Well everything started off at Trader Jacks like normal, a little slow till about 8:30 PM (the dinner crowd) with a few musicians I haven't seen in a while. But then not only did a lot of musicians show up, but even some friends that don't normally visit this venue suddenly appeared. And not only that, but everybody was sounding professional, polished, and good. At first Ed McCurdy who hosts the open mic (aside from playing keys), said there was to be only one guitar player onstage at a time, to avoid the dreaded "Volume Wars" guitar players are so notorious for. But with the number of "Pickers" that came, that soon became mute. I was paired up with Tom Cipriani on Guitar, Steve Hutter on Sax, Ed on Keys, Willie Lee on Bass, John on Drums, Phil Harmonica and Mad Willie alternating on harmonicas'. We started off with a standard version the Drifters "Stand By Me". From there we left the norms and went to Tom's driving version of The Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man". Then we went to a loose jam in Gm also with a driving rhythm that did seem to drag on a little, but the audience liked it. It was a pleasure playing with the group. After this I took a break to allow others up. But I did get back up for three more songs at the end of the night, only this time with a Guitarist named Roland, and the last song "Summertime" with Vocalist Faye Henderson and Flip on Keys. Others who were there and played were, Valentine on Bass, John Henderson (Fay's husband and drummer), Harold Connell on Guitar, and Durham on Guitar. I apologize to any I might have left out. Kudos to Ed for hosting an excellent Open Mic.
Well everything started off at Trader Jacks like normal, a little slow till about 8:30 PM (the dinner crowd) with a few musicians I haven't seen in a while. But then not only did a lot of musicians show up, but even some friends that don't normally visit this venue suddenly appeared. And not only that, but everybody was sounding professional, polished, and good. At first Ed McCurdy who hosts the open mic (aside from playing keys), said there was to be only one guitar player onstage at a time, to avoid the dreaded "Volume Wars" guitar players are so notorious for. But with the number of "Pickers" that came, that soon became mute. I was paired up with Tom Cipriani on Guitar, Steve Hutter on Sax, Ed on Keys, Willie Lee on Bass, John on Drums, Phil Harmonica and Mad Willie alternating on harmonicas'. We started off with a standard version the Drifters "Stand By Me". From there we left the norms and went to Tom's driving version of The Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man". Then we went to a loose jam in Gm also with a driving rhythm that did seem to drag on a little, but the audience liked it. It was a pleasure playing with the group. After this I took a break to allow others up. But I did get back up for three more songs at the end of the night, only this time with a Guitarist named Roland, and the last song "Summertime" with Vocalist Faye Henderson and Flip on Keys. Others who were there and played were, Valentine on Bass, John Henderson (Fay's husband and drummer), Harold Connell on Guitar, and Durham on Guitar. I apologize to any I might have left out. Kudos to Ed for hosting an excellent Open Mic.
