Go Out and Make Some of Your Own

If you’ve been around the Bay Area for a few decades, you’ll doubtless remember Scoop Nisker, the man-on-the-street news reporter who did stints on KFOG, the old KSAN, and just about any rock radio station worth its salt — and you’ll remember the tag line he’d use to wrap up his report: “If you don’t like the news, go out and make some of your own!”

The same could be said these days about the sometimes-lagging music scene in the East Bay. If you’re not hearing what you like, take your instrument(s) out to an open mic, and make some music of your own. While open mics proliferate in SF, from heavy-duty mob scenes like the Hotel Utah to small cafes in almost every district of town, there are some spots to get your music heard without having to cart your equipment and friends across the bridge. And the open mic scene over here is still small enough that you’ll quickly begin to recognize the regulars at the various venues. You might become one yourself.

Freight & Salvage
1111 Addison Street, Berkeley
510-548-1761

The granddaddy of open mics in the East Bay is held at the Freight & Salvage Coffee House, still nestled on Addison Street in Berkeley. It’s run every Tuesday night for years by MC Jim Carter, a sardonic but good-natured guy who could occasionally be coaxed to get onstage and sing the song about the moose that mated with a cow.

This open mic has gotten a little more sporadic lately: The club seems loathe to donate a weekly slot to open mics when it can often line up more lucrative acts. But it’s still committed to having one or two a month, sometimes hosted by Carter, sometimes by singer-songwriter Gil, the Urban Acoustic Dude. This month there will be two: March 11 and March 18.

Even though the infrequency makes the nights less accessible, they’re worth making the effort for. Not only do you get the thrill of performing on a stage that has hosted some legendary musicians — everyone from Odetta and Utah Phillips to Holly Near, Greg Brown, and Michelle Shocked — you also get the benefit of a sound system fit for top-caliber artists. In fact, if you bring a tape and are nice to the soundperson, you can get a recording of your performance, applause and all. And perhaps most importantly, you’ll find an audience dominated by more serious musicians and die-hard music aficionados than can be found at most open mics. This is one reason the sign-up line starts early; arriving before the 7:30 door opening is a wise idea, or you might end up playing to the very few, very die-hard aficionados still there at 11:30. As it has always been, the Freight is an alcohol-free venue: there is no bar, no TV, no dartboard or pool table — in short, no one is going there for anything but the music.

A few caveats: The Freight is definitely known for traditional music, and the open mics are dominated by acoustic-based singer-songwriters. While you could certainly plug in if you choose, you won’t find any full-on rock bands setting up. A grand piano is available onstage, and most musicians will be solo, duo, or trio acts. Check with the MC on song limits: it’s generally two songs, regardless of whether you’re performing solo or with others.

When scanning the schedule for upcoming open mics, keep an eye out for the occasional Northern California Songwriters Association open mic, often on a Monday evening. This is a whole different animal, but something serious songwriters should know about. In order to perform, you have to be a member of the NCSA (you can usually join right at the event if you’ve got your checkbook!), an organization that offers a variety of opportunities for songwriters: workshop groups, screenings with record company agents, and juried open mics. If you sign up, your performance will be evaluated by two judges, and you’ll be mailed scores as well as written feedback for all the evening’s artists, so you can see how you stacked up. The next NCSA open mic is March 31, and anyone can get in the door for a few bucks, so you might choose to check one out before deciding whether to pony up $75 for a year’s membership.

The Stork Club
2330 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland
510-444-6174

If all this sounds too intense, too sporadic, or too acoustic, take heart: You can bring your drummer, costumes, and whatever else you like to the Stork Club in downtown Oakland on any old Sunday night. Any oddball should feel comfortable in this place … and does. While host Girl George might not do the song about the moose mating with the cow, she is apt to ask you to back her up on tunes like “Johnny Got Herpes” or “You Make Me Feel Like a Whore.” The scene here is much more relaxed; it’s a bar, for God’s sake, with an impressive collection of Barbie dolls on display to boot. Things get going on the later side, with musicians beginning to drift in around 9:00, with the sign-up list existing primarily in Girl George’s head. Expect to see some regulars here, like Salem, the earnest, lanky folksinger, or Ricky, who dons a ship captain’s hat before taking the stage with guitar, drum, and hi-hats to play ’70s hits (picture Gopher from The Love Boat attempting to be all of the Bee Gees at once). Depending on the night, you might need to BYOA (Bring Your Own Audience) to some extent, but with the unrelenting roar of Girl George’s applause-sound machine, you can pretend you’re playing a stadium show. You probably won’t find a strict time limit or song limit at the Stork. And if you arrive early on the last Sunday of the month, you can join the Pinball Mafia competitions in the back room — on these nights, there’s a $5 cover.

