Teh Typos (Mystie Chamberlin & David Fleming) perform Just Another Folk Singer’s “The Musician” 05.28.11 @ Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar (519 2nd Avenue @ 29th St., NYC). Video courtesy of David Fleming. JAFS performance #179.
Tag Archives: open mic
Just Another Folk Singer sketch by Steph Ziemann
Just Another Folk Singer (Mystie Chamberlin) sketch by Steph Ziemann on 03.05.11 @ Banjo Jim’s open mic (700 E. 9th St., NYC). , originally uploaded by Just Another Folk Singer.
- See more of Steph’s art on her website: stephziemann.com
Filed under Flickr, Media, Post A Day / Post A Week, Uncategorized, visual artwork
The Musician live @ Banjo Jim’s
Credits: Just Another Folk Singer (Mystie Chamberlin) performing original song “The Musician” at open mic on 03.05.11 @ Banjo Jim’s (700 E. 9th Street @ Avenue C, NYC). Filmed by David Fleming. Performance # 168.
Filed under Are you ready to rock?, Media, Post A Day / Post A Week, Video
So many people all out having a good time
Adam Masterson playing Live at Drew's. Photo by Bille Jo Sheehan.
I can’t remember my actual introduction to West London musician, Adam Masterson. We met before I began playing music myself so it must have been sometime in 2007 when he was in New York. However, I cannot pinpoint the exact date in my head like I can for many things (it is indeed a creepy habit, but I cannot help it). I believe our acquaintanceship sprung forth out of recognition in the East Village nightlife scene, wherein we would notice one another in the company of mutual friends and welcome each other with a nod.
On May fifth of that year, I remember catching one of his performances downstairs in Niagara‘s Tiki Bar, which has since been renovated and is now a cocktail lounge bar called Lovers of Today. Prior to the renovation, musicians would play in this somewhat hush-hush lei lounge and the low-brow much-a-muck would congregate the dark, subterranean cubicle. The night I saw and heard Adam there, I was swept away and ultimately inspired by his poignant songs, which emanated from gruff voice and lone acoustic guitar. I instantly fell in love with the rustic lyrics, whimsical melodies, and expressive dynamics of his song Avenue Walk. Continue reading
Filed under Post A Day / Post A Week
Never Records: You are NOT listening!
Photo by The Merch Grrls
In November of 2007, I half-jokingly started a band, ThrowAway Grrls. I quietly harmonized and plunked the bass while my friend crooned and thrummed the guitar. Along with two other friends attempting percussion, we practiced for a few weeks in a desperate attempt swiftly to master our instruments for a premature show into which we had managed to charm our way. We were scheduled to open for a few tribute bands on a sold-out Saturday night at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, but as soon as we walked into the upstairs club for our first sound-check, all our feet froze to the floor. We knew we were ill-prepared; we did not even know which amp was for the bass and which one was for the guitar. We only prepared four slap-dash songs, but with the help of a patient sound engineer, we persevered! Although, I must admit, for those 15-20 minutes, I wobbled like a gelatin dessert.
Around August of 2009, I grew frustrated with the constant, suffocating stage fright. Until then, I averaged a show or two per month. I spent hours with my head in my hands wondering what ways to overcome my cowardice. At the behest of an ex, I slammed one fist into the other palm and challenged myself to play 100 shows to remove forcibly the fear through repetition and experience. I did not give myself a deadline, because I was unsure of how to count a performance. However, I eventually decided to count any time I performed in front of a crowd of strangers, anything from an open mic to a proper show.
Beginning that September, I counted 15 prior performances. As much as I pep-talked myself to be non-nonchalant and reiterated that I did not care what others thought of my lack of technique, the thought of making a fool out of myself overwhelmed my convictions. Fortunately at that time, I re-read Writing Down The Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, which not only inspired me, but also helped me feel less inferior since I realized that I was no better or worse for trying than were my peers. By January 2010 I reached performance number 65, and throughout the month I played 25 more times including one of my personal favorites, an “in-store” performance at Never Records, a fake record store. Continue reading
Filed under Post A Day / Post A Week
Baby, it’s cold outside!
