Open Mic

Thursday night, several homies descended on a cafe in Saratoga for an open mic — my first experience. I see what it is now, it’s karaoke without a backing track, which means the quality is (mostly) better.

Mike played, and so did Kreek’t. I had the dubious honor of coming right after Teddy — a tough act to follow! But I think I held my own. I got a few laughs when I introduced myself as “an open mic virgin…” and got a few hoots when I followed up by saying, “…be gentle with me.” I played two of my own songs, “Losing Touch” and “Disconnect”. It was challenging, because I’m used to playing my songs for my computer as I record, not for an audience! So I think it will be worth doing more, just for the experience.

But my main reason for going was to get out of the Christian ghetto and into the real world, to mingle with normal people. And on that front, I was stunned: After everyone was done and I was leaving, people called out, “Bye Jon!” I went back to shake hands, and was asked, “So, are you coming back next week?” I realized that it’s not just a venue, it’s a group of people — and I’ve been invited in.