The Live Music Circle

When's the last time you saw somebody playing a musical instrument before your very eyes? If you have to think about this for more than a couple of seconds, I urge you to read on.

On any given night in Ottawa, musicians both green and seasoned are doing what they love: performing in front of people. They even do it for free most of the time! There are also people enjoying live music without having to shell out $90 to see Michael Buble at a local arena. To me, this is a winning combination.

In this crazy world of iPods, Guitar Hero and Karaoke, real music – the music actually played on an instrument – is still king. Nothing else really comes close.

Now don't get me wrong: I own 2 iPods. I have played Guitar Hero and I don't mind telling you that I get a little aroused singing 'Someone to Love' by Queen while the lyrics on screen gradually turn from white to yellow. I DJ every weekend at a local bar and love every second of it. Sadly, I can also recite TV jingle after TV jingle. Like most people, music is a fundamental part of my everyday experience, whether or not I even notice it.

In all these examples (even the one where I played the DJ), I was involved only with the consumption of music. It's only when I started feeling jealous of peoples' ability to pick up a guitar and entertain friends around a campfire that I realized it could be different. When music is played through  your fingers or your throat you become  less of a  consumer and more of a  provider, even if you're covering 'Smoke on the Water'. It's the same art form, but the pleasure you'd derive from creating or delivering a masterpiece – however lo-fi and small-time – totally eclipses that of being a mere consumer of the art. In the same vein, watching somebody tear 'War Pigs' by Black Sabbath to shreds on nothing but an acoustic guitar 4 feet from you is an experience like no other. No? How about 'Brown Eyed Girl'?

Analogy time! Guys: Compare the thrill of making (and then enjoying) a sex-tape with your hot new girlfriend to that of firing up the same old porno you've watched a million times on your virus-infested computer. Ladies: Imagine a world where you could only buy cupcakes, and not make them. (Okay, I tried. Bring on the hate mail!)

A long time ago, I made the decision to focus on playing other peoples' music as a hobby. I've been a DJ for about 10 years (see December's WHITE issue for my cranky article about it) and I still love doing it to this day, but while attending university and being part of a larger circle of people I was exposed to their musical hobbies, and I began to feel an urge to actually play music.

I decided I would give the bass guitar a try and after many hours spent in my friend's basement learning the intro to 'Weeping Widow', I ran out and impulsively bought my first axe: a genuine Korean-made Aria bass guitar. It was red. It was also the biggest piece of trash you've ever laid eyes on. Even so, I regret having sold it.

Pretty soon, my friends and I were nervously signing up to play at local open mic nights. Sometimes things worked and other times we'd leave wishing we'd stayed home, but it was always entertaining to watch others and be watched. I've seen spoken word artists completely mesmerize a room. I've seen a dude play a saw – yes, a saw for cutting wood – in front of my very eyes. Whether intentionally cheesy or serious, if the performance (be it of an original tune or a timeless classic) put a smile on someone's face, it felt worthwhile. 

Through it all, bar patrons – ourselves included – were being treated to a wealth of entertainment. For the price of a couple of pints and a plate of nachos you got to hear the city's budding musicians in their element. What more could one ask for?

Naturally, as our circle of musical friends grew, so did our enjoyment and excitement of things to come. Not only were we becoming better at playing, it occurred to us that maybe this was more than just an outlet for people to play songs they'd heard on the radio. The need to create original music – and then perform it – was the new goal for many. Eventually, the same people doing the wacky cover songs were handing out home-burnt CDs of their material.

We'd inadvertently discovered an exciting new platform for original music, and this was clearly an evolving outlet for many.

Apart from all the countless corny covers of 'Wish You Were Here' and drunken jam-fests, there are the occasional success stories. Never mind all the rags-to-riches tales from Nashville. There are musicians working at your local coffee shop who are just as good – if not better – than anyone making it in the 'biz'. These outlets can be the launch pad for a career as a songwriter, a session musician, an audio engineer, a producer or even a roadie. Just as comedians often get their start on amateur night, the open mic experience can be a showcase for those yet to be discovered.

If you love listening to music (that's pretty much everyone out there, right?), you'd be surprised by what gets played at an open mic night. Get out there and feast on the tunes! You'll hear everything from 'Bad Moon Rising' to 'Blue Monday' to 'Bust a Move'. Really. You might even be helping support a fledgling musician on the road to stardom by taking home a freshly burnt disc. Regardless of your musical taste, the next live performance you see doesn't need to be in exchange for an expensive ticket.

And if you love to play an instrument or sing, whether you're a newcomer or a trained virtuoso, you'll be surprised by how welcoming and exciting an open mic can be. Replace that hairbrush with an actual microphone! Try out that new song you wrote about your silly dog and feel like a rock star, even if it is only for 15 minutes. By my last count, that's about how long the 'real' rock stars are popular nowadays anyway. Impress the onlookers with your eerily perfect delivery of 'Gangsta's Paradise' and leave them wanting more!

The live music circle of watchers and doers is helping maintain local music communities everywhere. Classy pubs and questionable dives in every city are latching onto the idea of bringing in musicians – be it in the form of a small weekly show or an open mic night. This creates an excellent opportunity for musicians and patrons alike. Talented people are finding their voice, eager music lovers are tucking their iPod headphones away for an evening and everyone's enjoying a drink or two all the while.

For a night, everyone in attendance stops relying on the 'official' channels of music distribution (at least briefly). Those playing are making the music happen with their fingers and those within earshot cease to be consumers of the same old crap. Whether performing or listening, everybody participates in an exciting yet endangered art form: real music, played by human beings, live and in front of other human beings, for free.

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