The Open Mic

As many of you know, Dave and I host an Open Mic in Nac on Tuesday nights at Casa Tomas from 10 - Midnight. Before Rita's went out of business, we used to attend an open mic there on Thursdays hosted by Tom Daniel (kudos to him for being the most dedicated, awesomest host in the world). Before we approached Casa Tomas about the night, we got the go-head from Tom because Dave and I are nice like that. We don't want people's feathers ruffled and we don't like to tread on other folk's open mics. Tom had done it weekly for many years, and he actually wanted a break from it. So, Dave and I started looking for a venue.At the urging of Herb Midgely, we trucked on over to Casa Tomas.Through some negotiations with Sid at Casa Tomas (kudos to Adam Lamar for bringing some influence there), we got it all worked out. Tuesdays. No pay, but all the draft beer we could drink. $2 cover, and strictly over 21. Of course these restrictions are valid. David and I were strangers to them. As far as they were concerned, they couldn't know if we would be able to pull an audience on Tuesday nights, and it was important to not get locked into a relationship that wasn't beneficial for the restaurant. With some reservations, we went with it. We started on Tuesday, Halloween, and it was a surprising turnout. A lot of the roller girls came out in costume. Most of our favorite musicians made an appearance, and even though the venue forgot to charge cover, Dave and I passed the hat to make a little bit of cash. The following two weeks were a bit slow, but Dave, the venue and I all agree that it is going to take a bit of time to build the scene. Last week, I started being an annoying marketing guy to get folks out, and posted a jpeg on all of my friends comments. (I'm sorry for that by the way, but it was great to see you all come out). This week I was a bit more subtle in my marketing. I sent personal notes to several musicians in town. Actually they were melodramatic, funny, and hopefully met with a smile and not an annoyed sigh. Regardless, I sent messages this time instead of the big jpg comment thingee."Dear my best friend, It's been too long, and it's high time we had an intimate conversation and catch up. So much has changed in my life, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. How about tomorrow? 10 PM? Good. Let's meet at the usual place, Casa Tomas, and heck, bring along a guitar or something. It will be so nice to see where you music has gone since last we spoke. Much love, Jeromy "From my perspective, the night is different than Rita's. I am one of the hosts now, so that's a significant part of the change. There is also no escaping the music like there was at Rita's. If you are at Casa Tomas during Open Mic, then you are going to hear the music. That's great when the music is great, but that is a hostage situation when the music isn't. Thanks to Casa Tomas for letting us have the night (They have since dropped the cover and started somewhat supporting Dave and I financially since the tip jar scenario is a bit fruitless - I did get an orange once though, and Marcy Stonecipher put an actual tip in it once. something like "Look both ways before . . ."). Thanks to Adam Lamar for covering while we were in NYC two weeks ago. Thanks to those who came out and had a good time. And most importantly, thanks to those musicians who are coming out to play. More than anything else, Open Mic is for you. Do what you can to keep it going. Jeromy