Jonathan's Open Mic night (with performance after by Keira Witherkay's Band)

Keira-WitherKay

OPEN MIC NIGHT IS HERE AT JONATHAN'S EVERY WEDNESDAY STARTING AT 8 PM ............ before we always had invited guests.... but now it's your chance....

The amount of songs played will depend on how busy the night is.... but at least 1 and not more than 3 ....

also you would have to bring your own Guitar/keyboard a PA will be available and one microphone.... if you require more you must bring it along with any cables...

to perform feel free to book a spot by emailing me at keira.witherkay@live.co.za but feel free to just arrive.... but if you just arrive...and wanna play please do so before 8-30 pm ...

also a band /artist (keira WitherKay's Acoustix project.... a 4 piece infectiously vibrant world music/jazz band) will perform after the open mic session

open mic session starts at 8 pm ....

come and have some fun

the venue is Jonathans in Buccleuch

<<<<<DIRECTIONS TO VENUE >>>>>

GET ONTO THE N1 AND HEAD TOWARDS JHB IF YOU FROM THE PTA SIDE OF MIDRAND OR GET ONTO THE M1 IF YOU COMING FROM THE JHB SIDE OF MIDRAND AND HEAD TOWARDS PTA .... (BASICALLY THE SAME ROAD)JUST NAME CHANGES AT ONE POINT )

from both jhb and pta sides ....Take the woodmead offramp turn ..

left if you from pta side till you get to the T junction with Old Pretoria/jhb road ,

or turn Right if you from jhb side till you hit the T junction with old pta/jhb road

turn left into old pta/jhb road at next set of robots you turn right into Gibson.
At the circle keep left, it becomes Buccleuch drive and you will see the shopping center on your right hand side opposite a petrol garage, turn into the parking lot and jonathans is in the top corner next to the spar.

THIS WEEK IS ALSO THE LAST PERFORMANCE BY AURIOL HAYS AT JONATHANS ( Auriol is the "Keira WitherKay's Acoustix project" vocalist... and also vocalist of her own band the "Auriol Hays project" ... she currently has a song on radio 5 but is leaving us to live in Cape town ,,, she will be missed ) ...SO BE THERE TO SUPPORT HER LAST JHB SHOW....

peace and light
Keira Witherkay

Bob-Dubery

Keira WitherKay wrote: OPEN MIC NIGHT IS HERE AT JONATHAN'S EVERY WEDNESDAY STARTING AT 8 PM ............ before we always had invited guests.... but now it's your chance....

The amount of songs played will depend on how busy the night is.... but at least 1 and not more than 3 ....

also you would have to bring your own Guitar/keyboard a PA will be available and one microphone.... if you require more you must bring it along with any cables...

to perform feel free to book a spot by emailing me at keira.witherkay@live.co.za but feel free to just arrive.... but if you just arrive...and wanna play please do so before 8-30 pm ...

also a band /artist (keira WitherKay's Acoustix project.... a 4 piece infectiously vibrant world music/jazz band) will perform after the open mic session

open mic session starts at 8 pm ....

come and have some fun

the venue is Jonathans in Buccleuch

Keira Witherkay

Well I went, I saw.... don't know about conquering though.

A lot of fun. The crowd were noisy but supportive and friendly *. Keira was well organised and very helpful.

The proceedings eventually kicked off at 20:30. We left at nearly 22:00 (having proper jobs and all that good stuff) and the "open mic-ers" were still at it. So there was a good take up. 15 minute sessions and maybe 5 minutes to plug in and make sure that all the right noises were being produced. Somebody can do the maths... but what I'm saying is that there was a good take up of Keira's offer.

* I did an old English music hall number "Sam Hall". For this to work well the audience has to get involved and jeer and hiss. No shortage of jeering and hissing from this bunch. They got right into the spirit of things.

Riaan-Combrink

Would have loved to have seen it!

You guys should video these things and post ?

