Post by Gene on Jun 1, 2011 13:16:06 GMT -5
Hiya, chuckleheads! I skipped right over May, so I’ll try to make good by submitting a June entry on the 1st, here. My upcoming schedule is very healthy, for sure:
JUN 4, SAT, The Islander, Hessel, 9pm-1
JUN 11, SAT, Driftwood Sports Bar, St. Ignace, 9pm-1
JUN 15, WED, Pink Pony Bar, Mackinac Island, 3pm-6
JUN 19, SUN, Douglas Lake Bar, Pellston, 6pm-9
JUN 22, WED, Pink Pony Bar, Mackinac Island, 3pm-6
JUN 23, THU, Dixie Saloon, Mackinaw City, 9:30pm-12:30
JUN 26, SUN, Hoppie's, Pellston, 6pm-9
JUN 29, WED, Pink Pony Bar, Mackinac Island, 3pm-6
I always look forward to The Islander, since it always surprises me how big the crowd is for a this little bar out in the woods. Driftwood likes me, so they gave me a June date; They have a new outdoor deck that they want to try out for live music like this, so I hope the weather is good for that. Pink Pony is quite a big deal, since it is probably the most prestigious place to play in the area for solo acoustic guys. It’s just a few afternoon deck gigs that opened up when Doug Thomas backed out because of a full-time job he got, but I’ll take his “leftovers” anytime!... I’ve been trying to play at the Pony for years, and it’s a great opportunity and “resume tag”, if anything. The DLB in Pellston has become one of my staples, and I’ll have a few more there this summer, too. Hoppie’s was the result of the owner being impressed with me last month, so he booked me for six this summer, this being the first of those, but more on that later. I’m finally getting a chance at the Dixie, so I’m going to lay down my very best for that one.
I had just three gigs in May, but I was busy with other things, and I knew June was going to get nuts, so I was okay with it. I played two at the Cava in Bay Harbor. I really misjudged this place, since it looked like a rich, stodgy place, and checking out Pete Kehoe there prior, I had the impression that what they wanted was a subdued, background ambiance act that didn’t call much attention to itself. I started out doing that “loungey” thing, then I picked up on the cue that this crowd wanted to cut loose, so I obliged. The second gig was scheduled in such a way that if I washed out at the first, I just wouldn’t be called back, but fortunately, it did go well, so I did the second one the week after, too. This just happened to be the owner Chandler Symons’ 40th birthday party, and it was a WILD one. I now have a good name there, but my summer schedule was so tight by the time this happened that I really couldn’t take on any more summer dates. I sure hope I’m remembered there for the fall, ‘cause, whoda thunk, Cava really ended up being my kinda place!
I asked to play at Hoppie’s on the north end of Burt Lake, and was pessimistic, since I’ve only heard of one old solo guy ever playing there. I guess I caught the owner in an experimental mood, since he booked me for a “trial run” gig in May. That went so well that he gave me six more! That pretty much topped off my summer schedule to be contently full. Their Mexican food looks very good, so I plan to get back there for recreational reasons as well!
I guess the Open Mic at the Village Inn in St. Ignace is still going on for Tuesdays, but you’d never know it, since it is not advertised in any way. NOT the way I would run a railroad, that’s for sure... It’s pretty much all there is in this area, since, surprisingly, no Open Mics are offered in Petoskey at all, and the next nearest one is in Boyne City. I might go on June 7 to Village Inn to try out some new material, but I’ll decide that on my mood at that time; I’m getting pretty busy, now.
I’ve learned that Chris Barker and Jack Reigel of St. Ignace’s old Last Call project decided to form an acoustic duo. They’ve been honing their chops at this Open Mic (part of my motivation to go there and check them out), and they’ve played at Timmy Lee’s a couple times. They’ve called their new project “The Elastic Waist Band”. A name like this implies that they certainly don’t take themselves too seriously, so I bet they are a lot of fun. I sure hope I can check them out soon, and if I do, I’ll share what I think.
Overall, I think the local music scene for this time of year seems better than you would expect, given the economy and gas prices. For each venue that drops having live music, there seems to be almost as many that start to pick it up. Things shift around, as they do. There being slightly less venues having live music, though, should logically result in better (and more desperate) musicians settling for cheaper and more far away gigs. That’s somewhat true (as a few Detroiters playing regularly in Northern Michigan illustrate), but not purely. This line of thinking would further imply that the quality of acts must be going up, but I don’t really see that going on. I think there’s definitely more local-boy cronyism and preference going on, though, which would explain why the acts aren’t as good as they should be, given the market. Cheboygan is a recent good example of this where the same 4 acts from that town pretty much rotate amongst the 4 venues that there are to play there, and “outsiders” are rarely let in the closed ring, it really not mattering if an out-of-town act is a better one or not. It’s not really sour grapes on my part, since I’m adequately busy anyway, and I definitely take advantage of this very thing from my OWN town of St. Ignace favoring ME. It all evens out for me in that respect, but I’m not really sure that this way of doing business is best overall, for any party: Act, venue or paying audience member. I’d personally rather see a scene with more variety in more venues, but, I guess it is what it is...
