The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Open Mic Night supports veterans
American Legion: Open mic night welcomes musicians as part of community outreach
ONEIDA » Musicians and music fans alike are invited to enjoy the camaraderie of the new Open Mic Nights held every other Wednesday at the Oneida American Legion -- an event offering not only a local and accessible venue for performers of all styles of music, but also a great outreach for the veterans programs available through the Legion itself.
“It’s all about music and a fun night for a great cause,” said host Liz Friedel, the owner of Music With Liz and a veteran of many area acts. “It’s awesome to be able to play music any time, but to do it for the veterans is a real homerun.”
Friedel recalled she was looking for a venue for the OpenMic Nights, and there was nothing really of its type going on in Oneida. She contacted Roy Coston, the entertainment director of the Oneida post, about the possibility of having it there, and the Legion agreed it would be a worthy outreach.
“This is all about the vets,” Coston said. “Everything we do here in someway benefits the Legion’s programs for the veterans. This is just another way we can help out, and have a good time doing it.”
To add to the festivities, dinner is served from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Last week’s meal featured a choice of two Mexican plates cooked up by Legion chef extraordinaire Deb Coston. The enchilada or quesadilla delights, served with rice and tacos plus accoutrements, warmed the chills of the winter right along with the hot sounds coming from the stage. Wednesday night dinners are also available -- each with a different theme -onnightswhenthere is noOpen Mic as well.
While admission to the Open Mic Night is free, profits from dinners and bar sales go to fund the many veteran-based projects offered by the Legion membership.
Friedel hosted her third Open Mic Night at the Legion on Feb. 21, welcoming a roster of performers from all over the area who played for well over three hours. Music styles vary by whoever shows up on a given night. Themost recent OpenMicNight featured everything from country to folk to hard rock.
There are no rules during Open Mic Nights, other than to be respectful of each other, Friedel said.
The appreciative audience encourages each act with enthusiastic applause after a song is played, offering an empathic support of each others’ talents regardless of experience level. Andwhat better way to get experience performing before a live audience than through an event like the Open Mic Night, where anyone willing to come up on stage is welcome. The event especially offers the youngermusicians in the area a great place to come out and get their first taste of the spotlight.
“There are a lot of people just playing in their bedrooms who can come out to this and get their sea legs,” said Alan Krula of The Pomeranians, one of the main supporters of the event with his time, talents and sound equipment. Krula said he had
never played acoustic guitar and sang in front of an audience before trying it out at an Open Mic Night.
Coston, a longtime local guitarist now playing with the band LoveBone, got in on the fun himself at last week’s event as a serendipitous visit of drummer son Gunnar Coston gave them to chance to once again share a stage. The fatherson team played in their self-named band Coston for five years before Gunnar left to join the Rochester-based Wicked, and hadn‘ t performed together in a couple of years.
“That was really a lot of fun,” Gunnar said of their impromptu reunion, also featuring a jamon Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” with Jenni’s Little Secret front woman Jenni Leigh Petrie. Jams featuring combinations of the Open Mic performers -- some who have played together before, and others who might never have met, like Coston and Petrie -- are a staple of the event. And fans can often find Friedel herself pulling out her fiddle to join in on a song she likes.
“I call that ‘ building a band,’” Friedel said. “We usually have enough people there to get a full band to- gether.”
While ‘building a band,’ the Open Mic Nights are also building a musical community.
“It’s all about the camaraderie of a bunch of musicians getting something together, and helping out our vets,” Krula said.
“This is fun for me, too,” Friedel added. “There are always new faces, and I like having a place where we can all get together. This is growing every time and that‘s just awesome.”
Admission is free and Open Mic Nights are open to the public both to perform and to spectate. Non-Legion members should sign the guest book. The Legion also offers live music from both regional and na- tional acts regularly, as well as wing nights on Monday and also currently fish fry Fridays.
Open Mic Night returns on March 7 at 6 p.m. To sign up in advance for a spot on the lineup, or for any other info on the event or her other musical endeavors, email Friedel at info@musicwithliz.com
The Oneida American Legion is located at 398 North Main St. For more information on any of their activities, find the mon Facebook.