I think the open mic was terrible!

[Casey H]

Quote:Guys, I'm sorry to be coming off like I must be... I'm really not trying to be a jerk about this. (FWIW, I didn't start the thread, but thoughtlessly jumped on the bandwagon.) Of course it's good for inexperienced performers to gain experience. Of course not everyone is going to be awesome. Of course you learn about yourself and others when you put yourself out there. My hang up is the choice of venue for putting yourself out there. Is the TAXI convention with hundreds of musicians the best place to try out a song for the first time? The place to figure out where the cord goes into your guitar? The place to play a song with your guitar frightfully out of tune? Yeah, all these happened while I was sitting there watching. Casey and Ted, if it will make you feel better I'll gladly go back up and delete my posts. In fact I'm going to just edit out my poorly chosen language and leave the ideas for something that would be more interesting TO ME in place of that time at the Rally. I certainly don't want to be discouraging to anyone, but encouraging to those that are trying to get better. And I'm at the top of that list. If nothing else you've helped me understand a little better what the point of that open mic is supposed to be... and it's clearly not what I thought it was going to be as a Rally newbie. I do appreciate that we can discuss and help each other understand even with the communication barrier that this style of conversation imposes. I hope you guys got to know me enough at the Rally to know I'm not out to knock anyone else down. -bStick: No worries, my friend. Even good friends sometimes see things differently... sometimes for a moment in time on a message board. It was so great to meet you at the rally. And, as you said, you didn't start the thread. Please don't feel attacked. I was "stick"-ing up for those who played at the open mics and the people (TAXI-folk) who organized them.Steve: Thanks for "stick"-ing up for the Stick... Casey

[Casey H]

Quote:Well, one day I'm gonna make it to the Rally so I guess I'm curious......what is everyone's expecations of the open mic? I thought an open mic was simply a place where anyone could get up and do their bit. Maybe drawing from a hat somehow changed that expectation? We would expect YOU to play the piano with 8 arms, or don't even bother showing up... Casey

[Casey H]

Quote:ok so some of u are upset, but why should we all lie that everyone is good or made the effort.in my life i only get told the truth. so thats the way it should be. does simon cowells tell the bad acts on american idol that they're good for effort.... nah, not in the real world.only your families will like your efforts... no-one else.so if your good keep doing what u do.if your bad then dont give up the day job. Simon's JOB is to give that type of feedback and the performers come there expecting it.You were not giving honest feedback to a friend who asked for it. You broadly said the whole thing was "terrible", to use your word.There is a difference between honesty and knowing when not to say anything at all... e.g:"Hi Honey... Your hair looks like sh*t today and those pants make you look fat...[** SMACK **].... But honey, I was just sharing honest, open communication with you..." (He never heard the shot) Casey

[squidlips]

Quote:Quote:Well, one day I'm gonna make it to the Rally so I guess I'm curious......what is everyone's expecations of the open mic? I thought an open mic was simply a place where anyone could get up and do their bit. Maybe drawing from a hat somehow changed that expectation? We would expect YOU to play the piano with 8 arms, or don't even bother showing up... CaseyOkay, okay, I'll stay home. Is anyone gonna post pics, ever, do you think? I'm kinda wondering what all y'all look like when you're not squished in an avatar.

[Casey H]

Quote: Is anyone gonna post pics, ever, do you think? I'm kinda wondering what all y'all look like when you're not squished in an avatar. Well, I will tell you that when you meet Stick in person, you find that he really does have both eyes open. Casey

[Casey H]

What really got my underwear in a knot was the very title of the thread, "I think the open mic was terrible." That's a much stronger statement than simply making suggestions. Now, I may lack objectivity because I had such a great time at the rally and was so thrilled to be there, that this kind of negativity ticked me off. Of course, we suggest to performers that they be better prepared, rehearsed, etc. Regarding the performers being better prepared... What can anyone really do short of making it a complex (and costly) process of auditions, selections, etc? And the random name selection was meant to give as many people as possible a chance without it being a competition... The organizers were trying to be fair! I bet mega-bucks that if there was a screening process, this board would be riddled with complaints about not being selected!!No event is perfect in every way to all people, especially 2000 or more. If you were pleased with 90% of the experience and thought some aspect could be improved, using words like "terrible" in a public forum is bad style, IMHO. Step outside of TAXI and the music world. Pretend your company just threw a great picnic for all their employees, spouses, and kids. There were games for the kids, great BBQ'd hot dogs, events for the adults, gag awards, etc, etc... But you thought the way they chose up sides for the softball game wasn't the best. Would you say something to the boss like, "the way they picked sides for the softball game was terrible!" Think of the emotional impact of the word "terrible" and the focus on the one small thing that wasn't perfect for you.Anne, Stick and friends ... I'm not ragging on you at all. Your hearts are in the right place and I know it... You are simply giving advice to folks who are thinking of performing in the future... Most likely if the thread didn't open with that title, I wouldn't have even noticed it. Casey

