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Here at Thalia capos, we love open mic nights.
They’re a great opportunity to meet other musicians, as well as to take your guitar playing out of your house and into the great wide world.
But much more than that, the awesome thing about open mic nights is that they’re, well… open. Unlike a bona fide, ticketed gig, literally anyone can get up and play.
As a result, all kinds of charactersfrequent these events. If you’re a regular open mic night attendee, you’ll probably know what we’re talking about.
So, with that in mind, here’s our salute to the heroes of the open mic night scene. They’re sometimes eccentric, often brilliant, and testament to the unifying power of the guitar.
The Gear Head
For this guitarist, collecting obscure pedals, boutique amps and obsessing over pick-ups is as much as a passion as playing the guitar itself. Case in point, they’re likely to rock up to a Wednesday night open mic with more equipment than Guns N’ Roses took on their last world tour.
To the gear head, the five minutes of setup time allowed at the open mic night is a vague suggestion rather than a hard and fast rule: “Five minutes isn’t nearly enough time for the tubes to warm up! Besides, getting that vintage Klon to do its thing is a fine art, man, not an exact science.”
Once finally assembled, the “rig” looks more like the control desk to the Starship Enterprise than a pedal board. It’s an appropriate metaphor, because the gear head will manage to create sounds with that equipment that are truly out of this world. His playing is weird, wonderful, and definitely worth the half-hour setup time wait.
The Disciple
This guitarist will be a huge fan of “insert name guitarist here.” And by huge, we mean devoted to a level or near religiosity. He’s bought every album, every bootleg and every instructional DVD – even the ones only available on import.
His guitar rig is the guitar hero’s rig. His wardrobe isthe guitar hero’s wardrobe. He almost certainly has the guitar hero tattooed on at least one part of his anatomy….
After enlightening you at the bar with an in depth-rundown of the subtleties of said guitarist’s right-hand technique, he’ll get called up. No prizes for guessing what he plays.
The disciple will absolutely nail the rendition of “name guitarist’s” signature tune. Why, because he’s the disciple, and that means putting the hours in.
His conversation might be limited, and he might only know how songs by “name guitarist.” But, the disciple knows what he likes, and dang, can he play it! For that, we salute him.
The Dark Horse
Sat at the back in his polo shirt, slacks and loafers, nestling a bottle of Miller Lite, to say that the dark horse is inconspicuous would be a major understatement. Heck, you probably didn’t give him a second glance when you walked into the bar.
As he shuffles onto the stage and produces a $300 Yamaha Dreadnought from a padded gigbag, he still isn’t turning any heads. But, when he starts playing, you can guarantee that the bar will be stunned into silence.
This guy is like Kottke, Emmanuel, Atkins and Knopfler all rolled into one. His finger dexterity is phenomenal, his tone is the clearest you’ve ever heard. Between the percussive strikes and the cascading melodies, you wonder why this guy is playing a Wednesday open mic night and not Madison Square Garden.
Unfazed by the raucous applause, he’ll walk off as he came on, finish his Miller and then leave.
You’ll go back to the same open mic night six weeks in a row hoping to hear the dark horse again. But, he’ll never show. Was he a ghost? A hallucination? The regional manager of a mid-tier data entry firm? You’ll never find out… but you’ll always remember that performance.
The Regular
Unlike the dark horse, you can count on the regular making a weekly appearance. Not just at this open mic, but at every open mic in the tri-county area. Six of the seven nights a week (his wife won’t let him out on a Sunday), if there’s a bar with a stage – and the stage isn’t a deal breaker; he’ll settle for “a slightly raised performance area” – he’ll be there.If the night starts at seven, he’ll be there at six thirty.
He’s a best friend with the organizer, he knows all the regulars and is the glue that holds the open mic night scene together.
The regular isn’t the world’s greatest guitar player. His repertoire isn’t the most impressive. But that doesn’t matter. His enthusiasm for getting up and playing, for keeping the local scene alive, is infectious. It carries through in his performance, and the scene loves him for it.
How many of these open mic night characters have you come across? And, are there any other guitarist types that you regularly meet at open mics? Share your stories in the comments!
When we’re young, there are several firsts that we’re not aware of, though our parents may relish in those moments. These are milestones such as first steps, first words, first trips to the potty, and so on.
As we age, there are more firsts that we become more aware of, such as our first kisses, first dates, and first times behind the wheel (often to our parents’ great fear in the passenger seat).
While punk and pop-punk are arguably defined by stacks of power chords and clean guitar passages, incorporating capos benefits the genre.
They can make some things more accessible to play. In interviews, Mike Ness of Social Distortion said he has a Gold Top Les Paul tuned down from E standard to Eb standard and capos the guitar at the second fret. This is to make playing certain things more accessible and comfortable, accommodating an old injury on his fretting hand. Thanks to capos, Ness can play in different keys.
While he can imitate the greats, his voice on the instrument is also distinct, blending virtuosic technique, great tone, incredible musicality and a healthy dose of humour. All of that has made him an in-demand clinician and very busy player, recording and touring with Asia, Dizzee Rascal, Steven Wilson, Hans Zimmer, and his project, The Aristocrats.
One does not travel this world without gaining experience and wisdom, which Guthrie has shared with many through the years. Without further ado, here is some of the knowledge he has passed on over the years.
