Hunstville on its way to being a respectable music city
Brad Basker
Issue date: 8/24/06 Section: Entertainment
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"It's helped me to build my confidence and become a better playing in front of people," said Rodgers.
Another act that Rice spoke highly of is the 19th & a ½ St. Band.
"By next year if they're not playing every bar in Huntsville then the bars don't know what's going on," said Rice.
Open Mike Night is held every Tuesday on the second floor. Open Mike Night is a music scene for the laid back crowd. The room is not very large and with the help of the dim lights of dusk creates an intimate atmosphere. Musicians that are just starting out or ones are very lyrically driven start off here. The crowds come to listen and hear what the young talent has to say.
Open-Mike Night
In August of 2003 de Los Santos and Zach Arrington had the idea to bring live music to Huntsville. It began with Tuesday's at Kaldi's where they started Open Mike Night to give local musicians the opportunity to spread their talents. The popularity started to grow when people would hear the live music coming from the back of the coffee shop.
According to de Los Santos, Huntsville is a breeding ground for musical talent that's just waiting to be heard.
"Huntsville is so underappreciated with the amount of talent that it has in this town," de Los Santos said. "I just wanted to create the opportunity to show the talent of this town."
De Los Santos, in addition to running open mike nights, is also a well-known performer to the Huntsville music scene and says that the venue has even helped him in his career.
"I never advertised for open mike with flyers. Its all been spread by grassroots word of mouth with musicians," de Los Santos said. "Through open mike I've made a lot of friends and met musicians to work with."
Open Mike offers a wide range of talent from poetry reading to freestyles, and generally gets great feedback from constructive criticism to the people who react very positively.
The variety of Tuesday night is one of the aspects that keeps Nick Mendez, a regular at the event, coming back for more. Mendez attends every week and is going on his second semester as an avid follower.
"It used to be a small social gathering of an inner circle of people, but now its almost like a cult following," Mendez said. "I love it because it's (a combination of) so many different styles. We got the talent to make it big because there's a little bit of something for everyone."
For these new music events, the whole idea is that any and all musicians are welcomed to come.
Another act that Rice spoke highly of is the 19th & a ½ St. Band.
"By next year if they're not playing every bar in Huntsville then the bars don't know what's going on," said Rice.
Open Mike Night is held every Tuesday on the second floor. Open Mike Night is a music scene for the laid back crowd. The room is not very large and with the help of the dim lights of dusk creates an intimate atmosphere. Musicians that are just starting out or ones are very lyrically driven start off here. The crowds come to listen and hear what the young talent has to say.
Open-Mike Night
In August of 2003 de Los Santos and Zach Arrington had the idea to bring live music to Huntsville. It began with Tuesday's at Kaldi's where they started Open Mike Night to give local musicians the opportunity to spread their talents. The popularity started to grow when people would hear the live music coming from the back of the coffee shop.
According to de Los Santos, Huntsville is a breeding ground for musical talent that's just waiting to be heard.
"Huntsville is so underappreciated with the amount of talent that it has in this town," de Los Santos said. "I just wanted to create the opportunity to show the talent of this town."
De Los Santos, in addition to running open mike nights, is also a well-known performer to the Huntsville music scene and says that the venue has even helped him in his career.
"I never advertised for open mike with flyers. Its all been spread by grassroots word of mouth with musicians," de Los Santos said. "Through open mike I've made a lot of friends and met musicians to work with."
Open Mike offers a wide range of talent from poetry reading to freestyles, and generally gets great feedback from constructive criticism to the people who react very positively.
The variety of Tuesday night is one of the aspects that keeps Nick Mendez, a regular at the event, coming back for more. Mendez attends every week and is going on his second semester as an avid follower.
"It used to be a small social gathering of an inner circle of people, but now its almost like a cult following," Mendez said. "I love it because it's (a combination of) so many different styles. We got the talent to make it big because there's a little bit of something for everyone."
For these new music events, the whole idea is that any and all musicians are welcomed to come.
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 8
Colin de los Santos
posted 8/24/06 @ 12:23 PM CST
Thank you very much Brad. The article was an excellent reflection of what we are trying to do in Huntsville. I really appreciate the opportunity that you gave me for exposure from this article. (Continued…)
Gary
posted 8/25/06 @ 1:55 AM CST
As long as Lizard's keeps up the sports bar look with their retarded sports locker room signs and TV's on during concerts, Lizard's will never be a true real venue, especially with a gazillion pool tables and almost no room to stand during shows. (Continued…)
Gary
posted 8/25/06 @ 2:14 AM CST
I guess it's a crime to put negative comments as well. I'm sorry, I have an opinion, why can't I express it? Don't delete my stuff please.
I guess only happy people can comment and when someone else has something negative it's deleted. (Continued…)
Gary
posted 8/25/06 @ 2:15 AM CST
disregard the last comment. I thought my original post was deleted. My bad.
Ben B
Ben Bell
posted 8/28/06 @ 9:22 PM CST
It is a crime against what Huntsville has musically done to report that two undergrads and one bar are responsible for creating a respectable music scene. (Continued…)
Johnie Lee Qualls
posted 12/07/06 @ 9:10 PM CST
That is an understatement At SHSU Music and the Town is jampacked with bountiful Music talent.You name the Genre and you can find it in Huntsville.
Colin de Los Santos,and Tim Qualls just to name Two. (Continued…)
marcusgold
Marcus Gold
posted 2/09/07 @ 7:40 PM CST
Excellent, Brad! Precise, and well written.
Myself, Rice, and Colin de los Santos definitely did our part in establishing a music scene that many of the bar owners in town could not do on their own! Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked for our help. (Continued…)
Johnie Lee
Johnie Lee
posted 10/25/07 @ 12:26 PM CST
I just thought I would respond to the negative comments made about Brad Basher.There are always demented people that try and put a negative spin on any thing one writes on any topic. (Continued…)
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