I have been thinking about this one for a few days now. As I have mentioned in the past, once a month Hava Java, along with Brenda Martin and Jack Wolf from Milanos Music in Downtown Mesa, hosts an open-mic night on the fourth Thursday of the month.
We get all age groups, from young kids 8 or 9 to older adults in their sixties and seventies. At every talent level. One thing they all have in common is that you see how nervous they all are. Some more than others, but it takes a lot of guts to step up to the mic at any stage of your musical journey. With that said, if someone shows up and puts their name on the list, they will get a chance to play. We don’t close until everyone has performed. There would be nothing worse than finally getting the courage to play in front of people and being told that we ran out of time, you can’t play.
As I have said in an earlier article, this is a safe space to refine your musical craft. Everyone in the audience gives positive support to all. No matter what their talent level. This is a good thing, partially for me.
My biggest fear as a young student and as an adult was speaking in public. As a child I had a bad studder. It took many years to get that under control. But even once under general control, when I got in front of any group of people, it would came back. So, the easy thing to do was to avoid this type of activity.
That is until recently. I made the mistake of telling Jack Wolf that when I was a teenager, I played a little guitar. An even bigger mistake when I told him my music of choice was blue grass. He smiled and said, “I also play the banjo, but have no one to play blue grass with. Let me know when you’re ready for open mic.” I never thought those words would be used against me like that. But, OK, the challenge was accepted.
To add to that, I have made two other musical friends since moving here. Frank and Dave. They also had the great idea of us doing open mic as a trio band. The “G” Strings is our band name (there is a G string on the guitar). Just to add insult to injury, they volunteered me to be the singer. Lord have mercy, we are in trouble now! At least when playing blue grass, I could just hide behind Jack. But no hiding as a singer. Well, the only thing that came to mind was, I’m sure I have made a bigger fool of myself in the past 69 years.
And that, I have proven several times now. The point is, you’re never too old to face your fears. You might actually like it. Step out of your comfort zones whenever possible. You’ll be amazed at how good that begins to feel. Face your fears! They are never as big as you have made them to be in your mind. My fear was that people would see how bad I really was. Well, that part is still true, but I’m still doing it.
Please like and follow us on our new Facebook page – Hava Java Mesa-Beans, Beer, Wine, Music.