Christopher Goudreau (holding F hole acoustic guitar), and Michael Silverstone (holding front end of couch) take part in a procession to literally carry on the Yellow Sofa Open Mic. Photo by Ruth Hutton
How did this idea for a traveling open mic come about?
When we learned suddenly in February of this year, that after 5 years, that the Yellow Sofa Cafe was going to change ownership, and be closed and remodeled, it looked like it was potentially the end of a string of more than 3 years of weekly open mics that had grown to become a community of shared interest. I kept hearing in my mind the quote attributed to mythic IWW union leader "Joe Hill" used as a rallying cry in the face of difficulty, "Don't Mourn, Organize". It definitely took the sting out of the loss to throw oblivion-defying energy into an unlikely continuation of the Open Mic. It was the best constructive revenge jujitsu I could think of against an immediately unwelcome twist of fate.
Can you tell me a little about the new strategy your using for the planning committee, the sociocracy?
Sociocracy is a procedural system for organizing meetings that has as its goal, the cultivation of shared wisdom communities rather than promoting the clash of competing individuals (which is what democracy is at its heart) by encouraging the voices of the dominant to be tempered and the less assertive to be amplified. It also fosters communication and caring for all points of view rather than allowing 51 percent to have absolute control in a winner take all fashion. People get to know and trust one another working in this format, so we agreed to experiment with it, as it seemed to be in the spirit of why we were together in the first place, and a fun new toy to play as we tried to extend that success.
How did the YS community respond to the original closure of the cafe?
There seems to be a shared awareness that the original sofa had grown to perhaps mean more to us than we knew, especially when we faced its sudden disappearance. One of us compared it on Twitter to having someone break up with you and learning about it on Facebook. The response of the community has been for a kind of brother and sister feeling to develop to advance the mission of having a safe performance place for emerging performers, and basically anyone who wants to step up and be heard.
Why are open mics important for artistic expression?
I'll start by trying to answer this personally, because I know I'm allowed to speak for myself about what I believe right now, whether I am correct or not. Here's what I believe: In our psychological development, forms of expression happen in a context of being given permission. Our souls each have a unique pattern based on our biographical experiences as well as some innate tendencies we have that define our temperaments and personalities. The psychological and spiritual health of a person requires them to know their free and natural nature through expression of emotion, through using systems of expression like language, movement/dance, voice/sound. We have an appetite to be loving and be loved in an integrated experience of beauty, to fit ourselves into a great and beautiful natural order (which life aspires to on a planetary and cosmic level).
Now while the individual may be drawn to this, our animal nature also makes us fearful of physical danger, of our mortality and susceptibility to discomfort, struggle and suffering. The longing for relief from fear of suffering and mortality makes us want to subordinate our essential self to join a materially resourced group that are traditionally organized by fear and domination--such as families, tribes, nations, states, police and military enforced laws, corporations, and institutions that operate on a pragmatic but tyrannical basis. As a result, many of us are in a bargain to get what looks like physical comfort and security by quieting the part of ourselves that seeks truthful expression of impulses that come honestly from the self. It is the job of artists to listen in and amplify and express, and it is the job of society to quiet people down so they don't create chaos. No editorial judgement here--I am not saying whether this is good or bad, its just business. Artistic expression is a place where these two impulses--the longings for truth as well as for personal safety can be sometimes mediated.
Now I may be framing this in melodramatic, almost Manichean terms, but that's why I'm saying this is true for me this way, it may not be true for everyone. When I was young, I saw the preservation of a safe place to express what seemed true to me as an existential issue. Psychologically it was. I wasn't gonna die if I told and got to know truth, but it felt like I was going to stop being me and have to be obliterate some part of myself to keep from losing the regard of the people in my life, like my parents and teachers and people like that who I really needed to not be mad at me. I don't know how I kept it alive, probably through journal writing, but I did keep it alive, and now I might be strong enough as an adult to keep it alive by giving myself the permission and using things like open mics to continue to do that and even help other people do that, because its becoming clear there's lots more people who need this that I first thought.
