout for photos, video and audio of the Open Mics in action. If you have anything that you’d like featured on this website or on the MySpace/Facebook/YouTube pages then let me know. I want to feature it and give credit where it’s due. It’s great promotion I reckon.
Testimonials – How would you answer the question “how have the Open Mics helped you as an artist/musician?” If you have an answer either send me an email or put it up on the Facebook Discussion Board. I’d love to hear from you.
Weblink – Do you have a link that you want to put in the Links Directory (eg: your website)? Let me know and I’ll make it so.
Products/Services – Are you involved with a service or do you have a product that you want to advertise to the Open Mic community through this website? If so, send me an email and we’ll work something out.
Gig Promotion – Do you perform elsewhere besides the Open Mics? Let me know when you’re gigging and I’ll put them up. This site is the perfect place to advertise your gig through but please bear in mind I won’t advertise Wednesday or Thursday gigs other than the Open Mics.
I’m sure you’ll understand why 
Ideas/Feedback – What do you want this community to do for you? How can we improve? What are we doing right/not right? Any ideas, feedback or questions? Let me know, I’m all ears.
Last but not least…
Very soon I’m going to start a “Featured Performer” section on this site. This idea is still in the embryonic stage but it will entail answering some interview type questions for a profile that will stay up on the website for a week, fortnight, month… who knows as yet. Stay tuned on how you can participate in this initiative.
Ok, here is a reminder of what’s happening this week:
Wednesday May 27th, 2009
Daniel O’Connell Hotel
165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide
8pm – Midnight
Open Mic @ The JA
Thursday May 28th, 2009
Joiners Arms Hotel
9 Manton Street, Hindmarsh
8pm – Midnight
As always, make sure you get to the venue early to avoid disappointment. I’ll be there at both venues from 6:30pm to take down names
See you Wensdee and/or Thursdee,
Corey
Open Mic Network – Facebook
Open Mic Network – MySpace
Open Mic Network – YouTube
Open Mic Network Update – May 19th, 2009
Hi everyone,
Wow! Last week was a week I won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
The Open Mic @ The Dan ran without a hitch even though it was a little quieter than normal. We had 4 spots left over which is a rare thing to experience however, I put that down to performers conserving their creative strength for the Open Mic @ The Joiners the night after.
Out of the 14 performers who graced the Open Mic stage there were 2 new faces.
The first being Sal Bonavita who gave us all a masterclass in the art of classical guitar. Seeing Sal up on stage further reinforced the notion I’ve always had in the back of my mind that Open Mics are a viable means of finding and encouraging new talent. Sal may have been playing guitar for years but it was the first time anyone at the Open Mic had seen him.
I could feel the excitement of the exposure of talent and the discovery of new music in the air.
The second new face was Mal Capone (yes, that’s his real name) who couldn’t wait to get up on stage and do his thing. His version of the John Denver classic “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” was an absolute hoot. I have a video of it, you can get to it here.
Sal Bonavita
Now, about last weeks Grand Launch of the Open Mic @ The Joiners…
It was an astounding success. Garth and the staff of the Joiners Arms were over the moon with the amount of people attending, the quality of the performers and the entertainment value of the evening.
I love it when a plan comes together
The night surpassed everyone’s expectations and I couldn’t have asked for a better start. I was expecting between 10 to 12 performers to kick things off with but we got a full book of 18 plus there were a few other performers who wanted to just have a look.
It was packed even though finding a carpark was a bit of an issue (I didn’t realise that the EntCent extended The Phantom” for another 2 weeks) however, once you got inside the Joiners Arms Hotel it was a musical oasis.
The food is good, the drinks are flowing, the staff are friendly and into the whole Open Mic concept (that really helps) and the overall space ROCKS!
The Performer-Friendly Crowd
Out of the 18 performers we had three new faces. First cab off the rank was a guy named Loosh and what a way to start off the new Open Mic. He was amazing, what a voice, what a guitarist, I want to see more of this guy.
Secondly we had Emily who is one half of a newly formed duo called The Wondertwins. Her partner Matt Saunders (a well known Open Mic’er himself) makes up the other half. It was her first time on stage playing the double bass to Matt’s songs and she did an amazing job.
The last new face for the night was Erica Graf who astounded the audience with her virtuosic acoustic guitar playing. She played two songs on the guitar at the same time which is a feat I had not heard since seeing Tommy Emmanuel live many years ago. WOW!
You would have noticed that I was taking pictures and taking video of both Open Mics. I’ve started to put some stuff together and posting them either on this website or on the Open Mic YouTube Page. Yes that’s right the Open Mic Network is now on YouTube so check it out and let me know what you think.
