It’s fun to have a few musician friends drop by and play their favorite tunes. We are mostly guitar players, with vocals for our virtual open mic.

We use Zoom to perform these days. We can’t actually play at the same time, but we take turns, just as you would in a local Open Mic session. If you want to play along, just mute yourself, and there you go.

The organizer of this open mic, is Judy Evicci, located in the Inland Empire – Southern California. In Yucaipa to be exact. We have a few members now. They each play different genres of music. We are senior citizens, so you can guess what types of music you will hear. A little country, oldies pop music, and some jazz.

Please write me, so we can determine if you will enjoy our little group. Then I can send you a link to the next meeting. We meet on Thursdays, at 1:00 PM PST. judy@writer-spin.com

I have held “actual” open mic events, in Yucaipa, California, and in Hemet. There is a clubhouse where I live, and it is perfect for this type of activity.

In the beginning, there were just a few of us. Three to be exact. Then the word got around, and others came. We were playing lots of Oldies and Pop Music from the 50s and on up. I play a few jazz standards too. Then, as more people attended, they would play some country. We sat in a circle and took turns playing our music.

I wanted to share music, so we could all play the tunes that were a little more complex. You can always make copies for the others, but really, not knowing how may people would attend, made it a kind of hit and miss effort. Too many pages; then not enough pages.

So, I bought a projector, and used the clubhouse wall for the screen. Well, to project anything, I needed a computer, so I brought my laptop computer, and set it up each time.

We also needed a PA system. I had one of those, but setting it up for each weekly meeting, got to a little much. We made good music though. It was kind of worth it.

Now, it has all changed. With the event of Covid, all the in person meetings were stopped. In a way, although we can’t meet face to face, and hear each other play, the issue of sharing music is gone. The equipment set us problem is gone as well. We can still share music, but it is done with an electronic email attachment or download. You can have as much or as little as the other member’s music, as you wish.

No, we can’t play together, at the same time, but you can be on mute, and play along with the other members selections. I live in Yucaipa, Ca, so this little out of the way town is not very conveniently located. It’s about 1/2 way between both LA and Palm Springs.

Yucaipa Information

Virtual Zoom Meetings are so convenient, that I don’t believe I will go back to the in-person group. Except that, if a couple of people want to stop by my house, we can play there. I have a small place, so 3 of us playing at the same time, is about max.

I do have a drum machine I love using. It’s kind of a fancy metronome, and it keeps me honest.

If you have read all the way to the end of this post, you probably have an interest is what our group is doing. I hope so. The more the merrier.

Also, you can call to chat. Call Judy at 951-265-2102.