T.J. Edmond

Last night I was in Atlanta with my wife, Mary, for a photo shoot. She finished earlier than expected and, since we were in Decatur, we decided to head over to Eddie’s Attic for  Open Mic Night.

Eddie’s is an intimate, acoustic venue that is set up with singer/songwriters in mind. It has a small corner stage surrounded by cozy, cafe table seating, it sounds great, and it’s a place people come to listen, rather than talk over the music. It’s been the center of a thriving songwriter community that has produced artists like the Indigo Girls, Shawn Mullins, John Mayer, and Sugarland. When he was starting out, I’m told John Mayer used to work at the door, taking tickets.

Every Monday night, they have an open mic contest. The winners of each night go on to a final round, held twice a year, and the winner of that night gets a cash prize and time in a recording studio. On any given Monday night you can usually hear aspiring songwriters who can barely play three chords, seasoned hobbyists, and professional troubadors  stopping through on tour.

I’ve played the open mic night a couple of times, and I remember how nervous I was the first time I got up on that stage. It’s tough playing in a bar where everyone is talking and no one is listening to you, but it can be even tougher playing for a crowd that’s quiet and listening to every word! I wondered if I had picked the right songs to play, wondered if the audience would like them, hoped I’d remember the words, and wished my voice would stop quivering.

Watching a nervous first-timer last night, I realized how far I’ve come as a performer. I still get nervous before every show, but I’ve done it enough to know that I can deliver the songs well, and that confidence enables me to push through the nervous energy. I saw another established performer last night who sang and played with a smooth, pitch-perfect delivery and intricate finger-picking technique. Quite simply, he was much more skilled than I am, and it motivated me to practice more! The truth is, there’s always going to be someone better than you, and someone worse. So don’t get hung up on comparing yourself to others, worrying how you measure up.  In my experience, winning a contest has never amounted to much in the long run. Just go out and play and you’ll get better.

That first open mic at Eddies, I didn’t make it past the first round. But I made a contact that night that led to a series of bookings that have been some of the most fun and best paying gigs I’ve done. The best advice I can give anyone who wants to be a musician is:

Play all you can. Have fun. Make friends.

Aside from that, it’s a lot of ugly business. And it’s really not worth doing if you don’t focus on these three things first.