Or…Cello! And welcome to Eddie’s Attic…
For those of you who don’t know, Eddie’s Attic is a great little bar/performance space in Decatur, GA, just east of Atlanta.
Since opening in 1991, Eddie’s has been a must venue for the touring singer/songwriter. The performance space is small and intimate, and the audience is known to be uniquely enthusiastic while at the same time quiet, polite, and respectful.
Eddie’s has been credited for helping to launch or support the careers of some folks who went on to be hugely successful. From their website:
Every week, Eddie’s hosts an open mic competition, and twice every year the winners of these weekly bouts compete against eachother in an ‘Open Mic Shootout’.
This past Friday night, my girlfriend and I had the good fortune of attending the most recent competition.
Interestingly, before the show started, we happened to meet and share a table for a ‘bar food’ dinner with the individual who ended up being the winner. The banter and conversation was top notch and highly entertaining, but you’ll have to read the rest of the thread to find out who this person was…
There are 5 rounds of performances in this 7:30pm to midnight marathon of music. The roster included 20 performers, and each round consisted of the performers playing one song, with maybe 30 seconds of a sound check. The exceptions to these rules were the last two rounds, when the performers who made it that far could choose to play 2 songs each, if they so wished.
The prize: $1000 cash, a one year subscription to Performing Songwriter Magazine, a day at Nickel and Dime Studios with Don McCollister, and free entrance to the December 18th Eddie’s Attic Songwriters Workshop with Ellis Paul, Shawn Mullins, and Michelle Malone.
The evening was hosted by Eddie himself, with 8 judges that were hand-picked for their various roles in the southeast music scene, with the current owner of Eddie’s Attic, Bob Ephlin, tossing up the occasional tie-breaker vote.
(Unless otherwise noted, all performers sang solo with an acoustic guitar)
ROUND ONE
In this first round, 8 of the performers who randomly drew short straws were randomly paired to compete.
Ben Schmidt of Iowa City, Iowa advanced, while Josh and John Morrison of Atlanta, Georgia (both playing acoustic guitar) went home.
Johnny Roquemore of Mansfield, Georgia advanced, while Spencer Durham of Dahlonega, Georgia went home.
John Poucher of Athens, Georgia advanced, while Kirk Adams of Atlanta, Georgia went home.
Michael Pickett of Toronto, Canada (guitar and harmonica) advanced, while Hillside Manor of Marietta, Georgia (3 piece band, all male: guitar, keyboard, bongo drums, background vocals) went home.
ROUND TWO
In this round, the winners from round one join the twelve who were lucky enough to be absolved from the first round, and all of the “sweet 16” were randomly paired to compete.
Chappy of New Orleans, Louisiana (guitar and harmonica) advanced, while Rebecca Loebe of Boston, Massachusetts went home.
Lindsay Mac of Boston, Massachusettes (playing a cello strapped to her torso like a guitar, strumming it like a guitar) advanced, while Closer to Carter of Atlanta, Georgia (3 piece band: guitar, keyboard, cello, background vocals) went home.
Nathan Beaver of Athens, Georgia advanced, while Jeremy Ezell of Valdosta, Georgia went home.
Bo Bedingfield of Athens, Georgia advanced, while Dawn Thomas of Los Angeles, California (accompanied by another guitar player with backup vocals, male) went home.
Julie Loyd of Chicago, Illinois advanced, while Chaz of Atlanta, Georgia went home.
Larry Zarella of Talkeetna, Alaska (guitar and harmonica) advanced, while The Ken Oak Band of Los Angeles, California (3 piece band, all male: cello, 2 guitars, background vocals) went home.
Ben Schmidt of Iowa City, Iowa advanced, while Johnny Roquemore of Mansfield, Georgia went home.
Michael Pickett of Toronto, Canada (guitar and harmonica) advanced, while John Poucher of Athens, Georgia went home.
ROUND THREE
Lindsay Mac of Boston, Massachusettes (playing a cello strapped to her torso like a guitar, strumming it like a guitar) advanced, while Chappy of New Orleans, Louisiana (ukulele) went home.
Bo Bedingfield of Athens, Georgia advanced, while Nathan Beaver of Athens, Georgia went home.
Larry Zarella of Talkeetna, Alaska advanced, while Julie Loyd of Chicago, Illinois went home.
Ben Schmidt of Iowa City, Iowa advanced, while Michael Pickett of Toronto, Canada (guitar and harmonica) went home.
ROUND FOUR
Bo Bedingfield of Athens, Georgia (two songs) advanced, while Lindsay Mac of Boston, Massachusettes (two songs, playing a cello strapped to her torso like a guitar, strumming it like a guitar) went home.
Larry Zarella of Talkeetna, Alaska (two songs, guitar and harmonica) advanced, while Ben Schmidt of Iowa City, Iowa (one song) went home.
FINAL ROUND
drum roll…
Bo Bedingfield of Athens, Georgia (two songs) strummed and crooned his way to the top of the heap of the XXIII Biannual Eddie’s Attic Open Mic Shootout, while Larry Zarella of Talkeetna, Alaska (two songs, guitar and harmonica) finished 2nd.
What caught our ears
Michael Pickett played some great Blues. He’s shared the stage with the likes of greats like Taj Mahal, and he has certainly picked up some great stuff from the masters.
Larry Zarella has a great nostalgic and often witty folk sound.
Ben Schmidt is at the top of my list for who I think will win next year, if he decides to try again. I think he should’ve played a second song in Round Three.
We left with four cds from four different artists who resonated with us the most:
Lindsay Mac - she is truly a unique performer with a great sound and good, solid folk lyrics. My girlfriend thinks she should’ve won…
Closer to Carter - these guys were great, and their sound with the cello (which is apparently their new experiment) left me with goosebumps. We’re hoping to catch a local show of their’s next Friday, but that will mean postponing our planned Narnia/Brokeback Mountain double feature…
Nathan Beaver - this guy is really talented. Even the way he breathes between each word is musical.
Bo Bedingfield - what can I say…he’s like a young Dylan with songs full of whiskey, regret, and longing.
Congratulations Bo! Best of luck.
You are in good company. May you find as much success and enjoyment from the fruits of your talent and labors as some of these previous Open Mic Shootout winners:
I: Dayna Kurtz
II: Jennifer Nettles and Cory Jones
III: Uncle Mark Reynolds (who passed away in 2004)
IV: Doria Roberts
V: Mike West and Myshkin
VI: Jeffrey Butts
VII: Tammy Fowler
VIII: Halcyon
IX: lo-fi masters - John Mayer and Clay Cook
X: Dogwood Moon
XI: Don Conoscenti
XII: Jeffery Hyde Thompson
XIII: Jennifer Daniels
XIV: Daniel Lee
XV: Claire and Bain’s Maple Yum-Yum - Claire Campbell and Bain Mattox
XVI: Lindsey Hinkle
XVII: Paul Sprawl
XVIII: Scratch Track
XIX: Nathan Mayberry
XX: The Brilliant Inventions
XXI: Mike Willis
XXII: Michael Levine
I hope you find something you like. Happy listening. 