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Is it me, or are all open mics a pile of wank?

FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Posts: 12,223
edited July 2007 in Musicians and Gearheads
Discuss.

Edit: To clarify, after a few posts, I mean the sound/PA at these events, not the musicians/musicianship!


:)
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • xtremehardy388xtremehardy388 Posts: 2,759
    Not in the least, haha. A lot of talent is out there and sometimes open mics are nice for novice musicians
    Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
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  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    as in technically playing wank? or everyone sucks wank?

    i know i heard a lot of terrible stuff at the ones i used to go to, myself included sometimes.

    usually it was a bunch of overwrought acoust-emo shit. no one had an ear for a hooky song which, let's face it, is kind of the whole point.

    very rarely was it guitar wankery though. it was mostly obese songwriting.

    every once in a while i'd hear something pretty cool at the open jams though.

    it's like taking pictures. 95% are terrible but you have to take a lot to get the good ones.
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Posts: 12,223
    I've yet to turn up at an open mic, with a good soundman. That includes London. I would be happy to pay to play at a good open mic, if I thought the money might go towards paying someone who knew what they were doing.


    Sorry, just venting. How difficult is it to say to a soundman, I sit down, with a twelve-string acoustic that isn't a semi. Mic the voice, and aim another mic at the soundhole of the guitar. I will give you a quick demo of my vocal and guitar peaks. We have enough time to do it. The soundman looks lost, and the whole thing feeds back like fuck.
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Posts: 12,223
    PS I love folk club singers' nights. No soundmen. :)
  • NovawindNovawind Posts: 836
    I met one of my best friends here at college at an open mic night, I also got my now-girlfriend to notice me by stepping up and playing guitar even though I really really sucked at the time.

    Long story short, open mics are cool by me. :cool:
    If idle hands are the devil's workshop, he must not be very productive.

    7/9/06 LA 1
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  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Posts: 12,223
    I guess sound guys are better in the States! :)
  • StuffnJunkStuffnJunk Posts: 896
    why, i just went to open mic last night...i played:

    "wish you were here" - pink floyd
    "indifference" - pearl jam
    "what i got" - sublime

    the thing i find is that i'll want to play more obscure songs, like say "red mosquito" or something, but you know if you do no one will know it.....so it is more tempting to play more well known, upbeat songs that will get people into it......it makes me admire people like bob dylan even more, cuz he never goes for the easy applause and ALWAYS plays exactly what he wants
    "I'll tell you what: If all I had was Pearl Jam, and I didn't have another band in the world, I would not be worried. Because in there is the essence of making great music. You don't have to use it all at once, but it's there." - Neil Young
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Posts: 12,223
    He cut his teeth at folk clubs though, and although there's an open mic policy as such ... um ... folk clubs are different, if you know what I mean.
  • StuffnJunkStuffnJunk Posts: 896
    yeah, i just mean it takes nerve to play something you want to that people won't recognize, rather than playing "freebird" or "sweet caroline" or something that is guaranteed to get a big reaction
    "I'll tell you what: If all I had was Pearl Jam, and I didn't have another band in the world, I would not be worried. Because in there is the essence of making great music. You don't have to use it all at once, but it's there." - Neil Young
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Posts: 12,223
    StuffnJunk wrote:
    yeah, i just mean it takes nerve to play something you want to that people won't recognize, rather than playing "freebird" or "sweet caroline" or something that is guaranteed to get a big reaction


    Yep. But doing your own stuff, in some ways, is easier, because if you fuck up, no-one knows you've fucked up as long as you carry on.

    Really my thread is about how shit open mics are run in general. Not about the musicians, whoever they are.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    FinsburyParkCarrots wrote:
    I've yet to turn up at an open mic, with a good soundman. That includes London. I would be happy to pay to play at a good open mic, if I thought the money might go towards paying someone who knew what they were doing.


    Sorry, just venting. How difficult is it to say to a soundman, I sit down, with a twelve-string acoustic that isn't a semi. Mic the voice, and aim another mic at the soundhole of the guitar. I will give you a quick demo of my vocal and guitar peaks. We have enough time to do it. The soundman looks lost, and the whole thing feeds back like fuck.

    haha. how stupid does one have to be to not be able to mix two channels.
  • justamjustam Posts: 21,408
    exhausted wrote:
    haha. how stupid does one have to be to not be able to mix two channels.

    LOL! :)
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • ianvomsaalianvomsaal Posts: 1,224
    most open mics don't have the right (correct) equipment to handle what you need to run for that type of venue.
    I played one in San Diego at a place called Love Monkey where everyone sounded great (best I'd ever sounded at
    an open mic). It depends on the venue - most places try to get away seriously cheap on the PA and microphones.

    - Ian
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  • kigcatkigcat Posts: 298
    i think if you ask me that in this day and age being a"sound engineer" or doing "sound" (especially here in the uk) has become somewhat of a fashion statement.You get a lot of people going around saying theyre sound engineers or whatever just cause theyve got hold a cracked copy of pro tools or cubase or whatever on there pc and are doing a course in sound engineering and to them that instantly means theyre great at it and can run PAs and do sound for live bands etc and the truth of the matter is that 9 times out of 10 these guys have absolutely no bloody clue what theyre doing. I think this is exceptionally true of a lot of open mic nights because its a kind of easy thing to set up. I.E get a small cheap PA and invade a pub or club with there mates and a few guitars and say its a "open mic" night. These fashion statement "cool engineers" are constantly apparent to me in my line of work at Allen and heath where we often get little fresh faced students coming to work at our place giving it all the talk of "ive done this course" and "ive done that" then when it actually gets down to it within half an hour you realise that they really dont know nothing.
    I'm not saying stupidity should be a capital offence, but what say we take the safety labels off everything and let nature run it's course?
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