Keira-WitherKay

hello all, yeah the open mic night was a great success,,,,, and Bob played well , gorgeous fingerpicking style.... and yeah that accapello sing along had everyone singing along... and may i say Bob opted to play 1st so he warmed them all up by himself... great one Bob, your participation was appreciated .....

yeah well my band played an emotional set since it was my my current singers last gig..... so we were all a bit choked up but played like demons to give her a fabulous send off..... she's off to Ct so anyone in CT watch out for a woman called Auriol Hays if she's performing near you go see her, she has a soulful voice that drips with tone... she also currently has a single on Radio 5 (Auriol Hay's project) but get her to sing jazz and you won't regret it ....

lol needless to say i only got home at 2 am ..... and had rehearsals with her replacement at 9 am ..followed by lessons and a flamenco gig tonight ....so it has been a hectic day ....

yeah well next week wed .... same again so anyone interested in playing a few songs contact me of just arrive before 8 pm ....

i think the premier event was a success and hope everyone there enjoyed it .....

peace and light
Keira

Riaan-Combrink

Keira WitherKay wrote: she's off to Ct so anyone in CT watch out for a woman called Auriol Hays if she's performing near you go see her, she has a soulful voice that drips with tone... she also currently has a single on Radio 5 (Auriol Hay's project) but get her to sing jazz and you won't regret it ....

Will do. If you do hear, via her, of a CT event, also let us know bmo a post on here.

Looking forward to it.

AlanRatcliffe

Sounds great!

* I did an old English music hall number "Sam Hall". For this to work well the audience has to get involved and jeer and hiss. No shortage of jeering and hissing from this bunch. They got right into the spirit of things.

This one?

My name it is Sam Hall
and I hate you, one and all
My name it is Sam Hall
Damn your hides!

I always thought that was an American song. IIRC, it's the story of a condemned man who was slipped a bottle of whiskey before his hanging and was raging drunk for the event. Way to go Sam!

Bob-Dubery

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Sounds great!

* I did an old English music hall number "Sam Hall". For this to work well the audience has to get involved and jeer and hiss. No shortage of jeering and hissing from this bunch. They got right into the spirit of things.
This one?

My name it is Sam Hall
and I hate you, one and all
My name it is Sam Hall
Damn your hides!

I always thought that was an American song. IIRC, it's the story of a condemned man who was slipped a bottle of whiskey before his hanging and was raging drunk for the event. Way to go Sam!

There's several variations on most of these songs - and tunes tend to get recycled quite a lot. The one you quote is similar to the one that I know.

My name it is Sam Hall, chimney sweep
My name it is Sam Hall, chimney sweep
Oh my name it is Sam Hall
And I robbed both great and small
And now I pay for all
And damn your eyes!

A lot of fun. As the song unravels Mr Hall reveals more and more unflattering details about himself.

The bit that usually gets people really revved up is
Oh the preacher he did come
And he talked of Kingdom Come
Well he can kiss my bloody bum
And damn his eyes

A lot of British folk and early music hall songs migrated across the Atlantic and evolved. But the common roots are often apparent. A good example is the bluegrass song "Shady Groves" which is essentially the old English folk song "Matty Groves" (famously recorded by Fairport Convention on the "Liege and Lief" album). Though Matty Groves has a gorier story, and also is set within the context of the English class system which would have less relevance in the USA.

Bob-Dubery

Bob Dubery wrote:
There's several variations on most of these songs - and tunes tend to get recycled quite a lot.

In fact the first song I did was "Ye Jacobites By Name". It's attributed to Robbie Burns, but in fact he rewrote the original lyric (and did a brilliant job of the rewrite and so the song now rings true centuries later). The tune and the rhyming scheme are essentially the same as "Sam Hall", though "Jacobites" is in a minor key and "Sam" in a major. But they're not that different and I wouldn't play them back to back.

AlanRatcliffe

The specific song I know ïs the Johnny Cash version:

Well, my name it is Sam Hall, Sam Hall.
Yes, my name it is Sam Hall; it is Sam Hall.
My name it is Sam Hall an' I hate you, one and all.
An' I hate you, one and all:
Damn your eyes.

I killed a man, they said; so they said.
I killed a man, they said; so they said.
I killed a man, they said an' I smashed in his head.
An' I left him layin' dead,
Damn his eyes.

