Open Mic Night - A Few More Details · Rock N Blues Fretboard Friends

Open Mic Night - A Few More Details

Story time.

Last night, I did an an open Mike at my favorite new hangout, Weber Brewhause. It’s the same one I keep talking about, here and there.

So I get there, and

@Victor Herrera

a good friend, and like a brother, is waiting for me and says “No one’s playing, its all you.”. So I get set up, and, the first thing I realize is, I don’t know what I’m about to do. What am I going to sing? No plan.

I plug in, and nothing. Battery in my Breedlove is DOA. So, I do my best and hammer out a few songs. The way I chose my songs, is, I looked through songsheets I created years ago and havent sang since, on my iPad. Mainly for the lyrics. I forget lyrics during songs.

Second problem. Victor brings up another chair to lean my iPad on. And when I go to look down at it… its blurry. I cannot see the words. So, now Im on stage about to sing and I cant even see the words.

Eyesight has definitely changed a bit. So I try to find a position where I can see the words, and play. It kind of works, but now the boom arm on the mic starts swinging away.

So the first three songs, people hear Me sing, but not my dead guitar. After I sing people start pouring in, Victor looks at Me, and says something like “Now you've done it, you issued a challenge, and here they all come!”. The other musicians come pouring in.

So while they set up, I head to a little store near by and grab a battery for my Breedlove. I come back in, watch the other musicians, and then I’m called up for my second set. Second set? I didn't even have a first set planned out! I went to get a battery so I didnt plan out my second set. So, at that point, I kind of just grab whatever comes to mind. At least the guitar can be heard now.

I used the Ultimate Guitar app on my iPad that I told you I just recently added to find the lyrics for the next songs, but the same issue came up; blurry vision. But I stumbled through whatever songs there were. I didnt even hear my own voice. I couldn’t tell if I was in key, I was trying just to see lyrics. It was interesting. But response was really cool, so that was encouraging.

Ive not played/sang in over 2 years, especially sang, so raw as youd imagine. Anyways, one of the guys there, a musician Ive only recently gotten to know, speaks up and says “Hey Sean, do you got any originals?”. Well I had not expected that question, and I stopped, and said “Originals? Yeah but I dont know if I know them any more. I haven't done them in about 10 years, but sure let Me try.”. That was when I did the song in the link.

The response was pretty crazy. The owner came out, the other musicians came out, one said “dude what are you even doing? Why arent you out here playing your stuff?”. And then he said something about a recording studio, the owner said, “if youve got other songs, Im booking you to play right now”. I played a couple more of my originals. Victor was right there, he can tell you, it was crazy.

So now Im surrounded by people that want to hear my music, and get it recorded “dude I know some major music guys, we need to get you in the studio, i can get you touring if you want”.

I said, “man I have to learn my own stuff, and I haven’t sang in ages, and i need backing musicians”

“Sean… Sean…. I can play bass, I can play drums, I can get any number of people from the Hill Country Musicians guild, dude, you need to be out there”.

It was a little surreal. I was plonking through a song I could barely remember and hadnt done in 10 years. But, maybe that album thats been waiting to get made for the last 20 years might actually be a thing.

Anyways, this is a recording of that whole first original. Pretty crazy.

Edited to upload the video, for those not on Facebook

4:08

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Open Mic Night - A Few More Details