Great job both of you... sure looked and sounded like fun! Must be great as a couple to work towards and actually step up to a performance like this.

gtrhro69 : You're copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People is in the post. As is the Richard Head Award for the dumbest ever first post on TG. The constructive feedback here works like this: You pat people on the back for the dozen things they got right and did well and you may or may not want mention the odd flat tone depending on whether its helpful or not.... but you do that after you have posted yourself and proven that you are as faultless and as brilliant as you may consider yourself to be and are willing to put yourself out there and are subsequently in a position to make the comment. But there again, if you were that good and had been there and done it or were a part of this community you'd just be praising the great effort and whooping for more... here's your sign.

neverfoundthetime wrote:
Great job both of you... sure looked and sounded like fun! Must be great as a couple to work towards and actually step up to a performance like this.

gtrhro69 : You're copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People is in the post. As is the Richard Head Award for the dumbest ever first post on TG. The constructive feedback here works like this: You pat people on the back for the dozen things they got right and did well and you may or may not want mention the odd flat tone depending on whether its helpful or not.... but you do that after you have posted yourself and proven that you are as faultless and as brilliant as you may consider yourself to be and are willing to put yourself out there and are subsequently in a position to make the comment. But there again, if you were that good and had been there and done it or were a part of this community you'd just be praising the great effort and whooping for more... here's your sign.

I agree, there's no room for Simon Cowell on this forum.

Tom N.

Way to go Dennis & Jamie

Very daunting, much respect

RicksPick

This is the one and only comment I'm going to make about that post. I'm a very, very protective husband and I historically have an extremely strong reaction to people who hurt my wife in any way. So my inclination, gtrhro69, is to carve you up and stomp on the pieces for what you casually tossed out there into the ether. This is a guitar site. I welcome any and all constructive criticism regarding my playing. But it's obvious to anyone whose head isn't lodged up his ass that my wife is a reluctant singer who was terrified at the reality of having dozens of strangers watch her perform. That she was able to do as well as she did seemed like a miracle to me, and I was hugely proud of her. That never occurred to you because you were so busy being critical. It's a missed opportunity for you to enjoy the beauty of an amateur temporarily inhabiting the space of professionals. Everyone on this site can imagine what that might feel like and how intimidating that might be -- everyone, apparently, except for you.

But here's the worst part about your thoughtless comment: as a good friend of mine observed this morning, Jamie could read a hundred "Great job!" posts, and yet get totally derailed by your single brainless comment, so much so that I would likely never get her back on stage again. The upshot of all this is that I'm doing everything I can to hide this thread from her, because I'd rather she miss out on the dozens of supportive and heartfelt comments than have to see the single thoughtless comment made by a guy who is so clearly unburdened with empathy.

In the very unlikely event that you have a partner who you love, respect and whose courage you admire, I promise to treat that person with far more consideration than you showed to my wife.

Dennis, great job with the open mic. You and Jamie both have a lot of guts to get up there. I doubt I would do it..... not without botching many chords anyway. Right on dennis! Good to see you have the guitar strung low also, that way you can rock! Keith Richards would approve. Beaker.

I meant' slung low, not strung low.

If you'll forgive the comparison, doing your first open-mic is a lot like having sex for the first time, when you're either in intense pain or out of control and spraying the walls. I had the unfortunate distinction of fire-hosing the walls at my first open-mic, and I was determined to find out if that's the way the experience is always going to be or if there is some actual pleasure to be had. So I tried it a second time, and I'm so glad I did. I just want you to know, there are a lot of people on this site whose guitar playing and singing are as good or better than several of the people who regularly perform at open-mics; I really urge you to give it a shot -- twice. Once to lose your virginity and once to actually feel some enjoyment. Beating this metaphor to death, here are my comments, ribbed for her pleasure ...

Rick: Thanks so much. An SPF of 12 out of 10 is some professional-grade anxiety.

Tony: Haha, I was the most surprised person in the room when Jamie flew off the stage. It's a funny thing, though, when you're up there for the very first time: all you can hear is the ocean roar in your head. I think she was trying to find a place far away from the tsunami.

