There's a realm somewhere between karaoke and stardom, where another world lies; a place where you'll find the self-taught guitarist, the ex-front man of a local group from a decade earlier or the lyrical spoken word poet who moves you to tears. We call them open mic nights, but really, they are so much more.
Arguably, the open mic scene in the Capital region has formed its own culture, built by those with a passion for performance and a penchant for doing so in public. So what does everyone get out of this culture's existence?
From a musician's standpoint, "Open mic nights offer great practice performing in front of others, as well as getting used to using sound equipment," says
Jen Sygit, a well-respected local singer/songwriter who hosts a popular open mic night at
Dagwood's Tavern and Grill on the Eastside. "The networking is also great. I've had several bands spawn from my open mic, so it's proven to be a good place to find fellow musicians to jam with."
Sygit has hosted the Tuesday open mic night at Dagwood's for almost ten years now. In that time, she's seen many groups find their footing and pummel into local and national limelight. "
Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys met via my open mic and are now touring nationally full-time. There are many other bands playing professionally that got their start at Dagwood's; bands like
The LUVS,
The Springtails and
The Whiskey Pickers are all local 'working bands' that cut their teeth at Dags."
Sygit adds that open mic nights are valuable to musicians, giving them an opportunity to promote upcoming events or secure opportunities. "Most open mic patrons are music lovers so it's also a great place to search out gigs."
Dagwood's sees the benefit of open mic nights, as the establishment is willing to pay for a performance license solely for this Tuesday event.
The
MidTown Beer Company (MBC) in Downtown Lansing attracts patrons with Open Mic Mondays and half-off burger specials.
On this Monday night at
The Avenue Cafe (located on Michigan Ave. on the Eastside), Chara Love, host of the open mic night, warms up the crowd with a little piano. Before long, there are people signing up left and right to perform. A man named Brandon McCoy - known for playing some sort of Native American flute and the acoustic guitar - plays an acoustic version of LMFAO's "I'm Sexy and I Know It." The laissez-faire crowd at this point, is lively and attentive.
Melissa Baldwin who works at The Avenue Cafe believes open mic nights are valuable to the business and the community. "It's a good opportunity for a diverse crowd from the community to have a place for a little stage presence, especially if they are thinking of pursuing a music career," says Baldwin. "And on the business end of it, I personally think it forms a great bond between the business and the local community, especially in The Avenue Cafe's situation. So many of our regulars live only blocks away; it is a comfortable place to come and relax and watch open mic or participate."
Musician
Peter Paul is one of Baldwin's favorite acts at The Avenue Cafe. He frequents open mics for the reasons Sygit states earlier. I spoke to him at
Moriarty's Pub on a Wednesday, after having seen him at The Avenue on Monday.
"I do it to stay sharp, and it keeps me in front of the audience and playing," he says. "One song I played tonight, I haven't played in front of anybody yet … and [though] I messed up some words, and I've never messed it up at home - on the stage I learn how to overcome that emotional hurdle, if you will."
The open mic night at Moriarty's celebrated its one year anniversary in January. The host is another local musician, Rob Klajda – front man of local band,
The Lash. Sygit is hosting for him on this particular evening. After she plays a few songs, a woman from Nashville (wearing square red sunglasses atop her black hair) proclaims her affinity for the White Stripes and performs her own song. She's followed by a woman named Jennifer who's celebrating her birthday at the open mic. After a few solo numbers, she does duets with Peter Paul.
"I come because the atmosphere is inviting and comfortable," says Jennifer. "This doesn't have to be perfect like other performances." She pirouettes across the small dance floor wearing a miniature Sendak-inspired crown, as Peter Paul sings "Wonderwall" by Oasis. A few friendly words are exchanged before she joins her friends. Moriarty's open mic attendees banter like a community.
At The Creole Gallery in Old Town, the open mic scene is a little different. Here, poets stand before each other on a Sunday afternoon to share pieces of their own, or inspiring work written by others. Appropriate for January, brave poetry aficionados partake in the "Resolutions, Manifestos and Rants," theme, encouraging participants to put on their "bold cap," telling the universe what they expect from 2013.
"I think that the human voice is one of our greatest natural powers," says Ruelaine Stokes, organizer of the Old Town Poetry Series. "Reciting poetry is rather like singing or storytelling. It's one of the oldest forms of human entertainment. Long before the people had invented writing, they sat around campfires at night and sang, recited poems and told stories … it's one of the most direct and powerful means of human communication."
And perhaps this is the reason why open mic nights are thriving in our region; this kinship and human connectivity through verbal performance. These are just a handful of the many opportunities available to participate in the open mic scene (as either a performer or as part of the audience). It is fair to deduce, open mic nights are enriching the lives of those hosting, attending and performing, in some way or another – which in turn is enriching the culture of our region.
Suban Nur Cooley is the managing editor at Capital Gains. Interested to know about upcoming open mic events? Email Suban
here.
Photos ©
Dave Trumpie
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of
Trumpie Photography.