Big Fish is the featured performing group for our August 13 Stage Left Open Mic.
Stage Left Open Mics are held on the 2nd Friday of every month from 7 – 11 p.m. at Stage Left Cafe, 125 Van Buren St. on the historic Woodstock Square.
Off Square Music invites musicians, singers, poets and other performers to participate in the Open Mic Nights. Whether you’re just starting out as a performer or are a seasoned veteran, Open Mic Night offers a supportive atmosphere with an exceptional performance space and sound system.
Would You Like to Perform?
Big Fish is the featured group for the August 11 Stage Left Open Mic (L to R, Marty Brunkalla, Kent Fishburn, Deb Firak, Al Fife). – see them on Facebook @ BigFishtunes – https://www.facebook.com/BigFishtunes/
Performing slots are 15 minutes or three songs, whichever comes first. In addition, there will be a featured performer taking the stage for a 30-minute set.
As we get underway with live events, be sure you’re on our email list for information about all our upcoming events! Sign up in the left column of any page on the site. Send your music-loving friends and family to sign up too.
You don’t have to perform to enjoy Open Mic Nights. Just come on out for the live music and Woodstock’s charming atmosphere. Off Square requests a $5.00/pp donation to support our many music activities, including Open Mic Nights.
To sign up to perform, email Mike Breen at offsquaremusic@gmail.com, Subject: Stage Left Open Mics. If you stop by an Open Mic Night early in the evening, there might even be an available slot that same night.
Upcoming Dates
Upcoming Open Mic nights are:
August 13 – Featured performing group: Big Fish
September 10
October 8
November 12
If you would like to contribute to Off Square Music, please use the Donate button in the left column of every page of this site. We look forward to seeing you in August.
Stage Left Open Mics are held on the 2nd Friday of every month from 7 – 11 p.m. at Stage Left Cafe, 125 Van Buren St. on the historic Woodstock Square. As we get underway with live events, be sure you’re on our email list for information about all our upcoming events! Sign up in the left column of any page on the site. Send your music-loving friends and family to sign up too.
Off Square Music invites musicians, singers, poets and other performers to participate in the Open Mic Nights. Whether you’re just starting out as a performer or are a seasoned veteran, Open Mic Night offers a supportive atmosphere with an exceptional performance space and sound system.
Performing slots are 15 minutes or three songs, whichever comes first. In addition, there will be a featured performer taking the stage for a 30-minute set.
You don’t have to perform to enjoy Open Mic Nights. Just come on out for the live music and Woodstock’s charming atmosphere. Off Square requests a $5.00/pp donation to support our many music activities, including Open Mic Nights.
To sign up to perform, email Mike Breen at offsquaremusic@gmail.com, Subject: Stage Left Open Mics. If you stop by an Open Mic Night early in the evening, there might even be an available slot that same night.
Every week we join together for eight performances of music and poetry — and to enjoy each other’s company. We bring together musicians from our local area — but Zoom has allowed us to go national, and we even reach across the pond!
Doors open at 6:30 pm, so join us early to greet your friends, or stay afterward to visit. If you are performing, please come at 6:30 pm for a sound check.
Ken Balmes
Sheila and Jon
Kent Fishburn
Norm “Maddawg” Siegel
Bob Conway
Paul Klonowski
Deb Firak
7/10 Group Photo:
7/3 Group Photo:
If you’d like to perform, please contact Andy Andrick, aandrick28@yahoo.com. If you are a first timer, you can find a video HERE that will help you get set up.
We record our sessions and share them within our group of performers. It enhances sound quality greatly to use a USB mic in preference to a built-in computer mic.
Hope to see you there, Every Saturday, Weekly Zoom Open Mic, doors open at 6:30 pm.
5/29/21 Group photo:
Ken Balmes-Lake County poet laureate
Jane Tomsett–hello UK
Mike Breen
Paul Klonowski
Mike Reed
Andrew Huber
Randy Anderson
Dave Kunzweiler
5/22/21 Group photo:
5/15/21 Group Photo:
Ken Balmes
Wattle and Daub
Nancy Grovarek
Carol and John
Mark Lyons
Bobby and Melva Swigart
Suzy Schwartz
Scott Engstrom
Small Potatoes – Rich Prezioso and Jacquie Manning
5/8/21 Group Photo:
Ken Balmes
Tony Willis
Bob Maleske
Nancy Grovarek
Mark Lyons
Paul Klonowski
Jimmy Bartholomew
Sammy Byerly
Don’t miss it, it promises to be another great night of live music! See you there!
Doors open at 6:30 pm – Come on in, get settled, and visit with your friends. You can also use this time to locate your Mic control, Gallery/Speaker View switch, and (Text) Chat button. Once the music begins, the host will mute all microphones. The host will still be available by text chat, as will your fellow listeners and performers. Music begins at 7:00.
How to receive an invitation to join: If you are already on the Off Square Music Open Mic mailing list, you don’t have to do anything. If you would like to be added to that mailing list, please send an email via offsquaremusic@gmail.com so you can be added to it. You will receive a weekly reminder email with the information to join “Every Saturday.”
Doors open at 6:30 pm – Come on in, get settled, and visit with your friends. You can also use this time to locate your Mic control, Gallery/Speaker View switch, and (Text) Chat button. Once the music begins, the host will mute all microphones. The host will still be available by text chat, as will your fellow listeners and performers. The music begins at 7:00.
How to receive an invitation to join: If you are already on the Off Square Music Open Mic mailing list, you will receive a weekly reminder email with the information to join “Every Saturday.” If you would like to be on that list, please send an email via offsquaremusic@gmail.com so you can be added to it.
We look forward to your participation. This is a work in progress and suggestions are welcome.