[stick]

Thanks Steve. You da man. You guys are all right on this subject... as I've learned through this, the Open Mic is different things to different folks. Now I know what it'll be for me next year (unless they get Jon Brion or something!)... time to hang out with you guys! Maybe we should have our own little open mic so you can all laugh at my singing.

[johnnydean1]

Quote:Quote:ok so some of u are upset, but why should we all lie that everyone is good or made the effort.in my life i only get told the truth. so thats the way it should be. does simon cowells tell the bad acts on american idol that they're good for effort.... nah, not in the real world.only your families will like your efforts... no-one else.so if your good keep doing what u do.if your bad then dont give up the day job. Simon's JOB is to give that type of feedback and the performers come there expecting it.You were not giving honest feedback to a friend who asked for it. You broadly said the whole thing was "terrible", to use your word.There is a difference between honesty and knowing when not to say anything at all... e.g:"Hi Honey... Your hair looks like sh*t today and those pants make you look fat...[** SMACK **].... But honey, I was just sharing honest, open communication with you..." (He never heard the shot) CaseyI haven't met a Muso yet who does not exagerate his/her opnion on all things musical.Maybe he should have said,I was bored or I was unispired.Would that have hurt any the less?

[aubreyz]

Quote:....No, I wasn't at the downstairs mic... But I find the very idea of having a THREAD saying you were disappointed with the level of talent bothersome. It's just one of those negative things that that only serves to hurt some people's feelings. If you had played there and read this, how would you feel? And maybe the intention WAS NOT for it to be a competition of who can be best, but a place for people to have fun and enjoy playing for a crowd. I've not had a chance to join in here and get my share of pummeling But honestly, I said in person the same exact thing as the title of this thread. That's too broad of a statement of course, there were a few glimmering moments, but the whole open mic thing was the most depressing part of the whole rally for me, except for going home .I must admit, that I had a total misunderstanding of what it was and very unreal expectations. I guess I read between the lines and created my own reality. I thought it was a big deal. I thought that the same opportunity to "be heard by the industry" in the listening panels, and the lobby hangouts would exist in the open mic - but hey, I was a newbie. I busted my butt to get a few minus tracks mixed, and was well rehearsed. I know it was a luck of the draw, but if we got the draw I didn't want to blow such a great opportunity.The first night, we lugged the guitar and pedal board down the elevator-- it was go big or go home. I was still kind of buzzing by how exciting this whole thing was. it was the TAXI Rally and we were there and had a chance to perform. To make a long story short, we sat there for the entire 3 1/2 hours. It felt like 18. Some moments were brutal. In the whole session I heard a few decent songs, a few good performers, but as a whole it was major amateur night. And yes, I've done the Nashville open mic thing too. This was not at all that. By the end of the first night my excitement of maybe winning the lotto and getting on the stage was replaced with sheer depression. Casey, I understand your point about not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. But this is not a "feel good" kind of game we're playing. I also know that many songwriters are not performers-- that wasn't the problem either. I was depressed because surely most of those folks had picked out the best of their best. There were quite a few that need a real wakeup call - too many people have patted them on the back not wanting to "hurt their feelings". There were many times I felt like I was in some kind of Farside Cartoon episode of "I write the songs Karaoke night". I'm not trying to be overly harsh, and now that I know what to expect I'm sure my reaction would be different.After that grueling first night it became obvious that my time was better spent hanging with the dots and looking for other opportunities. There were not any "industry" types in the open mic. It would have been cool and felt good to get on stage in front of several hundred Taxi Members, but I wasn't there to feel good and after I understood what it was, the open mic wouldn't have achieved as much for us as the lobby networking did.For me, I must admit, the open mic was terrible. After that first night I doubt we would have taken the stage even if our name had been called. Upstairs was more interesting, but I didn't find that until the second night. Based sheerly on the number of people who attended each night, there were many that found value in it. I'm not trying to discount that. But there may have been some real value if there were a few Simons on stage giving some "wake up and smell the coffee" advice.Aub

[Casey H]

I am officially off my soap box... Thanks for listening... Casey