But a-swingin', I must go; I must go.
A-swingin', I must go; I must go.
A-swingin', I must go while you critters down below,
Yell up: "Sam, I told you so."
Well, damn your eyes!

I saw Molly in the crowd; in the crowd.
I saw Molly in the crowd; in the crowd.
I saw Molly in the crowd an' I hollered, right out loud:
" Hey there Molly, ain't you proud?
" Damn your eyes."

Then the Sherriff, he came to; he came to.
Ah, yeah, the Sherriff, he came to; he came to.
The Sherriff, he come to an he said: "Sam, how are you?"
An I said: "Well, Sherriff, how are you,
" Damn your eyes."

My name is Samuel, Samuel.
My name is Samuel, Samuel.
My name is Samuel, an' I'll see you all in hell.
An' I'll see you all in hell,
Damn your eyes.

Bob-Dubery

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: The specific song I know ïs the Johnny Cash version:

Well, my name it is Sam Hall, Sam Hall.
Yes, my name it is Sam Hall; it is Sam Hall.
My name it is Sam Hall an' I hate you, one and all.
An' I hate you, one and all:
Damn your eyes.
....

Well not too far from the one that I know (courtesy of Richard Thompson) but I've heard another version of it as well. They all differ in detail but have the same broad strokes.

Doing it acapella works well because you can allow the audience to boo and hiss to their heart's content, shake fists at them, badger them back etc etc.

Riaan-Combrink

Bob Dubery wrote: Doing it acapella works well because you can allow the audience to boo and hiss to their heart's content, shake fists at them, badger them back etc etc.

Kudos to you, Bob! Takes quiteabit of mettle to pull this off with acrowd that doesn't know you.

PS: Did your pedal play up again,or everything fine?

Bob-Dubery

Riaan C wrote: Kudos to you, Bob! Takes quiteabit of mettle to pull this off with acrowd that doesn't know you.

Baie dankie! People have said before that they think me brave for doing a straight vocal number. But to me it means less work than singing and playing at the same time. And when this one works it's a lot of fun.

Riaan C wrote: PS: Did your pedal play up again,or everything fine?

Well one thing I've learned is that what I hear isn't necessarily what the audience hear. I only used the pedal for one song, and for that song I have the chorus turned up pretty fast, so I think that might cause some cancellation problems and thinning of the sound.

I really have two settings that I use on it. I think of them as "Martyn" and "Thompson". "Martyn" is slow with the depth up, and with the "vibrato" feature that this particular pedal has switched on and up about 3/4 of the way. "Thompson" is faster, no "vibrato" and less depth. "Martyn" is a bit spacier a sound. Anyhoo.... for one song I needed "Thompson" , but I quickly dialled in "Martyn" whilst I was setting up and both settings sounded OK. There was a little loss of definition on the bottom end, but I think that's to be expected with this kind of effect.

Interesting to note that Keira's gear seemed more sensitive to the pedal. It has a gain control so that you can cut or boost volume when the effect kicks in (effect off = bypass) and I had to turn that down a little further than I do at TJs.

Don't know what any of this means - other than that I need to spend a moment or two checking such things.

But from where I sat I didn't hear the big drop in bass that I'd experienced previously.

Hmmmm... I need to get one of those Carl Martin choruses that you can switch between two settings that you dialled in andvance. Is this PAS (Pedal Acquisition Syndrome)?

Squonk

Good stuff Bob, Will have to come and watch you soon!
what type of music is expected at these open mic sessions? Is it more the folky/ new agey thing, or could you get away with a bluesy kind of thing?

Bob-Dubery

Squonk wrote: Good stuff Bob, Will have to come and watch you soon!
what type of music is expected at these open mic sessions? Is it more the folky/ new agey thing, or could you get away with a bluesy kind of thing?

I can't say. It's not my evening. I usually play fairly folky stuff, but not exclusively. The two acts after me were much more contemporary sounding. Keira didn't ask what I was going to play or make any suggestions, and to me that's the way "open mic" should be.

Hey Keira! I'm boosting attendances here ? I want my pay increased.

