I just thanked mine for leading me to the Lucky Star Brewery in Miamisburg, Ohio. It is a small brewery located on Second Street and it is definitely my kind of place.
Old, brick and wood, good food, lots of beers, and tonight a 6-10 open mic. I was surprised at the early crowd of about twenty people. I signed up for the seven o’clock slot, and I ordered some guac and chips. There is definitely a Mexican preparing it.
Money.
I love the vibe here and I plan to come back, possibly even next week, to get some playing in before my gig. I love that you get a thirty-minute slot. A lot of the busier places limit you to three songs depending on how busy it is. I hit my old reliables: George Strait, Hank Jr, and even threw in some Anne Murray and Conway Twitty for good measure. I also threw in a couple originals.
I will def be back.
I’ll let you know when they post my pic on their website.
They had a garage band playing after me and I really liked them. The singer is legit, the lead guitar player looked he was ready to fuck his axe, and I always think that every country drummer channels his inner Ginger Baker and Keith Moon and wants to beat the living shit out of his skins.
That gave me enough time to go to the place I will be gigging at, and check out the act for tonight.
You know, there are a lot of good guitar players with good voices that can write and play good, not great, music. This guy was playing ok songs, just nobody had any recognition of them, so he kind lost the crowd to the TV and private convos.
When I can write better music than what I play now, I’ll play it. I’m good with my spot on the songwriting totem pole and I am nowhere near the top.
But I am also nowhere near the bottom.
The few people who were legitimately watching and appreciating him were totally ignored. Pretty soon they could give a shit and the room was lost.
Let that be a lesson to you people who want to play out and get paid to do it. I have been doing it off and on since I was in Purple Mirror, a four-piece rock and roll band in 1967.
We were paid forty-dollars to play a birthday party.
Know the room. Build your playlist for the room and the audience. You don’t count.
Make friends with the bartenders and waitresses. When we moved out here, my brother-in law ADOGG told me that it would be tough getting paying gigs because I just moved here from Arizona and there were a lot of local musicians looking for gigs.
For the most part, that has been true, but I have a card of the owner of a riverfront bar I am to call and see about setting up something.
I’m thinking riverfront patio gigs.
Before I ever met with the manager, I had visited (and tipped well) the girls in the bar.
Bottom line: I got the gig.
When I was at the Lucky Star Brewery, the coolest lady, Sarah Denny, approached me after I played and gave me this drawing she did “of my music.”
You know I love this.
Just to show you HOW lost I am, I am posting her drawing, but I could not figure out how to rotate the picture. Her signature is supposed to be on the right.
Don’t worry; the original is correct.
Stay warm if you are near me, as they say that’s what’s up.
Stay well.
Mark's Playhouse 