Three Years After - Dr Lou's Open Stage

Three Years After, The 100% Open Stage Experience; Dr Lou’s Place
When it all began, it was a “place” to play music; without the need of the rest of the ranker that comes with most places and situations where a musician can hang out and play music. The idea came out of the “need” for such a place and the real desire to meet other musicians, grow skills, form groups, and more importantly, build a new family through the music.
As it was, a player, who didn’t really have a lot of experience in playing all through life, turned to the music and the music family and friends to heal the pain of real life, and created a dream world. In 1999 a simple man bought a guitar and decided to use that guitar as therapy. Eleven years later, we’re three years into a true magical time in an unlikely place in and with an unlikely group of characters.
But it’s more than that; it’s not about one person, or the group of people, or what happened or why; It’s about the long lasting argument between those that would cast asparagus at a 100% open stage venue vs. the traditional venue that books a band for a paying gig. This is and has been the contrasting argument that we’ll try to address at least partially, here today.
Some have argued, and subsequently boycotted open stage venues because they are apparently trying to get bands to play music for nothing and capitalizing on that fact. This argument, although taken from a very narrow minded point of view is quite valid; there are musicians playing for little or nothing and the restaurant is running, selling liquor and food and gets money. Further, it could be argued that this is taking away paying gigs from “starving artists” and that taken at face value might be true as well.
But in order to think about the argument clearly, one has to see all sides of the picture. There is a 100% live music venue operating in its fourth year in the Philadelphia area, it’s called Dr Lou’s Place in a town many have never heard of; Roebling NJ. Roebling is an old steel mill town with the claim to fame being the steel cable for the Brooklyn Bridge, a Museum on the River Line train tracks, and a pretty good H.S. Football program. However, we won’t go too far there, we need to point out the true aspects of a 100% open stage venue and the atmosphere that goes with it.
The key to a venue such as Dr Lou’s is that the stage has to be managed in a new and different way such that it becomes a “music incubator”. That is, a place where players who don’t play out all the time, but have honestly honed their skills to the level that fits going out to play with others, get the chance to do just that. Where experienced players who may not be out with their own bands, or are between bands, can stop in and sit in with some players they may or may not know, and just have some fun. Where the basement kind of player tries out his chops for the first time in front of people and with others and get’s that feeling in their soul that every performing artist knows. This is an environment where a band that’s trying new material can test it out on a reasonably astute group of music lovers. It’s a place where new bands form and create life long friendships.
For the fans, it’s a place where you can see and feel the real musical magic live and come alive with players who never played before, but know and have played the same songs, teach each other songs, kick them out in new ways sounding sometimes more fascinating than the originals. This venue allows fans to see experienced and less experienced players to teach each other, to show each other new and better ways of playing in an open and friendly environment.
Well the question was asked and we still don’t have the answer; where was such a place before? A place where the magic that happens on the stage can paralyze a room and the energy of a father watching his son play on stage with tears in his eyes, can be found? If there was such a place, it was not known to this author and it was certainly not known to many other musicians who have found a home and a real need and love for such an environment. We’ve seen it now for three years, all of it.
After seeing both sides of the coin, I’d challenge those who would advocate putting down or trashing a place where the music family can grow, asking to keep musicians in their homes, and in small groups not growing, to tell me why helping to fund such a place and places like it, keeping the music family growing, is at all a bad thing?
I’ve been paid to play, and I’ve paid people to play for me, and I’ll say this; I can respect a band that rehearses and plays in a local club for 100 dollars per man, and plays all night to a crowd, sometimes listening sometimes not paying much attention at all, and sometimes rocking the house. But I think that once a person sees the magic of a “true open stage” where players are encouraged to join together and create on the fly, it’s hard to understand why it hasn’t been going on in every city for years.
All we can say is, if you can’t find the value in being part of a music family, then have fun on your night off practicing with yourself or people you already know; but you’ll be missing out on maybe your golden chance to meet and enjoy playing music, for the fun of it. Remember, there’s no way to hit the ball out of the park, if you never take the time to step up to the plate. We’ve got the plate for you…