On the List: A Multi-Disciplinary Study of the Open Mic Night
By
Jakob Reynolds, B.A.
A Thesis
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of Texas Tech University in
Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements
for the Degree
MASTER OF MUSIC
Approved
Christopher J. Smith
Chair of Committee
Angela Mariani
Michael Jordan
Mark Sheridan
Dean of the Graduate School
May 2016
Copyright 2016, Jakob Reynolds
Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Christopher J. Smith for serving as chair of my thesis
committee. Thanks also to Dr. Angela Mariani and Dr. Michael Jordan for serving on the
committee and providing invaluable insight and help throughout the research process. Many
thanks go to my contacts in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area – Richard Cahill and Michael
Needham – who aided in this project by allowing me to stay in their residences and making
fieldwork possible. Additionally, I thank my family for all of their support through the fieldwork
process. Finally, I would like to thank all of my collaborators in the community of performers at
The Abbey Underground for their participation and support.
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................................. iv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1
CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL CONTEXT .................................................................................................. 10
CHAPTER 3: THE ABBEY UNDERGROUND – THICK DESCRIPTION ............................................ 22
CHAPTER 4: THE MORNING AFTER .................................................................................................... 32
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS....................................................................... 49
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................................... 54
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
ABSTRACT
One of the most significant contributions to the global culture that the United States has
made in the last century has been its musical traditions. American vernacular musics such as rock
& roll, blues, hip-hop, jazz, and country can be found almost anywhere in the world that
commercially recorded music has travelled. Traditional conceptions of audience-performer
identity have been challenged in this music through community-based, participatory events
known as open mic nights. During these events, the artistic output of the participants in the
community is developed and consumed. Additionally, the physical and cognitive space in which
the community ritual of the musical open mic is adapted to better suit the needs of the
community. In a national artistic environment in which the traditional boundaries between
artistic producers and consumers are changing, it is of utmost importance that academics and
both formally trained and amateur musicians gain an understanding of the musical open mic
night as a vehicle for American musical community.
This paper argues that analysis of musicological, spatial, and ethnographic forces reveals
that open mic nights embody the constructed cultural priorities of their participants. Using datagathering methods from the disciplines of ethnology, anthropology, musicology, and
historiography, this paper provides observation and analysis of the dynamics at work within one
participatory arts community in Denton, Texas. By doing so, this paper aims to offer a
contribution to the academic and professional literature on American vernacular music and
provide suggestions for ways they can be used within a wider analytical framework for observing
creative communities
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
One of the most significant contributions to global culture in the last century has been the
musical traditions of the United States. North American vernacular musics such as rock & roll,
blues, hip-hop, jazz, and country can be found almost anywhere in the world that commercially
recorded music has travelled. In a linkage with these vernacular musics, traditional conceptions
of audience-performer dynamics have been challenged through the phenomenon of communitybased, participatory events known as “open mic nights.” An open mic night is a performance in
which members of the audience are invited onstage to perform, usually after signing up in
advance on a list kept by the master of ceremonies. During these events, the artistic output of the
community is developed and consumed. The physical and cognitive spaces in which the ritual of
the musical open mic occurs are often adapted to better suit the needs of the community. In a
national artistic environment in which the traditional boundaries between artistic producers and
consumers are changing, it behooves academics and both formally trained and amateur
musicians to gain an understanding of the open mic night as a vehicle for North American
musical community.1
This paper argues that analysis of musicological, spatial, and ethnographic factors reveals
that open mics are structured to reflect the cultural priorities of their participants. This paper
employs a multi-disciplinary data-gathering and analytical methodology to observe and interpret
the musicological and sociological functions of the musical open mic night.
Steven James Cole, “The Prosumer and the Project Studio: The Battle for Distinction in the Field of Music
Recording,” Sociology 45 (June 2011): 450-451.
1
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In this chapter, I will review the existing literature on these types of communities. I will
outline a methodology for gathering and analyzing data relevant to my own specific study and
how I will meet its challenges. Finally, I will enumerate the contributions this paper makes to the
academic and professional literature and provide suggestions for ways such methods can be used
for observing creative communities within a wider analytical framework.
Literature Review
While the existing literature on the open mic night as community participatory performance
is rather limited, some sound scholarship on this and related topics has been published. Several
articles are especially useful in providing background information not only on open mics, but on
other community-based, participatory performance-centered organizations as well.
Of particular relevance to this paper is Marcus Aldredge’s “Negotiating and Practicing
Performance: An Ethnographic Study of a Musical Open Mic in Brooklyn New York.”2
Published in 2006, Aldredge’s study presents a qualitative ethnography of an open mic night in
New York City and the roles performers and audience members negotiate over the course of an
event. His literature review is helpful in summarizing previous scholarship on such events and,
more widely, amateur – as opposed to professional – music scenes and methods of observing and
interpreting them. Aldredge’s methodology informs my own, revolving around direct
observation and immersion within the target community. Aldredge also utilizes intensive
interviews, though he does not specify the particular criteria or previous scholarship on which his
interviews are modeled.
Marcus Aldredge, “Negotiating and Practicing Performance: An Ethnographic Study of a Musical Open Mic in
Brooklyn, New York,” Symbolic Interaction 29 (Winter 2006): 109.
2
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H. Russell Bernard’s Research Methods in Anthropology informs a great deal of the
methodology for this study in two primary ways.3 First, Bernard’s chapter on the fieldwork
method of “participant observation” is particularly helpful in describing a means of data
gathering that maximizes the efficiency of contact and communication with potential
collaborators. The author accomplishes this by encouraging researchers to both immerse
themselves and contribute to the activities in which they are involved with their target
community. Bernard also provides a chapter on data models, such as personal interviews,
telephone interviews, and questionnaires, all of which will be utilized in this study.
Maisha Fisher published an article in 2007 discussing the dynamic of two poetry and writing
groups meeting in separate Northern California bookshops.4 Her article focuses on the
intergenerational relationship dynamics of the organizations, but also reveals the internal
dynamics by which arts-centric and performance-centric organizations are formed and
maintained. This article is also relevant to my research because, as with the Participatory
Literacy Communities mentioned in Fisher’s article, open mic nights also present opportunities
for members to interact with a wide variety of age groups, ethnic groups, and other subaltern
communities. I agree with many of Fisher’s methodological approaches to her discussion,
including her provision of historical context, and her analysis of the different dynamics of power
and interaction both from external and internal perspectives. The concluding section’s discussion
of lessons and practices found in these communities and how they can be applied elsewhere also
informs my own study.
3
H. Russell Bernard, Research Methods in Anthropology, (Lanham: AltaMira, 2006).
Maisha Fisher, “’Every City Has Soldiers’: The Role of Intergenerational Relationships in Participatory Literacy
Communities,” Research in the Teaching of English 42 (Nov. 2007): 139.
4
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Relevant and useful is Thomas Turino’s “Four Fields of Music Making and Sustainable
Living.”5 He lists four musical fields, which he describes as “participatory performance”,
“presentational performance”, “High-Fidelity recording”, and “studio audio art,” and their
intersecting roles within a larger framework of sociological theory. I mostly agree with the
arguments the author makes on the internal social expectations and aesthetics present within
participatory music communities. However, I will nuance these arguments slightly, to posit that
the four fields of musical performance are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and that elements
and aesthetics from each category can be present within a community’s dynamic.
Methodology
The methodology for this case-study will include techniques borrowed from ethnography,
historiography, sociology, and anthropology. I have developed and extended this methodology in
new site visits which expand upon fieldwork previously completed at The Abbey Underground
in Denton, Texas.
General historical information on open mic nights and participatory musical communities
in the United States is gathered from the existing body of scholarly literature, then analyzed and
applied to the data to be collected for this paper. While the existing historical literature on the
American musical open mic night is fairly limited in scope, there is a large body of literature on
parallel traditions, namely the hootenanny tradition in Greenwich Village and the traditional Irish
music session in North America. Personal interviews with participants have included questions
on the history of the events, venues, and communities so as to establish an oral history of the
tradition specific to each target community.
5
Thomas Turino, “Four Fields of Music Making and Sustainable Living,” The World of Music 51 (2009): 95.
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This study emphasizes the use of participant observation. Participant observation is a
method of field observation that involves active participation in the community during its social
and performance activities.6 To nuance this concept, I also borrow from H. Bernard Russell’s
Research Methods in Anthropology, which calls the technique a “strategic method” of immersion
in the researcher’s target community.7 The technique involves taking of field notes and
audio/visual recordings, direct observation, and the administering of questionnaires. Central to
the technique is establishing a rapport with members of the target community by learning the
language or contributing to activities when invited.8 Thus, I have not passively observed the
musical open mics I attended, but also – when feasible – personally introduced myself and
networked with collaborators in the target community, doing what I can to meet and establish a
friendly rapport with performers and attendees. In addition, I offered help in setting up
equipment or furniture, actively pursued discussion with event participants, and provided
feedback to participants when solicited. I believe this has facilitated a sense of mutual trust with
my target community and in turn elicited more open communication.
