Got active this week. Since I’m not spending every free moment considering how to mix the album, I have this freed up time and attention now. Still working on finishing that up for the release, but it’s much less intensive. I felt up for going out late on a weeknight last Thursday. I would get home before midnight but that is seriously late for me these days!

The Russ Room in downtown is a little venue that has been hosting open mics every Thursday night for a while now. I’ve put off visiting it because it felt inconvenient for me. Thursday tends to be open mic night at places near my home that I would usually go to, and going into downtown involves driving and parking, ugh! Anyway, I felt like doing something new, so I packed up, payed $8 for parking (not the best deal?), and went out on K St.

The Russ Room is on the second floor above a Solomon’s deli. They have a full bar with a 12oz can of PBR at $5. I reminisced with the bar tender Ashley about the good ol’ days of $2 tall cans. The sign-ups supposedly start at 7:30. I showed up at 8 and the list was completely full. When I asked one of the first acts about when they showed up for sign-ups, they said 6:30! I was a little discouraged, but I already paid for parking so I committed to make the most of it. I suggest this for next time, show up early like 6:30, then park with hazards on at the curb out front for a minute just to run in and sign-up, then go get dinner or walk the dog, to finally come back around 8 for when the thing actually gets started.

The usual host was on hiatus so Sam, a local musician, was managing the event. They kept things running pretty well I think. I am curious how the regular host operates so I will have to visit again when they are in town. The performers are dominantly in a rhymes-on-a-beat genre. There were rap, RnB, and even metal rhymes to a beat. The house drum set and amps got used a few times. Flight Mongoose out of Lincoln had a fun set with their old school rock and roll act! At 10pm the event went into overdrive. Each act gets one piece, whereas earlier acts got up to 10 minutes.

I stayed until the end of the night and played last, as I hadn’t even put my name on the list. There were still a handful of people who seemed to enjoy my one song, and I don’t regret losing some sleep over it. I got to meet some talented people, networked here and there, and even got a lead for playing lead guitar!