The Songwriter Series featuring Hillie Lyman and Andrew Collins Graham. October 2, 2013

Oh man. I have been looking forward to this show all month.

Hillie Lyman is one hell of a talented lady. Flanked by 2 ukelele's, Hillie has a fun, sweet stage presence and a souful voice that is immediately disarming. Her songs stick with you for days. I highly recommend picking up one of her albums. She offers them on a sliding scale (free - however many $ you want to spend) and hand makes each cover.

Andrew Collins Graham is Hillie's musical other half in their side project, Flowers for Fran. He's an accomplished songwriter with one hell of a library of songs and intricate guitar work.

These two are a powerful duo. Flowers for Fran is a departure from their individual projects, wrapping elements of psych-rock into folk with looping pedals and effects.

Check out Hillie Lyman's music here. You can go hear her play on Saturday, October 12 @ "Art Is All There Is".

Flipnotics Open Mic. October 3, 2013

Another awesome week of open mic! Excitement is in the air on the eve of this year's Austin City Limits Festival.

22 people signed up tonight! Lots of great performances. The night opened with poetry and included comedy and some really fantastic musical performers.

Two performers stood out tonight: Greg and Terry. Greg came out last week and didn't get to play a full set because we ran out of time. I have a rule that you come to open mic and don't get to play after  listening all night, you get a guaranteed slot the following week. Greg got to pick his time slot and play a well deserved full set.

These guys blew everyone away. Both of them were great players and you could hear a pin drop in the quiet moments.

Our dear friend, Spencer, has been a faithful supporter of the open mic and it's artists. He can be found supporting shows all over town on any given night of the week. He's also a rather talented mandolin player, we discovered, when he played with Pat & The Old Guys.

Overall, the night was full of so many artists, I've had a hard time fitting them all into one post. Thanks again for coming out!

 Joshua played the happy hour set before open mic. He was awesome.

 Ajari does spoken word

 Pat & The Old Guys

 Our buddy, Spencer, rockin' out

Featured Performer: Nick Ronayne

Nick started attending open mic at Flipnotics shortly after moving to Austin. He's attended three of the different open mics that I've hosted over the years. One of the things I noticed about Nick right away was his quick wit, hilarious stage banter, and genuine interest in the other musicians performing. He was quick to friend a lot of folks at the open mic, has formed a few bands, and even hosted an open mic of his own at Tiniest Bar in Texas for awhile. He's settled into Austin quite nicely.

I chatted with Nick about Flipnotics, what it's like to be an open mic performer, and more. Check out the interview below.

• Q: Which of the Lisa Kettyle Presents: open mics have you gone to?

  Nick: I've been to Flips, Romeo's, and Medici.

  Q: What instrument and style of music do you play?

  Nick: I play acoustic guitar and sing songs...that sound like they might be on the soundtrack of Juno...?

  
  

  Q: Any favorite memories from over the years?

  Nick: Many great memories. Mostly memories of meeting awesome people and making great friends. If my Austin friends were a family tree, Flipnotics open mic would be the trunk. When I played my first open mic at Flipnotics I had only played in public once or twice. I believe it was that first night when I broke a string which made my guitar out of tune which made my singing out of tune. My knees were shaking too much to stand so I sat. I finished my 2 or 3 songs fueled only on the good vibes and enthusiastic words/hoots and hollers coming from the ever attentive and supportive audience. I'll never forget that terrifyingly wonderful feeling.

  
  

  Q: Why do you play open mic?

  Nick: I play open mic to meet band members, to get my music out there/gain "fans" (which really just translates to supportive friends), and to get shows.

  Q: What makes a good open mic for a performer? For the listener?

  Nick: Simple. For a performer? A good audience. For an audience member? A good performer.

  
  

  Q: Any tips for open mic performers?

  Nick: Open mic is not a show. Don't act like it is. Play your songs the absolute best you can and get off the stage. There are 20 other people in the room who are there to play. Not to hear you play. Don't explain your songs or when/where/why you wrote them. Just play them. Before and after you're done playing, talk to people. Talk to people before you play because then they're more likely to listen to you when you do play. Talk to people after because that's when they'll ask you questions about your songs/music which is the appropriate time to explain it. Also, that's when people will talk to you about booking gigs, starting bands, having post-open mic jam sessions, etc... Be humble, and grateful, and ask questions. Go to a lot of different open mics...that having been said, pick your 1 or 2 favorite ones and go to it/them regularly. Lastly, and most importantly - be tuned and ready when they call your name.

  
  

  Check out Nick's current musical project, Javelina.

  
  

  
  

  

   Performing with Javelina

  

  Playing an underground SXSW show at Parkerhaus with yours truly

  

  Hosting open mic at Tiny Bar

Austin City Limits is Coming!

One of the city's biggest festivals is nearly upon us! Austin City Limits descends upon our fair city Oct. 4-13, 2013.

If you've got a wristband, make sure to check out some of our dear friends from the Austin music scene: Dana Falconberry, Shakey Graves, My Jerusalem, Whiskey Shivers and more. I was thrilled to hear that ACL would be booking more local bands, and these guys are all excellent choices. Way to go, guys.

Open mic will be happening the week of ACL. We will have sign up at 7:45p, music at 8p.