In order to analyze the demographics of the participants and attendees of musical open
mics as well as their motivators, I have borrowed additional data gathering and analytical tools
from the fields of ethnology and anthropology. This study employs personal and group
interviews and questionnaires, whose composition was informed by H. Russell Brand’s Research
Methods in Anthropology.9 The purpose of these interviews has been to answer questions
regarding motivation of performers and audience members. Why do those who perform choose
Peter Jackson, “Principles and Problems of Participant Observation,” Geografiska Annaler 65 (1983): 40.
H. Russell Bernard, Research Methods in Anthropology (Lanham: AltaMira, 2006), 343.
8
Ibid., 344.
9
If ensembles are present, in-person group interviews may be useful in gathering information in a timely manner.
6
7
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to perform? Why do those who do not perform choose not to? Why did they choose this specific
event to attend? In what ways do they see the community structured and how do they participants
relate to one another?
Brief self-administered questionnaires have been useful in providing quantitative data on
the demographic composition of the target communities. Anonymized, quantitative data on
ethnicity, educational background, musical experience, and other relevant information reveals
those outside communities which are influenced by the activities of the open mic.
Furthermore, I analyze how space is utilized and transformed in the pursuit of
participatory and semi-participatory musical activities. Iconographic and photographic data such
as sketches of floor plans and photographs of community message-boards and other forms of
material culture reveal insights into the priorities of the community that utilizes them. Real-time
observation of participants of this community within the space of The Abbey Underground has
yielded valuable information on how the space is utilized. 10
The methodological model for this section is Henry Glassie’s book All Silver and No
Brass: an Irish Christmas Mumming. Glassie discusses a winter night-visiting ritual in the
British Isles known as “mumming.” He focuses his analysis upon a series of sketches of scenes
and floorplans of buildings in which the ritual takes place. This material culture study is integral
to the reader’s understanding of the social forces at work during the performance of a mummer’s
play, because it provides a visual representation of how the layout of the building and the
perspectives of audience and performer impact the performance and its outcome. Specifically,
10
In observation of research ethics, notices of audio/visual recording were provided in cooperation with venue
management to alert attendees to the recording activity and its purpose. Contact information and detailed, formal
release forms provided an opportunity for those depicted to opt out.
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they show in a visual form how the performance serves both as entertainment but also as what
Glassie describes as an “integrating action,” in which both performers and audience equally
inhabit the physical and experiential space of the room.11
Music as a tool to create and enhance community is the stated overarching focus of my
study. Therefore, musicological analysis of the music being performed provides insight as to
what genres of music are performed at these events and why. In order to identify the music at
these two events, data on the instrumentation, formal analysis of transcribed performances, and
self-reported information on influential musicians has been gathered. This data was recorded in
field notes and interviews with performers.
The chosen method of participant observation posed several major challenges. First, it
required a great deal of time to be spent in observation of the target community. The geographic
distance of the target community from my home in Lubbock was another challenge. Multiple
trips to the target community for the collection of data were carried out and required a significant
amount of travel time. In order to meet these challenges, several elements of The Abbey
Underground open mic were considered for its selection as this study’s target community. Its
location in Denton, TX placed it in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area, the nearest cultural
center to Lubbock. The generous hospitality of contacts in this area considerably offset the cost
of travel during the intense fieldwork phase of research. Finally, the expanding number of
performers at The Abbey Underground and their enthusiasm to collaborate in this study
facilitated the selection of the community.
11
Henry Glassie, All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming (Philadelphia: U Penn Press
1983), 89.
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This document is organized into five chapters. The first chapter introduces the topic and
thesis statement, with an outline of the methodology, review of contributing literature, and the
expected contributions and implications of this research. The second chapter provides a
discussion of the historical context of open mics in the United States as well as an oral history of
the target community in The Abbey Underground. The third chapter provides a thick description
of an archetypical open mic at The Abbey, including analysis of material culture, use of space,
and use of music and sound. The fourth chapter presents an ethnography of The Abbey
Underground’s open mic community, along with analysis of group dynamics and how power and
authority are negotiated. Finally, the document closes with a chapter outlining the conclusions
drawn from the presented research; this chapter includes contributions made by this project to the
existing body of literature on North American community music-making and suggests avenues
for further research in this field.
Contributions and Implications of Research
This research provides an interdisciplinary study of how participants in the open mic
night at The Abbey Underground in Denton, TX use music as a tool for community creation and
enhancement. This paper applies analytical tools from ethnology, anthropology, sociology, and
musicology to unpack the different forces at work in a participatory community arts event. In a
society with an increasing interest in Do-It-Yourself culture and creative entrepreneurship, the
musical open mic night tradition poses a unique opportunity for studying how these activities
may be strengthened and enhanced.12
Marco Wolf and Shaun McQuitty, “Circumventing Traditional Markets: An Empirical Study of the Marketplace
Motivations and Outcomes of Consumers’ Do-It-Yourself Behaviors,” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 21
(Spring 2013): 195.
12
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The most significant contribution this paper makes is to provide insight into a “new” and
evolving American musical tradition. In a market environment in which many musicians opt to
self-record and self-publish, analysis of the ‘real-world’ processes of the OMN can inform wider
scholarship on musical community-building. This study contributes to the available academic
literature by providing both data and analytical tools to observe and interpret these kinds of
artistic activities.
Practical applications of this paper could potentially aid business owners and arts
entrepreneurs who may be conducting market research on demographics and communities who
frequent cafés and public houses. The insights will provide amateur musicians and arts agencies
with opportunities for organizing participatory arts communities. Finally, the methodology and
findings of this paper can assist organizations advocating for American musical communities by
providing information on the priorities and dynamics of their potential target communities.
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CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Open Mic Night
There are essentially two families of community-based, participatory music-making to which
I would connect the open mic. One of these antecedents focuses on group performance, such as
blues and jazz jam sessions and traditional Irish music sessions. Despite their differences in
format, they serve a similar function as the open mic. The second family of musical activity
focuses on individual performance. Examples include the hootenanny in Greenwich Village and
the poetry-reading of the Beatnick movement.
While the phenomenon of the open mic night has taken root throughout the United States as a
community activity, scholarly literature remains rather sparse. As mentioned in the literature
review, the only scholarly – and readily available – text on musical open mic nights in the United
States is Marcus Aldredge’s Singer-Songwriters and Musical Open Mic’s.13
In his book, Aldredge contributes a considerable amount of information to fill the lacunae in
the scholarship, including leads on the history of the tradition. He traces what we now know as
the musical open mic night to the radio “open mikes” of the early and mid-20th century.14 During
these broadcasts, popular musicians would perform live and visitors to the program would
discuss topics relevant to the public. For example, on June 13, 1950, an article in the New York
Times lists an “Open Mike with Hal Kirk and Guests: Informal Discussion of the Theatre
(Premiere)” on WEVD. During the social revolutions of the 1960s, these programs became
increasingly common fora for political debate.15
13
Marcus Aldredge, Singer-Songwriters and Musical Open Mics, (Surrey: Ashgate, 2013).
Ibid., 20.
15
Ibid., 21.
14
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Nevertheless, the history of the open mic night as a format for performance is still difficult to
trace. Aldredge cites a New York Times article (July 30, 1979) which announces an open
microphone session budding ballad singers. In contrast to Aldredge’s interpretation, I am more
inclined to connect this article to the previously established hootenanny movement. The
“hootenanny” was a form of jam session – usually folk-music specific – popular in Greenwich
Village from at least the 1950s. Jazz and blues jam sessions had proliferated as a music-making
activity in Harlem throughout the early twentieth century.16 These collective performances,
sometimes referred to as “cutting contests,” involved blues and jazz musicians playing in a
highly improvisational and virtuosic manner. According to Gioia, these performances served as
both a pedagogic exercise and a rite of passage for young players to prove themselves to more
veteran performers. Thus, evidence suggests that community-based, participatory music-making
events were popular in New York City during the same period the term “open mic” was being
used in print publications.
Another precursor to the open mic’s development in New York City was the poetry readings
of the 1950s Beat movement in San Francisco. The Beat Generation, or “Beats,” was a literary
movement originating in the 1950s and 1960s primarily in San Francisco and New York City.17
The artists involved in this movement were active in the San Francisco renaissance, which saw
an expansion in both the production of and demand for poetry.18 Performance played an
important role in the public recognition and community expression of this movement. Many
Beats, such as Jack Kerouac, Kenneth Rexroth, and Bob Kaufman would perform their works
16
Ted Gioia, The History of Jazz, (Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2011), 93.
Edward Halsey Foster, Understanding The Beats, (Columbia: U of South Carolina Press, 1992), 1.
18
Ibid., 2
17
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with jazz accompaniment.19 According to Gair, he most significant public performance of poetry
by this movement was the Six Gallery Reading, in which five of the most influential Beat poets
performed their works to a large audience.20 Many of the accounts of this performance make
compare it to a “hot bop scene,” or a “hot jam session,” in which the audience visibly and
vocally interacted with the performance.21 These accounts suggest that this event served as a
community-integrative performance embodying similar priorities to the open mic night. Namely,
they are concrete embodiments of the constructed values espoused by their respective
communities.