Starry Plough
3101 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley
510-841-2082

Somewhere in between the Freight and the Stork (geographically as well as musically) is one of the most bustling open mics in the East Bay, at the Starry Plough every Tuesday night. Affable MC Joan Pez runs a pretty tight show, with inter-artist banter and trivia questions that earn the first correct answerer a free beer. Be forewarned if you arrive planning to present a poignant ballad: Like the Stork, this is a bar scene. The difference is that this place gets so packed that the drinking and clinking don’t stop just because someone’s onstage with a guitar pouring her heart out. The audience near the stage will be with you — if you dare to do a cover tune, they’ll even be singing with you — but The Osbournes will be on the TV, and the dartboard will be in service. Of course, this kind of thing doesn’t deter many fine musicians, and overall, you’ll find a quality crowd here. In fact, Pez keeps an eye on audience response, and performers who really stand out may get tapped to return to the open mic as a “featured performer,” doing an extended set mid-evening. The Starry Plough has actually put together a yearly Best of Berkeley CD, featuring its biggest open-mic hits.

So opportunities abound, and the Plough is a good place to test your skills — and your stamina, since you may find some of the rule-bending that can be common at open mics will push your performance slot later. There’s a two-song limit on crowded nights, but if Ricky shows up and launches into a third David Bowie song, and then Girl George (yes, she’ll probably be here too) jumps in and pulls any willing musician up to help her with “Everybody’s Crazy But Me” — ah, the power of irony — you might need to find Joan and nail down your time slot. On the bright side, this spot rocks late into the night, so even if your own friends bail on you, there should still be some audience left, no matter what time you get onstage.

UK Cafe
190 South J, Livermore
925-447-7344

The Panama Bay Coffee Company
2115 First Street, Livermore
925-245-1700

When you get tired of the regulars, the long sign-up lists, or that darn applause machine, it might be time to venture to the east East Bay, where you’ll find wide-open ranch lands, copious strip malls, and … funky little downtown Livermore, much of which looks like it hasn’t changed a whit since 1955. Yes, there are some musicians out here, and there are two spots that have open mics: the Anglophiliac UK Cafe, and the Panama Bay Coffee Company. Wander into the UK any Thursday night; the MC will be one of a few local musicians who rotate the duty — and he himself may be one of the few performers there, and will probably be happy to see you. No worries about song limits here, though you’ll probably want to BYOA. There may be a small crowd at the bar, but the only way to get their attention will be to do some rousing covers of Eagles tunes. The sound system is portable, but high-quality, and the atmosphere friendly and laid-back; besides, you can always consider that you’re performing some community service by carrying culture to the outlands. While you’re out here, you might peek around the corner at the Panama Bay Coffee Company, which has more of a set-up for live music, but now hosts open mics only once every month or two, so check the schedule in advance.

In the Company of Wolves Coffee House
737 First Street, Benicia
707-746-0572

The Coffee Cavern Cafe
622 Contra Costa Boulevard, Pleasant Hill
925-671-0457

If you’d rather head in a different direction, sweet little Benicia also has a Thursday open mic at In the Company of Wolves coffeehouse. This one is hosted by cafe manager Brian, so at least you won’t have to deal with the MC=musician2 equation that can be so time-consuming at other venues. You may have to mix it up with poets a bit, since this open mic is truly open to all, but most of the comers will be musicians, squeezing anything from a single guitar to a quartet with keyboards and congas onto the tiny stage to play for the coffee crowd. Or head over to Pleasant Hill and get in on the beginnings of a new open mic: Coffee Cavern Cafe has just started holding them again after a long lapse — also on Thursday nights. Imagine: You could be one of the first artists to help put this place on the map!

Musicians come to open mics for all kinds of reasons, so no matter where you go, you’ll usually find a wide range of styles and abilities. Some are just starting out, using the experience to get their feet wet in the performance pool; others are veterans who are in between bands, or just not into hustling to get full gigs lined up. Still others are in gigging bands, but want a more informal venue to test out new material, like Bekka Fink of the band Frogland, who finally stepped onstage close to midnight at the Starry Plough recently, and found that her fresh tune, performed a cappella, was still able to captivate the weary audience. Whatever your own level or situation, open mics provide a valuable opportunity to hone your chops. Of course, if it’s not a Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday evening and you’re having a hard time finding one, better just head over to The Alley, where you can fight for one of the built-in mics that surround the piano, and work on your vocal prowess while Rod Dibble backs you up on any song popular before 1965.

So go out and make some of your own. Who knows where you might end up? Look at Scoop Nisker, who finally took his own advice: He’ll be headlining at the Freight & Salvage on April 11 — whether to perform music or the news, we’ll have to wait and see.