Ashford Arms Open Mic 7/1/2010

My my my!  The Ashford Arms Open Mic is growing every week.  We've always had an excellent selection of musicians and fans at the Ashford, but every week we bring in a couple of newcomers....and their fans.  It's really great to see more and more people turning on to the Houston Open Mic Scene.

Speaking of newcomers, and because I haven't posted in a few weeks I'd like to say thank you to these new players that have come out recently.

Scrambled Yeggs opened the show a few weeks back. 

I ran into David Myers at a GoGirls Open Mic event and invited him to join us at Ashford. That, he did.

Vincent DeCarlo heard about Ashford Arms from Drummer Dave.

Ronnie found us on the internet.  (The internet is our friend.)

And that brings us to last Thursday when we had yet another new player out. Marian Ritter opened the show with some fine guitar playing and singing.  

Steve Orta joined us after a long absence.  

Zane Nordin then took the stage and got a little help from Keith Craik on the mighty blue fiddle.

Doug Michaels was also back at the Ashford after quite and absence.  It's always good to hear Doug.

David Myers has become a regular player at the Ashford and we are glad to have him.

Brandon Jantzen followed David.  Brandon has become a great friend of the Ashford Open Mic with his unique styling.

Ronnie has also been making regular trips to the Ashford and Churchill's since first arriving on the scene.  His heartfelt style of music is excellent.

Amy Waters was there.  Yes she was.  I keep wanting to call Amy a new comer, but she's not really anymore.  I'm am just amazed that she hit the stage so soon after learning to play and she is making huge improvements every week.

Pedro G. is yet another that has been absent from the Ashford roster lately.  We're glad he decided you come back out.  

And of course "Drummer Dave" Dempsey was there to keep everyone on time.  Dave does a great job  and is a very gracious and attentive drummer.  Thanks Dave!

And thanks to everyone for keeping open mics alive and well in Houston. 

Churchill's Open Mic 7/5/2010

Well it's long past time that I sat down and got some pictures posted.  My day job has been keeping me hopping for the past few weeks and I just haven't had the time.  I'm still busy, and that's still good, but I'm going to try to squeeze in a blog post or two to get everything up to date.

Tuesdays have been a little on the slow side for the past few weeks, we've had graduations, vacations, holiday weekends, basketball playoffs and world cup.  The days are staying light later and the rain has been crazy.  In-spite of all of that we still have a great time at Churchill's Open Mic every Tuesday night.

Last week we got some great jams with Willie B and Stephen Daly.

Amy Waters got up next.  Amy was bitten by the open mic bug a couple of months ago and has become a devout regular both at Churchill's and at the Ashford Arms on Thursday.

 

Brooklyn drops in at Churchill's after work quite often, but it's usually too late for her to get up and sing a few songs for us.  Last week was different.  She had the night off and came out early for her first time performance on Churchill's stage.

Je' Reece was back in the house last week.  Je' came out a month or two ago and after getting everybody talking about him, disappeared for several weeks.  It was great to have him back with his soulful sound and style.  He got a little help from Stephen Daly on guitar.

John Barton followed Je' and played a fine mix of covers and originals.  John has huge repertoire and is quite entertaining on stage and off.

And finishing up the list was Alan Young.  Alan came out to Churchill's celebrating his 50th birthday.  We weren't going to let him get out without playing us a few songs.

Once again a great night of music at Churchill's.  We are there every Thursday night with an Acoustic Music Open Mic. And remember, Tuesdays are also Lady's Night at Churchill's with great drink specials for all of the ladies in the house.  Come out and join us!

Ashford Arms Open Mic 6/3/2010

Last Thursday night at Ashford Arms Open Mic was a blast.  It started off looking like it was going to be another seasonally slow night but by the end of the night we had 12 acts on the stage.  That, my friends is a pretty good night.

We started off the evening with Brandon Jantzen.   Brandon has been a regular player at the Ashford for about 6 months now.  