Aldredge’s text goes on to describe the history of the open mic events as increasing in scope
and popularity in New York City throughout the 1980s. An important outlet for many folk
musicians and singer-songwriters was the FastFolk magazine and recording cooperative founded
by Jack Hardy in 1982.22 This publication grew to become an important source of
communication and publicity for the singer-songwriter movement until its closure in 1997. Of
particular importance to the development of open mics and the styles of music associated with
them in NYC during this time period was the “anti-folk” scene. The founding of this movement
is attributed to Lach, a singer-songwriter who opened an after-hours club on the Lower East Side
named the Fort in 1983.23 Due to their punk-influenced, progressive playing styles the musicians
who frequented this scene were often excluded from the popular folk clubs frequented by more
traditional folk musicians. After the Fort’s shutdown in 1984, the movement settled moved their
19
Harvey Pekar et al., The Beats: A Graphic History, (New York: Hill and Wang, 2009), 177.
Christopher Gair, The Beat Generation, (Oxford: Oneworld, 2008), 67.
21
Ibid., 68.
22
Smithsonian Folkways, “Recording Spotlight: Fast Folk,” Smithsonian Institute,
http://www.folkways.si.edu/coop-fast-folk-musical-magazine-vol-1-no-1/american-folk/music/album/smithsonian.
23
Alan Light, “How Does it Feel, Antifolkies, to Have a Home, Not Be Unknown?” The New York Times (New
York, New York) August 11, 2006.
20
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“Antihoot” open mic to the Sidewalk Café, also on the Lower East Side. Thus, this event served
as a reaction against the traditionalist folk music scene that dominated other venues of the area at
the time.24
Aldredge does provide a significant survey of the history of the term “open mic night,” in the
United States and alludes to some related musical antecedents to the open mic night tradition
such as hootenannies and jazz and blues jam sessions.25 These events parallel the open mic as a
community-integrative activity. However, this performance idiom is distanced from the open mic
by the format priorities of virtuosity and improvisation.
Several other parallel traditions, particularly in Western culture provide opportunities to
compare the social and artistic expectations of both performers and audience. These parallel
traditions can help researchers situate the American open mic night within a broader historical
framework.
Hootenannies
Another parallel tradition to the open mic in the United States is the hootenanny movement.
According to Woliver, this movement began in the folk clubs of Greenwich Village in the late
1950s and early 1960s.26 Particularly revealing of the connection between hootenannies and open
mics is a similar performance format. In a typical hootenanny, performers would arrive at the
beginning of the event to sign up on a list overseen by a Master of Ceremonies. The musicians in
these events played for free with the purpose of showcasing themselves, testing new material,
24
Aldredge, Singer-Songwriters and Musical Open Mics, 25.
Hootenannies followed a format identical to the open mic and were organized primarily by folk musicians
beginning in the 1950s; this performance idiom is further discussed later in this chapter.
26
Robbie Woliver, Hoot! A 25-Year History of the Greenwich Village Music Scene, (New York: St. Martin’s Press
1986) 32.
25
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and practicing stage performance. Venues usually charged a low admission fee at the door,
which entitled the listener to one drink and the show. These events featured many prominent
figures in the American folk music revival in the mid-1960s as well as a minority of blues and
jazz musicians.27
There are likewise multiple parallels between the format of hootenannies and that of the open
mic night at The Abbey Underground. Hootenannies were primarily organized by young, white
musicians at coffeehouses and on college campuses.28 Quantitative data recorded at the Abbey
similarly suggests a primarily young, white demographic of participants. Another similarity
between the hootenanny and open mic is the multi-faceted activities that take place. Hootenanny
contexts often included dancing, drinking, and other participatory activities.29 While musical
performance is typically the central unifying element of the open mic and the hootenanny, these
peripheral activities demonstrate a strong connection between the two traditions as communitybased, participatory events.
There are further avenues for analysis on parallels between the social roles of this tradition.
The hootenanny served multiple purposes for the communities in which they were held. “Hoots,”
as Woliver refers to them, were a central meeting place in Greenwich Village night-life in which
working musicians would socialize.30 Similarly to the open mic, hootenannies were often held on
slow nights of the week when established musicians were not holding paid performances.
27
Ibid.
Marcus Aldredge, Singer-Songwriters and Musical Open Mics, 27.
29
Ibid.
30
Robbie Woliver, Hoot! A 25-Year History of the Greenwich Village Music Scene,33
28
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Working musicians would use this opportunity to socialize, collaborate, and exchange new
songs.31
Perhaps one of the most important parallels – and potential influences – of the hootenanny
was the performance format in which participants sign up on a list to perform onstage to a room
of other artists. By providing an opportunity for audience members to participate in the
performance, hootenanny MCs facilitated the interaction of event participants. More importantly,
however, this format enhanced the community-integrative priorities of these events. These
priorities would be likewise embodied in open mic night performance communities.
The Irish Traditional Music Session
One parallel tradition is the Irish traditional music session. The “session,” in Ireland as
Fairbairn describes, is “an informal social and musical event which takes places either in a
private house or, more often, in a public bar… the musicians sit in a closed circle around a table
and attention is focused into this musical circle rather than at an audience.” 32 The instrumental
ensemble involves a flexible number of musicians and usually welcome both strangers and
beginners, all playing a shared repertory of traditional dance tunes. These tunes are played in
“sets” or medleys, with the melody of the tune being played on high melodic lines with chordal
backup. 33
Multiple sources discuss the session’s significance in community music-making in the
United States. According to McCullough, Irish traditional music was present in American
31
Ibid.
Hazel Fairbairn, “Changing Contexts for Traditional Dance Music in Ireland: The Rise of Group Performance
Practice,” Folk Music Journal 6 (1994): 567.
33
Ibid.
32
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minstrelsy and vaudeville in the nineteenth century.34 The traditional Irish music session as a
community music-making event came about in Irish emigrant communities in England and in
Ireland itself during roughly the same period in the late 1940s and early 1950s.35 According to
Hall, a demand for labor – primarily in construction – in post-WWII London initiated a large
wave of immigration from Ireland.36 Urban public houses served as important social meeting
places for these immigrant communities, who were primarily young, male, and unmarried. These
sessions were organized by musicians with the sponsorship of the pub owners.37 They would
typically involve multiple musicians focusing on playing repertoire that was known by as many
of the participants as possible.38
Thus far, the precise date and origin of the rise to popularity of the pub session in the United
States as a community music-making event remains unclear. A likely contributing factor to this
phenomenon was the final wave of Irish immigrants to the United States in the late 1940s and
early 1950s, whose children were encouraged – in contrast to previous generations of IrishAmericans – to carry on the cultural heritage of their parents. These sessions were often
impromptu in private homes.39 Moloney describes a later proliferation of public sessions in bars
on both the east and west coasts during the Irish music revival in the 1970s.40 Competitions and
Peter L. Ford and Lawrence E. McCullough, “Traditional Irish Music in New Jersey and New York,” Studies on
the Irish-American Experience in New Jersey and New York 5 (2013): 16.
35
Fairbairn, “Changing Contexts for Traditional Dance Music in Ireland,” 582.
36
Reginald R. Hall, “Irish Music and Dance in London, 1890-1970,” (Ph.D. diss., University of Sussex, 1994), 302.
37
Ibid., 319.
38
Ibid., 317.
39
From Shore to Shore, directed by Patrick Mullins (1993; Warwick, NY: Cherry Lane Productions, 2006), DVD.
40
Michael Moloney, “Irish music in America: Continuity and change,” (Ph.D. diss., University of Pennsylvania,
1992): 232.
34
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revival efforts were also sponsored by cultural organizations and federal agencies during this
period, which contributed to the revival of interest in Irish heritage and traditional arts.41
Of significance to this study is Fairbairn’s observation on session participant communication.
She describes the musical and interpersonal activity of the session in both Ireland and North
America as centered within the circle of participants rather than towards an audience; the musical
and communicative process as integrated into a social and drinking environment obscured to all
outside the circle. 42 In my own experience, the interpersonal activity of the session is focused
within the circle of musicians, but a significant degree of interaction takes place between
performers and listeners.
Several key similarities situate the session in the United States within a historical framework
as a notable parallel to the open mic.43 Session participants tend to be inclusive to newcomers.
Newcomers in both traditions usually garner support from the event’s core members by adhering
to established performance etiquette.44 For example, Fairbairn explains that newcomers in
sessions tend to facilitate their acceptance by demonstrating respect for the group,45
Participants in both the session and the open mic value the contribution of individual
musicians to the musical activity over the virtuosity over the performance; while virtuosity is
appreciated in both idioms, it does not tend to be the focus of attention. Moloney explains that
level of skill is one of many elements taken into consideration when determining the status of
41
Fintan Vallely, ed., Companion to Irish Traditional Music, (Togher: Cork University Press, 2011) 718.
Ibid., 569.
43
There are several differences between the traditional Irish music session and the open mic in the United States.
The session features primarily instrumental music, has no Master of Ceremonies, and de-emphasizes original
material. Furthermore, despite being a public musical activity, sessions are not typically viewed as performances nor
are they used by their participants to launch professional careers.
44
Performance etiquette in open mic communities is nuanced in Chapter 4.
45
Hazel Fairbairn, “Changing Contexts for Traditional Dance Music in Ireland,” 567.
