For the Love of Mic: Looking for Some Fresh Talent

Hi Everybody,

I wasn’t up to attending the open mic last week (Jan. 5), so Greg Gross handled the whole thing single-handedly.  He did a great job, and I’m sure he had help from some of our loyal regulars; I was bummed because a few people we hadn’t seen for a while came and performed—I hate to miss a single performance.  I’ll just convey my “Welcome back!”, and hope that more of you come to see us soon.

I’m doing just fine and will be there this week to host. 

Tim Woods 

Here are Greg’s notes on last week:

2011 had been an interesting year, what with one subtle change of our prior venue, and another complete re-location within the same neighborhood.   And now we've lit the year up with visits from several old friends and a reminder as to the temporary nature of things.

Our veteran open mic host, Tim Woods, took the evening off for medical recovery.  I'll let Tim go over all that at his leisure.  A trooper if I ever spotted one, though.  I think Tim has been away from open mic due to sickness maybe twice over the last ten years, plus once due to personal travel and once for business reasons.  Aside from that, only holidays and blackouts!

Alton Simpson was also out due to urgent medical treatment.  Les Armstrong may be available next week to relay Alton's contact information.

About those old friends;  some of our prior regulars dropped by to ring in the New Year.  Perhaps we'll get to see them more than a time or two.

Here's a brief log of the entertainers from this last week, along with the songs and tunes they presented.

Gregory Gross broke the ice with John Denver's "Country Roads," "Spiders & Snakes" (Jim Stafford), "Me & Bobbie McGee" by Kris Kristofferson and "Calling All the Children Home" by John McCutcheon, whose show on the 28th will be hosted in Encinitas (see also San Diego Folk Heritage).

Cody Moore made his return to our stage with "Ride," then a song he has not yet titled, "If We Were Human" and "Box."  I didn't log the authors but think it's mostly his own compositions.

Ralph Lowe charmed the crowd with "Hula Blues" (Sol Ho'opi'i), "Gold Dust Woman" (Stevie Nicks), "Wheels" (author?) and "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" (Hank Williams, Jr.).  That's reminiscent of the folk standard "Hole in the Bucket," but not quite the same.

Matt, Monty & Chuck put on their hard rock hats with "Some Kind of Wonderful" (Gerry Goffin & Carole King), "Tom Dooley" (Trad.) and "Old Time Rock'n'Roll" (Bob Seger).

Bob Cool flashed his penchant for swing and parody, sometimes combined, with "Sunny Side of the Street" (Dorothy Fields & Jimmy McHugh), "If My Nose Was Runnin' Money" (Aaron Wilburn), "Blephartis-Neidoman Blues" (he wrote it about his new eyelid condition), and "Ring of Smoke" (Ben Colder).

Cody Kirk went off in fine form with "Your Biggest Fan" (Jonas Brothers), "Diary of Jane" (Breaking Benjamin) and "The Look" (Roxette?).

John Movius waxed 60s-esque with "And I Love Her" (Lennon & McCartney), "I Call Your Name" (Lennon & McCartney), "The Lonely One" (Duane Eddy) and "Matchbox Blues" (Blind Lemon Jefferson).

Les Armstrong & Ray Poe presented, in fine Country style, "You Win Again" (Hank Williams), "Jambalaya" (Hank Williams), "Love & Roses" (Haydon Augarde), "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" (Ben Ritchie) and "Ramlin' Fever" (Merle Haggard).

Lynda Sterns has been stepping out front more as of late and sang "Simple Man, Simple Dreams" (JD Souther), "Some Day Soon" (Ian Tyson) and "Over the Rainbow" (Harburg & Arlen). 

Gregory Martin Campbell gave his usual dose of musical charm with "Lovers Love the Springtime" (Shakespeare & McLean), "Moonglow" (Mills, DeLange & Hudson), "Handy Man" (Jimmy Jones & John Davenport), "Don't Be Cruel" (Otis Blackwell) and "Rhythm of the Rain" (John Claude Gummoe).

Sandy Lowe filled the room with the strains of strings on her hammered dulcimer, reciting my personal favorite "Gull's Flight" (Trad?), "Cold, Frosty Morning" (Trad.) and "Devil's Dream" (Trad.).

The last guest didn't stick around, so Gregory Gross did a night-cap set with "Daydream" (Sebastian), "Proud Mary" (Forgarty), "Happy Trails" (Evans) and one other song he didn't log amid the rush of performing <grin>. 

Remember that to keep the open mic' going, as well as to keep it fresh, we need to get new guests in on the act.  A slate of entertainers can stagnate over the weeks, and everybody moves along to something, leaving spaces for more.  And some simply pass on.  We will be adopting some of the current social media channels to help in the publicity department.  Word of mouth is the best way for you to share the wealth.  It imparts your enthusiasm for this group that's been going through the last ten years and the social phenomenon that's been going for over 70.

Best regards,

Gregory Gross