Last weeks Open Mic @ The Dan was all a blur for me as I was held up due to a previously organised rehearsal that I needed to be at.

Notwithstanding that, I still managed to get to the Open Mic with 2 minutes to spare but felt rushed all night because of it, sos much so I forgot my camera and therefore no photos but, Sean Wiegand and his trusty pen and paper came to the rescue. He decided that sketching some artists would be the way to go and as you can see below, the results speak for themselves.

Click on the images to see them full size.

That aside, I still had a great night, the list was full to the brim and the performances were fantastic.

There were a couple of new faces who graced the Open Mic stage last week. First of all was Ray Melton’s friend Gordon who formed a duo with Ray for the night and both of them performed very well considering that the Open Mic @ The Dan was their first performance together in over a year. Well done!

The second new face is a fellow by the name of Ben Todd who was celebrating his birthday last week and decided to get up on stage. What followed was an amazing performance that stunned everyone there, including some of his friends who had no idea that Ben could perform the way he did.

Personally, I thought Ben was superb and it shows to me again the power of the Open Mic Network in getting people out of their bedrooms and onto the stage…

Where they belong!

In other Open Mic Network news…

I just wanted to let you all know that Sunday Sessions @ The Dan #4 with special guest Simon Peter will NOT be happening on Sunday August 22nd but the week after on Sunday August 29th. If the upcoming Sunday Sesh was like the last one then it promises to be HUGE!

Here’s a reminder of what is happening this week on the Open Mic Network:

Open Mic @ The Dan
Wednesday August 18th, 2010
Daniel O’Connell Hotel
165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide
8pm – Midnight

Plus… Make sure you mark this in your diary in BOLD RED PEN!

Sunday Sessions @ The Dan #4
(Special Guest – Simon Peter)
Sunday August 29th, 2010
Daniel O’Connell Hotel
165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide
5pm – 9pm

For all Open Mic Network events I suggest you get in early to avoid disappointment. I’ll be there from 6:30pm (3:30pm for the Sunday Sessions) to take down names.

See you this Wensdee,

Corey

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Attendance-wise, last weeks Open Mic @ The Dan experience pre-winter performer and audience numbers. It was like everyone who took a few weeks off to acclimatise to the colder weather all decided to turn up at once. Mind you, I’m not complaining one little bit as it was great to see a whole heap of familiar face plus, a whole heap of new ones.

In fact we had a record number of new faces at the Open Mic @ The Dan. Five new acts comprising of seven new people:

Nick & John (Open Mic @ The Third Cork favourites)

Angela & Kate

Luke

Sam

Tim

Thank you all for venturing down to the Open Mic @ The Dan. I certainly would love to see you all again as I was very, very impressed by your performances

Now, for an update on the first Sunday Sessions @ The Dan. It was a success!

We had a full book, a full pub, full bellies (especially after eating the Linguini special – YUM!) and a full evening of wonderful entertainment spearheaded by special guest performer Anthony D’Antonio.

Names for the running sheet were a little hard to come by early however, it seemed that after 5:30pm all roads lead to the Daniel O’Connell Hotel and punters and musicians alike were treated to some wonderful performances.

There were 2 new acts that graced the Open Mic stage. First of all there was a duo from Melbourne just passing through calling themselves “Average At Best” (but they were much better than that trust me) and secondly, a trio going under the name of “The Violent Rage Of Steve McQueen.”

Average At Best

Steve McQueen’s Violent Rage

If that’s not the best band name you’ve heard of in a long time well… You got to get out more

Here’s a reminder of what is happening this week on the Open Mic Network:

Open Mic @ The Dan
Wednesday July 14th, 2010
Daniel O’Connell Hotel
165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide
8pm – Midnight

For all Open Mic Network events I suggest you get in early to avoid disappointment. I’ll be there from 6:30pm to take down names.

See you next Wensdee,

Corey

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I hope you are all enjoying the Queens Birthday long weekend in some way. Last weeks Open Mic @ The Dan was a steady affair with a couple of welcome returns to the Open Mic stage.