42
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session players; other important characteristics include the extent of one’s repertoire, seniority
within the group, and compatibility of personality.46
Finally, participants in both idioms tend to use the events to test share material. Moloney and
Fairbairn describe the session as an important source of new tunes for participants. According to
Moloney, it is not uncommon for learners to play along softly or to record tunes in order to build
their repertoire.47
Oral History: The Abbey Underground
Having established a historical framework within which to analyze the open mic tradition
in the United States, I am now able to situate the oral history of my target community within that
tradition. According to Robert Duffy, the bartender, the Abbey’s open mic was originally
intended by the venue management as means to scout music acts for separate shows.48 According
to several interviewees, the event was first begun in 2007. As recently as 2013, the event was
directed by an MC named “Bonedoggie,” who has since taken over another open mic in Denton.
According to one interviewee, John Brown, the event frequently featured several bands, with a
restriction of no more than two comedians a night.49
Jake Steinberg succeeded Bonedoggie as Master of Ceremonies in the summer of 2015. By
this point, Steinberg and several other musicians had been regular attendees at the Abbey’s open
mic following the closing of Banter, another coffee bar in Denton. These musicians, including
Michael Moloney, “Irish music in America,” 193-198.
Ibid, 201.
48
Robert Duffy, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal Interview, Denton, December 27, 2015.
49
John Brown, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal Interview, Denton, January 10, 2016.
46
47
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Garrett Phelps and Melanie Preslar, are now considered the senior members of the Abbey’s open
mic.
Since the beginning of Steinberg’s tenure as MC, the event has evolved to feature fewer
bands and more solo acts. Several interviewees observed that the most significant difference has
been the expansion of comedy’s role. Another significant change emphasized by Steinberg is
what he describes as the growth of a “communal” attitude shared by current participants.50 This
suggests a change in the participants’ priorities; namely, the desire to develop or enhance a sense
of community through the event, rather than simply to launch commercial endeavors.
Several challenges were presented in collecting an oral history of the open mic community at
The Abbey Underground. Relatively few of the participants during my fieldwork were active
during the tenure of the previous Master of Ceremonies. Several interviewees who had
participated in the event under its previous organizers had taken long absences before returning.
Particularly difficult was reconciling differing perspectives on the historical details and complex
motivations behind the event. These challenges provide an opportunity for further research in
this target community that will aid in compiling a more nuanced historical narrative of this event.
Common Threads
As this chapter has demonstrated, the open mic night in the United States is situated in a
complex historical framework. This framework is determined by a set of priorities shared by the
participants of each idiom.
50
Jake Steinberg, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal Interview, Denton, January 24, 2016.
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
One shared priority of these traditions is an explicit hierarchy of authority. Open mic night
communities and hootenannies tend to share a hierarchy of power or an authority structure
centered on the Master of Ceremonies. The owners and employees of the venues play an equally
important role in these authority structures. Many traditional music sessions in the United States
have authority hierarchies based on the seniority and knowledge of their core members. These
hierarchies are much less explicit than those of the hootenannies and open mics. Nevertheless,
authority hierarchies are critical to the operation and maintenance of the creative activity of all
these communities.
Scholarly discussions of these musical traditions have suggested a priority of individual
musical identities. While individual virtuosity is recognized and appreciated in these idioms, the
contribution of all musicians to the collective performance is prioritized over the virtuosity of
individual performers. This behavior facilitates the creation of a sense of community. Parallel
priorities provide an important connection between both performance traditions to a larger
historical framework; they are one of the main points of analysis in Chapter 4.
Another central element of these traditions is the tendency for participants to use the activity
to test or share material. Hootenanny and open mic participants use the event as a meeting
ground to test new material, exchange songs, and get feedback on their performance and
songwriting ability. Evidence in literary sources and my own experience with Irish trad music
sessions suggest these events also serve as an important medium for participants to be exposed to
new repertoire and enhance their own.
The central unifying element these idioms share is the use of music as a tool for creating or
enhancing a sense of community. Hootenannies and Irish traditional music sessions played
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central roles in the social life of the communities organizing them. Similarly, many of the
interviewees in my fieldwork described the open mic as playing a significant role in not only
their creative activity, but also their social lives.
This historical context demonstrates the lineage of the social and artistic priorities evidenced
in the open mic night tradition. The following chapter provides a field account of these priorities
in action.
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CHAPTER 3: THE ABBEY UNDERGROUND – THICK DESCRIPTION
Having established a historical framework from which to understand the significance of
the open mic night, let us take a trip to the open mic at The Abbey Underground. The Abbey
Underground is a bar located at 101 W. Hickory Street, Denton TX in the basement of The
Abbey Inn, an English pub-style restaurant serving primarily British pub food such as fish &
chips, bangers & mash, and shepherd’s pie. While the upstairs restaurant employs a polished,
family-friendly aesthetic with an entrance on the Denton town plaza, The Abbey Underground
possesses a decidedly grungier aesthetic. The main entrance is in the back alley behind the Inn,
though there is also a staircase access behind the bar, which is used mostly by the restaurant staff
to transport food from the kitchen and the bar.
We walk through the doors in the back alley to face a staircase, the left side ascending
into The Abbey’s kitchen, from which emanates the smells of pub food and the sounds of
clattering pans and shouting kitchen staff. We turn instead down the stairs to the right,
descending into the basement past a wall advertising flyers for various musical performances
around Denton. At the foot of the stairs, we find a small room with two pool tables, an ATM, and
a minibar. A flat screen television above the bar is showing sports programming with the sound
muted. The walls are lined with mirrors sporting logos for Jack Daniel’s and Jameson,
advertisements for various craft beers, and scattered flyers announcing local music events and
comedy performances. A hallway opens next to the minibar; we follow it further into The
Underground, past a row of booths separated from the hall by iron bars on the right and
restrooms on the left. At the end of the hall, we find a large room; the smell of stale cigarette
smoke and alcohol lingers in the air. The lighting is bright, but warm, illuminating the polished,
but weathered concrete floor and the dark wood of the bar. Scanning the room, we see high
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wooden tables with barstools, the stage and PA system darkened, and a row of booths opposite
the room for the bar.
Fig. 1: Floorplan of The Abbey Underground
The bartender, Robert Duffy, comes out from the back to greet us. He is a robust young
man in his late twenties, with clean cut hair and an immaculately trimmed goatee. We arrived at
6:30PM, just early enough to enjoy a quick bite and get settled in. “How’s it going?” he asks,
shaking my hand, “You want a Knotty? Anything to eat?” We order a draft Knotty Brunette
brown ale, a beer from a local brewery that is always discounted on Sundays.
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We sit and talk with Robert while he finishes setting up the bar for the night’s event. A
handful of people walk in around 7PM asking for “The List.” Robert tells them the list opens up
at 7:30; they hang out at the bar, chatting and ordering drinks. More people trickle in toward
7:30, including the event’s Master of Ceremonies, Jake Steinberg. A young man in his early
thirties with an unshaved face, bass voice, and (usually) a brightly colored graphic-T shirt, Jake
is greeted by the group looking to sign up. The List is a printed sheet with a number of typed
names and start times interspersed with blank slots, each of which allocates the performer fifteen
minutes. The typed names are the “reserved” slots, having been claimed in advance by regular
performers who RSVP on the event’s Facebook page.
As we get closer to start time, more people – both those new to the scene and regular
attendees – trickle in. The comedians and musicians tend to gather around different tables with
other performers of their respective genres; the comedians at their usual central table in front of
the sound-booth and the musicians either at the bar or at the table around the corner from the end
of the bar. A small group of musicians including Jake and his friends almost always occupies a
booth next to the stage. Chase Harris, the sound engineer, is setting up his mixer and moving
about on stage setting up the microphones and PA.
The clock strikes 8:30 and the house lights are dimmed. Jake steps onstage speaking into
the microphone, welcoming everyone and giving shout-outs to “Brother Chase” and “Brother
Robert,” encouraging those present to purchase drinks and to “take care of the bartenders.” He
introduces the first act, very often a comedian named Nick Haddox. The crowd claps as he takes
the stage and begins his routine, consisting of jokes and humorous observations on everyday life.
The crowd laughs at several of his punchlines; there is a mixture of people still conversing at the
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bar and hushed exchanges at the tables, though most of the house is engaged in Haddox’s
routine. As he typically does, he only takes about ten minutes of his slot, relinquishing the stage
by thanking the audience. Chase plays music through the PA as background to MC Jake
returning to the stage. He calls for another round of applause for Haddox, reminds the crowd to
patronize the bar and tip Robert, and introduces the next performer. The music fades, and the
next performer comes onstage.
This cyclical process is repeated throughout the evening. New waves of bar patrons,
performers, and friends trickle in and out. Some of the regularly-performing comedians, such as
JustWill and John Brown, and regular musicians, such as Melanie Preslar, Garrett Phelps, and
Bret Crow roll in early on and socialize widely. Garrett comes up and greets us; he is a twentythree year old Denton native on the short side of average height with a dark black beard, usually
wearing a black mariner’s pea-coat and faded flat-cap. After lighting a cigarette, he asks us how
the research is going and when I am going to bring my violin to jam with him. Jake alternates
between mingling with the performers and standing calmly, hands clasped behind him, at the
back of the room, socializing and observing the event with Chase, Robert, and Garrett.
