I’m thinking of recording them some time… but that will immortalize my bad singing without it being buried deep in a 2 hour recording 
You won’t get rid of me that easily Rogier…
Unless I’m just a spirit now 
… Halloween is coming.
Kids & family don’t appreciate prioritising my “online guitar thing” over them (and fair enough too, I agree with them, as much as I enjoy it here) 
I’ve always wondered why we have a deadline date (as opposed to number), esp. as there is inevitably a bit of hokey-cokey till kick-off 
In any case, it’ll be good to have a get-together, no matter how many or few we are.
Rock on! 
(edit: you can put me down for two ‘different’ songs, Richard )
Well folks.
Deadline day has come and gone.
We have nine (if I count Mal and Lara in one slot) performer requests.
Two of those are from time zones that this particular Open Mic was designed to cater for.
I hope that both Ron and Craig sing loud and hearty on behalf of the Asian / Australasian continental folks.
Performers - look for a group message coming your way soon.
REMEMBER
There is no deadline for requesting to join the audience.
Hi David
You never know, maybe one day the dream with just become reality 
although the lack of Antipodeans with their hands up at the moment is not a good sign 
Looking forward to it.
Yes, sorry, guilty as charged! 
Spent a lot of time thinking about putting my hand up, even worked on a couple of songs & drafted a reply to this thread, but in the end, confidence issues got the better of me 
although that’s a work in progress and will hopefully change down the track. I do feel bad for not taking this opportunity that Richard has kindly presented to us Australasian folk. I also really like @DavidP’s idea of a dual OM, I think that could be great fun! In fact the more opportunities for live performance on here the better imo. I think that would help those of us that struggle more with nerves. The one big event every 6 weeks or so is great to showcase people’s hard work, but adding in say a weekly low key OM that doesn’t require registration but just people turn up and take turns could be a bit less daunting? Then people could simply turn up on the night(day) and if they felt comfortable, they could put their hand up to perform, but if not there would be no pressure on them.
Just a random string of thoughts, certainly not wanting to hijack this thread! 
So please feel free to ignore/delete/ridicule! 
whaaat but your playing and production etc is brilliant. I’ve really enjoyed your work and only wish I could put together something like you do, and loved the collaboration work you did.
I hear what you say about more performances and I’ll share a recent experience but take it to another thread as not to hijack this one
@nzmetal appreciate that Jeff. Needless to say, those of us who have enjoyed your previous OM performances plus the contributions, both music and video, with the band will find it hard to believe.
Interesting idea to have an unplanned event. Only trick is the sharing of the Zoom link. That we do via DM for safety sake. Maybe we are overly cautious in that regard?
Thanks David 
I realise that could be a stretch for people to understand based on my collabs with J&D but I see those as very different things, night and day really, I would love to perform like that live, that’s the goal (perhaps I should be practicing that eh?! 
). But playing live is a different beast, dealing with nerves that impact control of my hands more than anything else, which is kind of a problem 
Don’t want to hijack this thread, so if there’s interest in this, maybe we could discuss in more detail elsewhere, but using DM is definitely wise and not overly cautious, and I see that working with this idea too. Have a DM group, with criteria of entry being that you’ve posted an AVOYP, then the Zoom link is just shared there and those that wish to attend each week can. Have a few members in there that know the Host Key for the Zoom meeting and as long as one of them can attend, then they can control the meeting (I’d put my hand up for that of course 
).
But I will leave it there as food for thought and sorry everyone for derailing this OM thread! Best wishes to all the performers, I’m sure it will be a great event as always!! 
Having frequent low-key, relaxed get-togethers where we share what we’re up to, is precisely what the Community OMs were set up for. A bridge between playing alone to our four walls and performing live in front of strangers
They are not
Of course, we all want to portray ourselves in the best possible light (guilty m’lud 
), but it’s only pressure/expectations we put on ourselves. We all feel for folk when things go pear-shaped, but no one ever says (or even thinks ) That was rubbish!
Why is Jeff a firm favourite with OMs and music productions (apart from being a genuine, sound Dude)? Well, partly because you set the bar so high and throw yourself as well as the kitchen sink into whatever you do
I’m guessing if there was a weekly meeting for sharing music, esp. if it was in closed DM groups, it would soon develop into the same bunch of people turning up, with the more ‘shy’ members of the Community finding it far more intimidating to try to ‘break in’.
As you raised the topic- this lone voice in the wilderness will repeat: I think it’s unnecessary (and counterproductive) not to share the OM link to everyone in the Community. Justin shares his Community Oms with the world and hasn’t run into problems.