- snowpocalypse 2010
On Christmas night, my dear friend and ex-bandmate from The Merch Grrls, Charlotte Eerie, visited New York City from London. After my delicious, filling, meat-less holiday meal and her long, fatiguing flight, we rendezvoused at our old neighborhood quaffing grounds, Black and White, on 10th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenue. I extinguished a cigarette after only a few drags, and dropped the remains into the dented metal pail hanging in a corner of the smoker’s recess under the awning before stepping into the warmth of the votive-lit bar and my friend’s tight embrace. Our bartender, a mutual friend and a wry writer with dark, disheveled humor and hair, poured our mixed drinks. He mingled witty repartee into our gossip and convivial conversation while an unlit cigarette dangled from his lips. (Plug: Check out Richard Allen the first Sunday of every month at Black and White for Fahrenheit, a five minute open mic for writers presented by the Antagonist Art Movement.)
Comfortable in old habits and hangovers by the next morning, we sojourned to our favorite diner, 7A Cafe, (where the front windows conveniently framed our favorite “dive” bar, Niagara) for our regular brunch as though a year had not passed. While we devoured our usual orders of vegetarian eggs benedict, mimosas, and coffee, snow began to fall outside. After eating, we attempted to brave the already vast and intimidating snowpocalypse. First we tried taking a cab uptown, however when the car drifted and hydroplaned on the wet road, we opted for the crammed subway at Union Square. Before that week, both Charlotte and I struggled with the superflu on our respective coasts, but, upon her arrival, we pretended the virus was not severe because we wanted to see one other. However, as soon as we trekked back to the apartment, Captain Trips (read: Stephen King’s version of the flu) flourished like the onslaught of the blizzard raging outside. Since Snowmageddon and sickness barricaded us indoors, we settled for a slumber party. Continue reading
Filed under Post A Day / Post A Week
Try kinda hard to make it not look like you tried at all
"Yellow Hair, you are such a funny bear"
Focus is not my forte. I do want to prosper, and I feel such a strong sense of accomplishment when I reach my goals, but motivation is sometimes difficult. If I take small steps and limit myself to having only one to a few goals at I time, I am usually more successful. For example, six years ago on New Year’s Eve at the urging of vegetarian and vegan friends, I resolved not to eat anything that once had flesh. Now, I am a meat and potatoes girl from the Midwest, so the first few months I suffered terribly. My then boyfriend and my college friends chastised my decision since it was neither for moral reasons nor health benefits, but my resolve was firm. Up until then I never stuck with a project for long, and because it was a new year, and I dreamed of a new life, I chose that one random task to prove myself. After all, if I could give up meat, I could do anything. Today, I rarely crave it.
In 2009, after learning guitar basics and attempting to write my first few songs, I signed up to sing and play them at an open mic at Nightingale Lounge, a sleek and elegant bar on Second Avenue between 12th and 13th Street. Although the meager regulars were polite and supportive, my hands and voice trembled with wild abandon, and I felt as though my throbbing heart plunged dejectedly into my acidic stomach. Even after about 25 shows, my knees still knocked together and proverbial butterflies still fluttered around the remains of my heart in my tummy. I lamented to my ex-non-boyfriend (in NYC a non-defined relationship may nevertheless end in rejection) that although I tried to portray confidence, the stage fright was relentless. Continue reading
Filed under My Conjoined Twin, Post A Day / Post A Week
What I’m Playing Right Now: performance # 157
Filed under Are you ready to rock?, audio, Media, Soundcloud, What I'm Playing Right Now
I found a new way to carry my extra pics….
At Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel New York City (569 Lexington Ave., NYC) before Teh Typos (Mystie Chamberlin and David Jordan) first open mic – snippet / cover of Jack’s Mannequin’s La La Lie 08.28.10 live @ Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar, 519 2nd Ave., originally uploaded by Just Another Folk Singer.
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