We are sure to mingle with musicians and comedians at the tables and the bar. Several
people notice my notebook and ask if I’m a comedian or if I’m performing. I say I am a
researcher, which usually turns into a short conversation about the nature of open mics. Several
people talk about how great the open mic is here and about the musical community of Denton.
We go up into the sound booth to greet Chase; he asks how the research is going and we tell him
about where we are in the process. We notice the interior of the door to the sound booth is
covered in decals from bands.
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Fig. 2: Interior sound booth door
We ask Chase and Garrett about the nature of the decals and they respond that they come mostly
from bands who have performed in the Underground. They discuss with us some of the bands,
such as Spooky Folk, Star Party, and Exit 380. The decals suggest a wide variety of genres of
music are consumed at the Underground, including Hip-Hop, Bluegrass, Indie Rock, Heavy
Metal, and Texas Country. Over time, we will realize that, with the exception of Heavy Metal,
the musical interests indicated by these decals are reasonably well-represented in the open mic
night event. Moreover, members of the open mic night community participate in other musical
activities taking place in the Underground, both in solo and band feature performances.
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
Some of the same decals, we notice, are on the interior of the door to the men’s restroom.
Also present on this door are decals for other organizations and local businesses, such as Denton
Wiki and local music shops. This visual evidence suggests connections between the musical
communities at the open mic and that of the larger Denton community. Moreover, the men’s
restroom, we notice, has large sections of chalkboard paint advertising the Abbey Underground’s
Monday night karaoke.
Fig. 3: Men’s restroom chalkboard
These painted chalkboards provide further visual evidence of connections between the
musical communities at The Abbey. By advertising different events throughout the week, this
chalkboard serves as a medium of communication between the participants in different events at
the venue. Furthermore, such visual evidence suggests a means to facilitate collaboration
between communities. More importantly, however, they serve as evidence of a deliberate effort
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
on the part of the business management to give agency and enable the creative activity of the
various musical communities who use their space.
More performers go on- and off-stage, with comedians and musicians alternating slots so
as to provide variety and keep the interest of the audience. Performers make a point to
acknowledge those who’ve preceded them to the stage, and most thank Jake and Robert for
running the event. We notice novices tend to announce themselves as such to be met with loud
cheers and clapping from the audience. If these novices play a wrong chord or forget the lyrics,
the audience claps and shouts words of encouragement, even singing along if they know the
lyrics. One young guitar player takes the stage and plays covers of Green Day, Lit, and Violent
Femmes; his performance is energetic and upbeat. In the middle of a cover of “My Own Worst
Enemy,” by Lit, he forgets the lyrics to one of the verses. Continuing to play the chord
progression into the refrain, several members of the audience begin to sing. Performer and
audience keep singing the previously forgotten verse and the final refrain with the performer on
stage.
Many of the novices have brought along groups of friends, who show their support by
cheering after every song and crowding around the stage, rather than at the tables or the bar.
Some of them will leave at the conclusion of their friend’s performance, while others stay and
socialize.
Around 11:00PM, a large wave of people arrive, including performers and patrons of the
bar likely getting off from work and looking for cheap drinks. Certain veteran performers elicit
particular responses from the crowd. JustWill goes onstage early in the evening; his comedy
routine often consists of a mix of jokes and stories on intellectual topics and the human
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condition. Melanie Preslar, another regular performer, takes the stage to a notable lowering of
voices. Accompanying herself on ukulele, she sings Elvis Presley and George Gershwin
standards, as well as an original she wrote with Jake titled “Stay Standing.” Bret Crow, another
musician, takes several minutes longer to set up his pedal board and acoustic bass guitar with
lime-green strings onstage. He introduces himself in a well-practiced radio announcer voice
“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Bret Crow show! My name is Bret Crow.” He performs
all original songs, consisting of layered bass and beatbox loops and comedic lyrics to songs such
as “Saturday Morning Cartoon Blues” and “The Boogey Man.” His performance is high-energy.
He closes his set thanking the audience and promoting his album, which he has for sale. One or
two audience members go up to him after his set to purchase copies.
The clock reaches midnight. The crowd of performers and audience members has largely
changed from the beginning of the evening. Many of the earlier-scheduled performers have left,
yet the energy of the room is still relatively high. Some musicians and audience members are
sitting in the booths in the hallway, their voices lowered in private conversation. Several of the
bar patrons are playing pool in the front room, socializing with each other and with the bouncer,
Nick, a burly man with a thick beard, arm tattoos, and a baseball cap turned backwards. We may
still consider these people as members of the audience, as they applaud the conclusion of each
performance even though they do not seem particularly engaged. Jake circulates between the bar,
the stage, and the pool tables, usually settling at the back of the room watching the stage and
talking with Chase.
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Fig. 4: The Abbey Underground, 12:00AM
Garrett takes the stage late in the night. We ask before he goes onstage if we can record
his performance; he agrees. He plays several original songs he wrote with his band
PurlSnapShirts, which he describes as acoustic rock with a notable Texas Country influence. He
also plays a cover of a song written by indie-rock band Spooky Folk, to which a majority of
remaining audience members sing along on the chorus.
I was born on the Bible Belt
Give me something strong so I can kill myself
Cuz I won’t go on living this way
Even though my momma says to get down on my knees and pray
The final performer concludes her act at 12:30 and relinquishes the stage to Jake, who
thanks the remaining performers and the support staff, Brother Chase and Brother Robert. He
plays a few original songs solo and with Melanie. He then closes the open mic by “taking it to a
place of jam,” transitioning into an informal setting in which he plays covers of popular and
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well-known songs, inviting any remaining musicians up to the stage to join him. They play
almost continuously until around 1-1:30AM. As the night winds down, people pay their tabs and
say their farewells. We are sure to thank Robert and Chase, and bid farewell to Jake and Garrett.
Outside, the early morning air is cool and damp. We hear the buzz of clanking bottles and
raucous laughter from a neighboring bar and the hum of the highway in the distance. We leave
tired, yet excited and looking forward to next week’s open mic.
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
CHAPTER 4: THE MORNING AFTER
Having compiled a field report on an archetypical open mic night at The Abbey
Underground, we can now use this fieldwork data to discover the rich and complex forces at
work in a typical event. In this chapter, we analyze who is present at the venue, the values and
priorities expressed within this performance context, and how – if at all – those perceptions are
corroborated by outsider observation.
Ethnography
Upon initial visual observation, the open mic community at The Abbey Underground
appears to be primarily young, white, and male. The number of participants at a typical event
varies between twenty-five to fifty attendees: with at least eighteen performance slots on the list,
some attendees must therefore be present only to listen. Most of the performers, upon initial
observation, are musicians; there is smaller, but vibrant and expanding group of comedians who
regularly perform.
Quantitative data gathered mostly corroborated initial observation. In order to determine
a more accurate ethnography of a typical open mic at The Abbey Underground, an anonymized
survey was administered. Of those surveyed, the self-reported age range was from 23-33 years
old, with 25 being the median. Eighty-eight percent of respondents self-reported as male with 11
percent responding as female. When asked about occupation, 77 percent of respondents selfreported as employed either part- or full-time, with 11 percent responding as self-employed.
Because Denton is home to two public universities – University of North Texas and Texas
Women’s University – one might expect a number of such participants to be students. However,
only one respondent self-reported as a student and one other responded as an independent
contractor. With regards to ethnicity, 77 percent of those surveyed self-reported as
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
White/Caucasian, with the remaining 22 percent self-reporting as African-American, Latino, or
mixed-race. Finally, when asked about their levels of education, 33 percent of those surveyed
reported as having a high-school diploma or GED, 22 percent responded as having a 2-year
college degree, 22 percent responded as possessing a 4-year college degree, and another 22
percent responded as having some college experience.
These patterns are directly impacted by how the organizers recruit for the event. The
main sources of recruiting for this community are flyers for the event printed and distributed by
its participants and the event’s social media presence. Steinberg has exerted an increased amount
of attention and control over the community’s Facebook page in order to maximize its
effectiveness in attracting both talent and audience members. According to Steinberg, word of
mouth recruiting also plays an important role in the community’s recruiting efforts:
Yeah, so we do use the analytics on Facebook to guide some of our promotions.
How we do that is we try to get as much organic activity as possible versus
inorganic. I don’t know if you’re familiar with those two terms, but one is
inorganic, being paid advertisement that you pay Facebook for; Organic being
things that people are naturally are involved with that they’re actually making the
posts on Facebook, sharing the events, inviting people, etc. There’s actually
courses devoted to this very topic and they’ve found or research has shown that
organic activity is extremely more valuable than inorganic. Like, dollar for dollar,
you’d be better off paying your friends to share it organically than to have a
sponsored ad through Facebook. So, we strongly encourage organic activity and
one of the things that I’ve recently done is ask [that] the people who I hold
reservations for time slots make a post through the event page on Facebook. Over
the past two weeks, I’ve seen dramatic increase in traffic on that event page,
which is generating more interest from the very ground-up level that I’m very
pleased with. You heard me mention before, I’m just stoked about tonight.51
The excitement to which Steinberg is referring is for the unusually large number of people in
attendance on the night the interview was held. During this interview, he had explained that the
51
Jake Steinberg, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal interview, Denton, January 24, 2016.