And as I've become more interested in writing, in songwriting, in music making, I realize that a lot of the time, we're not that welcome to develop these things in public. There's no space between "I'll never be any good at this." and "I'm Barbara friggin' Streisand." What I like about open mics is that they are a place with the potential to let people inhabit the place in-between where 99 percent of the good stuff actually is, and even work together to help people do this more.
How did you get involved with hosting the YS open mic?
Frank Cable, the previous host, kept it going for years, largely on his own. One night I think he was realizing he wanted this open mic to go on, but he didn't know how much longer he could do it himself. He asked me if I wanted to try while he went out home early to be with his kids. I kind of loved doing it from the first time I tried it. It felt like a responsibility, but an energy giving one. As people were glad I was willing to show up every week and do it, I got into a groove, and got better at it. I'm a schoolteacher, and I saw it as a the creation and extension of the facilitation of kind community that I aspire to as a teacher. I kept showing up, and put in effort and caring at key moments when the Open Mic might have flagged or lost momentum to keep things going, and got the role of host. There was never any possibility of doing this for money, but I felt like being able to do this was the payment I was receiving for my service of being excited about showing up every week and working the sound, calling up the performers and making sure they felt heard. I found I really enjoyed the role of appreciating people and helping them feel appreciated, which is what I knew from experience that performers often need when they are trying out being in public, sometimes for the first time.
What has the reaction been from the news story on New England Public
Radio? (available online at:
http://nepr.net/news/northampton-mass-musicians-join-together-after-losing-venue
A number of venues have stepped forward to reach out to offer to make a permanent arrangement of adopting the Open Mic. That's the biggest thing that's come from it. People have said they were touched and inspired by the idea of making a safe place to value who people are via performance. That's something that makes me glad, because its what touches me about this story too. The public radio reporter, Nancy Cohen was extremely skillful in creating this from quite a few hours of committed observation and journalism. You can see how she managed to convey this as a human story that transcends but includes the personalities in it. That's really important I think, because it is something that is both human and goes beyond the personal to be part of something bigger, in an inspiring way.
What are some potential plans for the open mic?
I all of a sudden am thinking of the quote: "If you want to hear God laugh, her about your plans" so I'll say in general terms, which aren't as funny to the Gods, that it would be great to:
1. Have a regular place for the regulars to play. (That looks like its going to happen, come June.)
2. Create an arts organization that has a permanent presence, independent of any single piece of real estate, cafe or bar, so that we can stay fluid and don't have to be so uprooted by changes.
3. Define and advance the mission of creating locally based performance venue(s) with procedures that allow for harmony and community among the members.
What is one of your most memorable experiences with the open mic?
There have been nights where maybe 6 times in one evening, everyone in the room knew they were seeing something sublime. There have been times that I witnessed performances so gorgeous that tears formed in my eyes and I could barely stand up to ask the audience to applaud. There are also times that it has been thrilling and fun to be a performer trying out new songs or playing with other musicians, becoming musical and real life friends with people I've met there, starting a band with people I've met, and going on to have great experiences playing and performing and recording with the band.
At the meeting yesterday we mentioned the possibility of starting a non-profit organization under The Yellow Sofa name, what do you think is the potential for this project?
Well it starts with, "We want to just have a regular place to play where we don't have to set up and break down everything ourselves. But at a recent organizational meeting, someone spilled the beans: 'To change the world.'"
Why is this open mic different than others? What does the YS open mic do that is perhaps lacking in other open mics?
I am going to say what I think is unique to it, rather than what other's aren't, because I spent way more time at the Yellow Sofa Open Mics than the other ones I go to, and it biases me. I think the intention of the Yellow Sofa Open Mic is to offer structure that allows for openness as well as emotional safety and responsiveness to the moment. I mean, that's what I'm working for, and what I see us doing.
