I have a few updates from the open mic rounds this week. 3 videos today. There would have been more, but I didn't take better care to grab video.

Here are a couple of photos after leaving the open microphone at The Bridge. It had rained, from my best estimational capabilities - about 30 hours, pretty consistent. This is a favorite time of the year for me and I thought the view from the sidewalk was timeless. The old Sony Cybershot treats it right from time to time.







The first videos will be from a young lady named Ruth Acuff. Phenomenal performances. Simply amazing.







This next piece is from a guy named Paul Weber. I realized I had seen him before, when he played the previous night at The Blue Fugue. He plays with Todd Day Wait, from time to time, I am assuming. Anyway, he played some great tunes at The Blue Fugue, and then brought the harmonium to The Bridge. This was a fine rendition of a Johnny Paycheck song. Hope you enjoy!





Good things happening in this area. Again, check out The Bridge if you are in town. Stay tuned for further updates.......



- Gairroes signing off!!! It's all I've got right now.



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I have a few videos from a few local favorites on the open-mike scene here in Columbia, Missouri. All videos are from The Bridge in Columbia. Let's begin. First up is Tadaaw 3. These gals are just really sweet people and always friendly at the open-mike. You'll be guaranteed to smile when you watch them perform.



Next up is Bartholomew Bean. He is a regular at the open-mikes. I enjoy his music very much, it confirms to me that musicians can be level-headed in this world. Excellent voice and interesting guitar playing, nice and different.









Again, visit the website for The Bridge and check out their schedule and deal:

www.thebridgecolumbia.com/

Check 'em out and support!!!!



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I have long debated in my mind whether I should mention these next few videos.  The purpose of what I'd like to keep to doing with this blog is to advocate for lesser known bands/musicians I and other fans might encounter that deserve to have a presentation of material in a live format.  Today's blog posting will do most of that, with the exception of the band being better known.  The band is Ghost.

I love metal music but can't play it.  Metal music is the majority of what I listen to when I am in the car, practicing bass, guitar or just by myself working.  Most music I will at least listen to if offered to me. I may not like everything as a preference. In saying such, I still feel it is far better to recognize effort and talent than to dismiss music whole and entire because it doesn't appeal to me - there is usually something decent that can be mentioned.  Anyway, I try to be open to music from any genre.  I simply listen to metal music/hard rock more often than not.

Ghost came into my purview in early summer 2011, probably from the Blabbermouth.net website, which I visit frequently to get updates on my favorite metal heros.  Once I heard this band's music, I was hooked.  I know, after watching the following videos, it might not make sense.  But these dudes have a sense for crafting metal songs that breathe and have space, melodies, even solid singing.  In addition, the theater of it all is hard to resist.   OK.  Enough.  Let's get to the videos.  I recently ran across some You Tube subscriber who posted a full show from this summer of the band playing in Europe.  I couldn't believe it.  Until now I have just been able to see 2 or 3 quality songs of them online (quality video/audio).  So, here is Ghost.








The band came to the East Coast in the spring of 2011. Apparently it was a huge success. They were slated to play 3 weeks of dates in late Sept/early Oct 2011, but had trouble with visas getting over from Europe. If there is any justification for putting up a post on them, despite their already being quite successful, it because I don't think enough people know about them in the USA. Enjoy the infectious sounds.

www.ghost-official.com

One more ....





.....................End

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A couple of characters to feature this week. In town this weekend is a festival that the city's fathers put on with the help of many local businesses. One of the fellas playing the fest stopped on in at The Bridge this past Tuesday night to play a couple of pieces, his name is Todd Day Wait. Todd is apparently from Columbia but now is traveling full-time with the music bit. He came and played the songs on acoustic guitar, his harmonica player joined along for all of the songs. I was really taken with his interpretation of the John Lee Hooker song 'Crawlin' King Snake'. He has a really nice vibe on the guitar and his voice is particularly excellent. I haven't seen him enough to know how often he plays guitar on stage. Last night at the local fest he played the electric piano and had two guitar players accompanying. Either way, he is quite talented. Todd Day Wait's information is at the following, so go ahead and give some things a listen and check-up on tour dates for your area: And here are a couple of songs from the cat named 'Bart'. He is a pretty big hit with the crew at the open mics in Columbia, Missouri here. I don't have any website information for Bart. I did get a chance to chat with him briefly on Monday at The Blue Fugue and he reports that during the better part of the 90's, of not more, he lived in Chicago and visited the open-mics there on the regular. He and I chatted a bit about Mike, the owner of the Inner Town Pub on Thomas Street. Oh, Upper Wicker Park Heights.......I guess there is a minor dispute amongst citizens about whether the pub is situated in Upper Wicker Park Heights or in the Ukrainian Village. Probably can be settled over a beer at Clem Jaskot's Phyllis' Musical Inn at Wood and Division streets.   That's it for now. Keep ya posted on further happenings in the area. Out! (Gairroes) ShareThis

This past 3-day weekend I was able to catch up with my buddy Dave Kipp in the St Louis Metro area. I met Dave on the streets of Omaha, Nebraska when my bandmate and I were playing a few shows in the area back in 2004. Dave and I have kept in touch ever since. It was like pulling teeth getting Dave to play guitar this weekend, probably because he was exceptionally tired. Anyway, when he picks up the guitar it is as if he hasn't missed a beat. I usually try to get him to play his song 'Big Boned Woman' whenever I visit. He did oblige with part of the song, but then 2 days after he pulled off another You Tube video installment with the full version of the song. So I am linking the You Tube video up for the viewing audience. Enjoy!



 Also, a few fridays ago I went to a concert on the outside third floor of a parking garage in downtown Columbia, Missouri. The concert was apparently an annual concert that is put on for high school bands to showcase their talent. I didn't stay too long, stayed for two acts, but it was a great experience all in all. I took photos of a young man lugging a piece of equipment up to the staging area for either himself or one of his friends' rig. The piece of amp cabinetry was massive and I felt it just had to be photographed. Here it is:

I actually wouldn't mind having that cabinet for a rig. No matter. The shows were great and clearly there are many young people in the world that have loads of musical talent and ambition, even here in Columbia, Missouri. We can be hopeful. - Out! (Gairroes) ShareThis

I haven't posted in ages, nearly 13 months, I believe. Anyway, I have recently moved and now live in Columbia, Missouri. While I am here I am attempting to visit a few open mics to see what is out there and get a sense for the music community. I have gathered a few pieces in the past few weeks from the open mics, but last night probably gave me my best first opportunity. Here it goes. Enjoy!



This guy is named 'Bart', I think he is a carpenter during the day. When I saw him play last week (at The Blue Fugue), it blew me away. For some unknown reason I found his guitar style quite striking and refreshing, especially for me since I have been in a 4-year slump of not being inspired or feeling like my own guitar playing has been leading to anything that might be understood as progress.




And, here is one last video of Bart from last night (Tues Aug 30, 2011).



These videos were taken at The Bridge in Columbia, Missouri which is associated with the Columbia Academy of Music. The Bridge holds an open-mic on Tuesday nights and other events throughout the week. The Bridge is a cool place to play. The chatter at the bar tells me that the Academy of Music opened only in the past year. Both The Bridge and The Columbia Academy of Music are located within the same building. Here's to their continued success!!


- Out!

Rolland Gairroes

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