Newspaper Page Text
Page 8
Wednesday, March 15,2006
Idiot's guide to open mic night
By Ben Watts
Guest Writer
guy_watts@yuhoo.com
When I was a
freshman, Wednesday at
the Mellow Mushroom
was a night rivaled only by
The Mansion’s Thursday
night crowd. What was on
Wednesday night you ask?
Open mic night. When I
came to West Georgia I
had been playing guitar
for a little over four
years and 1 was looking
for a place to polish my
performance skills. Open
mic night at the Mellow
Mushroom gave me that
opportunity. 1 was not very
good when I started out,
but neither were many of
the other people who were
there. It was casual, and
a good way to meet other
musicians and music fans
around Carrollton. There
was not much emphasis
placed on your skill level.
Three years later,
much has changed. Open
mic nights in general suffer
in Carrollton. That said,
they are not completely
dead. Gallery Row, a local
coffee shop, hosts one
on Monday nights from
about 7:30 p.m. until 10:30
p.m. Loco's also hosts one
on Tuesday nights from
"Rant and Rave"
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about 10:30 p.m. until 1:30
a.m. The famed Mellow'
Mushroom open mic that
started it all has moved
from Wednesday nights to
Thursday nights starting
at about 8 p.m. and going
until everyone who signed
up plays.
If you are a musician,
you might be wondering
which open mic night is
right for you.
For those
of you that
are budding
singer
songwriters,
Gallery Row
is going to be
your best bet.
The
coffee shop
creates a
laid back
environment
that invites those people
that come to open mic
nights to play their music.
The occasional cover
is welcome but is not
something that will turn
heads. It is hosted by
Drew Ashmore, who will
entertain you between acts
with various covers and
original tunes. The usual
time allotted per performer
is twenty minutes.
If you are looking to
polish your performance
skills and would like to
do it in front of a lively,
drunk, and smoky crowd,
then Loco’s is the place to
do it.
Of the three, its crowd
is both the hardest and
easiest to satisfy.
Allow me to elaborate.
Playing original music
here will get you very little
attention; however, the right
choice of covers w ill make
you a minor
celebrity for
the night.
The majority
of the crowd
watching is
drunk, so if
you are not
a polished
performer,
many of your
mistakes will
go unnoticed;
but, be careful. The audience
has a short attention span
and the wrong choice of
songs can get you ignored
very quickly.
Open mic night at
Loco’s is hosted by Jaime
Krauss. There is no set
time for performers at
Loco’s; it can range from
twenty minutes to forty
five minutes, depending.
The Mellow
Mushroom is now the
slowest of the three. When I
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was a freshman, I witnessed
many of Carrollton’s
youngest and most exciting
musicians dazzle crowds
there. The dazzle has faded
into a very personal and
tight knit open mic night.
What used to be a
two hour party is now a
group of regulars sitting
around conversing as they
take turns at the front
entertaining each other.
It is still run the same
way it was back in my
freshman year. I can go in
the night of and George,
the host and owner of
Mellow Mushroom, will
sign me up for a twenty
minute time slot.
With its smaller crowd
comes a certain charm that
those who value community
w ill appreciate. If you are a
performer looking to polish
your skill but do not want
the pressure that Loco’s
brings, then the Mellow
Mushroom is a place where
you will tit in nicely.
I hope that this gives
new performers, as well
as seasoned players, an
outlook on w here to go to
perform in Carrollton.
I frequent many of
these events and I hope to
see many more people out
at them. So get out there
and be seen.
Upcoming
Events in
Motion City Soundtrack
Wed, Mar 15, 2006 7:00 PM
The Masquerade
Sean Paul & Mega Banton
Fri, Mar 17, 2006 9:00 PM
Dekalb Event Center
R. Kelly
Mon, Mar 20, 2006 8:00 PM
Fabulous Fox Theatre Atlanta
Alkaline Trio
Sat, Apr 8, 2006 8:00 PM
Roxy Theatre
Wanda Sykes
The Tabernacle
Sat, Apr 8, 2006 8:00 PM
Jerry Seinfeld
Sat, Apr 15, 2006 7:00 PM
Fabulous Fox Theatre Atlanta
(ilie Ulest (Oenryum