Open Mic nights are like go-kart racing. Ambitious lunatics are given access to expensive equipment, allotted a time and set loose on a stage where they will hopefully not blow up. It’s a machismo thrill to imitate NASCAR drivers and rock stars, hurtling around turns on two wheels, muscling noisy equipment and screeching impressively whenever the opportunity arises.
Each Tuesday night for the last two years, Josh Gates has assumed the role of stage boss at the Alehouse Open Mic. It is a position that demands patience, a sense of humor and solid professionalism. Gates controls sound for between 8 and 12 musicians each night who may perform anything from Neil Young tributes to whale cries. Each musician is provided with a guitar and drums if necessary and given a 15-minute slot. Gates says, “I expect people to respect the equipment, themselves and the audience. There is nothing more heartbreaking than watching a drunk person destroy something.”
Open Mic sign ups usually begin at 9 p.m., when Gates arrives and cracks open his first brew of the evening. The schedule fills up rapidly as scruffy looking guitar toting characters vie for prime slots. The show kicks off at 10 p.m.
It is interesting to see the friendly encouragement from Gates towards his performers. He introduces people glamorously as “our signature Bono” or “the fantastic so and so” before each takes the stage. While each open miker rocks the mic, Gates mixes them from the control booth at the back of the Alehouse’s checkered dance floor. He makes people sound good, adding echoes to chorus lines, balancing the vapid acoustical strummings and mournful wails of the most intrepid balladeer. After each Bob Dylan wannabe leaves the stage, Gates praises them for their efforts and encourages bar patrons to “give it up”. No one is ridiculed or beheaded, which makes the Open Mic that much more open.
Gates says, “I like to give people the chance to experiment musically.”
Experimental diversity is part of the Open Mic package. Last Tuesday, I saw a woman named Jen play a stunning rendition of Ani DiFranco’s “Pretty Girl”. I’ve seen a performance involving dulcimers and clarinets by an “eclectic mountain man.” Mat Zarolinski, a regular performer at the Alehouse, has hundreds of songs in his repertoir, including The Who’s “Tattoo.”
One funny thing you will see at an Open Mic is people, sitting in dark corners, tuning guitars while other people are on stage, playing theirs. A lot of people stay outside until their time comes, which is lame, but a lot of the performers are also respectful listeners. The Alehouse Open Mic is a place to hone skills, network and show off your hot new licks.
Gates plays his own songs between performances, possibly as a way of getting the night back on track if the blues have gotten repetitive. Sometimes he has a featured performer who gaurantees a more accessible form of music. Christian Hayes and his band “The Element” were shaking things up in the Alehouse a few weeks ago. Twisted Roots is another popular act that has played at the Open Mic.
“Members from almost every band in Portland have played at the Alehouse Open Mic at one time or another.” Gates said. He has been making video and audio recordings of the Open Mic nights this year. He has what he calls “a soundtrack of unknown artists” on his computer. His soundtrack is about to get all the more extensively diverse, as he has begun hosting a second Open Mic, a hip-hop thing called “Free Spin” at The Asylum on Fridays.
Gates enjoys his position of Open Mic impresario, managing his wild posse of sonic marauders.
Says Gates, “I like coming out to do this here every Tuesday. It’s a casual working environment and everyone gets to be themselves.”