The open mic is back in gear every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Kaffee Meister
Hidey Ho Neighbor,
It was our first open mic after the New Year and it appeared the flu had decimated our ranks. At first we had a several vacancies including an empty table from the country crowd who were off with different ailments; and even Jerry and Bev (our faithful friends from day one of the open mic) were absent.
At five-thirty things were looking a bit bleak.
Surprisingly, within a short time we had filled all the tables, were bringing in chairs from outside, and trying to figure out how to get all the performers onto our slate for the evening. I was feeling a bit funky, so I was glad to offer my normal time slot to Greg, my co-host; he in turn ceded the show-opening spot to John Movius, the last sign-up drawn and without a spot.
John Movius (with Greg Gross playing rhythm guitar ) – John was looking to exercise his mandolin licks; so he started with “Home Sweet Home”, seguing into “Whiskey Before Breakfast”; then he swapped the mando for his electric guitar and played The Sons of the Pioneers’ “Ghost Riders in the Sky”; The Shadow’s “Apache”; and The Chantays’ “Pipeline”.
Farrie Ann Nichols (with John Seever on harmonica) – Farrie Ann was going to play a couple of tunes her friend Rochelle (who occasionally attended our open mic with her) enjoyed—sadly, her friend died of complications from the flu on New Year’s Eve—her grandchildren were in attendance in her stead. After telling of her friend’s passing and lack of insurance, Farrie Ann played “Hand Me Down My Walking Cane”; and Bobby Darin’s “Dream Lover”. We dedicated the funds from our tip jar to help offset the funeral.
Greg Santogrossi– Greg played a tune he learned from Cliff, “Cold, Wet, Soggy Coal”; then did his own “Jesus Was a Carpenter” (Greg is a cabinetmaker); and Kris Kristofferson & Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Morning Sidewalk”.
Lynda Sterns – Lynda started her new year with Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me”; Hawaiian singer Iz’s version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (Aselin Debison); and Neil Young’s “One of These Days”.
Curtis Hodson – To no one’s surprise, Curtis played some Elvis Presley tunes, including “I Got a Woman” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”; the surprise came when he seriously changed gears and played Neil Diamond’s “I am I Said” and “Play Me” (and did a heck of a nice job on them).
Bob Arsenault & Friends (Greg Gross & Bob Setzer) – Bob led off with the traditional bluegrass tune “I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home”; Bascom L. Lundsford’s “Mountain Dew”; Ken Orick’s “November Rain”; and “Home Sweet Home”, another traditional number.
Chris Stauch — Chris has played for us before, but I believe this was his first solo set. He played James Taylor’s “Carolina on My Mind”; Flatt & Scruggs’ “Gone Home”; Elisha A. Hoffman’s “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”; and Robert Johnson’s “Love in Vain”.
Brian Reames– Because he had been able to play with Bob Arsenault, Bob Setzer gave up his spot so Brian could play for us. Brian played Joanie Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”; next he played an original break-up tune (from the seldom sung about perspective of the breaker) called “Capricorn”; for his last tune he double-capoed to play an open tuned version of the Police’s “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”; (Brian and Ricky Ruis host the open mic at Cosmo’s Coffee House in La Mesa on Tuesdays).
Natalie Emmons & Cory Roysdon (Natalie is a member of the Kaffee Meister family, a talented group indeed) – The attractive young duo did Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama”; “You Are My Sunshine”; and Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose” . I understand Natalie is on a break from her job at Universal Studios in Osaka and has appeared on Song for Japan several times (Japan’s version of American Idol).
Steve Wyrill & Lynda Sterns – Steve and Lynda treated us to Emmylou Harris’ “If I Could Only Win Your Love”; Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”; The Eagles’ “Take it Easy”; and Crosby, Stills, & Nash’s “Hopelessly Hoping”.
Cliff Niman (with John Seever) – Cliff played “Seems Just Like Yesterday”; Jack Tempchin’s “Circle Ties That Bind” and “Diamond Ring”; the Beatles’ “Let it Be”.
Mitch Wilson – Mitch decided to start with a sing-along song, so he started with the Beatles’ “I’ve Just Seen a Face”; then he played a couple of his own called “Mr. Escher”, “Planted by a Stream”, and “What Your Love Has Done”; wrapping with the praise tune, “Holy, Holy, Holy”.
Greg and I closed the evening by leading the group in an a cappella version of “Happy Trails”.
What a way to start out our year! Come join us and get your new year off to a fun start. God bless, be of good cheer, and have a good week.
Tim Woods, Greg Gross, and the Wood ‘n’ Lips open mic crew
Kaffee Meister is looking for Local Musicians to Build Up Santee Scene
