But for me, I prefer my own format where the aim is to create a jam session, mostly because I do not want to set up all the equipment to sit there all night watching other people play, since I enjoy playing music so much.
The conflict I often get into when playing with more serious musician, heh heh.
While traveling around Europe and the world I like to organise party evening in pubs as a means to supplement my income and give me an opportunity to meet people.
I have a 200 Watt PA amp with up to four inputs (including various microphones and a mixer) and through which I can power an entire band. I can use my external 7.1 surround sound card and computer to create additional inputs, even record the music on studio software.
| Open Mic means "open microphone" and is a means for
musicians to get together and entertain an audience. There are different formats
and most often each musician adds their name to a list and goes up to the stage
to sing their own songs etc. Sometimes open mics are combined with poetry
readings. In this format each musician is usually allowed to play three songs
before handing the stage to the next musician. In this way the evening's
entertainment can be quite varied and interesting. But for me, I prefer my own format where the aim is to create a jam session, mostly because I do not want to set up all the equipment to sit there all night watching other people play, since I enjoy playing music so much. |
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With my format different musicians can lead the group by playing their own songs, and I would try to police it a bit to regulate the individual volume levels. I've organised this in the past and find I can produce a rich and full band sound, even if using nonmusicians who just clang their wine glass with a spoon.
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The ideal Open Mic needs to be organised on a regular basis, such as every Tuesday night, so that it can build up a reputation among the audience and local musicians. There should be some advertising to kick it off, after which word of mouth works pretty well, assuming the music is entertaining enough. I have many musical instruments, such as an acoustic guitar with pickup, bass guitar, trumpet, Jews harp, 3 harmonicas, African drum (Jambe), violin, and I can sing and play still other instruments. But I would not necessarily be willing to lend every instrument to other musicians. |
In between Open Mic sessions I can act as a DJ from my computer, as I have thousands of party MP3 songs, and I can even organise a karaoke so that audience members can participate and make the entire evening more fun. For the karaoke I have a 19" LCD monitor which I can use to display the text for the singer.
| As you can imagine setting up all this can be a lot of work. I would at least like free beers, and we can work out a payment scheme based on audience interest and if the event starts attracting a larger crowd. My greatest weakness is that I am a bit shy about leading music and playing on my own, but I have been downloading sheet music and learning popular songs. Ideally for me I would rather someone else lead and I just play along and manage the event, but I suppose I could force myself to lead the entertainment until others step forward and the event gets more popular. |
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Me playing on one of my many instruments
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travel CV
My filming and editing of my friends
Fatty Lumpkin Czech band