Willem: Nice to hear from you. This is probably my favorite Sheryl Crow song and it means a lot to me and Jamie. Yes, there was a stage monitor so that we could hear the sound.

Daryl: Whether or not Jamie does it again is a good question. Shortly after the performance, she said she had no burning desire to do a repeat performance. But I mentioned it again this morning, and she seemed to soften her stance. Thanks for your comment.

Scott: Thanks. Yeah, I guess there was still a little stage fright on my part, although not much. The first time I did an open-mic, every little noise or squeak I heard was magnified and made me say to myself, "Oh, no ... something's gone horribly wrong!" This time I heard people coughing, chairs squeaking, people tapping their feet, the foam jet from the latte machine, and it just didn't bother me. I can only attribute that to the more relaxed state of mind that comes from having done it before.

Chas: If my guitar playing is overshadowed by Jamie's vocals, I'm the happiest guy around. Thanks.

Takhak: Do you remember everyone's guitar goals or just mine? But you're absolutely right; I want to do a lot more open-mics -- maybe one per month. Good to hear from you and thanks for stopping by? By the way, does your screen name indicate that you're a Takamine player?

Craig: This may seem far-fetched, but if you were able to drag your body up on stage, sit in a chair and play Classical Gas the way you know how, you'd bring the house down. I wouldn't attempt that song on my first open-mic, but maybe the second one.

Pete: You might be surprised to hear this, but I thought of you at the open-mic when a guy got up and did two very simple Beatles songs. People really enjoyed him, and he didn't do anything you can't do.

Tom: I've never heard the expression "It takes bottle ..." Is that Scottish? Thanks.

Michele: You are too sweet. Yeah, there's nothing like being on stage to achieve a hyper state of awareness. When you're up there for the first time, it's like being on hallucinogens, where everything you see is distorted and every sound you hear is magnified. Not that I will ever admit to having taken hallucinogens (cough, cough). I don't think Jamie fled the stage because she was less than pleased with her performance; in fact, I don't think she was in any state of mind to even be aware of what kind of performance she gave. And, you are so right: I'm unbelievably proud of her. Doing this is so outside of her comfort zone, and yet she managed to overcome her fear to the degree that she could get on stage for the very first time and belt out a song.

Buddy: Thanks, pal. I appreciate it.

Suzi: It means a lot to me to know that you're proud of us. And, yeah, the audience was totally supportive. In fact, it was like playing for a TG crowd -- everyone wanted us to succeed. Not all venues are like that, so I chose my venue carefully. As for my pre- and post-song banter, none of it is planned in advance; I just sort of riffed off of events. You'll get another dose of that on my next video which was for my second song of the night. I wasn't sure what to expect from Jamie, but I agree that, despite the daunting circumstances, she was able to put a lot of feeling into that song. But, as Pierre so aptly put it, she's got chutzpah.

Cori: Here's what I hope you'll find to be an amusing anecdote from the other night. As I was walking on stage, I was thinking about my first open-mic, and how I butchered some of the chords in Autumn Leaves. I thought about your comment on the video that the audience probably thought I was some sort of improv jazz-cat, and it made me laugh and relaxed me even more. Thanks so much for your always thoughtful, always helpful, and always supportive comments.

Pierre: I'm always dumbfounded when you tell me that you watch my performances repeatedly, because it's not something I can do. Maybe it's easier to watch other people, because I just can't stand to watch myself. Thanks for all the nice things you said. Funny that you mentioned Jamie's voice reminding you of Grace Slick; I've been giving some thought to busking Jefferson Airplane.

Bill: Thanks much.

Chris: You're so right. It's great to have a partner whose so supportive of my guitar playing and is willing to step off a cliff with me. The world would be a better place if everyone had a Jamie in their life.

RicksPick: I appreciate it. Thanks.

Beaker: If the worst that happens is that you mangle a few chords in front of a live audience, then life is good. I did it and I survived. You can, too.

gtrhro69 wrote:
ok I'm all about positive reinforcement but is everybody on this site tone deaf? Whatever happened to constructive criticism?


As your first post on this forum what positive criticism would you like to offer? I'm sure Dennis would appreciate anything positive you have to offer.

