Our February 2024 Stage Left Open Mic features AJ Rosales, Friday, February 9, 2024, 7:00 pm / CDT (doors open at 6:30 pm).
Save the date, Friday, February 9! Please join us at Stage Left Cafe, 125 Van Buren St., Woodstock, on the historic Woodstock Square. Returning to Friday evenings brought back our great crowds along with wonderful music.
These monthly events offer a delightful evening of music and friendship. We hope to see you — performing or enjoying the performances.
February 2024 Stage Left Open Mic Features AJ Rosales
BOLD Journey interviewed AJ in November 2024. Here are a few excerpts. Use the link to read the entire interview.
A Little About AJ “In His Own Words”
Can share a bit about yourself? I had fairly firm roots in Classical music when I was younger – I think that ended up training my ear to enjoy certain types of melodic and dissonant phrasings, so I’m not usually satisfied with the obvious approach. Another part of my “sound” is the tuning I play in – the majority of my music is actually in DADGAD tuning – an English fingerstyle tuning popularized by Jimmy Page in the 70s. But I’ve been playing in it for so long that it’s sort of become my own signature at this point…the tuning allows me to create certain phrasings and progressions that aren’t so easily achievable in a standard tuned instrument.
Creativity
How do you keep your creativity alive? Being fruitfully creative can actually take discipline. Normally I enjoy the creative process, but sometimes you have to focus for long periods of time to achieve a goal. That’s where the discipline comes in. As a result, I try to be creative as much as possible at various times of the day. If I’m taking public transportation in the morning or evening I’ll try to write some lyrics along the journey instead of wasting time on the internet…
Most Important Skills or Qualities
What do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? Tenacity, Focus, and Resilience would probably be the three words I’d use. Tenacity because you have to be able to withstand a lot of rejection in the music industry…Focus because it takes a lot of discipline to keep going and especially to continually find inspiration through songwriting…Resilience because I’d like to think that there’s a certain amount of flexibility involved in this line of work. I guess I mean that word in the sense of “elastic”.
What About Self-Improvement?
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in? Self assessment can be a sometimes unpleasant experience. No one really enjoys scrutinizing themselves too heavily, but sometimes that’s a necessary thing…
Find out more about AJ Rosales
- Website: ajrox.net
- Facebook: ajrosalesmusic
- Instagram: ajrosalesmusic
- YouTube: ajrosales
Don’t miss AJ Rosales, Stage Left Cafe, 125 Van Buren St., Woodstock, Friday, February 9, 2024, 7:00 pm / CDT (doors open at 6:30 pm).
Enjoy a music sample
Want to perform? Sign up now – here’s how:
Stage Left Open Mics get better and better since we came back to Friday evenings. Spots fill quickly, so sign up early — two songs or ten minutes, whichever comes first.
If you’d like to perform and haven’t already completed your one-time informational form, please visit this page (or use the button below). Once you submit the form, then return to that page any time to request a performance spot in any of our venues.
You can also contact the event organizer directly, for Stage Left Open Mics, Keith Johnson, keith@offsquaremusic.org.
What is the Stage Left Open Mic?
These Open Mics, brought to you by Off Square Music, are monthly events on 2nd Fridays in Woodstock. Performers — musicians, singers, poets, and others — come together to connect with a live audience in a wonderful, family-friendly environment.
Whether you’re just starting out as a performer or are a seasoned veteran, our audience provides a supportive atmosphere. Stage Left, part of the Woodstock Opera House, adds to that ambiance with an exceptional performance space and sound system.
Off Square Music requests a $5.00/pp suggested donation to support our many music activities, including these Stage Left Open Mic nights.
Important note to all performers and attendees
Masks are currently optional, and we do not require proof of vaccination. Please be thoughtful of your neighbors.
Want to Know More about Off Square Music?
The best way to know what’s going on in local music is to visit the Off Square Music website Calendar regularly. Here are other ways to keep up with us:
- Visit our website frequently
- Sign up for our mailing list, right column of every page of our site, and
- Check out Off Square Music on Facebook (@offsquaremusic.org), Twitter (@OffSquareMusic) and Instagram (offsquaremusic).
- Visit our growing music library on YouTube.
Be the first to comment