I remember Leslie wore a purple scarf woven in Afghanistan. She would
come to the open mike during breaks in her work and boogie to the
music. I mean, she would really groove on it and dance. I recall Mikey
G. at the sound board, raised up from the main floor in a control
booth he built. Can you believe this open mike has always had a world
class sound system and a highly trained sound guy on the job at all
times? In time, Mikey would train up apprentice sound board techs
during the open mike and move them into the booth for the big shows
when ready. At times, folks would help themselves to Mikey's
equipment, but that's another story entirely. I recall some guy buying a growler of beer for the best musical
performance of the evening, called the growler award. I also remember
Venita Sekima giving the tradition little chance to catch on because,
well, the vibe didn't feel right. And it was always about the vibe
with Venita. Few people understand the vibe the way Venita understands
the vibe, and she's kept the vibe going at this open mike for five
years. I recall this farmer named Danny who could play almost anything upon a
guitar. I would love to visit his farm and see what he grew because
I'm sure he serenaded his plants during practice. I remember a group
of guys, including Danny, who would board the stage and play under
the name of Hardwater Biscuit. Five years later, and they don't have a
web page I can find. And when they recorded Dolce Far Niente, it looks
like they pared down to two men, Rusty Kraklau and the artist formerly
known as Michel Dasse and now known, maybe, as Monte Blue. That's the
way it was in the Livery in the early day of the open mike. It was
fluid. Still can't remember Danny's last name. As for Dolce Far
Niente, it translates to, "How Sweet it is to Do Nothing". Right. I
don't think these cats missed a single Monday. Here's another feature of our early open mikes I can never remember.
Those men and women in the orbit of "Hard-Water Bisquit" always played
the same song to wrap up the night, despite obnoxious calls for an
encore around 11:30 PM. I had to look it up and listen to it on
YouTube before I was sure. No, it's not Kum By Yah. It's Simple Twist
of Fate, kept popular by Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, KT Tunstall and
Brian Ferry. And Hardwater Biscuit. It is surprising how far a musician will travel for a good open mike.
Jan Burda, luthier and festival organizer, would drive in from Berrien
Springs for the night, bringing along a handful of his students for
stage experience. In time, a mandolin players showed up, Burda's
daughter. Jan was a little bit harder on her, but in a loving fashion.
In time, that mandolin player joined the Livery front house, serving
up the great Livery food. Keep in mind that the Livery is pretty much
due north of Nashville and South Bend, and it was nothing for a few
musicians from South Bend to drive up to play. South Bend scenesters,
Riely O'Connor & Molly B. Moon became a frequent delight on the Livery
Stage. Sadly, there are some who performed during those early open mikes who
are no longer with us, except in spirit. I am thinking first of all of
Beverly Hahn. Beverly is far from forgotten. Each year in December,
"Bev Fest" celebrates the life and music of Beverly Hahn. I'm pretty
sure we'll be marking the third observance of it this year. I need to
do a better job of keeping track of the Livery records. Maybe Chairman
Ralph could help me out in this regard since he's a professional
writer as well as a great musician. When you think of it, our Livery Open Mike has run for at least 250
performances. That would be a pretty good run for any theater show. Venita Sekima:
http://www.venitiasekema.com/ Is the St. Joe Library the only place one can get a copy of Hardwater
Biscuit, "Dolce Far Niente"?
http://bit.ly/b9tpFo Chairman Ralph, Ministry of Truth:
http://www.chairmanralph.com/communiques/
come to the open mike during breaks in her work and boogie to the
music. I mean, she would really groove on it and dance. I recall Mikey
G. at the sound board, raised up from the main floor in a control
booth he built. Can you believe this open mike has always had a world
class sound system and a highly trained sound guy on the job at all
times? In time, Mikey would train up apprentice sound board techs
during the open mike and move them into the booth for the big shows
when ready. At times, folks would help themselves to Mikey's
equipment, but that's another story entirely. I recall some guy buying a growler of beer for the best musical
performance of the evening, called the growler award. I also remember
Venita Sekima giving the tradition little chance to catch on because,
well, the vibe didn't feel right. And it was always about the vibe
with Venita. Few people understand the vibe the way Venita understands
the vibe, and she's kept the vibe going at this open mike for five
years. I recall this farmer named Danny who could play almost anything upon a
guitar. I would love to visit his farm and see what he grew because
I'm sure he serenaded his plants during practice. I remember a group
of guys, including Danny, who would board the stage and play under
the name of Hardwater Biscuit. Five years later, and they don't have a
web page I can find. And when they recorded Dolce Far Niente, it looks
like they pared down to two men, Rusty Kraklau and the artist formerly
known as Michel Dasse and now known, maybe, as Monte Blue. That's the
way it was in the Livery in the early day of the open mike. It was
fluid. Still can't remember Danny's last name. As for Dolce Far
Niente, it translates to, "How Sweet it is to Do Nothing". Right. I
don't think these cats missed a single Monday. Here's another feature of our early open mikes I can never remember.
Those men and women in the orbit of "Hard-Water Bisquit" always played
the same song to wrap up the night, despite obnoxious calls for an
encore around 11:30 PM. I had to look it up and listen to it on
YouTube before I was sure. No, it's not Kum By Yah. It's Simple Twist
of Fate, kept popular by Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, KT Tunstall and
Brian Ferry. And Hardwater Biscuit. It is surprising how far a musician will travel for a good open mike.
Jan Burda, luthier and festival organizer, would drive in from Berrien
Springs for the night, bringing along a handful of his students for
stage experience. In time, a mandolin players showed up, Burda's
daughter. Jan was a little bit harder on her, but in a loving fashion.
In time, that mandolin player joined the Livery front house, serving
up the great Livery food. Keep in mind that the Livery is pretty much
due north of Nashville and South Bend, and it was nothing for a few
musicians from South Bend to drive up to play. South Bend scenesters,
Riely O'Connor & Molly B. Moon became a frequent delight on the Livery
Stage. Sadly, there are some who performed during those early open mikes who
are no longer with us, except in spirit. I am thinking first of all of
Beverly Hahn. Beverly is far from forgotten. Each year in December,
"Bev Fest" celebrates the life and music of Beverly Hahn. I'm pretty
sure we'll be marking the third observance of it this year. I need to
do a better job of keeping track of the Livery records. Maybe Chairman
Ralph could help me out in this regard since he's a professional
writer as well as a great musician. When you think of it, our Livery Open Mike has run for at least 250
performances. That would be a pretty good run for any theater show. Venita Sekima:
http://www.venitiasekema.com/ Is the St. Joe Library the only place one can get a copy of Hardwater
Biscuit, "Dolce Far Niente"?
http://bit.ly/b9tpFo Chairman Ralph, Ministry of Truth:
http://www.chairmanralph.com/communiques/
1 comment:
Hey, thanks for the name-check! I didn't come to my first open mike till August '06, actually...as I recall, Monte Bleu and Anne Hills were both there that night, which made it a memorable intro to the Livery for me. I've got a good memory, plus quite a few archival photos and the inevitable personal bits 'n' pieces...whatever you need, let me know. Got my share of good memories there, that's for sure.
Post a Comment