Ok, just a reminder of what’s happening this week,
Wednesday May 20th, 2009
Daniel O’Connell Hotel
165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide
8pm – Midnight
Open Mic @ The JA
Thursday May 21st, 2009
Joiners Arms Hotel
9 Manton Street, Hindmarsh
8pm – Midnight
As always, make sure you get to the venue early to avoid disappointment. I’ll be there at both venues from 6:30pm to take down names
See you Wensdee and/or Thursdee,
Corey
Open Mic Network – Facebook
Open Mic Network – MySpace
Open Mic Network – YouTube
Video: “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” By Mal Capone
Here is a video of Mal Capone (yes that’s his real name) performing the John Denver classic “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” at the Open Mic @ The Dan on May 13th.
Let me tell you, this guy is a lot of fun to watch as he gets right into what he does. He also writes his own material which I hope to hear more of at future Open Mics.
Until then,
Video: “Cafe Coolsville” By Andy & Marta
This is a video taken from the brand new Open Mic Network YouTube Page I’ve just put up the other day.
It features Andy Armstrong and Marta Bayly singing the Andy Armstrong tune “Cafe Coolsville” at the Grand Launch of the Open Mic @ The Joiners Arms on May 14th.
Check out the amazing harmonies…
My apologies for redness of the video, I’ll have the lighting rectified very soon however, this should give you a taste of the amazing talent that graces the Open Mic stages at The Dan and The Joiners,
Until then,
Corey
Open Mic Network – Facebook
Open Mic Network – MySpace
Tonight’s The Night – Open Mic @ The Joiners Arms
“Tonight’s the night, it’s gonna be alright” – Rod Stewart
It’s 2:30pm in the afternoon and I’ve done all I can with the promotion of this new Open Mic so now it’s time to let go of any expectation and leave it all up to the universe.
I’m nervous but excited at the same time but I know that this new Open Mic @ The Joiners Arms is a natural extension of the initial phenomenon that is the Open Mic @ The Dan.
I knew that the Open Mic @ The Dan had become too busy at times when performers were starting to panic about getting to the venue in time to put their names down rather than concentrate their creative energies on putting on a great set of three songs. It’s my hope that this new Open Mic will remedy this fact somewhat.
This Open Mic community that Darren Zaza and myself created just over two and a half years ago has now grown to a size in which (I firmly believe) two Open Mics can be run in one week. My goal is to eventually have three going but I’m happy to wait for that one.
I’ve always been a huge believer in the “organic growth” of an idea.
Initially the Open Mic @ The Joiners Arms is being run for a 12 week trial period but, if the popularity of the Open Mic @ The Dan is to go by, I can see this new Open Mic becoming a much needed permanent fixture in the Adelaide music scene.
Tonight is going to be huge, spread the word and I hope to see you there,
Corey
The Open Mic Network – Facebook
The Open Mic Network – MySpace
Open Mic @ The Joiners Arms – The Grand Launch
I’m now starting to count down the days until the Grand Launch of the Open Mic @ The Joiners Arms this coming Thursday, May 14th from 8pm until Midnight.
From the feedback I’ve been getting this new Open Mic will become as popular as the well established Open Mic @ The Dan which has been going strong for just over 2.5 years.
The Open Mic @ The Joiners is initially running for a 12 week trial to see how it goes and after that (all going well) it will become a permanent fixture in the ever growing Open Mic Network.
The reason for starting up a second Open Mic is very simple, there’s a huge demand for it as the Open Mic @ The Dan is now bulging at the seams with quality performers wanting to have a go.
My goal with the Open Mic Network has been to firmly establish a community of songwriters, musicians and punters who want to support each other and the greater music scene in Adelaide with the Open Mics at The Dan and now at The Joiners being the hub of this community.
Some people have asked me whether there’s going to be any difference between the Open Mics at The Dan and The Joiners.
My answer to the question is NO.
The Open Mic @ The Dan formula is working and working very well so there’s no reason to tamper with it. The Open Mic @ The Joiners will run in the same way. I’ll be there from 6:30pm to take names, first come will be first served as I’m not going to take any pre-bookings.
Everyone will get three songs on the Open Mic stage followed by a free drink at the end of the performance, simple as that…
Anyway, the Joiners Arms Hotel is located at 9 Manton Street Hindmarsh nestled between the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and Hindmarsh Stadium.
The best thing about the Joiners is that there are no residents nearby to complain about noise and while The Dan has to close the bar by midnight, the Joiners can remain open for as long as the Open Mic crowd demands it.
All in all, it’s going to be a fantastic night. I hope to see you there,
Until then, see you next Thursdee,
Corey
Open Mic Network – Facebook
Open Mic Network – MySpace
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