I don't anticipate parking to be any more limited, as there aren't any music events in the park on Thursday night. As always, I encourage you to be courteous to the neighbors and park your car in legal spots only.

Flipnotics - September 26, 2013.

Howdy ya'll!

Last week, the lovely Peter Supertramp was so kind as to host open mic for me so that I could work. Thank you, Peter. Everyone had a blast and towards the end a huge sing along of 'Rocky Racoon' broke out. Sounds like a blast!

This week, the list is growing like woah. In the first half hour that the open mic was underway, 6 people signed up to play, bringing the total amount of players to 23.

Some pretty great stuff happened tonight!

Jason played electric guitar for us tonight. He stayed and listened to everyone the last time he was here and didn't get a chance to play, so he got a priority slot at tonight's open mic. His songs were awesome and I'm glad we were finally able to hear him play.

Melina was a treat tonight. She introduced her second song stating off with jokes about being an alcoholic. Don't worry, guys. She's 21. Anyhow, her sweet songs and her hilarious stage banter made for a great set. Way to go, Melina.

Melina and Mike Pittman

Peter played a KILLER cover of an Offspring song. The whole room was singing along. Man. He really killed it.

 Peter also played washboard for the very lovely spitfire, Button. If Louis Armstrong could come back as a tiny girl, he'd be this lady. Great set, Button!

Daniel Lytle

Arielle was AMAZING. She had a guitarist join in for her 2nd and 3rd songs. I thought they played in a band together because the songs were seamless, but it turns out that they just met at that the moment he offered to play with her onstage. Stuff like this is what makes open mics awesome. It's not so rare that this type of thing happen, but it IS rare for it to be so rad.

Arielle and Greg

Meredith played some grand folk music. She also brought a selection of hand sewn guitar straps that she sells. Super cool. Thanks for coming out, lady!

Meredith, maker of songs and guitar straps

 Ajari and Greg!

The list!

Thanks for another great week, everyone! See you next time!

Flipnotics September 12, 2013. The Night Everyone Barked Liked Dogs!

Another packed night at Flipnotics. 27 people on the list.

Tonight each performer did 2 songs (or equal to). Any time the list surpasses 21 performers, I put the amount of songs played up for a vote.

Lots of returning artists and 4 new folks. Regulars like Mickey Moore, Peter Diebold, Kerry O'Brien, Juice and Garrett the Cat made an appearance tonight.

 Peter Diebold and Button

 Melina

Juice

Jackson & James are a new duo to the open mic. They rocked out. It was pretty clear they were passionate about their songs and the crowd ate 'em up.

A travelling band called The Matchsellers joined us. Their first song was about going to the greyhound track and gambling. The songs they played were super awesome and upbeat. They got everyone in the room barking throughout the song. It was a super fun set. Safe travels, guys!

Kourtney killed it with some original comedy. I wish I had a picture. His facial expressions were hilarious. Dude was funny, ya'll.

Chelsea just moved here. She's from Baltimore. She says open mics in Austin prefer original songs and Baltimore prefers covers. I think that means that Austin is winning, yeah? Welcome to town, Chelsea!

Welcome to Austin, Chelsea!

Pete played the open mic for the first time tonight. His songs were impacting, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room after his last song. Good lord. So. Good.

Pete!

The List!

All in all, it was a pretty great night of open mic. Thanks again to all of the amazing people that come out each week. The way you all support each other completely blows my mind. It's what makes Thursday nights the best part of my week.

See you next week!

p.s., first interview with a featured performer coming later this week!

Flipnotics Open Mic - September 5, 2013

Howdy ya'll!

What better place to start this blog than Flipnotics on a Thursday night? I've hosted the open mic at Flipnotics for almost 4 years (this coming January).

Over the years, hundreds of people have performed at this open mic. Performers here have made life long friends, formed bands, and booked shows here.

After all this time, hosting open mic at Flipnotics is still the highlight of my week. There's truly something special about the performers that come to Flips. They listen, support and respect each other in a way I haven't seen at any other open mic in all the cities I've lived in. Kudos to all of you for being so rad.

Tonight has been espeically awesome. The room was split, half new folks attending for the first time, the other half repeat performers.

Among the new folks performing was a fella named Southern Longoria. He...well, he killed it. A voice perfect for musical theater or opera, this guy held notes for so long I thought he was going to fall over. His performance was excellent and the room went absolutely nuts. Thanks for playing, Mr. Longoria!

Southern Longoria singing a Barbara Streisand tune

Some other honorable mention crowd pleasers: Bullgoose Loonies played some sultry, bluesy tunes that got the room going crazy, Mickey Moore rocked it and Cecilia's voice was amazing. We had 27 people signed up for tonight's open mic! Thanks to everyone that came out and supported each other. Ya'll are some real cool cats. 

Here are some gratuitous photos from tonight's open mic, including the list. See you all next week!

 Cecilia

 Mickey Moore

Melissa

 Me & T, of Japan, rocked it. Everyone demanded an encore song. It has only happened two other times in the history of this open mic. So. Good.

Drew and David caught in a tender moment. Bar staff FTW.

Nolan closing out the night!

 The list! 9/5/13