Open Mic Night - looking for advice

I have the opportunity to host an open mic night at our neighborhood pub twice a month. I figure it will be a good opportunity for my band to get out more, as we'd be the house band for it. I've never done one before, so I am looking for a little advice.

1) what, exactly, am I getting myself into? Seems pretty simple. Is there something I am not considering?

2) is there a nice way to say no rap, hip hop or metal?

3) The owner has asked that we keep the volume in check. Full bands are fine, but he wants to avoid "earplug" volume levels. Is there an effective way to insure this without being the "volume knob police"?

4) what can I do to make it a great experience for all involved?

Suggestions welcome. Thanks!

2) is there a nice way to say no rap, hip hop or metal?


2) Unfortunately, no... open mics are musical communism, an equal opportunity exposure. That said, one thing I've seen them do is make a sign up sheet, then screen the guests on the sign up sheet and if you have any "not what the venue is looking for types" you can play an impromptu 1 hour set and wait for them to leave, or invite everyone up first.

I dont see how full bands would work unless you're willing to let thgem use your gear....setup would kill flow....

Well it's not all that bad...

it must be organized..not open and anything goes..

sign up sheet

restrict the time or songs...or whatever they do

if there are a lot of artists, 2 songs or 10 min..no GOING over...shut off the PA.. the time includes set up..that will keep the full bands from coming up and taking over...

If there are not many in attendance.., maybe 15 min..same deal

you can set ground rules , no foul language etc...

go visit a few local OM's..see how they run them ask for some advise...

it can be a fun time, but for you, staying late until it ends is not an option....

I say do it

t

You need to lay down the ground rules in the advertisement such as time limit, format, solo or full bands. As long as the flyer is clear and the person running the open mike is keeping an eye on the show, it shouldn't be a problem.
The band that I play in will be a guest at someone else's open mike so we are working on a set list that will fit into the time limit (~ 30 minutes). It helps that the bandleader had spoken to the organizer to land a spot and also, went to a number of the open mic's to get a feel how it is ran.

I run an open mic from time to time at a local bar/restaurant as part of a fundraising event for the local elementary school. One good thing is you will wind up with a lifetime supply of random useful (as well as useless) stuff like capos, strings, tuners, picks, etc.

3) The owner has asked that we keep the volume in check. Full bands are fine, but he wants to avoid "earplug" volume levels. Is there an effective way to insure this without being the "volume knob police"?


House PA is used for vocals, harmonica, wind instruments, guitars with no onboard pickup.

No mic'ing of guitar amps, bass amps or drums.

Provide house amps that will hold their own, but not overwhelm the drummer.

You set the vocal levels; musicians have to balance to that.

2) Unfortunately, no... open mics are musical communism, an equal opportunity exposure. That said, one thing I've seen them do is make a sign up sheet, then screen the guests on the sign up sheet and if you have any "not what the venue is looking for types" you can play an impromptu 1 hour set and wait for them to leave, or invite everyone up first.

That is so lame....


If simply say no full bands, you're likely not going to get metal players anyways. Simply advertise the types of acts you expect. And if you are running the PA, you control the volume. Say "no electric instruments" if you want. Or if they bring something electric, make them plug in direct.

I'm currently looking to do some acoustic playing so I've gone to a couple of open mics recently. Odds are you're most likely going to get the types of acoustic players you are probably looking for. Either kids singing John Mayer & Taylor Swift-type songs or guys in their 50's & 60's strumming all the stereotypical 40-year old singer-songwriter songs.

IMO, some rap or hip-hop (not the violent/gangsta variety) would have been a nice change of pace. But I'd guess that guys who are into that have their own venues to showcase their talents.

I'll tell you what though, both of these things were running that Bose PA and it sounded really good, both in the room and on-stage.

1) Keep it open to everything because on slow nights, a limited set of styles may make for dead nights

2) Keep the host as player thing to a minimum. There is nothing worse than a house band that plays too much no matter how good they are. If you want to play out more, get gigs elsewhere but keep the spirit of open mic as a free for all for poetry, music, skits, etc. Of course, you are in a place of business who may have neighbors so keeping the volume in check may be necessary. If somebody wants to play hard rock, they will have to do so at a respectable volume lest YOU and establishment owner pays the noise ticket. I did love an open mic I did a few times at a warehouse where drums could set up and play loud without fear of cops/tickets.

3) sign up sheet helps, even if acts call in a spot on list

4) most importantly, have fun

You will have to be the Boss!

You will have to be a micro-managing, in everybodys face, kind of guy for a while.

Open Mic nites are a crap-shoot for what will turn up.
I recommend giving everybody 15 minutes or less.

Try as hard as you can to schedule the 'bands' at the end of the night and the solo, duo acts in the beginning.