First of all there was Brendan Lines who has been carving a musical niche out for himself locally and globally for a little while. It was fantastic to see and hear him again after a long absence.

Brendan Lines

The other welcome return was Craig Atkins performing solo. He is better known as the percussionist for the Simon Peter Band and more recently, The Timbers but he showed the full crowd at The Dan his skills combining a stompbox, acoustic guitar, pedalboard and didge into an inspired set of original pieces that impressed me greatly.

Craig Atkins

Another highlight of last weeks Open Mic @ The Dan was Courtney Robb who has recently been chosen by Triple J Unearthed to go to the three day songwriting and music business festival “SongSummit” in Sydney. Here is part of the official press release:

“Adelaide singer/songwriter Courtney Robb has been selected by the crew at Triple J Unearthed to take part in this years Song Summit.

Song Summit is a three day festival, held in Sydney, and is a major creative, business development and networking expo for the music industry. Courtney will not only be flown to Sydney attend the Summit, but also take part in an exclusive songwriting workshop with APRA Songwriter of the Year, Julian Hamilton from the Presets, Vanda & Young Songwriting winner Washington and ARIA award winner Kevin Mitchell AKA Bob Evans.

This workshop will be hosted by Dom Alessio from Home and Hosed and recorded for the Triple J Unearthed website.”

Congratulations from everybody in the Open Mic Network Courtney, you serve as an inspiration to us all. For more details go to www.courtneyrobb.com

Courtney Robb

In other Open Mic Network news…

Sunday Sessions @ The Dan
As I mentioned in last weeks update we’re going to be trialling an extension of the Open Mic @ The Dan but with a special guest included in the proceedings twice a month from 5pm until 9pm on a Sunday.The dates earmarked for the “Sunday Sessions @ The Dan” are

July 11th and 25th
August 8th and 29th
September 12th and 26th

I’m still in the process of contacting and booking the special guests for the above dates however, make sure you put these dates in your diary and tell all your friends because I reckon we, as a community can singlehandedly rejuvenate Sunday entertainment at The Dan. Bring it on!

SCALA “From Open Mic To Stage #2″ Songwriters Showcase
This Thursday night from 8pm until 11pm at Higher Ground Arts Complex (ex “Night Train Restaurant” located at 9 Light Square) I’ll be presenting the second “From Open Mic To Stage” songwriting showcases for SCALA (Songwriters, Composers & Lyricists Association) featuring selected Open Mic Network performers.

Playing on the same bill as Darren and I are Jane & Sam, Joe Murphy and Anthony D’Antonio. I’m really looking forward to this and if the first “From Open Mic To Stage” showcase was anything to go by, it’s going to be HUGE!

SCALA FOOM 2010
Speaking about SCALA, they have a songwriting competition running at the moment called FOOM (Festival Of Original Music) in which entries close on July 1st. It’s my belief that entering songwriting competitions that provide you with feedback is one of the best ways in which you can develop as a songwriter and FOOM does this brilliantly. For more info about FOOM and how you can enter go to www.scala.org.au/comfoom.htm

Here’s a reminder of what is happening this week:

Open Mic @ The Dan
Wednesday June 16th, 2010
Daniel O’Connell Hotel
165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide
8pm – Midnight

Plus, mark this in BOLD RED PEN!

SCALA “From Open Mic To Stage” #2
Thursday June 17th, 2010
Higher Ground Arts Complex
9 Light Square, City
Featuring:
Jane & Sam
Joe Murphy
Anthony D’Antonio
Corey & Darren
8pm – Midnight
$5 (Waged) / $4 (Concession) / $3 (SCALA members)

For all Open Mic Network events I suggest you get in early to avoid disappointment. I’ll be there from 6:30pm to take down names.

See you next Wensdee,

Corey

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Between a busy Open Mic @ The Dan and the Grand Opening of the Open Mic @ The Third Cork both Darren and I were completely run off our feet.

