I hosted the Monday night open mic at Angela’s on Sept. 5th. As it turns out, I’ll be hosting the open mic every third Monday, with some exceptions. Be that as it may, on the fifth I opened the show. People began to show up as I finished my set. Bah Jaz followed me with some nice instrumentals on guitar.
Keith Dzygun (Dijun) played next with some cover tunes. Rachel Stokes followed with a bass player and guitar player – collectively called Salt and Light. Temi George was next, followed by Johnny Cromer. Then Allen Larson played his usual eclectic set. Pamela Pantea and Dianna Rice harmonized nicely on some standard hymns. Eric Jones played a nice set of his tunes.
During Eric’s set, Shaquilla Hooks, who had signed up to be next online just that evening, made sure I knew she had signed up. It had occurred to me earlier to check online for new signups, so I knew. I asked her what she was going to play or need. She said she was just reading poetry. So I thought, cool, some spoken word.
Shaquilla sat on the stool, grabbed the mic, and started reading a poem. It was a nice poem and I was getting in to it. I began to wonder where it was going. It was obviously about a particular person. She became nervous and it showed in her reading of the poem. She reached a point, looked behind me, and continuing the poem she said “Will you marry me?”
The person behind me was Chris Hatcher, who works at Angela’s. Naturally, he said yes, and everything stopped while they hugged and she cried. With time left, and no one else signed up, Eric played a few more tunes. During which time I took the picture shown here. It was the first proposal I have seen at an open mic – much less one I was hosting.
Have you ever had someone propose at your open mic? Or something similar?
Peace be with you.
I was running late for the Wildflower Arts and Music Festival last Sunday. My scheduled time at the DSA booth by the Courtyard Stage was 4 – 6 p.m. I was to play at 5:30. At 2 p.m., I had to set up the sound for Cat McGee at Mercy Wine Bar where she would play a show at 7 p.m. Then I had to take my son to work. A friend, Raquel Lindemann, said she would cover for me at the booth until I got there. I finally found the yellow tag parking lot. It was in the blue parking garage – go figure.
I entered the festival and proceeded to look for the Courtyard Stage. It is easy to become disoriented in a sea of white booths. I was standing in an intersection of lines of white booths, deciding in which direction I should turn. Suddenly, a big bearded man grabbed me by the shoulders.
“Are you Dan Roark?”
“Yes,” I nodded, searching his face to figure out who he was.
“I’m John Welch. Do you remember me?”
“John, of course I do,” I replied, putting my guitar down to shake his hand. I recognized him from what little I could of his face around his eyes. There’s more than one reason I look people in the eyes when I talk to them.
To cut a rambling conversation short, he asked how we knew each other. It didn’t take but a minute to remember our mutual friend Jim Salerno, who played bongos with me for a few years. I told him I was playing at 5:30 and had to leave. He was still amazed we’d run into each other. We hadn’t seen each other for about thirty-five years. I still wasn’t where I was supposed to be. And it was getting later by the second.
I finally got good directions from someone. I was turning the corner to my left when someone grabbed my left arm. My mind was reeling at this point.
“Dan Roark?”
“Yes,” I nodded. It was getting to be a habit.
“Randy Box, remember me?”
“Absolutely, Randy, how are you doing?” I had recognized him instantly. We talked for just a minute. I told him I was playing at 5:30 and he also said he would try to come listen to me. We hadn’t seen each other in forty-two years.
I finally made it to the booth. I thanked Raquel, and took my place at the booth. Mr. Troll who
Mr. Troll
was scheduled to play at 5, started a little early because there was a lull in the lineup. I followed Troll and closed out the stage for 2016. The videos that Harry Hewlett – who also ran sound for the weekend – took of my show can be found on my youtube channel.
After I finished my set, Troll and I walked to the parking garage. I loaded up my guitar and bag and headed for Mercy Wine Bar. Cat’s show was great. The sound was better for her second set. It had been a long day and for some reason, I had trouble with her vocals. I reset everything between sets and it worked out okay. I say all that because, despite any problems I may have had with the sound, Cat’s performance was relatively flawless.
Cat McGee
You can hear Cat and myself, along with John Mason, at the Sack Summer Hunger Concert on June 5th from 5-6:30 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church in Farmers Branch. Tickets are $20 with $12 going directly to Metrocrest Social Services and the Sack Summer Hunger program. The SSH program distributes food to children who receive free or reduced lunches during the school year, but don’t get anything during the summer.
Peace be with you.
Chasing After Wind 