Get there early enough so YOU know exactly what the status is of the House system.

Keep that sign-up sheet with you at all times.
If anybody wants to sign-up, they have to go through YOU.
Make it a point to introduce and thank the acts when they start and end.

Announce the upcoming acts just like they do the hitters in a Baseball Game:
Next-up is Johnny, then Sam, then Sue. While Johnny is up, go talk to Sam and Sue. Make sure everything is going ok. If it isn't make it ok.
You want to keep that change-over time to a minimum.

After a few weeks/months, it gets easier because everybody knows what to expect.

Sick-em!

House PA is used for vocals, harmonica, wind instruments, guitars with no onboard pickup.

No mic'ing of guitar amps, bass amps or drums.

Provide house amps that will hold their own, but not overwhelm the drummer.

You set the vocal levels; musicians have to balance to that.if the place is like a gym or small gym and you have a drum set... you're aready in trouble with volume sensitive owners, unless THEY know what THEY are getting into (when the room is empty...as opposed to some Friday night dance band (not karaoke not DJ).

it's mo a community service if you ask me. open means exactly anything, jokes, poetry. yu might consider calling it a jam night and everyone except bands must play solo or with you...and you don't do certain stuff because the owner does want it.

not me man, i get all kinds up there and i'll do something like the funky version of crossroads and then cue the rapper, etc.

open mics are are for security AND creativity. not for ppl already gigging a lot. some, but not a lot. whether that person is pro level or not. i.e., i don't care about the money if i can play at 5 open mics that supply bass and drums. bu those ome and go...due to owner taking volume for few years and quitting. plus they all want the acoustic stuff or "singer/songwriter" night. fine for the big city.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the words of wisdom. I think I'll do as suggested and take the reigns on this one. I'll also limit how much we play - 20 minutes tops at the start of the evening. I've got an ulterior motive here. It gets me a back line ;) With my guys permission of course.

I made the flyer, and I did put no rap or hip hop on it. I don't care to hear it. Fingernails on a chalkboard to me. If somebody else wants to take the other 2 Tuesdays of the month and the owner will let them, then have at it. In downtown Atlanta, that type of music is usually associated with gansta's, guns and thugs. I'm not interested in dealing with that personally, just not my thing.

In downtown Atlanta, that type of music is usually associated with gansta's, guns and thugs. I'm not interested in dealing with that personally, just not my thing.

Well, you know what the socially acceptable types in suits and ties in the 1950s said about rock and roll.:wink:

Is this an "open mic" or a "jam night"

With an open mic you have to give artistes the floor, with their band if necessary. An open mic is a chance to showcase.

With a jam it is usual to restrict it to blues/rock/similar because the 12 bar structure makes it possible to play standards without rehearsal. Suits all levels.
Jazz jams are a lot more hairy.

Local jams tend to limit sets to 2 numbers, this seems to work. Also applies to the house band, they will start the session with a couple of numbers, mainly as a sound check, but they will mix in with the jam too.

If the house band plays for too long or try to turn it into their show, the other players will leave.

You need to subscribe to the KISS principle, Keep It Simple, Singer!!
You're the host so you make the rules but be prepared to be flexible.
Lots of good info already here, so take the best of it and make the night a great one for all involved, and be sure to encourage both performers and audience to support the bar by not milking a half pint or a soft drink all night long! Without a venue there's no open mic night!!

Some great suggestions - thanks guys! Here is the txt for the flyer:


Muscians:

Open mic night at Elliot Street Pub! Free!!!


We welcome acoustic, country, bluegrass, blues, rock & singer/songwriters! (Sorry, no rap, hip hop or metal. Bands ok, but we intend to keep the volume level reasonable. Set up time will be extremely limited. There may or may not be some backline amps, drums, etc.)

Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 8 - 11pm, beginning in July at Elliot Street Pub in Castleburry Hill
Stage, mics and PA provided
The best part: It's free! (It's run by local musicians and the generosity of the pub. We encourage you to grab a bite and/or a beer to support the pub)

So come on down, bring your instruments and have fun! Network with other musicians, get up and play or just come down to hang out and listen. Chalk board goes up at 7:30. Slots will be 10 minutes. Don’t be late, slots will fill quickly! Looking forward to seeing you there!

For directions, please see http://elliottstreet.com/location/

be sure to encourage both performers and audience to support the bar by not milking a half pint or a soft drink all night long! Without a venue there's no open mic night!!

This killed our open mic. When the club closed down the people who would come complained that the owner didn't know how to run a bar.

Some great suggestions - thanks guys! Here is the txt for the flyer:


Muscians:

Open mic night at Elliot Street Pub! Free!!!