But we wouldn’t have it any other way

Last weeks Grand Opening of the Open Mic @ The Third Cork in Semaphore was an astounding success, so much so it exceeded even my optimistic expectations. We had a full book of performers who performed to an inch of their lives in the wonderfully performer-friendly atmosphere that is the Third Cork.

While it was a welcome sight to see some Open Mic regulars at The Third Cork it was also fantastic to see some new and/or local acts taking to the Open Mic stage, namely Angie Starr, Andrea Dawson (what a voice), Nick & John who gave us a Beatles masterclass, Alicia & Heath rocking it out for the first time as a covers duo plus the Lady Gaga acoustic stylings of Sean Kemp. Thanks guys for giving the Open Mic @ The Third Cork a go, you’re welcome back anytime.

Andrea Dawson

Nick & John

Happy Vegemites

A special thanks needs to go out to Catherine and her staff at The Third Cork for the wonderful food, drink and especially the hospitality shown to us. It really does help the cause when the venue is beautifully presented and the management “get” what an Open Mic is all about. Thank You!

“What about the Open Mic @ The Dan?” I hear you say…

Well, to my surprise it was not too busy and not too slow. The pace was just right plus, we had a new face grace the stage at The Dan, his name is Arty Delrio and he pumped out a fantastic performance. Not bad for someone who was just passing through Adelaide.

Arty Delrio

Here’s a reminder of this weeks Open Mic Network activities for you all:

Open Mic @ The Dan
Wednesday May 12th, 2010
Daniel O’Connell Hotel
165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide
8pm – Midnight

Plus, mark this in your diary in RED PEN

Open Mic @ The Third Cork
Thursday June 3rd, 2010
**3 Weeks To Go**
Third Cork Wine Bar
Level 1/26 Semaphore Rd, S4
8pm – Midnight

It’s always best to get in early to get you name down on the list. I’ll be there from 6:30pm to take down names.

See you Wensdee,

Corey

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**Lest We Forget**

Last weeks Open Mic @ The Dan was an absolute record breaker.

We had 22 performers grace the Open Mic stage and to fit everybody in we started at 7pm instead of 8pm making it the busiest Open Mic @ The Dan in its three and a half year history. With every week that passes the Open Mic @ The Dan just keeps getting better and better in terms of attendance and performance quality.

Personally I want to thank each and every one of you who came out and participated in an amazing night especially the 3 new faces that were nestled amongst the 22 performers:

Dave and Renee – From Canberra and in Adelaide because of the recent Special Olympics, they sung up and absolute storm

Ben Roberts – From “The Timbers” (Simon Basey also played last week), an amazing guitarist that impressed

Daniel Cupit – Friend of Ben and Simon of The Timbers, I really enjoyed what he played

Keep spreading the word, and tell all your friends.

In other Open Mic news…

1. The SCALA “Open Mic To Stage” Songwriting Showcase that I programmed at Higher Ground last Thursday was an amazing success. It was very well attended and all of the acts that performed (Shane Noonan, Rob Pickering, Peter Clayton, Pretty Radio plus Andy and Marta) had a wonderful time. I want to thank Rob Childs at SCALA for allowing me to take over one of their nights. The next SCALA “Open Mic To Stage” Songwriting Showcase will be happening on June 17th but I’ll give you more information about this event as it comes to hand.

Andy & Marta (Photo by Rob Childs)

Darren & I (Photo by Rob Childs)

2. Tomorrow (Tuesday April 27th) is the Grand Opening of “Live ‘n’ Local” @ The Metro, the new name and location of the old Open Mic @ The Queens Arms. Its new home is The Hotel Metropolitan on 46 Grote Street, City and it kicks off at 8:30pm. For more information check out the Facebook Page and make sure you’re there, I will be

3. The Open Mic @ The Third Cork is just around the corner (one and a half weeks to go). Make sure you keep the first Thursday of each month free for some Open Mic action by the beach. It all starts on Thursday May 6th so watch this space.