Sure hope you have a wonderful summer!
–Gene.
JUN 4, SAT, The Islander, Hessel, 9pm-1
JUN 11, SAT, Driftwood Sports Bar, St. Ignace, 9pm-1
JUN 15, WED, Pink Pony Bar, Mackinac Island, 3pm-6
JUN 19, SUN, Douglas Lake Bar, Pellston, 6pm-9
JUN 22, WED, Pink Pony Bar, Mackinac Island, 3pm-6
JUN 23, THU, Dixie Saloon, Mackinaw City, 9:30pm-12:30
JUN 26, SUN, Hoppie's, Pellston, 6pm-9
JUN 29, WED, Pink Pony Bar, Mackinac Island, 3pm-6
I always look forward to The Islander, since it always surprises me how big the crowd is for a this little bar out in the woods. Driftwood likes me, so they gave me a June date; They have a new outdoor deck that they want to try out for live music like this, so I hope the weather is good for that. Pink Pony is quite a big deal, since it is probably the most prestigious place to play in the area for solo acoustic guys. It’s just a few afternoon deck gigs that opened up when Doug Thomas backed out because of a full-time job he got, but I’ll take his “leftovers” anytime!... I’ve been trying to play at the Pony for years, and it’s a great opportunity and “resume tag”, if anything. The DLB in Pellston has become one of my staples, and I’ll have a few more there this summer, too. Hoppie’s was the result of the owner being impressed with me last month, so he booked me for six this summer, this being the first of those, but more on that later. I’m finally getting a chance at the Dixie, so I’m going to lay down my very best for that one.
I had just three gigs in May, but I was busy with other things, and I knew June was going to get nuts, so I was okay with it. I played two at the Cava in Bay Harbor. I really misjudged this place, since it looked like a rich, stodgy place, and checking out Pete Kehoe there prior, I had the impression that what they wanted was a subdued, background ambiance act that didn’t call much attention to itself. I started out doing that “loungey” thing, then I picked up on the cue that this crowd wanted to cut loose, so I obliged. The second gig was scheduled in such a way that if I washed out at the first, I just wouldn’t be called back, but fortunately, it did go well, so I did the second one the week after, too. This just happened to be the owner Chandler Symons’ 40th birthday party, and it was a WILD one. I now have a good name there, but my summer schedule was so tight by the time this happened that I really couldn’t take on any more summer dates. I sure hope I’m remembered there for the fall, ‘cause, whoda thunk, Cava really ended up being my kinda place!
I asked to play at Hoppie’s on the north end of Burt Lake, and was pessimistic, since I’ve only heard of one old solo guy ever playing there. I guess I caught the owner in an experimental mood, since he booked me for a “trial run” gig in May. That went so well that he gave me six more! That pretty much topped off my summer schedule to be contently full. Their Mexican food looks very good, so I plan to get back there for recreational reasons as well!
I guess the Open Mic at the Village Inn in St. Ignace is still going on for Tuesdays, but you’d never know it, since it is not advertised in any way. NOT the way I would run a railroad, that’s for sure... It’s pretty much all there is in this area, since, surprisingly, no Open Mics are offered in Petoskey at all, and the next nearest one is in Boyne City. I might go on June 7 to Village Inn to try out some new material, but I’ll decide that on my mood at that time; I’m getting pretty busy, now.
I’ve learned that Chris Barker and Jack Reigel of St. Ignace’s old Last Call project decided to form an acoustic duo. They’ve been honing their chops at this Open Mic (part of my motivation to go there and check them out), and they’ve played at Timmy Lee’s a couple times. They’ve called their new project “The Elastic Waist Band”. A name like this implies that they certainly don’t take themselves too seriously, so I bet they are a lot of fun. I sure hope I can check them out soon, and if I do, I’ll share what I think.
Overall, I think the local music scene for this time of year seems better than you would expect, given the economy and gas prices. For each venue that drops having live music, there seems to be almost as many that start to pick it up. Things shift around, as they do. There being slightly less venues having live music, though, should logically result in better (and more desperate) musicians settling for cheaper and more far away gigs. That’s somewhat true (as a few Detroiters playing regularly in Northern Michigan illustrate), but not purely. This line of thinking would further imply that the quality of acts must be going up, but I don’t really see that going on. I think there’s definitely more local-boy cronyism and preference going on, though, which would explain why the acts aren’t as good as they should be, given the market. Cheboygan is a recent good example of this where the same 4 acts from that town pretty much rotate amongst the 4 venues that there are to play there, and “outsiders” are rarely let in the closed ring, it really not mattering if an out-of-town act is a better one or not. It’s not really sour grapes on my part, since I’m adequately busy anyway, and I definitely take advantage of this very thing from my OWN town of St. Ignace favoring ME. It all evens out for me in that respect, but I’m not really sure that this way of doing business is best overall, for any party: Act, venue or paying audience member. I’d personally rather see a scene with more variety in more venues, but, I guess it is what it is...
Sure hope you have a wonderful summer!
–Gene.