We've all known Dennis for many years. To get up on stage and perform talks real courage. He could sound like crap, which he didn't, and I'll still give him huge props and kudos. We aren't professional musicians, maybe you are, so getting up and performing is a big deal and deserves the encouragement of all of us.

By the way, welcome to Totally Guitars!

dennisg wrote:
This is the one and only comment I'm going to make about that post. I'm a very, very protective husband and I historically have an extremely strong reaction to people who hurt my wife in any way. So my inclination, gtrhro69, is to carve you up and stomp on the pieces for what you casually tossed out there into the ether. This is a guitar site. I welcome any and all constructive criticism regarding my playing. But it's obvious to anyone whose head isn't lodged up his ass that my wife is a reluctant singer who was terrified at the reality of having dozens of strangers watch her perform. That she was able to do as well as she did seemed like a miracle to me, and I was hugely proud of her. That never occurred to you because you were so busy being critical. It's a missed opportunity for you to enjoy the beauty of an amateur temporarily inhabiting the space of professionals. Everyone on this site can imagine what that might feel like and how intimidating that might be -- everyone, apparently, except for you.

But here's the worst part about your thoughtless comment: as a good friend of mine observed this morning, Jamie could read a hundred "Great job!" posts, and yet get totally derailed by your single brainless comment, so much so that I would likely never get her back on stage again. The upshot of all this is that I'm doing everything I can to hide this thread from her, because I'd rather she miss out on the dozens of supportive and heartfelt comments than have to see the single thoughtless comment made by a guy who is so clearly unburdened with empathy.

In the very unlikely event that you have a partner who you love, respect and whose courage you admire, I promise to treat that person with far more consideration than you showed to my wife.

Very well said!! We're with you 1000%!!

Great Job Dennis and Jamie

You sure put on a fun open mic night

Dermot

Dennis, good job on holding back and leaving Jamie’s vocals out front. In this type of situation, a person might have the tendency to get a little excited or anxious and accidentally “compete” with the lead singer. Like others have said, your banter before and after the song added to the overall performance.

Jamie, any off notes that may have happened in the singing were most likely attributed to first time jitters. I have seen you sing in a less tense environment in your other videos and know that you can hit those notes, so I must attribute anything like that to nerves. That’s really minor stuff in my book. You should do a few more open mic performances and the jitters will go away. Timing was good and you didn’t freeze up in your first open mic. Bravo! The only other suggestion, and I think you already know this, is to wait a little longer before exiting the stage. Don’t let Dennis get all your applause.

You two are a good team and really need to do this some more. I’ll be interested in seeing your next turn at this. You might want to do two songs together. Try a very simple one first and then follow up with a little tougher one. That will give you time to relax and ease into the show.

Good work, both of you, and thanks for posting,

Hydroman52

dennisg wrote:




Tom: I've never heard the expression "It takes bottle ..." Is that Scottish? Thanks.



Yes Dennis, translated it means real nerve or bravery or courage.

Tom N.

Well done, Denis. You looked comfortable and composed. Loved it.

Jamie and Dennis, really enjoyed your performance it has been said many times but it takes a lot courage to get up there and facing everybody. I though the both of you looked calm and seemed to have fun. Nice playing and good singing. Dennis did you know what you were going to say at the intro or it was on the spirit of the moment?

Marc

Dennis,

Nice to see you back up on the stage. I think you both did a real fine job.

Jamie,

Thanks for sharing your open mic experience. Hope to see more

bob

Takhak: Do you remember everyone's guitar goals or just mine? But you're absolutely right; I want to do a lot more open-mics -- maybe one per month. Good to hear from you and thanks for stopping by? By the way, does your screen name indicate that you're a Takamine player?

Yes, an eg140shc. You probably figured out the hack part too, but it's still fun. Really liked the Zombies song also.

Great to see this, Dennis & Jamie.. and something to shoot for for H & I as well.

We've performed in front of her students at a music night- and it didn't go as well as we'd hoped.
Getting up there in front of a faceless crowd is so difficult, and you guys did a great job.

To my ear, you seemed to relax about a third of the way in and it showed in the performance.

Thanks for sharing.
(and ignoring the naysayer)