Kathy Younger remembers being paralyzed with fear the first time she performed in a singer showcase.
Despite that, she continued with what she calls a great experience — an opportunity to perform her original tunes with a band in front of a live audience.
“I’ve done a few of these and it’s a great way to keep your chops when you don’t have a band,” said the 43-year-old singer-songwriter from Chicago who has gone on to release her own CD, even though her full-time career is as a manager with a digital promotion company. “It gives you an avenue to experiment with new songs and experience playing with a band.”
Singer showcases — there are about 40 in city and suburban clubs — have been around for more than 10 years and are considered an underground network for amateur and professional musicians looking for a creative outlet. Unlike open mikes, where anyone can show up at a club and sign up to perform that night, singer showcases are usually organized by hosts who screen and book performers in advance and provide volunteer singers with a professional house band and sound man who are paid by the showcase cover charge. These outlets provide singers with a supportive environment.
“It can be compared to a cabaret or variety show,” says Amy Mowery, who, with Becca Kaufman, host the newest local showcase, Chicago Singer Spotlight, held the second Wednesday of each month at FitzGerald’s, 6615 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn. “It’s a showcase for singers to experiment with a variety of music, from jazz, blues and rock to country and folk. It’s a great opportunity for a beginner who has never been on stage before to sing in front of family and friends, or for a seasoned veteran who wants to experiment with different styles of music or promote a CD.”
It’s easy to participate. Just about the only thing you need is a demo tape that illustrates your vocal style. It can be a cassette tape of you singing on your answering machine, a tape from a recent karaoke gig or even a professionally produced music CD. Send the tape or CD with a letter of interest to any showcase host, and if they decide you have any hint of vocal talent, they’ll book you for a show.
Expect to wait anywhere from eight months to a year before you’ll perform. A notification letter from showcase hosts will be mailed to your attention confirming your performance date, details of the event and preparations necessary for the show.
Showcase hosts will book you with three other artists of varying music styles and experience. Prior to performance night, you’ll need to select four songs of your choice, which could range from Broadway show tunes to original music. Be sure to have copies of lead sheets or charts that summarize your music and indicate your timing for each member of the house band.
Showcase hosts like Mary Anderson and Leigh Kossman, who host The Vocal Venue the third Tuesday of every month at the Cabaret Grill & Bar, 1283 E. Ogden Ave., Naperville, will guide you in song selections, help design your musical set or provide resources for vocal training or lead sheet writing.
On performance night, you’ll need to arrive about three hours before your performance time. You’ll have only one, 30-minute rehearsal with the band, whichusually includes drums, bass, guitar and keyboards, and then.
“I was the kind of person who sang in the shower, and my first performance was Chick Singer Night,” said Alyssa Crull, now host and one of the organizers of Chick Singer Night, one of the original showcases in Chicago, which features female singers and songwriters the first Tuesday of every month at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St.
More than 600 women have performed at Chick Singer Night during the last 13 years with a band that has played nationally with such artists as Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Brian Wilson and Barbra Streisand, Crull said. And according to singers’ thank-you letters, the experience has “changed their lives.”
Showcases vary in style by the locale. For instance, acoustic folk artists are featured at the Uncommon Ground Cafe, 1214 W. Grace St.; jazz at Lushlife, 226 E. Ontario St.; and themed “Hoot Nights” at Schubas Tavern, 3159 N. Southport Ave., whose roots are based in Austin, Texas.
Showcases are fast becoming a great promotion for clubs hosting the event. “I’m pretty impressed by the whole process,” said Bill FitzGerald, owner of FitzGerald’s, who, after 20 years, just started hosting his first singer showcase. “The hosts are well organized and it’s a professional group of singers. To be able to do it with that little preparation and to sing in front of strangers, they’re doing great.”
“It’s a must,” said singer Younger. “You’re going to be terrified, but you have to decide if you can live with that fear and love performing.”
OPEN MIKE NIGHT IS A SIMPLER TUNE
If you have a voice but don’t think you’re ready to get involved in the organized production of a singer showcase with a professional house band, you might consider participating in an open mike night.
That’s what I did recently. Three hours after my arrival at a club and at the stroke of midnight, I took the stage at my first-ever open mike night.
Open mikes are designed for local musicians, songbirds and even poets. They can be found at hundreds of local bars and coffeehouses across the city on practically any night of the week. And best of all, you don’t need talent to participate.
Perfect for basement rock jammers or to showcase original tunes, open mikes are free and open to all with the courage to stand up and be recognized.
Some open mike regulars cover the circuit, bouncing from one bar to the next, such as the 25-year open mike veteran I met the other night whose 10-minute sound check resulted in an interesting rendition of Led Zeppelin favorites.
A few words of advice: Prepare three songs. Bring your own accompaniment — guitar, harmonica or pianist. Arrive early and be prepared for hecklers (open mikes are not for the faint-hearted).
Fortunately for me, the crowd had gotten thinner and friendlier as my debut night wore on.
I had chosen the Tuesday night open mike at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St., for its intimate, casual and least-intimidating setting.
I arrived about 9 p.m. at the Abbey Pub to sign up for the open mike, which was already underway. Much to my dismay, I was told by the list-taker I was scheduled to go on at No. 18 and, “well, it was going to be the end of the night” before I took the stage. As a suburban commuter out on a school night, that hurt.
The night got tougher, however, when I took a seat at the end of the bar next to what appeared to be a few native Irishmen.
They yelled at the two amateur singers on stage, “The next one better be better and it better be in English.”
A sinking feeling overcame me so I hunkered down and ordered a Guinness — anything to calm the nerves.
I checked out the crowd around me — a full bar and about 40 seated guests, mostly supportive and interested in the stage show. Many, however, were more interested in the TV above the bar.
The musical selections varied from electric to acoustic covers, complete with technical difficulties and even a few metal band-wannabees.
I soon realized why I had to wait — the regulars always take stage first.
By the time it was my turn, there were only about four folks left in the “crowd” beyond my group of supportive and die-hard friends.
I requested a stool in the center of the small stage next to my new-found guitar-playing friend, Ben Currie, a veteran of open mikes.
He asked me when I performed last and when I realized it had been more than a decade since my community theater days, he noticed my look of anxiety and suggested I tell a joke. I couldn’t remember any so I just thanked the crowd for waiting.
With a high soprano voice and my Irish songbook borrowed from the library in hand, I sang, “Oh, Danny Boy.” Considering I hadn’t sung this song since a church funeral about 10 years ago and my only rehearsal was in rush hour traffic that morning on the Kennedy, it really went off without a hitch; I even got some positive comments and pats on the back afterward. The list-taker soon pronounced it was worth the wait and that I had selected a perfect song for the Abbey Pub. She pulled me aside to tell me to come earlier next time — they’d love to have me back and sign me up for an earlier show.
I guess I earned a new slot on the open mike list. Maybe next time I won’t have to ask harmonica Fred from Indiana to switch. Maybe next time I’ll even learn a few more songs. But I do know, there will be a next time.