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highest priority in his marketing strategy for the event was generating “organic activity,”
involving the target audience voluntarily sharing information about the event among their
personal networks. According to Steinberg, this form of marketing is a more cost-effective
alternative to “inorganic activity,” such as paid advertising. Nick Haddox, a regular performer at
the event emphasizes the importance of word-of-mouth recruiting:
This [open mic] is promoted by Facebook invites, but they also have flyers around
town. Jake has been asking lately that if we do get a spot reserved that we
promote it ourselves also and that we also invite people because he can only send
out a mass invite to people that he knows, so it’s really up to us. And it is up to us
to tell people constantly that we’re doing these things. Like, ‘This is my band, this
is my band, this is my band, this is my comedy. I do comedy, I’m a
comedian…’52
Haddox is describing the organic activity encouraged by Steinberg, namely the strategy
of asking performers who reserve spots on the list to promote the event in their social media
networks. Haddox also touches on the inorganic activity employed by the organizers, namely the
printing and distribution of paper flyers. As Haddox explains, the responsibility of advertising
the event falls on the participants as much as the organizers.
Behavior and Sound
A central component of the open mic night is the sounds produced. As a music and
comedy event set in what Phelps describes as a “dirty basement,” one rich avenue for analysis
lies in observing how sound is made, who makes it, and how the authority to make sound is
assigned and transferred. Another rich avenue for analysis of the open mic night lies in the
observable dynamics of the group. Central to these dynamics is the Master of Ceremonies, Jake
52
Nick Haddox, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal interview, Denton, January 25, 2016.
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Steinberg. As the leader of the event, the MC is responsible for not only opening and closing the
event, he is also responsible for facilitating a pleasant and creative atmosphere.
One way Steinberg accomplishes this is by providing a kind of opening and closing ritual
for the evening’s performance. He begins by welcoming the participants and audience to the
event. This opening ritual always includes “shout-outs” to “Brother Robert” and “Brother
Chase,” requesting the audience to patronize the bar and tip well. This opening speech always
ends with an introduction of the first performer, literally transferring authority over the space.
The closing ritual of the evening again includes acknowledgements of the performers and the bar
staff. However, the closing ritual also usually includes what Steinberg refers to as “taking it to a
place of jam,”
Essentially, this “place of jam” is an open invitation for any of the night’s remaining
participants to join Steinberg on stage and play covers of popular songs until the bar closes. By
implementing an open invitation, Steinberg enhances the communal aspect of the event and ends
the night by returning control of the stage to the venue. “Taking it to a place of jam,” provides
the performers with agency and ownership of the event at a critical moment by allowing them to
participate in closing the cognitive space of the room. It also encourages participants to
collaborate with each other during an event otherwise dominated by solo performances. It should
be noted that these rituals reinforce Steinberg’ power as an MC to direct the event at critical
moments, i.e. the beginning and end of the event.
One way in which Steinberg accomplishes this end is through organizing the list of
performers. Traditionally, a list at an open mic night is completed by the performers themselves
at the venue on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, according to both Steinberg and Phelps,
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this system posed several major challenges: Many performers were unable to arrive in time to
sign up on the list. The order of the list being determined by the arbitrary order of the performers
who signed up served as a source of frustration. Another major pitfall was the inconsistency of
the audience and performers who would arrive and remain at the beginning of the night;
Steinberg recalled several nights in which low turnout at the beginning of the night resulted in
large gaps between performance times.
To meet these challenges, Steinberg employs a different method; putting a call out for
reservations in advance on the community’s social media platform while holding several other
slots open to be filled at the event itself. According to Steinberg, this method seeks several ends.
Holding reservations facilitates a more consistent audience and continuous performance. It
benefits regular performers by allowing them to choose performance times in advance. It also
allows Steinberg to organize the order of performance in a manner that breaks up the comedy
and music slots. Thus, the order facilitates a variety of performance genres and minimizes the
potential for auditory stagnation in the audience.53
Reserving spots on the list serves another important function, namely recruiting for the
event. As a condition of holding a reserved spot on the list, Steinberg places an obligation on the
performer to advertise the event on social media. According to Steinberg and Phelps, this has
resulted in a noticeable increase in audience attendance. The requirement supports the marketing
strategy implemented by the leadership mostly depending on social media, word-of-mouth, and
flyers around the city of Denton.
53
Ibid.
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The performers on the list represent multiple genres of music and comedy. The most
common types of performances are solo performers who sing and accompany themselves on
acoustic guitar and comedians. Other performance genres include rock & roll ensembles, folk
duos, and hip-hop. The solo acoustic performers exhibit audible influences from a diverse range
of musical genres, including blues, rock, funk, country, and reggae.
A performance discussed in the previous chapter by Garrett Phelps provides an
opportunity for analysis. Phelps performed primarily original songs in several observed
performances, but frequently played a cover of a song titled “Bible Belt.” These performances
were usually met with cheers from the audience, with many of them singing the chorus or the
verses of the song with Phelps. The melody of the song can be observed in Fig. 5:
Fig. 5: “Bible Belt” chorus, Phelps performance Jan. 28, 2015
Throughout the song, Phelps’s picking style involves playing the root of the chord on the
down beat followed by a strum of the full chord in a swung eighth-note time. During the rests
leading up to measure nine, he plays a bass line of quarter-notes in stepwise motion leading
down from the C to a G chord; a similar bass line in stepwise motion ascends to the tonic at the
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end of the form. The lyrical, diatonic melody and predictable chord progression is similar to a
12-bar blues and country influence. This observation is supported by the plucking style
employed by Phelps’s acoustic accompaniment, which exhibits a further country influence. This
observation was confirmed by Phelps; when asked to describe his musical performance genre,
Phelps responded, “It’s going to err on the side of Texas Country…but I like to call it acoustic
rock.”54
When asked about standards of performance, many interviewees discussed a general
expectation that performers will contribute to the performance with their best efforts. Amanda
Martin, for example, states:
Sometimes people get on stage and they know they’re good…They’re going up
there and being too showy…or being too, like, ‘Yeah, this song is the best song
ever. You guys are gonna love it,’ Nobody wants that. Open mic is supposed to be
like opening yourself up…Play songs you’re passionate about, that you really like
and also that you know people would like.55
As a frequently-attending audience member, Martin offers a particularly revealing insight
into the audience expectations of performance. She explained that performers who convey an
egotistical or over-confident persona risk alienating the audience. She also expressed a
preference for original songs, though stresses an emphasis on contribution rather than virtuosity.
I know what gets the best response is a solo acoustic act and usually not covers;
that’s what usually gets the best response or the truest response. If somebody
plays a song they know and everybody else knows, of course people are going to
clap and cheer, but the most honest response is to somebody’s original songs…I
pay more attention to that than, you know, Santeria.56
54
Garrett Phelps, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal interview, Denton, November 29, 2015.
Amanda Martin, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal interview, Denton, January 4, 2016.
56
Ibid.
55
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Expectations of performance were addressed by several interviewees. Martin explained
that the audience responded more earnestly to original songs than covers, though audience
members will often support performers who play cover material by applauding and singing
along. Martin also stated an expectation that performers who visibly make an effort to perform
well are met with the most support. These views are corroborated by Melanie Preslar, a regular
performer at the open mic:
There is a standard and an expectation to be and do your best. My best is not
Garrett Phelps’s best. Now, if [a band] gets up and say ‘Hey, we’re brandspanking new and we’re eager to perform,’ you’re going to see people flock to
support them and if they progress musically, you will see people continue to be
willing to mentor.57
The mentoring addressed by Preslar is an important element of the event, particular for
novices. Performers will often ask feedback from the senior members of the community
following their set. This feedback can range from tips on how to play certain passages of a song
to using specific terminology in a joke. According to Preslar, performers who show visible
growth in their abilities tend to receive more support and mentoring from the community. Bret
Crow, a working musician and comedian in Denton who plays at the Abbey almost every week,
described his perspective on this behavior:
It’s really just getting to come out and perform what you have and focus group it,
get feedback. That way, when you take it to an actual gig that you’re booked at
that’s paying you, you know what works, what doesn’t work. You’re not just
trying out new material. That’s one of the coolest things about open mics is that
it’s better to try new material out at an open mic than to take it to a paid gig and
people like don’t give a shit. You can actually try new stuff and get good
feedback if you ask for it.58
57
58
Melanie Preslar, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal interview, Denton, December 27, 2015.
Bret Crow, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal interview, Denton, January 11, 2016
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Several interviewees including Crow addressed the role of the open mic as a testing
ground for new material. The audience has been described as encouraging original material.
Moreover, performers of all skill levels will use the event to test new songs and jokes in a
supportive venue with comparatively lower risk of garnering negative feedback than a paid
performance.
