Jewels Tidwell and Jim Farrell have been hosting open-mic night at Trees Lounge in Waipouli for over a year now. The word has gotten out, and the Tuesday nights are now filled with at least a dozen musicians signing up
Jewels Tidwell and Jim Farrell have been hosting open-mic night at Trees Lounge in Waipouli for over a year now. The word has gotten out, and the Tuesday nights are now filled with at least a dozen musicians signing up to play on stage. “It will build, a lot of regular people will come, tourists will come,” Tidwell said.
Tidwell and Farrell set up their equipment on stage — a guitar, an ‘ukulele and other instruments— for people to use when they come on stage, or they may just use one of the microphones. “We basically get things started,” Tidwell said. “Whatever people want, we try to accommodate them.” Farrell will accompany a singer with his guitar, or Tidwell will sing along.
“I let people look through our book, I can help people out with the words if they are really nervous,” Tidwell said. Farrell added that many people do not need help, however, and they have had a diverse lineup of talent over the past year: performers from ages 14 to 70, musicians playing every instrument from didgeridoos to flutes to synthesizers. People from Russia, Germany, and a well-known singer from a rock band in Los Angeles, Farrell said.
Farrell used to play at Shaka Taco in Kapa‘a (now Casa Bianca), where the open-mic night originated. Once the venue closed down, Farrell moved on to Trees Lounge along with Tidwell, and they make a harmonious pair. The duo started off the night with Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” Tidwell’s silky voice floating through the room as people walked in, searching for the sign-up sheet.
The protocol is for performers to sign up, and have a maximum of two songs they can play. There is a little patience required as an audience member to wait while each act gets on stage, sets up and tunes in; you hear a lot of “testing, testing” during the night. But the few minutes of waiting is well worth the variety of music and singers to see on stage in one night. It is refreshing to hear all different kinds of music right next to each other, to see the humble smiles of the unseasoned entertainers, and the easy swagger of the more-experienced ones.
Tidwell and Farrell said they get a range of styles, from Spanish music to country to bluegrass, rock and island tunes. Last week was no different. Rosie Cutter, who is performing at the Kaua‘i Homegrown Music Festival this weekend, played her soulful songs, bearing similarities to Janis Joplin. She shared the stage with flutist and guitarist John Dumas, who makes his own instruments and said he is heading to Japan on tour soon.
Darren Carrillo was a solo act playing guitar and singing island music, one of them the sultry “Kalapana Sand.” Perhaps one of the finest duos of the night was Larry Jefferson and Bruce Harris, who call themselves “San Detroit” (a combination of their hometowns, San Francisco and Detroit). With Jefferson on guitar and Harris on keyboard, they pumped out a funky version of “Another One Bites the Dust.”
Tidwell said the open-mic nights run from around 8 p.m. until midnight each Tuesday. For more information, call 823-0600.
