ROGER COURTNEY'S OPEN MIKE MUSIC CLUB
EVERY THURSDAY AT THE BARN - THE MILTON ARMS - PORTSMOUTH.
Hello from Nick Courtney at The Barn in Portsmouth,
5 Years ago I inherited a folk type Club from my Dad when he died which I moved to a new venue called the Barn (behind the Milton Arms) in Portsmouth.
I re-vitalised the club by making it more attractive to younger musicians and a wider audience and then re-opened it in his name so that he would always be remembered.
It is now called "ROGER COURTNEY'S OPEN MIKE CLUB"
The Club is listed in the "Unsigned Guide" as one of the venues to play if you are touring the South of England and Bands and other performers have come from as far as Australia to play there.
I put on 2 Bands every week as Special Guests for an hour each and then provide an Open Mike session for all the musicians who are in the area to entertain the large, friendly and receptive audience with at least 2 songs each.
I also let kids of all ages come to the club and perform which helps banish any fear they have of performing in front of an audience which in turn also helps them become more socially confident. It is not a youth club and the younger performers are only a very small percentage of the varied and mixed age groups that frequently attend. Under 18s must also be accompanied by a parent.
The Club is a non commercial independent venture which means there is no money available to pay bands or performers and admission is always free of charge. Performers are of course welcome to sell their own CDs on the night
A good quality sound system is provided, all you need to bring is your instrument of choice and yourself.
If you do not play an instrument but would like to sing simply bring along your favourite backing tracks on CD and we will do the rest.
If you enjoy music, as a listener or performer, come along to ROGER COURTNEY’S OPEN MIKE MUSIC CLUB on Thursdays and have a great night out! Doors open at 7pm, get there early to get a seat or to get your name down to perform.
BANDS, SOLO ACTS, DUO’S WANTED - The first two hours of every week is available for any solo act duo or band to perform for a full 1 hour to our large, friendly and receptive audience. If you interested in this special guest spot, please send a Demo CD to Nick Courtney at Sweet Memories Record Shop, 101 Fratton Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 5AH - Telephone 02392 837730 - Mobile 07952 967948 or simply tell me your myspace so I can have a listen.
http://www.thursdaymusic.co.uk
EVERY THURSDAY AT THE BARN IN PORTSMOUTH
JUST BEHIND THE MILTON ARMS PUBLIC HOUSE
Comment from a Dave Loughran, a performer at the club who entertained us with an hour Special Guest Spot
"I played a gig on 31st August and I have to say, it was the best gig I have ever done!! The reason for this, is that the promotor Nick Courtney is a very clever man.
Unlike all these pretentious acoustic nights in London! Nick has a formular that works like a dream. The place was packed, the vibe was amazing, it was fun more than anything and the audience were very appreciative of the music.
And it is FREE entry. There were some great acts followed by the "Jazz Raffle".... it's worth going just to see that!! The Barn 'Milton Arms' Portsmouth.... AMAZING! Cheers Nick.. I look forward to my return" DAVE LOUGHRAN
Comment from a Lee Rogers, a performer at the club who entertained us with an hour Special Guest Spot at the Barn and again at The RMA Tavern for "An evening with Lee Rogers" in November 2006
"I think what Nick is doing down there is a pretty unique situation.....he takes kids of all ages and helps them banish any fear they have of performing in front of an audience (I am not sure if he realised that or if that was his mission, but I noticed it straight off in the barn the first time I played in Portsmouth), but most of all, it makes these kids more socially confident and gives them alot of worth to themselves which I think is lacking in society these days, its important they know how great they are, and that performance and songwriting is not a competition, its an act of soulbearing, openness that we dont ever really catch a glimpse of in everyday life. Took me a while to learn that. Anyway to put a cap on this, I just want to extend a thanks to you all for making me and the guys who were with me feel very welcome, and to say keep up the good work" - LEE ROGERS
http://www.myspace.com/leerogersmusic
Comment from Rossco, a performer at the Club who went on to become a Band Manager and one of Portsmouth's top promoters of Live Music
"Looking back Nick if it wasn't for You and The Club I may never have really started. I think what You do with The Club and Helping Musicians and Fanatics is amazing. The fact that I haven't played there for nearly four years and It's still packed with the same old faces and a lot of new ones, really is a credit to you and your team who make The Barn a great place to perform. I will never forget the barn and all the brilliant people that make it what it is.
Kind Regards as always, Rossco.
http://www.myspace.com/captainrossco
Comment from a regular at the Club
"I would like to say thanks for having such a great club running. i have had the worst two years of my life but your club has provided me with a happy, friendly place to go and introduced me to some of the greatest people i could imagine. it is a wonderful thing you have there. thankyou!"