Also revealing of this aspect of group dynamics is Harris’s observation. He expresses a
preference for original material over covers. However, he nuances his view on performance
etiquette with a list of rules borrowed from the previous MC. These include “Don’t tune your
guitar onstage,” “Don’t piss off the sound-guy,” and performers having four songs or 15 minutes
onstage.59 Harris explained that tuning ones instrument onstage was general frowned upon as
unprofessional behavior onstage. “Don’t piss off the sound-guy,” Harris explained, was a general
rule regarding respect for the venue and the audience; this expectation was addressed by several
other interviewees. These rules, though not expressly delivered to the room by the MC at the
beginning of the performance, are still understood as shared etiquette by this event’s participants;
they serve as an important means of keeping both newcomers and veteran performers
accountable.
The MC’s use of physical space is revealing of his assessment of the performance. When
a novice performer takes the stage, Steinberg will tend to stay close by, either behind the corner
of the stage where the performer is sitting, or in one of the nearby booths in order to be available
to provide assistance or feedback. In contrast, if a performer is obviously experienced or is a
regular of the Abbey Underground, Steinberg tends to stand towards the back of the room
59
Chase Harris, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal interview, Mansfield, December 21, 2015.
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viewing the performance from a more relaxed distance. In some cases, he may even step into the
pool table area or outside for a few minutes.
This behavior is mirrored by Harris, who will often step outside the sound-booth at the
back of the room for performances by regular members, but will attend more closely to the mixer
if a novice performer is onstage. Harris additionally interacts with regular performers on
occasion, which he describes in an interview:
For me it’s…kind of a game because if people are there every week, I can sit in
the background back on the microphone so they can hear me only and I can sit
there and fuck with them, do harmonies, sing, you know, whatever. It’s fun…I
don’t do it to the newbies; That’s just kind of mean. Probably Garrett Phelps;
He’s up there every week and I’ve known the guy for a while now and I know all
of his songs. [inaudible] I’ll sit there and sing harmony with him.60
This quote is particularly revealing of the use of sonic space by Harris to interact with
veteran performers. By using the stage monitors to sing harmonies with the performers, Harris is
participating in the performance in a manner only perceptible to himself and the performers
onstage. Power is exerted by the sound engineer to establish a space shared by him and the
performer within the overall sonic space of the room.
Also revealing of the community’s priorities is its response to novice performers. Missed
notes or chords or forgotten lyrics are not uncommon for the novice and can lead to stage fright
and more mistakes. In a more formal performance context, such mishaps might be met with
negative responses or uncomfortable silence. However, in this venue, novice performers – many
of whom will announce themselves as such – are met with vocal encouragement and applause
after each song. Should they make a mistake, the audience will usually cheer them on, sing the
60
Ibid.
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
words of the chorus if known, or applaud and cheer, regardless of the scope of the performer’s
recovery.
Such supportive response to novices differs from that offered to regular performers.
While it is common for regulars to be met with applause or cheers when they take the stage, the
audience is markedly less demonstrative, especially when the most veteran musicians – such as
Melanie Preslar – are performing. Interview subjects speculated upon this demonstrable
response. Phelps posits an understanding among the event’s participants that more experienced
performers do not require as much vocal encouragement as novices because they are more aware
of their skills and their acceptance in the community.61 When asked about how new performers
are handled, he responded:
GP: Handled? As gently as possible. Make it seem like everything is groovy.
Because it is already a pretty forgiving room.
JR: I kind of noticed, personally, that people who are listening are a little more
overtly supportive to people who get up and announce themselves as “Oh, this is
my first open mic,” or “This is the first time I’ve been here. I’m going to play
some songs,” and then everybody cheers and claps whereas if it’s somebody who
has been there a lot, like Jake or Melanie or some of the regulars…
GP: Yeah, the audience response isn’t as big…
JR: It’s not as big and I don’t know if that is a people already expect you to know
your shit-type thing or maybe there’s an understanding that maybe regular
performers don’t need that.
GP: It’s probably more of that, honestly. They don’t need the encouragement,
exactly. I can’t remember who I was talking to about this recently, but the
difference in encouragement is definitely…need. Yeah, I think that hits the nail on
the head.62
61
62
Garrett Phelps, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal interview, Denton, January 25, 2016.
Ibid.
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Power and Sound
Central to this chapter is the study of power and how it is negotiated, performed, and
shared within the community. In the following discussion, “power” is not to be confused with
“authority.” For example, the MC has authority over who performs in what order throughout the
event, transferring power over the microphone to each performer as she or he takes the stage.
In contrast, the hierarchy of authority has been a point of discussion in several interviews.
Will “JustWill” Berwick describes his observation of authority within the community this way,
It’s a tiered community, but it tiers downwards… There’s more people at the top,
like there’s more people who come in, perform…There’s tons of those guys.
Those are the people at the top; those are the people that make everything go…
the talent. And then you take a step down and you get to your semi-regular
talent… Those are the people in the middle; there are less of those people. And
then you get to the very bottom… This is the core group of people who actually
care about the community and they’re talking about its future and they want to
grow it and they want to make sure it’s branded properly. Kind of like the
shareholders, not the people who are invested physically, but the people who are
emotionally or time-based invested. Like the people whose actual lives are
invested. Like, I’m giving up my free time, I’m taking time off of work for these
things, like do all that stuff…the organizers.63
Berwick’s description of the levels of authority can be grouped into three groups of
people: the “Talent,” being the largest in number with very little authority, but with a high
amount of importance in facilitating the activity of the event. The second, smaller group Berwick
describes as “Semi-Regular Talent,” I would redefine as simply “Regulars,” or the performers
who frequently attend and have some influence on the direction of the event. The third group, the
“Organizers,” consist of the core members of the community with the largest investment in the
event and the most authority over its direction. This group includes the Master of Ceremonies,
63
Will Berwick, Interviewed by Jakob Reynolds, Personal interview, Denton, January 4, 2016.
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the Sound Engineer, and the Bartender. When asked about who is at the very bottom tier,
Berwick went on to describe the role of the owner as the tip of the hierarchy of authority in the
community,
The very, very bottom tier? The owner of the venue, because they have the
greatest stake in everything. If the organizers aren’t getting good stuff going, then
the venue is going to lose its lifeblood – which is revenue – and it’s going to die.
Then the community won’t have anywhere to rally around.64
As the tip of the authority structure, the owner makes the ultimate decision in matters of
direction for the event. For example, Berwick mentioned a conversation he had previously had
with Steinberg with an idea for an event at The Abbey Underground that would showcase
comedy. Steinberg replied that he would need to consult the owner for approval before they
could organize such an event.
Berwick’s hierarchy of authority is corroborated by my own observation. However, that
model does not fully explain how power dynamics within the event itself are negotiated. One
notable example is how the involvement of comedy performers has been handled. As recently as
twelve months ago, the open mic night at The Abbey Underground was not “comedy-friendly,” a
restriction set by the owner of the venue. Bonedoggie, the event’s previous MC, was told by the
owner he was allowed a maximum of two comedians per night. As more comedians started
performing at the event during Steinberg’s tenure as MC, bringing in revenue as they did so, the
lead organizers began allowing the comedians more stage time. In fact, the number of comedians
64
Ibid.
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
who regularly participate has grown to the point where the leadership and the venue are
organizing a comedy-themed event.65
Another notable example of power being negotiated is how the community handles
changes in authority. When I first entered the community at The Abbey Underground’s open mic
night – and on several subsequent evenings– the event was being overseen by Phelps as MC. The
community appeared to accept Phelps’s leadership in lieu of Steinberg’s without any visible
conflict or contradiction. However, Harris appeared to seize these opportunities to exercise more
authority over his position as sound engineer, atypically playing music over the PA system
between performances. Harris explained the motivation behind this practice in an interview:
I would put on some music and [Bonedoggie] would introduce the first person;
they’d come on stage. It kind of kept the live atmosphere going because dead air
kinda drives people away. Jake’ll get up there and do a couple of songs and he
doesn’t want the music in between unless we’re setting up for a band, in which
case, it’s just like, alright, there’s too much…I did it last night because it was
Garrett. He thinks the dead air is dumb too. Jake gave me this thing about
musicians feeling stifled or like in competition with the music when they’re
starting. I don’t agree with it, but it’s not my thing.66
This quote is revealing of the negotiation of power of the PA between Harris and
Steinberg. Harris expressed a tendency to defer to Steinberg when it came to making musicians
feel comfortable, hence stating that responsibility was not his “thing.” In the events after our
interview, Harris continued to play music between sets in events MC’d by Steinberg and was
never reprimanded or asked to mute the PA. I would speculate that this shift of sonic power
appears to result from a shift in the boundaries of authority from Steinberg to Harris.
65
It should also be noted that the growth of the community of comedians at the Abbey Underground has coincided
with a broader expansion of activities of the comedy community of Denton. This includes several other open mics
throughout the week exclusively for comedy.
66
Chase Harris, Personal interview, Mansfield, December 21, 2015.
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
Conflict and resolution are not uncommon in any community, including that of The
Abbey Underground’s open mic night. Conflict can occur at any level of the authority hierarchy,
as in the implicit disagreement regarding whether the open mic at The Abbey is comedyfriendly. Conflict can occur internally and externally; because the performers and the audience in
The Abbey Underground are also active outside the event itself, tensions external to the event
play out during performance. Technical operations such as the reservation system are subject to
criticism by outsiders and can cause tension on the community’s social media outlets. Steinberg
and Phelps both addressed a past conflict with an outsider on the event’s social media outlet over
whether the reservation system made the event an authentic “open mic.”
