Abundance of talent showcased at UNR's open mic night
by Brian Vance, Outpost staff
- One might never realize the abundance of talent
that their fellow students have until they attend an open
mic night at their university. The University of Nevada
held their first open mic contest of the spring semester
on Thursday, March 9, and the evening went off better
than organizers
expected.
Leslie Fay Jackson recites one of her poems.
photo by Brian Vance
- "This went beyond what we thought would happen," said Mike Kopicko, UNR Flipside Productions special events coordinator. "We [Flipside Productions] are very happy with the turnout. Crowd response was amazing."
- The contest started at 7 p.m. and took place at the
Pine
Lounge at the Jot
Travis Student Union. The event was open to all
university student. Eleven different artists signed up
for the contest. The performers were mostly poets and
guitarists, with one student, Ryan Green, who told a joke
to loosen the crowd up. There was no charge to
participate in the contest and the order of the
performers was organized on a first come, first serve
basis.
The winner. Dan Davison jams on his guitar.
photo by Brian Vance
- For some of the performers, performing on stage, in front of an audience, was relatively new to them. Leslie Faye Jackson, 23, a senior said this was only her third time in front of an audience.
- "I have been writing poetry since I was in the fifth
grade, but I've only gotten serious about it in the last
few years," Jackson
said.
Ryan Green shows off his comedic talent.
photo by Brian Vance
- Playing in front of an audience was nothing new for guitarist Tim Blake, 19, a sophomore.
- "I play every Tuesday night at Deux Gros Nez coffee shop," Blake said.
- The participants of the contest were vying for a chance to be the opening act for slam poet Steve Colman who performed at The Pine Lounge on Friday March 10. The winner was chosen based upon applause from the audience. At the end of the show the selection came down to Ryan Wilson, 20, a junior, and Dan Davison, 20, a freshman. Both contestants were guitarists/singers.
- Although it seemed the audience favored both
contestants equally, the event organizers selected
Davison as the winner. Davison, who goes by the stage
name Captain Dan, said he was surprised to win the
contest.
Runner up Ryan Wilson. Listen to one of Ryan's songs
photo by Brian Vance
- "This is my first time playing in front of an audience since I have been at the university and before that I've only played twice at my high school," Davison said.
- Although he only played three songs, Davison's reggae style, comedic music had the crowd roaring in laughter.
- Davison is an outdoor recreation major and is from Laguna Beach, Calif. He has been playing guitar and singing for four years. Davison was delighted to win the contest and had a great time opening up for Steve Coleman the following evening.
- "The crowd wasn't as big on Friday night, but I love
performing for anybody, so it didn't matter," he
said.
The finalists. Open Mic Night at UNR could soon be returning to the stage.
photo by Brian Vance
- Even though Ryan Wilson was runner up for the contest. He says he still had a great time performing for his biggest crowd ever.
- "I have been playing a lot of gigs lately, but this is the most people I've ever performed in front of, and the nicest crowd I've performed for," Wilson said. "Some of the musicians here were really talented. I got Dan's phone number so that I can go jam with him sometime next week."
- Flipside Productions is planning at least one more open mic night during Earth Week in late April, with the possibility of another open mic night before then.
- "We are going to try to make this a regular thing," said Kopicko.
-
Posted March 17, 2000
Copyright 2000 Nevada Oupost
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