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The Hotel Utah Open Mic
(hosted by JJ
Schultz - jj@theutah.org)
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SF Bay Guardian reader's poll "Best open mic" |
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| #5 on about.com's rank of the best open mics in the United States |
 2006 |
 2007 |
 2008 |
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Every Monday Night
Sign-up by 7:30pm
House Guitar, Piano and PA
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500 4th St. (at Bryant)
San Francisco, CA (map
it!)
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MySpace! http://myspace.com/theutah
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Facebook! 'The Utah' Facebook group
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The first song that I ever wrote was quite simple. It involved
mashing piano keys with my tiny two-year-old fists and yelling things
like "BRENNA!" (my dog), "GRAMMA PETE!" (grandmother), and
"ROCKETSHIP!" (uhh... yeah). Simple, yet very expressive, true to my
being and what I knew. My organized singing career started with the
school choir in fifth grade, up through middle school, and into high
school where I sang with a hundred other parcels of skin, bones, and
raging hormones. For two years I sang with a smaller 15-voice a
capella ensemble drawn from the choir, called the Mt. Blue Voices.
The Voices would sing anything from Tomas Luis de Victoria to Beach
Boys medleys. Whilst ever singing, I learned basic guitar skills as
part of a rotation of short enrichment classes such as life skills and
industrial arts. I soon sought respite in the six strings to cope
with stressful days of school and life as an overweight adolescent.
Some original riffs and chord progressions started to develop. I
happily trotted off to a small liberal arts institution in Indiana
known as Earlham College. I majored in Geology, but my favorite
classes were the rehearsals for the Concert Choir and Madrigal
Singers. I dabbled in writing songs and lyrics during this time, but
mostly kept to covers while playing for others. After college, I
hopped around the country, singing with the Vanderbilt Community
Chorus, but otherwise too mobile to sit down with one singing outfit
for a season. In October 2006, I found myself (and a dear college friend)
driving across the country from my home in Maine to San Francisco -
without job or dwelling. Immediately, I joined the San Francisco Bach
Choir and have enjoyed two seasons with the group. I am breaking down
the impenetrable filter of self-criticism in my songwriting to the point
where self expression is liberating and fulfilling rather than embarrassing.
I am delving back down to the purity, clarity, and self-truth that was
natural to me 24 years ago as my balloon-squeak voice shrieked about
dogs, relatives, and rocketships.
