REV Open Mike - Lots of Talented Songwriters and Performers

Tonight for the 2nd week in a row I packed up the guitar and drove to REV coffeehouse on Spring Road in Smyrna. I got there earlier than last time and got my name on the board right off the bat, which was a good thing because there were only a couple of spots left. Each time I come back to REV it seems to get better - it was especially cool that the first performer covered some of my favorites - The Velvet Underground's "Heroin" and the Replacement's "Alex Chilton". And he did a great job! Most people bring in acoustic guitars, these were performed on an electric guitar really pushing the dynamics on "Heroin" and getting in some tasty crunch. A lot of the others were good tonight, but this first set was the best.

When it was my turn, I played perhaps my best original song "Take it to the Bank" followed by a blues harmonica medley of sorts. It was well received and one of the performers told me he thought it was good, so that was reassuring. Between performers sets I had a chance to plug the blog, suggesting that songwriters check out my blog for information about BMI's free songwriting conference next month mentioned in an earlier post.

Getting up and playing live again is a rewarding experience, and very valuable for a songwriter. It forces you to sharpen up sloppy sections of your work and gives you an opportunity to see how well material goes over. And it reminds you why you are putting forth the effort in the first place.