4. The Open Mic Network Facebook Group has now got 165 members and climbing with the Facebook Page at 235 fans and the MySpace Page at 837 friends. Most of the new enquiries regarding the Open Mic Network is coming from the online presence. Nice!

Here’s a reminder of this weeks Open Mic @ The Dan for you all:

Make sure you get to The Dan early to get your name on the list. I’ll be there from 6:30pm to take down names

See you this Wensdee,

Corey

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2010 is looking like a busy year already for the Open Mic @ The Dan. We managed to fit 18 performers onto the running sheet and last week was the second week in a row that we started at 7:30pm rather than 8pm.

All in all though, the atmosphere at the venue was one of awesome community music. There were impromptu jams springing up from everywhere and the joyful sounds of community were ruminating through The Dan.

Last weeks Open Mic was an absolute joy to be part of. We even heard some Australian songs in celebration of a belated Australia Day (nice one Peter Clayton)

In the list of 18 performers there were three amazing new acts. They were (in order of appearance):

Michael & Jodie – An acoustic duo who had their first ever performance on a stage at the Open Mic @ The Dan. They did two covers but it was their original song that stole the show, as well as Jodie’s amazing voice.

Harry Thwaites – Initially contacted me via the web (yes the online marketing is really working here. I’m really happy about that), he put on a wonderful set of three songs. Just one man and an electric guitar. Very nice indeed.

Simon Basey – He of The Timbers fame , Darren Zaza’s favourite band at the moment (he saw them at the Grace Emily recently and can’t stop raving about them). Did three of his own songs that were wonderful stories to listen to. Made me want to go and check out more of Simon’s music asap.

To Michael, Jodie, Harry and Simon, thanks for giving the Open Mic @ The Dan a go. I hope you enjoyed yourselves and can’t wait to hear from you all again.

Welcome to the community

If you saw a couple of strange devices on the Open Mic stage last week don’t worry, it was only me experimenting with a bit of recording through the PA. The reason why I was doing this was to see if I could get some really clear live recordings of the Open Mic for the website, Facebook and MySpace pages plus, a possible Open Mic Network live CD one day.

As it turned out, the levels were a bit too high which made the whole recording distorted but the potential is certainly there. I also want to start doing some more videos as well but I’ll keep all of you posted as to the progression of my live recording and video experiments.

Just a reminder of this weeks Open Mic @ The Dan for you all:

Open Mic @ The Dan
Wednesday February 3rd, 2010
Daniel O’Connell Hotel
(165 Tynte Street, Nth Adelaide)
8pm – Midnight

If last weeks rush to the running sheet was anything to go by you really need to make sure you get to The Dan as early as you can to avoid disappointment. I’ll be there from around 6:30pm to take down names.

Remember, it’s first come, first served.

See you Wensdee,

Corey

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Last weeks Open Mic @ The Dan was a real blast.

We had 17 performers providing an amazing night’s worth of entertainment for all who were there. The summer season has well and truly kicked in.

There were 2 new faces in the list of 17 performers that I need to mention. First of all there’s Claire Gurry who writes songs based on her very full, diverse and rather interesting life. She is a great example of what can be achieved when you roll up your sleeves and just dive into life.

Her infectious happiness was a real treat. Great energy

Secondly there was Tony Krelle who gave the Open Mic crowd 3 cover songs of very high quality. The great thing about Tony’s performance was that the covers he played were not from your stock standard cover band repertoire. Personally, I really appreciate that.

Thank you Claire and Tony for gracing the Open Mic stage, I hope you can come back again soon.

Claire Gurry

Tony Krelle

Mighty Mick

The Lovely Rowey G

The MC

Just a reminder of what is happening this week. I think that as part of Australia Day celebrations everyone needs to play at least one Aussie song. What do you reckon?

Open Mic @ The Dan
Wednesday January 27, 2010
Daniel O’Connell Hotel
(165 Tynte Street, Nth Adelaide)
8pm – Midnight

Make sure you get to The Dan as early as you can to avoid disappointment. I’ll be there from 6:30pm to take down names. Remember, it’s first come, first served.

See you Wensdee,

Corey

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