Keira-WitherKay

hello all, firstly squonk, you can play what you like..... the only limits i have is that you do nothing to damage my gear...as you play at the volume of everyone else .... no metal heads red lining my gear heheheehh ...... and that we adhere to a preset time period.....which depends on how many people perform that night ... what you play is up to you ....after bob left we had a didgereedoo and a djembe with 2 people doing chanting .... it was awesome.....so anything goes and with me being into world music i encourage the off centre musicians.....

by the way another open mic is happening this wed 18th..... i will make a new post about it .... but it is happening.... so squonk bring your guitar and play some blues....

and BOb re your pay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! mmmmmm the cheque is in the mail..........

and yeah Bob about your chorus pedal.... it sounded great no drop in bottom end at all and i was in the main section of room .... and it sounded very rich and lush ..... nice sounding toy..... definite step up from the ussual pedals you see and hear around....

peace and light
Keira

Bob-Dubery

Keira WitherKay wrote:
and yeah Bob about your chorus pedal.... it sounded great no drop in bottom end at all and i was in the main section of room .... and it sounded very rich and lush ..... nice sounding toy..... definite step up from the usual pedals you see and hear around....

That one misadventure has still been gnawing away at me. Nothing personal, but I wanted to get a handle on what happened. I thought I heard some bass drop-off, or more likely a little muddying of the bottom end when I used the pedal at Jonathan's. Otherwise it sounded fine where I was sitting. I was playing the Morgan that I am always rabbiting on about, and that guitar has a big, well-defined bottom end (which is why I play in drop-D a lot, it sounds fantastic in that tuning).

Anyhoo... I ended up at Andy McGibbons on the weekend. I'd bought a Baggs pre-amp from them a few weeks ago. Everything I tried with that pre-amp seemed to make things sound worse, so I have not used it in real life. I concluded the problem was with me rather than with the box. They were very helpful and we went into their amp room and did some debugging of my little setup. Started with my leads in case it turned out one of those was a dud. In short we agreed that there was a small drop-off on the bottom end when the pedal was kicked in, or maybe just a loss of definition, but nothing like the problems I'd experienced on one occasion at TJs. They helped me set up the pre-amp and that seems to drive the pedal better (plus there's a button I can hit if things start feeding back). We got some nail varnish and marked the various settings on the pre-amp. Very good of them to provide this after sales service I thought - we spent about 45 minutes going through everything and them talking me through the set-up process.

The pedal itself is a Carl Martin Classic Chorus. Designed to be "retro" and I think it does have a lekker, spacious sound to it. Too many chorus and similar effects I have heard the last while seem to flatten the sound a lot, almost like there's some compression built into the circuit. This one doesn't do that.

Keira-WitherKay

yep but you know it sounded great so.... to the ear like mine that does not have the comparison to judge by it sounds great...and i personally believe any pedal will 'change " the original sound...and especially chorus which slightly detunes your sound.... but hey it's all "good enough for jazz" as the band leader in my first jazz emsemble told me when ever as a young musician i got too fussy about my sound.... and it sounded good enough to my ears.....

btw did you get the preamp sorted... that is a toy i considered to buy .... and i read on internet it is not compatable to all set ups..... which has put me off it..... but please let me know what probs you had...and if you sorted them....

peace and light
Keira

Bob-Dubery

Keira WitherKay wrote:
btw did you get the preamp sorted... that is a toy i considered to buy .... and i read on internet it is not compatable to all set ups..... which has put me off it..... but please let me know what probs you had...and if you sorted them....

Like I said, I figured the problem was me, not the pre-amp. I suspect that it will make a small difference with the Morgan, rather a bigger difference with my Taylor which has a different pickup with lower output. Mine is the Baggs Gigpro which is the sort of "lite" in the Baggs range. Their para-EQ has a balanced line output and can work with phantom power. They also have stereo models for guitars that have two different pickups or mike and pickup. So horses for courses. I would not say that they are a panacea - it has to be considered in terms of the individual circumstances.

They may be more useful for situations where you don't have 100% control of the sound.

I didn't use it when I played at your open mic night because I hadn't got it figured out.

The one I have has it's own volume control, so that would come in handy for killing the signal if you wanted to swop guitars or tune up.