Such conflicts are usually resolved in a discreet manner, usually by one of the event’s
organizers. In the case of external affairs, Steinberg is quick to mitigate conflict, as in the case of
the open criticism of the event’s list system and subsequent questions over its branding. He is
also quick to mediate conflict about performance times arising from double bookings or requests
to trade spots. Other sources of conflict external to the event itself are addressed and resolved by
community members themselves in a fashion which seeks to avoid interrupting the performance.
In this manner, we can say that the community members exercise a degree of agency in the
community’s internal affairs.
A central question, addressed by all interview subjects, pertains to the role of The Abbey
Underground’s open mic within the broader community of Denton residents. Interviewees
expressed different perspectives on this question. Preslar, for example, replied by describing the
event as a “practice field” for local up and coming musicians. Berwick and Preslar both used the
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term “iron sharpens iron” to describe the importance to an aspiring performer of performing to
an audience of artistic peers.
Phelps described The Abbey Underground’s role in the larger artistic community of
Denton:
The bottom, really and truly at the bottom. The way I look at it, the only people
that are making money are the club and the host and the host is making the least
amount of money. I hate to judge it that way, but I mean, that’s how I have to
judge it because, well, I want to make money. That’s what making it is…So our
attempt right now is to make Abbey not the bottom rung…It’s a restaurant and a
bar, so they can’t only bill it as a venue. I think they should because they have a
killer stage and a killer room…There’s not really premier venues in Denton, that’s
kind of the effed-up part of the hustle because you’ve got everybody and their
grandma playing music. But the cats who want to make money go play in
Dallas.67
Phelps is not referring to the Abbey’s open mic as the “bottom” in a negative sense.
Rather, he is referring to its reputation as a venue in Denton, particularly for professional or
semi-professional musicians. One goal of the organizers he addresses is to improve the
reputation of the Abbey because of the quality of the space. The major challenge, however, is the
number of higher-paying performance venues in the nearby metro area more attractive to
working musicians in Denton.
It would appear that the open mic at The Abbey plays an increasingly significant role as
an outlet for musicians and comedians to practice their skills, receive feedback and mentoring
from those with more experience, and network and collaborate. The open mic at is also a
platform for performers to launch careers in music or comedy: as newcomers who progress will
be approached by management of the venue, the leadership of the open mic, or even other
performers to book shows or to potentially collaborate.
67
Garrett Phelps, Personal Interview, Denton, January 25, 2016.
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
One particularly revealing incident in my field notes is from an event on December 27.
Preslar was wrapping up her performance of an original song with Steinberg and I was seated a
table close to the stage listening and talking with an older, retired friend of Preslar’s. Preslar and
her friend had an exchange when she was done and he mentioned she was inspiring him to take
up playing music again. She told me after their conversation that the open mic was all about
inspiration.
It seems apparent that, though the open mic serves different purposes for different
participants, its unifying role is to bring aspiring artists together. This is particularly true for
those who are permanent residents of the Denton community, as relatively few of the regular
participants are students. The Abbey’s role as an artistic proving ground is supported and
negotiated by a complex power structure, providing the performers with an opportunity to hone
both their performance skills and their abilities to work with other artists.
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
Conclusions
This study sought to fill several lacunae in the knowledge on a specific communitybased, participatory musical activity, namely the open mic in the United States. The research
presented did not seek to provide a comprehensive study of this musical tradition. Rather, the
study developed a methodological framework which has been applied to a specific target
community. This yielded a multi-faceted analysis of how the open mic “community” is created
and enhanced through artistic activity.
Historical context was examined, situating open mics in the United States within a
historical framework shared by 1970s traditional Irish music sessions in North America and
hootenannies in Greenwich Village in the 1960s. An oral history of the target community at The
Abbey Underground was further compiled and placed within this historical framework.
A thick-description field account was provided, recounting an archetypical open mic in
the target community. This data included an analysis of the material culture found within the
physical space of the target community. Floorplans of the space based on Glassie’s model and
description of audience-performer interaction within these spaces, over the course of the event,
were included in this analysis.
Ethnographic, sociological, and musicological analysis of the event was also provided.
Quantitative data gathered on participant demographics indicated a majority of young, white, and
male participants. These demographics are a direct result of the marketing strategy employed by
the event’s organizer: a method relying heavily on voluntary advertising of the event within
participants’ personal networks. Observations of group dynamics were analyzed, particularly
focusing upon negotiations of authority and power. In turn, special emphasis was placed on how
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
these dynamics impact sound made at the event. Analysis included how sound is produced, who
makes it, and how the power to make sound is transferred. Musical genres were addressed and
analysis examined the musical influences present in one performance.
As has been stated, there is a limited historical literature on open mics in the United
States. While this study addressed some methodological and theoretical gaps in this literature,
there are still many avenues for possible future research. Developing a more expansive
chronological history could yield insight into the relationship of the open mic tradition with its
musical antecedents. The open mic format has clear connections to the hootenanny movement of
the 1950s and 1960s. Hoot performances were referred to as “open microphones” in print media
during this period, suggesting that the open mic can be understood as another evolution of a
community music-making idiom dating at least to the 1950s. Several key priorities situate the
hootenanny and the open mic within a historical framework of parallel traditions. Some of these
employ very different performance formats, but serve similar community-integrative functions.
One example analyzed in this research is the traditional Irish music session in the United States,
which serves many of the same musical and social functions as the open mic. More research into
the historical context of the open mic may discover connections to other traditions and expand
this framework.
Several conclusions may be drawn from this research addressing community-based,
participatory musical activity and space. Physical spaces in which this activity takes place can be
transformed. During the activity, cognitive spaces are created and juxtaposed with the physical
space. The event’s opening ritual creates and prepares the cognitive space in which power to
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
make sound is transferred and negotiated. The space is usually closed at the end of the event by
participants “taking it to a place of jam.”
Sound plays an important role in negotiating the cognitive space of the performance. It
can encompass the entire physical and cognitive space as in a musical or comic performance. It
can also occupy small amounts of cognitive space; this occurs when the sound engineer sings
harmony through the monitor only heard by the performer. This use of sound to interact with one
another is also revealing of how power is exerted by participants to interact within a
performance. One’s position within the physical space can determine one’s level of engagement
with the performance and, in turn, one’s role within the cognitive spaces being created.
Negotiations of authority and power determine how the event is run. The community
displays an explicit hierarchy of power which differs across participants. In turn, this hierarchy
shapes the distribution of expressive power. Power is also negotiated between different
participants. These negotiations influence how the event is run and provide insight into how
group dynamics impact sound, how it is made, and who makes it.
This research has addressed the event’s multiple purposes and intentions. The open mic
serves to fulfill different roles for different people. As an open stage, the event presents
performers an opportunity to enhance their skills and receive feedback or mentoring, while
providing more skilled or established artists an opportunity to promote their work. It also gives
them an opportunity to network with other artists in their community and to focus test new
material.
But the open mic also serves more than a performative role. As is revealed in the
literature on a range of community music-making idioms, this event plays a significant role in
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the social lives of participants. Interviewees suggested a pattern of friendships, collaborations,
and social relations connected to the open mic at The Abbey Underground. This sense of
community was addressed by both participants and the MC.
Contribution and Further Research
This document offers several contributions to the field of study on community-based,
participatory music-making. The case-study provides an interdisciplinary methodology for
analyzing group dynamics in music-making communities. That is to say, this methodology
integrates analytical tools from multiple disciplines to explore various facets of these musicmaking activities. The resulting study yielded a broad understanding of their position in the
American historical narrative.
This study also offers data and analysis on community music-making in the southwestern
United States. As the literature review demonstrated, current scholarly literature on open mics
addresses a relatively limited community. My case-study is intentionally limited to a single target
community on the edge of a large metropolitan area. However, the research provides contrasted
observation on community music in a very different geographical area. Further research could be
undertaken into similarly participatory music-making communities in a wide range of
geographies, which may be expected avenues for research.
The methodology for this document seeks to provide tools for evaluating the historical
significance and priorities of participatory arts communities. This methodology integrates a wide
range of disciplines and non-invasive observational and analytical tools. Arts advocacy and
cultural policy organizations, businesses, and similar organizations can benefit from analogous
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Texas Tech University, Jakob Reynolds, May 2016
analysis in order to facilitate interaction with and gain a broader understanding of target
communities.
The open mic at The Abbey Underground is unique to its geographic area in that it
involves multiple performance genres, namely comedy and music. Research into adjacent
communities which are more exclusively focused upon one or the other performance idiom may
provide insights into the differences and connections between them.
Musicological analysis of the open mic as meeting place for musicians to develop new
material presents another avenue for further research. Such insight may provide fruitful insights
into how musical styles of these communities interact.
Community-based, participatory arts activities on the model of the open mic have played
a significant musical and social role in vernacular musical culture in the United States since at
least the 1950s. As the presented research has also demonstrated, this is still the case in the
twenty-first century. The multi-disciplinary methodology utilized for this study presents
researchers with a means to investigate these activities and the dynamics of their participants,
and to more effectively situate them within the American musical narrative.
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