From my home in Western North Carolina I was planning my first trip to Music City in our neighboring state of Tennessee. I was assisted in my preparations by advice from an article written by hit songwriter Jerry Vandiver author of “Your First Cut,” a workbook written by him and Gracie Hollombe. The piece offered several suggestions for those wanting to have a productive visit to a major music center.
One of the ideas was to find out where and when all the open mics were being held. I made a list of the ones scheduled each night for the four days I would be in town and made the five-hour drive, rolling into Nashville on a Monday afternoon in 2003. The only open mic at that early in the week was at a place called The Bluebird Café so I plugged the address into my GPS and headed over there.
Even with the help of electronic navigation I passed right by it. I was looking for a standalone building like a fancy Taj Mahal so I drove by it the first few times. I couldn’t believe what my GPS was telling me, that this well-known music venue was located in a strip shopping center nestled among other businesses.
At 5 p.m. there was already a long line outside the door that wouldn’t open for at least another hour. The open mic would start at 7 p.m. I got in line behind a guy with a guitar case and struck up a conversation. He had come in from Alabama and had been there before so he filled me in on the how the system worked.
There would be about 30 slots available for performers to play one original song each. Out of towners like my new friend who hadn’t gotten a chance to play on their last trip were guaranteed a slot this time. The rest of the openings would be filled by drawing names from a basket. When we got inside it was announced that there were 30 returning performers who would be performing that night and three slots that would be selected by drawing. As beginner’s luck would have it, my name was picked on the second draw.
My Alabama pal invited me to sit with him and some family members he had brought along to see him play. The place was packed, but unlike many bars or restaurants here there was a respectful silence for each performer from the audience members who intensely focused their attention to the stage.
As the evening went along people played and left but the vacated seats were quickly filled. It was late when I had my chance to perform but the place was still full. Before going up on stage I asked a stranger to take a few photos with my digital camera while I played my original song “No One Can Ever Hold Her.” Considering it was my first public performance in Nashville I thought I did a pretty decent job and received a nice round of applause. Then a strange thing happened that hadn’t happened all evening.
When I tried to leave the stage after my one allotted song several people in the audience started urgently yelling for me to stay. I naturally thought it an unprecedented occurrence. I was so good they actually wanted an encore. They were insistent that I not take another step.
A few seconds later I realized what all the shouting was about.
I had forgotten to unplug my Ovation acoustic-electric guitar and if I had proceeded to leave the stage my attached cord with have toppled the entire PA system.
So much for my first experience at the famous Bluebird Café.