Open Mic, Open Heart
New York City. In some ways it feels cliché, trying to get started with music in the Big Apple. In some ways it feels like searching for a needle in a haystack... except that I’m the needle... and I don’t know who is doing the searching...
The reality is, we started in New York because that was the best place to ship the car to from the UK. And when we (finally!) pick it up, there are so many other places on our list of where to visit, that I’m sure I’ll be grateful that we were kept here longer than planned! (see www.thetravellerstwo.com for more of the story on the car and our journey)
So, I thought I would start in the right direction and on Monday night I played an open mic at Side Walk Cafe in East Village. It is New York City’s longest running open mic night, having been running for over 21 years! It was truly an entertaining evening...
Anyone who wants to perform has to show up for sign up at 7.30pm - they let you do anything; sing, play, recite poetry, rap, comedy... it just has to be either two songs or eight minutes, whichever is shorter. When you sign up, you get given a randomly assigned number and that determines when you play. I was given number 26. So I got a Guinness, sat down, and waited to see what the other acts would be.
I think, for my first night in New York, it was the absolutely perfect introduction. The acts ranged from super-talented to terrible, from mainstream to extremely weird! It was the perfect snapshot of artists in the big city. Some who have been plugging away for years and years, some who have just arrived and are hoping to make it big. Some were there to promote their shows or make connections. Some were there just because that’s what they do on Monday nights.
It was fun to be a part of such an eclectic group of performers. Being in Asia for so long has made it difficult to surround myself with artists, and so I welcomed the chance to soak up the scope of creativity.
It turned out that 26 was not the best number to draw... even after the One Song Wonder round which started at 10pm, I still hadn’t heard my name called. So by the time I got up to play (at 12.30am) I was super tired from the jet-lag! But it made an interesting introduction, and I told the 20 or so faithful who were still there a little of my story as I played. My voice was perhaps gruff from the tiredness and the Guinness, but my songs and stories built a connection with the audience that was precious to me, and I hope as I added my voice to the mix of the night, it blessed and inspired a few souls.
Open mic, open heart.