Donations
A $3.00 donation is appreciated to help us continue to bring live music to the community. You may use the button below to pay by credit card or through your PayPal account.
The maiden voyage of the Zoom Open Mic was so much a success that Off Square will continue to share live music from the talents of our music community.
When: We will get together for a Zoom Open Mic on a weekly basis, 7:00 pm (promptly) “Every Saturday.” The doors will open at 6:30 pm, and you will not need to wait to be admitted — so come on in, get settled, and visit with your friends. You can also use this time to locate your Mic control, Gallery/Speaker View switch, and (Text) Chat button. Once the music begins, the host will mute all microphones. The host will still be available by text chat, as will your fellow listeners and performers.
How to receive an invitation to join: If you are already on the Off Square Music Open Mic mailing list, you will receive a weekly reminder email with the information to join “Every Saturday.” If you are not on that list, please send us an email via offsquaremusic@gmail.com so you can be added to it.
Enjoying music on Zoom: Zoom was designed for video conferencing . . . i.e., speaking. Eventually they will probably tweak the app for the musicians that are using it, but in the meantime, you can optimize your experience by making a couple of changes in your setup. Here are current best-practices: https://offsquaremusic.org/2020/05/set-up-for-zoom-open-mics/
We look forward to your participation. This is a work in progress and suggestions are welcome.
Donations
A $3.00 donation is appreciated to help us continue to bring live music to the community. You may use the button below to pay by credit card or through your PayPal account.
Here is some information to help you get ready for your “Every Saturday” session, whether you’re an audience member or a performer:
Download & Install ZOOM
Your Zoom music experience and performance will be better if you make some changes to your Zoom settings. The only way you can make these changes is to download and install the Zoom app to your device and set up your account (login, etc.).
Please note that responding to a Zoom invitation doesn’t mean the app was downloaded and installed. Also, even if it is installed on your device, you may need to install the latest Zoom Cloud Meetings upgrade, 5.0.4, which contains important security fixes.
To install, you will need a computer running Windows or MacOS, or a recent i-Device.
Download and install the correct application for your device.
Windows users – using the download link listed above, download ZOOM Client for Meetings and follow the prompts to install.
For i-Devices, download from the App Store as mentioned above and follow the prompts to install.
After installation, locate the Zoom icon in an easy to access place on your device: for Windows and Macs, in the Taskbar.
Click on the Zoom icon to open the app and login — or create a login. You will have three options, a login with your email address and password, login with Google, or login with Facebook. Once you have done this, you shouldn’t have to do it again. When you click on the icon, you will be on your Home screen, which you can identify because it’s called “Home” — and because it has four icons on it, New Meeting, Join, Schedule, Share Screen.
Windows and Mac users should see a gear in the upper right corner of the Zoom screen. That’s your Settings. Click on that gear, choose Settings, then choose Video to test your Video settings. Then choose Audio to test your speakers and microphone.
If you just come to Open Mics to enjoy, you only need to make one additional change here. Go to the bottom right corner of your screen where you’re testing your mic and video and click on “Advanced.” At the top of that next screen you will see “Show in-meeting option to ‘Enable Original Sound’ from microphone.” Check the box. That’s it! You can close the screen.
iDevice users click on the icon to open your app. You should be on the Home screen. You’ll find the Settings gear in the lower left corner. Click on it, and in the list, choose “Meetings.” On that screen, scroll down to “Use Original Sound” and make certain it’s enabled.
Finally, take time to get comfortable with your Zoom app. On your home screen, you can click on “New Meeting.” You’ll be able to see the controls that are available to you while you’re in a meeting. Locate your Mic Mute/Unmute button, your Video On/Off button, Chat, Participants (so you can see who’s there if they don’t show up on your screen), where to Enable Original Sound (which you should always do for music get-togethers), and more. Be sure to “End” (red button) when you are finished. Jeremy Simon prepared a video for us to show you around the ZOOM app:
For Performers
The deadline for emails from folks wishing to perform will be noon on the Thursday before the event.
If you wish to perform, please send an email to offsquaremusic@gmail.comand put “Every Saturday” in the Subject line. Andy Andrick will contact you about particulars and how to participate using Zoom.
While you can use the speakers and microphone built into your device or laptop, you may find you’ll have a better performance using a USB Microphone, and a standard headset or earbuds. There are several inexpensive examples of these products available online for purchase. You may find other good ideas in various YouTube videos including the one shared below.
With Windows and MAC devices, performers can make additional changes in the settings. Windows instructions are below (MACs are very similar).
Open your Zoom app (installation instructions above). If you have installed it and logged in, you should land on the Home screen. Find the settings icon, a little gear in the upper right corner. Click on it.
If you haven’t already done this, choose Video and test your Video.
Now Choose Audio, and Test your Mic. If you are going to use something other than the internal mic, this is where you choose it.
Uncheck “Automatically adjust volume.” When Andy contacts you before your performance, you can test for the best volume level in your system with him.
In the lower right corner, select “Advanced.”
At the top of the next screen, check “Show in-meeting option to ‘Enable Original Sound’ from microphone” if you haven’t already done that.
Below that, select “Disable” for “Suppress Persistent Background Noise” and “Suppress Intermittent Background Noise.”
These instructions should help everyone enjoy the best possible Zoom music experience. We’ll provide updates as Zoom adds features and we learn of additional tweaks.
Woodstock Opera House & Stage Left Café—all public performances and gatherings in both locations are cancelled until further notice, whether produced by the Opera House or other groups.
First Saturday Open Mic scheduled for Saturday, April 4th has been cancelled.
Off Square Music has decided to cancel the open mic scheduled to be held at the Stage Left Café, tomorrow night, March 13th. We will decide each upcoming event, using the best information we can gather, but decided to not have the open mic tomorrow night. If you planned to play, please let me know you got this. Keith
