Andy's Open Mic Tips
Want to play professionally? Start here.
Tune your instrument prior to taking the stage. It is
pretty annoying to hear someone tune for even a couple of minutes. I recommed the Intellitouch Tuner. It's quick and easy. It
attaches to the head of the string instrument.
Keep
your songs under 4 minutes. This
is all fairness to everyone else.
Don't start a jam session. If you are playing
with other musicians, don't get carried away with solos. This is a sure way to piss off
the host and bore the audience most of which are waiting their turn to play!
Acoustic guitarists
should obtain a pick-up for the guitar.
If you have an on-board EQ, all levels should up 50% and flat.
Do not talk too much. Long monologues
for the most part, are not that effective in this Open Mic environment. When and if you
start to play gigs at hard ticket rooms, dialogues especially when combined with some
humor, are great in getting the audience to know you and allowing them to enter your life
for a brief time period.
And... Please refrain loud
conversations while others are playing.
The order of sign up does not represent the sequence of the program. The evening is programmed partially in advance, and partially the night of show. If you have a particular time that you would like to play, please inform Andy Kimbel and we will do our best to accommodate your request. If you have a particular technical requirement (Direct boxes, keyboards, percussion instruments etc...) it is important to let us know when you sign up. Plan on performing TWO songs. Each song should be about 4 minutes in length. Please, keep your monologue to a minimum and tune your instrument prior to taking the stage. Given limited time constraints, we need to get as many performers up as we can. Andy may signal you to perform one additional song or ask you to perform just one song depending on the number of artists and other technical considerations. Some performances may be recorded for future radio and television broadcast.
