Encore!
A handful of local musicians played for an audience during an open mic night outside the landmarked Hendrick I. Lott House in Marine Park on Aug. 5. Everyone had a rockin’ time, but one area guitarist tried so hard to get the crowd moshing that he — like Ringo Starr at the end of “Helter Skelter” — got blisters on his fingers.
“I was trying to get them jumping in their seats,” said Nicky Assante, who goes by his stage name Nicky Soul. “I give everything I have when I perform — I got a blister. You don’t feel it that bad, but now it’s like an open sore — just a small little thing where I hold the pick.”
And plucker Paul Wyszinski even got over his “crippling stage fright” at the relatively laid-back recital, he said.
“Stage fright wasn’t really a factor, only like 20 people there, it was a very relaxed atmosphere,” said Wyszinski.
Wyszinski’s guitar teacher John Henry Sheridan started hosting the open mic nights at the historic Lott House this June, and this one was the best yet, the instructor said.
“I come down with my guitar and share a bunch of songs and invite people, and if they want to play, I let them do a song or two or join me,” he said. “This Friday was the best yet, we had a good turnout and everyone seemed to have a really good time.”