We welcome acoustic, country, bluegrass, blues, rock & singer/songwriters! (Sorry, no rap, hip hop or metal. Bands ok, but we intend to keep the volume level reasonable. Set up time will be extremely limited. There may or may not be some backline amps, drums, etc.)

Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 8 - 11pm, beginning in July at Elliot Street Pub in Castleburry Hill
Stage, mics and PA provided
The best part: It's free! (It's run by local musicians and the generosity of the pub. We encourage you to grab a bite and/or a beer to support the pub)

So come on down, bring your instruments and have fun! Network with other musicians, get up and play or just come down to hang out and listen. Chalk board goes up at 7:30. Slots will be 10 minutes. Don’t be late, slots will fill quickly! Looking forward to seeing you there!

For directions, please see http://elliottstreet.com/location/

This looks good. Here are a few suggestions I made concerning another post about open mics:
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I would suggest a few things.

First be consistent in whatever rules you choose to employ.

I prefer that you set a three song limit and stick to it for all participants. If you have time at the end of the list to let people back up to perform, fine, but don't show preferential treatment for friends or the better performers or they will start taking advantage of you every chance they get because you will appear to be a pushover.

If it is a very popular open mic, you could drop it to two songs and allow more people to perform. Remember that it is not a gig for anyone, it is simply an open mic so don't put up with pushy bands and performers who think they are better than most and try to monopolize the time.

If they are given three songs, their performance time should not exceed about 15 minutes. Some will go a little longer and some less, but if they start playing games like three medleys or extended jams you need to put your foot down.

If you are going to allow drums and electric guitars, the drum set should be in place ahead of time, not between sets. Electric guitars and amps need to be a quick setup. That is, I would give them no more than five minutes to set up and begin, and if they take longer let them know their time was shortened because of it and stick to it.

Whatever guidelines you have, I would set them out in writing and have it with the signup list, and also explain your basic guidelines before the open mic starts so no one can say they didn't know better.

Also, as a host, try to be friendly and make newcomers feel welcome. You don't want to get a reputation that the open mic is an exclusive club for the "in crowd" which I have seen happen a number of times.

One more thing. If you open with a short set of your own, do not take too long. It is best that you not exceed the song limit you set for others otherwise people will start getting irritated at the way you run the open mic and the reputation will spread.

Some open mics start with a feature set of different performers, usually ones that have been regulars and are decent performers and they might get a half hour instead of 15 minutes. As long as the feature performer is different each time you can do this, but again be careful it doesn't become an exclusive club of performers.

Good luck and have fun with it. The more fun people have at it the more popular it will become.

Some great suggestions - thanks guys! Here is the txt for the flyer:


Muscians:

Open mic night at Elliot Street Pub! Free!!!


We welcome acoustic, country, bluegrass, blues, rock & singer/songwriters! (Sorry, no rap, hip hop or metal. Bands ok, but we intend to keep the volume level reasonable. Set up time will be extremely limited. There may or may not be some backline amps, drums, etc.)

Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 8 - 11pm, beginning in July at Elliot Street Pub in Castleburry Hill
Stage, mics and PA provided
The best part: It's free! (It's run by local musicians and the generosity of the pub. We encourage you to grab a bite and/or a beer to support the pub)

So come on down, bring your instruments and have fun! Network with other musicians, get up and play or just come down to hang out and listen. Chalk board goes up at 7:30. Slots will be 10 minutes. Don’t be late, slots will fill quickly! Looking forward to seeing you there!

For directions, please see http://elliottstreet.com/location/

That's pretty clear and looks good. Also name the gangs you don't want to show up just in case they are into something other than rap. JK:grin:

The artistes do need to know what back line, PA, mics, drums, etc to expect, so they know what to haul.
There "may be" or will be provided? - OP, you say both.

It is quite normal to expect to just bring instruments and the singer's favourite mic .

To minimize set up time, all the amplification and drums should be provided and sound-checked.

Some great suggestions - thanks guys! Here is the txt for the flyer:


Muscians:

Open mic night at Elliot Street Pub! Free!!!


We welcome acoustic, country, bluegrass, blues, rock & singer/songwriters! (Sorry, no rap, hip hop or metal. Bands ok, but we intend to keep the volume level reasonable. Set up time will be extremely limited. There may or may not be some backline amps, drums, etc.)

Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 8 - 11pm, beginning in July at Elliot Street Pub in Castleburry Hill
Stage, mics and PA provided
The best part: It's free! (It's run by local musicians and the generosity of the pub. We encourage you to grab a bite and/or a beer to support the pub)

So come on down, bring your instruments and have fun! Network with other musicians, get up and play or just come down to hang out and listen. Chalk board goes up at 7:30. Slots will be 10 minutes. Don’t be late, slots will fill quickly! Looking forward to seeing you there!

