This last wave of open mics in Boulder has uplifted me and my music to new heights. Experiencing my best performance yet was the cherry on top of an outstanding musical week for Divino BetSatori. Monday was the first time someone asked where they can find my music. It happened after my set at KMGLive. I was on the parking lot, walking to my car when I saw someone jogging towards me. To my surprise and delight, this person was a rapper, chains over the neck, head full of corn-rolls and more rings in his hands than fingers. Wish I could remember his stage name to give him a shout out.
The experience was peculiarly meaningful. Right before going on stage, my friend came over to me and said something like: “Lots of hip-hop on the list tonight”. Not sure what he meant with that, but my little judgmental mind thought: “Oh, no, I am going to be out of place”. I spent the next three minutes practicing the only song I have that could resemble a hip-hop style. My efforts were futile. The song is fairly quick and I hadn’t practiced it in many weeks. It would have been a mess to sing that on stage. The MC called my name. I stepped on stage.
Divino BetSatori Works
Without knowing what songs I would play, I plugged my guitar, lifted the mic stand a few inches and made sure everything was working. Soundcheck might have lasted a little over 15 seconds. My introduction was short and sweet, or short and sweaty, depending on your perspective.
Both of my songs came out fairly well. I made a few mistakes here and there but kept going without anyone booing at me. By the end of my 10-minute set, I was feeling satisfied, but didn’t think much would come out of it.
That is why I was amused when this person came out to shake my hand and ask for my music. Parts of me would like to think he was just being nice, or maybe he is a student of the school, trying to make the place look good, or perhaps he was just saying that to promote himself. Of course, none of these are true. He liked my music, I know it to be true. I know he was authentic on his compliments and I look forward to sharing with him some of my recordings.
Growing Confidence in the Open Mic Scene
On Tuesday I went did the Micrawl for the second time in a row after three months of inactivity. The first set at Twisted Pine Brewery was smooth and easy. Love being in that space. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a set at Oskar Blues, but I was gifted time for a single song by another musician. Thank you, Adam!
That performance went well, but the best set of the night was at The Attic. My slot was right after a couple of guys who absolutely stole the show. It was definitely the best open mic performance I have ever seen. They both looked huge on stage, it was impressive, beautiful music.
When it was my time to go on stage I invited Tom and Ben (a guy I had met 5 minutes earlier) to join me on stage. Tom is a master on the electric guitar and Ben was huge on the cajon. It was fun to play with them and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately, the list was too full and running behind so my time was cut to two songs instead of three.
The best moment of the night came after my set. I walked to congratulate the lead vocalist who had played before me. To my surprise, he also asked about my music and a place to hear some recordings. Huge compliment coming from such an outstanding performer. We exchanged our Instagram connection (follow him @David Zincke) and added his band to my Spotify playlist. His site is difymusic.com/davidzincke. Next time I see his group at an open mic in Boulder I’m going to invite them on stage with me.
Best Performance Yet for Divino BetSatori
The cherry on top came on Thursday night. Instead of going out the open mic in Longmont, I stayed home and played music with Jesus in the balcony of my new space. I was probably jamming for 90 minutes, loving all of it. The music felt good, my voice was open and could feel it vibrating over the mountains and all around the house.
Around 8pm, my house-mate Tiki got back from class at KMGLive. He joined me with the Ukulele and soon after, my other house-mate, Justin, joined us with the cajon and guitar. We rocked to my songs for half an hour and fooled around over some scales for an hour after that. It might have not seemed much to the guys or anyone who could have heard us, but it was mega special for me. My songs felt more alive than ever, my excitement opened my voice and I was able to sing loud and clear, with passion, precision, and intention. It felt as if I had finally stepped into the world of music for the first time.
Of course, there will be more nights like this one, probably surrounded by hundreds of people, maybe thousands, singing with us, joining on the fun. For now, I am happy to be living in a home that loves to share music. Tiki and Justin are great musicians, but more than that, they are great people to spend time with. It might be a stretch, but definitely see myself playing more with them. My guess is that our first live performance will be somewhere in Pearl St.
Next week maybe?
That would definitely get me. . .
Feeling Awesome