  It’s always good to hear him lay down his jams with “Drummer Dave” Dempsey helping him out.   

He also brought Keith Craik with his fiddle up for a song or two.

This night brought us another new player at the Ashford Arms.  It’s always a pleasure to have new people show up, and John Batten was no exception.  He battled through his first timer nervousness and played  some very good covers and good bluesy original.  We sure hope he keeps coming back.

Tina Allen and Mitch Tiffin were in the house Thursday.  Tina and Mitch have joined together to create an excellent duet with a rich country flavor.  

Josh Wager is another die hard regular at the Ashford.  We love the new folks, but the steadfast support we get from the regulars is welcome and necessary.  Josh also brings a country sound to mic and has a good time doing it.  

Following Josh was Ashford’s own Chris Greene.  Chris is an old friend of the Ashford Arms and when we brought the open mic in he couldn’t really avoid it.  He is a fine player and vocalist and it’s always a pleasure to have him on the stage.

Tony Ryan was next on stage.  It’s always good to see Tony front and center.  He plays bass for The Hard Times Troubadours, but he’s pretty damn good with that six string as well.

Zane Nordin came out sporting his new summer style.  You can always count on Zane to be entertaining, and a snappy dresser.

Next up, Bruce Ross.  Bruce has been bringing in some nice arrangements from his band The Significant Others.  That’s what open mic is all about.  Trying out new stuff and getting comfortable with it on stage.

Speaking of what Open Mic is all about…Amy Waters was back at Ashford Arms last week.  Amy is relatively new to performing publically.  She is also pretty new at guitar playing.  She didn’t let either one of those things keep her from showing up to an open mic a few weeks ago and giving it her best.  She is now a regular at a few different open mics and sounding better each time she plays.

It was great to see Clyde Sayre at the Ashford.  I see Clyde at other open mics, but he has never played at this one.  It just so happened he was in the house for a dart tournament, so we borrowed Josh’s guitar and got him up for a few songs.  Clyde always does a fun and entertaining set.  Steve Telfer jumped in with his flute as well.

 

Captain Rick made a late appearance.  He just came off a gig at The County Line for Steak Night and hustled over to the Ashford Arms for a set.  

Many thanks to all of the musicians and music fans that make Open Mics so much fun.  And a very special thank you to the fine back up musicians that played this week.  "Drummer Dave" Dempsey, Kieth Craik on Fiddle, Tony Ryan on Bass Guitar, and Steve Telfer on Flute.  

Join us every Thursday at The Ashford Arms Irish Pub for a great Acoustic Music Open Mic.

For more info about Ashford’s Open Mic CLICK HERE 

  

Churchill's Open Mic 6/1/2010

Things were a bit slow at Churchill's last Tuesday, but that didn't stop us from having plenty of fun and playing music.  Seems like whether we have a few players or a few too many, it's always a good time.  Churchill's is just a good place to hang out with friends.  They have good food and drink specials throughout the week,  Open Mic every Tuesday, Karaoke every Thursday, bands every Friday and Saturday, and solo or small combo groups on Sunday afternoons.  This alleged sports bar is quickly turning into a popular music venue.

The Open Mic lineup on Tuesday was John Barton, Randy Soffar, and Bruce Ross. Everyone got their spotlight, and then we pretty much just jammed the night away.  Plenty of fun and the bar patrons were appreciative.

Here is John Barton opening the evening with Randy Soffar backing him up on the Djembe.

Randy followed John and did a fun long set that included several of his originals from his Z Rock days.  ...and I didn't get one decent picture of him playing.  Here he is having a good time though.

Bruce Ross then took the stage and gave us a nice selection of his arrangements and new songs from his band Significant Others.

Then friends...
we jammed.

And it was fun.

And this is why we do it.

Thanks to Sarah, Marianne and the rest of the folks at Churchill's for supporting live music.

For more info about Churchill's Open Mic, CLICK HERE