Right, so as I mention last post, Suzhou finally has a venue for any wannabe musicians to come out and get heard. I “opened” the Shamrock Open Mic Night last night and it was a modest success.

With no advertising, I fully expected to be the only one going up to play – something I was a bit apprehensive about, not least of which because I had no idea what kind of setup they had (and was well aware all I have here in China is a cheap acoustic with extra thick gauge strings).

I know an (ahem) artist should…

The masochist in me has long been craving the sick-nervous feeling I get when I play in front of an audience.

Despite playing for years, I’ve only minimal talent. This, however, doesn’t curb my interest in belting out a few tunes any chance I get. Just before coming to China I was living in the rootsy town of Penticton, BC. A city, which despite its small size, has a very active musical community.

It was rare that a week would go by and I wouldn’t be out once or twice with my acoustic mixing in a couple originals with some…