Comment from Becky Jerams (one of the best songwriters I know)
"I think The Barn has had a huge part to play in building up my confidence and giving me experience playing and performing, I don't know where I would be without it and I have made so many wonderful friends too"
http://www.myspace.com/beckyjerams
Comment from Jay P (Number 1 in the Indiestore charts 3 with his debut release)
"Its great to hear things are really progressing with the Barn and your projects, without maybe knowing it and with your love for music, your inspiring loads of young musicians to do what they want to do, so really well done and keep up your brilliant work."
http://www.myspace.com/1jayp
Comment from Andy Matheson, after his Special Guest performance
I look back on the set and think..it started well...nice guitar sound..vocals OK... people being reasonably attentive.... It ended up with pure chaos..noise...and lots of particpation... It could only be the Barn on a Thursday!
http://www.myspace.com/andymatheson
Comment from Tim Hassall after his Special Guest performance during his tour of the UK
Just got back from Portsmouth where I met so many good people, cool musicians, and generally had a blast. I played this spot called the Barn, it has the best vibe. As good as any open mic in London, but with way more heart and “real listeners”. it was the cherry on the cake of exploring a new city.
http://www.myspace.com/timhassallmusic
Comment from Jefferson (A man with a guitar)
I know you've probably been doing it for years, but I just wanted to say thanks again for organising the Open Mike last night, I had an excellent time and will certainly try to attend in future. To be able to walk in there on my own and feel so comfortable with the atmosphere is a testament to the people that come along, and the mutual respect everyone shows to each other.
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Hi, through JUNE AND JULY we are slashing our day time rehearsal prices. Between 10am and 5pm all our rooms are either £6 or £7 per hour including weekends. Making us one of the cheapest in SUSSEX. Plus If you buy 3 hours we will even throw in a 4th totally FREE. YES TOTALLY FREE.
OUR RECORDING RATES ARE STILL JUST AS AFFORDABLE TOO, FULL DAYS FROM £200 ALL IN.
So come and rehearse and record in one of the best equipped music complex's in the South.
The Frontiers are playing 2 gigs at the end of this month - (Sat 25 Jul 09 - Headline slot @ The RMA Tavern) then (Tue 28 Jul 09 - supporting The Perils @ The Eastney Cellars)!
Not many tickets left for either gig, therefore, contact Baz on 07968918823 for ticket purchase!!
Hey there, Here's one from left field... Ever wondered what to do in the event of a nuclear threat? A while back I came across some very disturbing information, which inspired me to make this video: Living Under the Shadow of the Nuclear Umbrella http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaIim3Rj7L4 Both artistic (ensure you've good enough sound to enjoy the background music!) and educational, it primarily comprises official British government civil defence advice. Though the source materials are somewhat aged, the fundamentals remain relevant today. I encourage all to visit the YouTube web page above to learn more (Show your support! Rate! Comment!) and responsibly re-post and circulate as widely as possible. Help to raise awareness. Say have you checked out my web site (http://www.faberoptime.com) recently? Take care and keep in touch. Best, Faber. "Just a guy trying to make the world a better place."
Hey how are you. Hope you are well. I was wondering if you would like to have a free album? You can get it at http://www.megaupload.com/?f=3NNQTYF1 I really hope you enjoy it Speak soon
Just stopping by to say hello and give you some news. The new album 'Coolgilly and the Freakshow' from Centascope is now available worldwide from CD Baby and also directly from the merchandise page of the official website. You can also get the album from Apple iTunes, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Napster, Amazon and many more.
Hi Nick & All at that Barn. Great to see you are still going strong, there is nowhere else in the land like it !
Still playing here in Glesca - ( see how local I got ?)
A few good open mic sewssions and I have a lead guitar spot once in a while and have done some community radio sessions, recorded a new EP which my daughter kindly informs me sounds just like the old one !
A little hello and thank you from Emma King and The Heartsets for your support so far!
Exciting News! We are featured in the current issue of Maverick Magazine available from HMV, Barnes & Noble, WHSmiths and Borders!! Let us know what you think!
WE NEED YOU
We need you lovely fans and friends of myspace to vote for us, we have received news that we're already in the top 5 featured artists on CATZ RADIO and we are determined to make the number one spot by May! If you love what we do... Vote, vote, vote!
Voting link: http://www.polldaddy.com/p/1565193/
We are performing in Scotland this weekend! We're very excited – Cannot wait!
I would like to thank you for your support so far! New songs from the debut album 'LIFE UNDER LIGHTS' coming soon on myspace!
THANK YOU!!!
(Oh! we also have 2 new blogs, I would love you to read them)
-------------------------------------------------------- Emma King and The Heartsets Emma, Ritch, Toby, Ian & Will
Cheers for the add Nick - Hope you like my songs & stuff, I spent most of me teenage summers down in Tipner & fishing on Whale Island:)! Good luck & all the best from Paul:)!
Just wanted to drop you a line and say thanks again for having us at the Barn on Thursday, we had a great night and lovely feedback from all the wonderful people. Sorry we didn't get a chance to say goodbye, but hope to see you again soon.
Hey Nick! I see you have discovered the new page and alter-ego! There's been quite a lot of stuff going on here...lots of interesting news - but we nearly ready to start gigging again...so will give you a buzz v.soon to organise some stuff :) Take care, Melodee Rockmore (or Nicola...) x
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