You got this!
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Good luck!
I look forward to reading the after report.
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Let us know how it went!
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Thanx Brother @howard
Thanx Brother @eric.kiser
Thanx Brother @Mike_NL
Did I ever learn a lot and pull a few rookie mistakes.
The open mic night runs from 6-8pm every other Wednesday night. I arrived just after 5:30pm and checked in with the main guy. He explained that the sign up sheet was at the bar and simply fill out the information.
So I was looking around the bar and there was no sheet to sign up on. The bar back gal asked me what I was looking for. She smile and pointed to a stack of 1/4 size sheets of scratch paper. Right!?!? I was thinking clip board but oh well.
The first question was
Band Name - Donât Have One - I wrote down âThat B Usâ
Band Members Names - Easy
Style Of Music - Easy
Email - Easy
And then I added a thank you and would it be possible to start after 7pm
The first band was up and playing by about 6:15 and they were rough. And Loud. Near the end of their set, I walked over to the main guy again and asked him to turn the volume down by half during our set. He looked at me with that goofy puzzled expression. I casually asked him to look at his audience. Its an outdoor patio area and everyone is yelling at each other because its so dang loud. Folks are here to hang out, catch up, and there just happens to be an open mic.
A few of my friends were asking me if I was nervous about playing for the first time. I explained to them that when you suck and have no idea what you are doing, there is ZERO pressure. Nate is the brains behind this project so he has all the pressure of performing. Classic
So Nate and I take the stage and I have a full on panic moment. I have my bass cord pulled in the passive input source, I have my pedals plugged in, and no bleeping light patterns rolled through my board when I flipped the ON switch to my rig. What?? My amp is dead??? How about a rookie mistake by NEVER plugging in to the wall unit. Duh
My second big mistake was turning down the opportunity to use a mic. I am not a singer so I passed on a mic when the main guy asked if I needed one. That was a blow it because I should have introduced us, thanked everyone, or at least explain that these are all original tunes and we have only been âplayingâ together since March. Speak Your Truth
The first song, I basically play whole notes for a four count or a two count. Example: A# 4 beasts, D# 2 beats , and C# 2 Beats. Very simple and our slowest song of the set. Smooth sailing and I felt a massive weight lift from my bones. Stoked
Second song picks up the pace and I play Root 3rds during the chorus section. Also happened to be a crowd favorite afterwards. Lots of feed back from that song. Again, should have addressed the crowd but no mic.
Last song was fantastic. Was the first time that I actually felt a groove while playing. Nate and I were playing as one and fingering those patterns were effortless. I really wish we had another two or three songs to play as I was totally hooked. Absolutely A Blast
This was also the first time I heard Nate plugged in and micâd up. We practice in a barn and I knew he was strong but had no idea. His voice is amazing and all of our friends made note of it. A couple that we didnât know were completely floored when they found out it was our first time on stage and that we have been playing for such a short time.
I made mention to another group of folks that I picked up the bass during COVID and starting learning on YouTube. That was how I discovered Bass Buzz and signed up. Total game changer there @JoshFossgreen
So in closing, one of the best nights of 2023. Our songs that Nate writes are very simply and that is why they work in my opinion. We focused on playing slowly and breathing. We both throughly enjoyed our selves and we both thought each other performed really well. Hell, much better than expected anyway. Nate shared to our friends that he is very impressed with my growth over the past two months. He joked about how bad I was on that first day that we met up to âplayâ. I complimented on his vocals and how his subtle head bobs really helped me between chord changes. Yes, he carried me for sure.
We have four more originals that we have played a few times. So I am pretty sure that we are going to play again in two weeks. I hope so anyway now that I have that performing bug. Now that I have watched the video, I realize that I never engaged with the crowd and just stared down at my sheet music. Will plan to chat up the audience next time. And I really want to showcase Nate as he is the real pro here.
Overall: 8 our of 10
Will update you all as we move forward. Thanx again for listening, reading, and for being supportive. Really means a lot to me.
Stay Groovy ,
Cheers
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Awesome! Sounds like you had a great time, and the audience as well. Is this video you mentioned available somewhere? Iâd love to watch and listen to your performance!
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Good work. Keep it up.
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Congratulations! That sounds pretty fricking awesome.
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Good job man
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Here we go @Mike_NL ,
Thanx @MikeC
Thanx @eric.kiser
And Thank You @Gloucestre
Obviously the audio quality isnât the best and clearly hot. But the video quality really kicks A$$ for sure. The beer drinks arrived and it just happened to be Open Mic Night.
With all that out of the way, here is our three song set
Thanx for All The Support ,
Cheers
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Fantastic. Side note: Good mountain biking in Fruita!
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Dude! Thatâs great! Congratulations!
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Hey mate, that was pretty Awesome
Your mate is good.
The songs are good and you were, wait for itâŚgood
You looked comfortable, you played well.
You are lucky to have found such a great mentor
Also just have to add that you look like an Aussie there, I could drop you in pretty much any pub and you wouldnât look out of place.
10/10
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great! thanks for sharing
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Never was a doubt in my mind you could do it @travis.thepadre.reed
Your partner Nate seems like a great match/fit with you.
You did the right thing by keeping it simple on the Bass lines.
Only way is up from here.
Congratulations. 
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Great story and what a sweet gig you played! I liked song number two, that sounded groovy! Heck, by song number three you had people dancing. 
I feel like @Celticstar said it best
Only way is up from here.
Have fun!
Antonio
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Yeah! Keep it up bro! @antonio pointed out the really cool thing. You had people dancing by the 3rd song on an open mic night! wow! Thatâs local folks telling you yâall are doing something right!
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@Barney ,
The Whole Western Slope Kicks A$$ - Yes, Fruita Offers Up Some Sweet Single Track For Sure And Delicious Pizza From The Hot Tomato - And Now, Tasty Brews And Music At The Copper Club Brewery
Be Well ,
Cheers
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Well Good
I am so very fortunate to have bonded with Nate. And very thankful for his simple tunes and useful patterns. Thanx for the vote of confidence.
Stay Groovy ,
Cheers
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