HOW TO MAKE IT
alent. Britain has it.
apparently. 'l‘he airwaves are
clogged up with fat. snaking queues of wannabes who want nothing in life so much as the chance to perform an acapella version of Rihanna‘s (/mlm'l/u to a sneering celebrity panel. We‘re in an age where to ‘make it‘ means that moment of discovery where you‘re plucked from obscurity and launched on the world fully formed. and everyone else realises just how special you‘ve always been.
Television and Myspace tnake instant stars of the likes of (iirls Aloud and Kate Nash. so the notion that you tnight have to work at your talent. that getting yourself heard might take years. seems almost outmoded.
And yet. down at the coalface ~ the open mic nights. comedy clubs and spoken word evenings in back rooms of pubs all over the country — people are slogging away to tiny audiences just for the joy of putting on their craft.
(ierry Lyons has run the open acoustic night downstairs at .\'ice a Slea/y's on Sauchiehall Street every Monday for ten years now. It almost feels irreverent to write that without appending ‘legendary‘ to either venue or night — both are institutions. and have exerted huge
6 THE LIST use; Aug 200“
influence over the recent evolution of(ilasgow‘s music scene. although Lyons himself is far too modest to admit it. and is still slightly wide- eyed about the success his nights have had.
‘I honestly don‘t think there‘s ever been a better time to be a musician in (ilasgow. and it‘s really quite exciting for me to see how many bands on the scene today
Make me a
Gotta sing? Gotta dance? Kirstin Innes
trawls Scotland's grassroots music, comedy and poetry scenes, from open mic nights in pub basements to glitzy cabarets in community halls, to find out the best ways to get your voice heard, and picks up top tips from some rising stars
have started from meetings and collaborations at Slea/y‘s acoustic nights r’l‘he l’endulums. l)ead l’ly Btlkowski. 'l‘om Snowball. Jo Mango and (iareth Dickson. who now tour with Vashti Bunyan. met there. and they still come in to try out new stuff.
‘It took a few years for people to "get” the acoustic night. and to properly realise that this was a
platfortn where they could showcase their own stuff. get feedback. and meet like-minded folk. At first everyone ~just sat around doing the same ()asis covers. then alter a while they all moved on to Ratlioheatl . . . l However. as the idea of the scene grew. the performers grew more confident. and these days. I don‘t want to over-rtnnanticise. but there are moments when we get that sort of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell in (ireenwich Village vibe. 'l‘here's an atmosphere that people come back to. lilliot Smith played onstage when he was in (ilasgow - just turned up with his guitar. I think everyone got a real thrill out of that.‘
Although Lyons relies on a core group of performers who attend every week. there‘s no predecided programme for the evening and first-time musicians are always welcome.
'lt's a regular crowd. but they're always really accommodating of newcomers. We get people who come back. week after week. and you see their songs evolving and improving with the experience of performing live and learning what that audience will respond to.‘
Glasgow slam poet-about-town Robin Cairns. who runs monthly