PORT TOWNSEND — Nearly every day of the week, aspiring performers can find a stage and an audience.
From Monday through Thursday and again on Sunday, local clubs provide “open microphone” — or open mic — opportunities, offering stage time to anyone who comes through the door.
Performances can be rough and ragged, but some are outstanding — and all are free.
“There is a lot of talent in this town,” said Jack Reid, who runs the Monday open mic, which begins at 5 p.m., at the Upstage Theatre and Restaurant, 925 Washington St.
“For younger musicians, open mics are like an open door. It is how they get into the business,” said guitarist Pete Toyne, who performs at the Upstage regularly.
Open mic allows aspiring players to rub shoulders with the pros and face a sophisticated audience, even if audience members are somewhat more forgiving than the weekend crowd.
The Upstage is an all-ages venue, so youngsters can come in and perform a song or two — solo, with their friends, or as it is common in Port Townsend, accompanied by their parents.
“I don’t think that any town anywhere has a Monday night like we do,” said Upstage employee Sherry Kack.
Tuesday’s open mic venue, The Uptown Pub, 1016 Lawrence St., doesn’t allow people younger than 21 and offers a grittier atmosphere.
A dark neighborhood bar, it’s informal enough that a musician can come in without a guitar, pluck a battered instrument off the wall and perform a letter-perfect version of an old folk song.
“Not everyone is always paying attention to what you play, so it’s good training as to what it’s like to play in the real world and experience all the things you have to deal with,” said Greg Vinson, master of ceremonies.
A former music teacher, Vinson perceives open mics as a learning environment, where advice is given and taken — or ignored — on the small stage.
The bonus at the Upstage are the frequent performances by Simon Lynge, a Port Townsend resident who is a major star in Europe.
Vinson said he is carrying on an open mic tradition that has operated for years.
“When I was starting out I played open mics all the time and the older guys gave me pointers,” he said.
“Now, I’m the teacher.”
The Uptown Pub’s Tuesday open mic begins at 8 p.m., more or less.
Sirens Pub, 823 Water St., begins its open mic at 9 p.m. Wednesdays, but like the Uptown, the starting time is more a suggestion than a rule.
The clientele is younger and a little rowdier than elsewhere, making it a tougher audience for someone with a single guitar and a sensitive song.
It attracts a lot of performers, such as out-of-towners who are just passing through and want to try out some material.
Jarrod Bramson, master of ceremonies, likes the venue and said that high-quality musicians show up every week.
Even though the point of open mic is to bring in people and sell drinks, Bramson thinks that musicians get more with less of an audience.
“As a musician, you always want to play for a lot of people, but it can be better if you are playing to five people who are paying attention than a large crowd of people who are talking to themselves,” he said.
The Boiler Room, 711 Water St., is run by young people, so it’s no surprise that the Thursday open mic, which begins at 8 p.m., can be random and whimsical and impossible to tell the performers from the audience.
Recently, the anchor instruments were a saxophone and a piano, situated at opposite ends of the room.
A vocalist/harmonica player scat-sang and blew notes into an echoed microphone, while a woman painting with oils added occasional harmonies to the lengthy improvised piece.
Music intern Collin Cabe said the venue is a good place for people who are just starting out or who lack confidence.
Once they are on firmer ground they can try the Upstage or, once they turn 21, the Uptown or Sirens pubs.
“This is probably the best place in town for the really abrasive or the really inexperienced,” he said.
Outside of the music realm, Better Living Through Coffee, 100 Tyler St., holds a storyteller open mic on the first Friday at every month from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. — or when people run out of stories.
Owner Michael LeDonna puts up a few professional storytellers to prime the pump, then allows anyone who shows up five minutes to tell their tale.
There is no requirement regarding truth or copyright, only that the person tells the story from memory.
“We want to preserve the storytelling tradition,” he said.
The newest open mic in Port Townsend takes place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays at the Courtyard Cafe, 230 Quincy St.
The event strives for a family orientation, as the cafe does not serve liquor.
Gerry Sherman, who until a few months ago ran the Upstage open mic, is the master of ceremonies.
Sherman said the event could be moved outside when it gets warmer.
Better Living Through Coffee holds a “fiddle jam” at 3:30 p.m. Sundays.
The jam is open to all with a string instrument.
An open mic experience is a venture into the unexpected for both the performer and the audience.
“I tell people to come early because I can let them play a long set, 45 minutes or an hour, but if they come later they’ll get 10 minutes,” Vinson said.
Bramson has a similar philosophy, letting people play longer or shorter depending on how many people are waiting and how well the act is going over with the crowd.
Singer Sylvia Heins doesn’t perform as many open mics as she once did. She is performing professionally now and wants to give the next generation a chance to play.
“Open mics are a great place to work out your comfort level with an audience,” she said.
“It’s a place where you can make mistakes, and determine if you want to pursue music as a profession.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