For directions, please see http://elliottstreet.com/location/

Cool! That's kind of my old stomping grounds. I lived/worked in downtown Atlanta all through the 1990s and played many an open mic around there...Tommy Thompson's one at Neighbor's Pub, the bluegrass one at the Freight Room, and other ones that would come and go. Good luck!!!

I once hosted an open mic at a honkytonk.
We had a young kid show up every week and insist on rapping over a recorded beat.
His raps were clean and really funny.
All the old rednecks got a kick out of it.

A "no profanity" rule will weed out 90% of the hip hop stuff.
The rest... I'd just let it slide.
You may be surprised.

The restaurant across from work just tried having a rapper open mic night last weekend. The Washington Post reported that the event attracted a large number of "young adults" (wink-wink), a fight broke out, spilled into the parking lot, and grew into a melee of over 100 people with one shot, five stabbed, and property destroyed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/1-shot-5-stabbed-in-brawl-at-gaithersburg-restaurant-on-rapper-karaoke-night/2012/06/24/gJQALISjzV_story.html

The restaurant across from work just tried having a rapper open mic night last weekend. The Washington Post reported that the event attracted a large number of "young adults" (wink-wink), a fight broke out, spilled into the parking lot, and grew into a melee of over 100 people with one shot, five stabbed, and property destroyed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/1-shot-5-stabbed-in-brawl-at-gaithersburg-restaurant-on-rapper-karaoke-night/2012/06/24/gJQALISjzV_story.html

Your typical open mic isn't going to attract that crowd. Advertising "no rap" or "no whatever" is exclusionary, which isn't what this should be about.

As Open G said, you might be surprised.

jklotz It may take a while, but you can get some good talent in there on a regular basis.
Once that happens, you can loosen your grip on the reins a bit and let th3e magic happen.

! (Sorry, no rap, hip hop or metal.)

I don't play any one of those genres (nor do I like them a lot), but having it worded like this would probably keep me and my band out. It feels a bit sour and exclusive in a way that's not inviting at all.

Allow everything. But......they plug into a DI box that goes to a sound board and then back to their amps. Have a sound guy do what they always do......turn up the singer and drums and everyone else is background color. <little sarcasm there...>

This killed our open mic. When the club closed down the people who would come complained that the owner didn't know how to run a bar.

I'd have to agree with the people. If a slow Monday or Tuesday night causes you to close you really don't know how to run a bar.

[Disclaimer: I have a lot of experience with open-mic nights, but not in the US (UK, Germany). Cultural differences may be crucial]

1) What, exactly, am I getting myself into? Seems pretty simple. Is there something I am not considering?

The responsibility perhaps? It may be more than you anticipate (although you sound pretty level headed to me!). I was running an open-mic night for years, and I hadn't realised how big the pressure was until I stopped running it and someone else took over. I kept going there, but I could go whenever I wanted. I walked out if I didn't feel like listening to the music any more etc. If you're running the thing (properly), some of the restrictions in enjoying the sessions may get to you.

2) is there a nice way to say no rap, hip hop or metal?

This was never an issue, for some reason. The main ethos for all my open-mic nights was 'tolerance' - and that included style and quality. I'm not saying this is better or worse, but the main purpose of the open-mic thing in my head was too encourage people to get out of their sound insulated bedrooms and play, and get better in the process. There was never any booing. If I noticed that someone is being a jerk, and they are there just to take the piss, I would be diplomatic about it, but definitely and firmly get rid of them. Bottomline is, I wouldn't recommend exclusion. I would make sure that the whole thing as it is set up discourages 'undesired' styles.

3) The owner has asked that we keep the volume in check. Full bands are fine, but he wants to avoid "earplug" volume levels. Is there an effective way to insure this without being the "volume knob police"?

Nope... but you can be nice about it. It's part of the job description in my mind.

4) what can I do to make it a great experience for all involved?

Have clear but flexible rules... enjoy it yourself as much as possible. Fun is contagious. :-)

The trouble with rap and comics are guys who just want to swear into the mike.

That being said, tolerance is called for, and you can't pre-screen in a jam situation.

There are two types of jams, who you know jams, and list jams.

Of course you structure a new jam as a strict list jam.

Any tendency for the host band to play significant amounts of time moves the jam "needle" in the "who you know" direction. That actually works for all star jams in certain markets.

Lots of the above posts are right on in respect to list jam etiquette.

But the problem with human nature is the statistical probability of the ******* disturber. Bus drivers know this, and you, as jam host, will know it too.

I'd have to agree with the people. If a slow Monday or Tuesday night causes you to close you really don't know how to run a bar.

Well, there is that...