Open Mic Recap @ The Tree House

My primary responsibility as host of the open mic is to make sure everyone gets to play and the night flows smoothly. I don’t think I did a great job last night of scheduling a slot for everyone. The place was packed and we ended up getting 16 people up on stage, but from now on I think if there are more than 14 people on the list we’ll be doing 2 songs each after 9:00PM. That’s what I planned to do last night, but I had a feeling some people weren’t going to show up. My intuition sucks. I had to squeeze in a ton of performers at the end, turn a duo away, and have John Shaughnessy leave before he could play. I felt bad about John not getting up there, because he has a gig coming up at the Tree House and he signed up for the open mic online. I’ll definitely give him a decent slot the next time he comes in.

1. Ben Garvey – I played “Thesis,” “99%,” and “The Genius of it All.”

2. dogwallet – With his treble kicked up from last week, the dogwallet sounded much better. I feel weird calling a man “dogwallet,” and it makes me wonder where the name came from. Maybe he’ll tell us.

3. Leo – Classical guitarist coming off a long hiatus. Leo was pretty nervous, but he sounded good. I like hearing different types of music, so I hope he comes back.

4. Craig Gaskill – Craig had his friend videotape him, and I hope that turns out well. I think we solved the problem with his tinny guitar sound.

5. Mark Steinhagen – There are now two rules for performers who want to borrow my guitar. 1. No Good Charlotte. 2. Have your lyrics memorized before you play. Later on in the night Mark made a bold claim to have written a hit song, and was worried about playing it because someone might steal his masterpiece. Hah. The question of copyright came up and many people still do not know that you don’t have to register your copyrights for them to exist. If you don’t believe me, read this.

“When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”

All you have to do is record the song and its copyrighted. Everything else (registered mail, Library of Congress, etc.) is unnecessary and all it gives you is additional proof. I think this article should be dedicated to Mark.

6. Keith Lewis – According to Keith his new guitar is “definitely a guy.” Whichever gender it is, it sounds great.

7. Roz King – Roz and Keith sounded great. They used to play together all the time and I hope they start doing it again.

8. Willie Tapps and Danielle – Danielle is really getting good at the flute! Willie sounded great as always. I wonder how many times Willie has played the Living Room/Tree House’s open mic.

9. Phil – Although his songs tend to drag on a bit, Phil plays emotional, depressing music better than most. Nice job.

10. Sarah Allen – Could Sarah be the best regular we have? I think so. Everyone comments on how good she is. I like her guitar work, but her piano songs are amazing.

11. Matt Winn – Matt brought back the digital delay to the Tree House. Last summer he used delay in almost every song he played, so it was nice to hear it again. Too bad I had to bump him down to 2 songs. We went ten minutes late as it is.

12. Matt Parrish – I was rushing around getting ready for Every Other Thursday, so I couldn’t pay attention to what he was doing. Matt is a performance artist who talked to something he had in his hand. It looked like a little snake, but I’m not sure. It sounded funny from what I heard, so if you remember what it was about, tell us.

13. Every Other Thursday – Last time they we had some serious sound issues when they played, but we got a lot of it under control this time. Every Other Thursday is a talented group, but they need to get their name out! Two weeks now I’ve had people come in saying they came to see so and so and I have no idea who they’re talking about. There are two solutions to this problem. 1. I could learn their names. 2. They could tell their friends they’re called “Every Other Thursday.”

14. Jerzy Jung – Whoa! She told us she couldn’t play guitar, but I doubt anyone believes that now. With a voice as good as hers, I doubt most people even paid attention to the guitar. It certainly didn’t get in her way. She might come back with her keyboard, and I hope she does.

15. Tony DeSanto – Does anyone know who wrote the song Tony plays each week that goes, “You don’t have to grow up to be President, if you’re a President’s kid.” It’s a great song.

16. Cathy – Too bad I cut her to one song. At least she played my favorite, “Awfully Nice.” That song will always remind me of the summer of ’02.