12/03/2026
On Thursday the 12th of March, 6 years ago, we had our final open mic, in its then glorious form. I had at that point hosted the night since September 2012.
At the time of its conception, I was still living down in Seaford, finding my way in the music business. I had no regular gigs, and my skills as a soundie were minimal, but enough. Having a regular gig, with ok pay, allowed me to move closer to town to pursue my career.
Taking on a role of responsibility helped me come out of my shell, and learn a confidence I might not have found otherwise.
We built up a good following of musos and listeners, but that took some time. We must consider the early regulars, Rob & Marg, Drew and Jen, Silvio & Emma, Pete Bouwman, Nick Lyons, that attended nearly every week in the early days.
We must consider my mate Tim that worked in the pokies back in 2012, who got in the ear of the manager Darcy, prodding him to get some music going. I played a couple of gigs there early that year, and the germination of the open mic came from the fact that Darcy was so thrilled to be hosting music at the pub, that we chatted a lot.
We had a close call early on, in the Darcy got sacked a couple of weeks before open mic was due to start. Luckily I was able to kiss enough arse to keep the arrangement (another valuable skill I developed, as I had to deal with 14 different managers over the 8 years. My shmoozing became top notch)
It became a home away from home in some ways. Our little community became a family. There were some nights I'd be hosting, and my occasional slumps in mood weren't a problem, once the momentum and good vibes had built up enough that the community truly hosted the event with me.
Somewhat absent-mindedly, I've never got around to deleting this page. It's nice to scroll through occasionally, and remember.
I look out for other's gigs and achievements, and see so many. I take pride in knowing that the open mic gave them a safe and supportive place to try things out.
Some are now passionately pursuing music in some form or other, be it regular gigs playing originals or covers, working in audio, performing cabaret, writing and recording music, touring, doing session work, and generally enjoying creating art and entertainment.
..and a special but subtle mention, to two people that met because of the open mic, and now have two kids. They still haven't named one after me, but I'll let that slide.
We had a false re-start in 2022, then a concerted effort from March 2024, which revived the event for a time, thanks to the hard work of Daniel M. Pearn, and all the devotion of the performers and attendees.
To be clear, there are no plans to restart again.
To quote Dr. Seuss
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"
P.S. if you feel like sharing anything in the comments, feel free. Show us what you're working on, or any recent music you've made, or performances!
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