Look forward to your next contribution my friend
Hi Brian reading with intrest,
more and more better players are joining the open mics … think back to the first versions Ooo … that was a completely different level of playing/preforming overall, that is certainly because many people have become better of course thank to the site,and that is also (one of ) the intention of this event and the website, but the better the basic group becomes, the greater the distance that the newcomers willfeel … that’s just how it is, and now that more advanced players are also participating who are not here from beginner level, the deep becomes even bigger to jump over/in… a pitty ? yes maybe no …I dont now actually…fortunately there is another sectio called ‘AVOYP’ for the intimidated … I agree with you Brian that it is not necessary for another version of the open mic because that will evolve in the same way…
Have fun… I like it
Greetings
We’re just live in a bigger house now
Which is one of the reasons I like to continue participating. I enjoy finger-strumming open chords after the likes of Alexey, Dale and Jeff have set the fretboard on fire. My technical ‘skills’ progress glacially, but as long as put in my best effort to play and entertain, that’s fine.
Sometimes I do wonder if there are any gimmicks left in me and some little boy will point out I’m wearing no clothes!
OK, on that thought, I might have one gimmick left up my imaginary sleeve…
Roll up, folks, it’s just a bit of fun
Yes, that’s what I mean too, and it will only get more…
Thank you for continuing to help keep the bar low
It is all about fun,but oh so understandable that people who are just starting to play or not as much half that good of a lot open mic performances are more reluctant…when I think about myself in the beginning only with my first AVOYP 
Without making any jokes about it, you are a very good ambassador for newcomers with no flaming guitar playing to encourage them (with how you talk to them) to take the big step
Greetings
I identify with most of what you have said, Jeff, although do think you are right in saying, “… missed opportunity…”.
There appears to be unwritten thinking in JGC that OM performances should be ‘new’ songs, 
… unintentional perhaps, but nonetheless elitist, exclusive and uninspiring …
Imho, the only way to hone one’s performance is to step up and do it. Performing a song again might mitigate half the stress. The audience doesn’t really give a “flying fig” whether we have sung the song before. Personally I would have to replay the videos to find out who sang what song in the previous OM’s.
Tbh, I was initially selfish in my thinking on the timing of this OM, but quickly concluded that the aim is justified. Emerging out my pit at 6am to prepare for a performance in a couple of hours isn’t going to happen, for various reasons (excuses ?) , but happy to play my part in the audience.
I think this TZ initiative should be tried again but suggest it is advertised well ahead of the “next OM”. One thing that’s pretty much guaranteed is next year’s calendar. OM dates & times being published well ahead, weaving around key annual events where practicable, is doable; thus allowing everyone to plan ahead.
I wish all the performers well for OM XXVII 
, whether the songs are old, new, borrowed, or blues …
Not quite sure where that thought comes from and its never been suggested. On a few occasions I have happily gone back and played songs from the early OM days since we moved to the new house. I’ve also performed songs I had posted in AVOYP at OMs as well.
So no one should feel the need to continually search for new material, just play something you are happy and comfortable playing. Its about the taking part and in no way should be seen to be competitive.
That might have been one of my remarks that I don’t like playing anything that people know what it’s supposed to sound like
I feel kind of cheeky replying to this one as I pulled out… and haven’t played at OMs all year. When I first started playing at OMs, I’d gone and looked at a few previous ones to look at the level of performers to make sure I wasn’t going to be too much of a noob and embarrass myself. Fortunately there were enough newbies playing then to give me confidence. It was still scary. Not as much now. So I expect others would do the same, and @roger_holland is probably right about newbies being deterred by the level of performance now.
Live music IMHO, dare I say it, is about enjoyment, not about technical prowess. If someone can string together a 3 chord song and sing along, that is good enough, and if it’s a well known song - or the performer adds some kind of twist or showmanship - is probably going to be more enjoyable to an audience than Steve Vai wizardry.
Good story JK, and never a problem to respond (I MUST say that with 0 om`s 
) of course, even if you withdraw for whatever reason…
I hope that people understand from my story that it is actually a big applause to the once beginners who have continued there grow
Greetings 
Wow, some really interesting points made here by many of you.
From a beginners point of view and of course my own personal experience (we’re all different) I would have agree that we do have a high percentage of what I would call accomplished players/performers that all do a great job and for beginners such as myself it could be somewhat intimidating.
I like the thoughts on a casual jam and if participants stuck with the casual format I think it could be fun. Currently because many sound so good and offer so much I know I’ve felt the pressure to do more than just sit down in front of a mic and play. But then, maybe that just makes us better
Hi Craig,
The thing is what some are trying to get across and say is that the Open Mic is a casual thing… it doesn’t matter if you stop during a performance of yours and say… “well it’s not working today, I stop it” and so on … it’s just playing a song with some acquaintances from here and/or singing along with it
and so
this I nice if that happens but if not it is also 100% oke …
You won’t find a much more informal bunch of people at an open mic anywhere other than here …
Greetings
Have we ever considered doing an OM type thing only for those who haven’t performed before? No experience allowed 
Not sure whether we would get enough take up, but it might ease the pressure and get some new folk playing live?