**NEXT ONE: THURS, MARCH 4 **

& every 1st Thursday, 7 pm, free--

JOIN US!

  Cathy Winter, Host

                     (SCHEDULE: Feb 4, Mar 4, April 1, May 6)

                                                 We’re back...with The Eighth Step Open Mic,                  

                                                    a grand Capital Region tradition since 1967!

                                                    It’s reconstituted and re-organized to happen

                                                    on the first Thursday of every month. Starts at            

                                                    7 pm, hosted by me (Cathy) with Howard

                                                    Mittleman doing sound. We’re in Proctors

                                                    new arcade (Robb Alley) across from the Muddy

                                                    Cup...come try out our stage!

 

                                                     As you can see, we’ve trimmed back to once a

                                                    month. Help us get word out!

                                                    Several of you mentioned an interest in helping

                                                    out, doing sound, playing, etc, so come talk to me -      

                                                    we really can use your help.

 

                                                    You can talk it up, come down & play, volunteer to

host or do sound, bring people with you, come get some tea & drop in to check out

who turns up.

You can help us get flyers around - especially to other open mics, farmers markets 

and to area high schools and colleges. Or you can help get word to the radios, or

help spread us around FACEBOOK or other online media.

We’ll have opportunities for Guest Hosts and for learning more about sound, so if

you’re interested come talk to us.  Also, we got our wish!  --the stage has been

lowered to 18 inches, not so remote from the audience. And still there’s no charge,

just time to hang out, listen, play, read your poetry, sing, juggle, whatever moves

you. We usually end the night with a jam, and it’s fun!

From 8th Step’s Open Mic have emerged some really fine performers, how about

you? Later in the year, we’ll plan a showcase performance.

 

It’s important to get Open Mic going in such a good public space. I love the open

mic at Moon & River - casual, safe, public, weekly - a good combo. Ours is a

complementary experience: musicians and performers also need to practice using microphones and being on stage, figuring out how to do what they do, trying out

their talent in public or introducing a new song or poem -- for lots of kinds of people.

8th Step's Open Mic gives performers that opportunity.

 

The 8th Step started as a neighborhood coffeehouse, a place to drop in & share

what you were doing at home, in the shower. It wasn't a fossilized art form - people

came with new and interesting music, reading, stories and improvisational theatre.

What’s “new and interesting” has changed over the years. There are a lot of new

kinds of music & new performers out there.

Schenectady these days is a vibrant, stimulating place drawing an incredible range

of talented people of all ages. There are young musicians who'd love a chance to

try out what they do, or get a chance to jam with other players. Well, one of  last

year’s most exciting Open Mics was led by drummer Shophi Indig from South Africa,

joined by some top notch jazz instrumentalists and rap poets, right there in Robb

Alley around our stage. Nobody would go home!

So who knows what we'll get this time around? Be part of Schenectady's growing art

& performance scene - help out & turn out !

                                                    ~ Cathy Winter        cwinter@aol.com

 

P.S.   RSVP to let me know if you can do any of the helpful things above. And stay

late for the jam after the performances--it gets better and better!